Page 8

8

“I t’s like buses,” Ian announced as he hovered at the end of the table, letter in hand. “You wait and you wait, and then the floodgates open.”

Ollie smiled as he took the envelope.

“I’m pretty sure buses don’t travel on water,” Green murmured. “Barges would’ve been a better choice of words.”

Ian shook his head. “But that’s not the saying, is it?”

Jack looked up from where he was cutting Green’s sausage. Green had announced the skins were impossible to cut through, and Jack made it his day’s mission to prove him wrong.

“Neither is what you said, and I’d hardly say two letters is the floodgates opening.”

Ian shrugged and moved on to the next table.

“There,” Green said, glancing at the sausages that had been torn to pieces rather than cut. “Now do you want me to feed it to you, darling?”

Jack squinted. “If you don’t mind.”

“Piece by piece or do you think you can take it all in one go?” Green asked.

“If I could’ve taken it all in one go, I would’ve. You know that.”

Jonesy dropped his fork. “I’ve lost my appetite.”

Green laughed. “Lighten up, would you?”

“You two are one hundred per cent gnashing each other off.”

“Gnashing?” Green repeated. “I mean, we’re one hundred per cent not, but gnashing? Seriously?”

Jack shook his head. “If women have been gnashing on your cock, Jonesy, they’ve been doing it wrong.”

“Unless you’re into that,” Green blurted. “Personally, I think it sounds like putting your dick into a lawnmower, but if that’s your thing, you do you.”

Jonesy sighed. “Who’s the letter from?”

Ollie had been staring at it the whole time. It wasn’t Leo’s handwriting, and it wasn’t Rory’s either. This font was flowing, neat in a way that screamed expensive. Even the corners of the envelope had gold edges. In a word, it looked fancy .

“No idea,” Ollie replied, getting up from the table.

He retreated to the safety of the cell, opening the envelope away from prying eyes.

Any letter that began with ‘Dear Mr Linton’ immediately raised his hackles.

Beneath his name, before the main body of the typed-out letter, bold font stated it was regarding representation for his appeal.

Ollie frowned. He’d not asked for representation from anyone because he was never going to appeal his sentence. The body of the letter introduced the sender as Howard Noble, barrister.

“No thanks, Howard,” Ollie whispered, before scrunching the letter up and shoving it into his bottom drawer.

“Hey, kid…”

Ollie looked over to the door where Einstein was stood, leaning against the door frame. “I got something for Teddy.”

Ollie frowned, beckoning Einstein inside. “What is it?”

Einstein reached down the waistband of his trousers and pulled out a plastic bag.

“Recognise this?” he asked, revealing the rat from within.

Instinct made Ollie grimace and back up a step, but then he remembered the ‘rats’ were Sebastian’s way of smuggling drugs into the prison. They looked and felt so real that the officers wouldn’t dare go near them and got the prisoners to dispose of the dead rats that had succumbed to the poison scattered about the bait boxes.

Einstein threw it at him.

Ollie caught it but kept it as far away from his body as he could.

“What’s in it?” he asked.

Einstein smiled. “Something Teddy will like.”

He clacked his tongue to the roof of his mouth as he winked, then he turned around and left.

Ollie sighed at the rat in his hand. “You couldn’t have opened it up for me…” he muttered before turning to find the nail scissors by the sink.

That was how Teddy found him ten minutes later, over the sink, trying to decapitate a rat, cursing that its fur—no, fabric , was too thick.

The disgust, and yes…worry… on Teddy’s face made Ollie pause.

“It’s not what it looks like,” Ollie blurted.

His words didn’t soothe Teddy in the slightest. He looked on horrified as Ollie pulled the rat’s head off.

“You see, it’s fake. It’s not a real rat.”

He threw the head at Teddy, who batted it away.

“I’m not crazy,” Ollie said. “I’m not.”

Teddy’s expression cracked, then he rumbled with a laugh.

“You knew,” Ollie murmured. “Of course you knew.”

Sebastian and Teddy were friends. He would’ve known about the dead rat drug smuggling scam.

Teddy ruffled Ollie’s hair, then sat down on his bed.

“This is for you,” Ollie said, turning to him. “A gift from Sebastian.”

Teddy cocked his head, intrigued.

Ollie reached inside, forcing his fingers around what felt like a tub. He wrinkled his brow as he pulled it out and up to his eyes so he could see what was inside. He came nose to nose with maggots and yelped, letting go.

Teddy caught the tub before it hit the ground.

“Maggots, fucking maggots.”

Teddy inspected the tub, then his smile lit up the cell. He shook his head. Not maggots. Ollie knew they weren’t; Teddy had shown him an actual picture of a maggot, but anything small, and wriggly, was a maggot in his eyes.

It was now a descriptive word.

Sebastian had sent Teddy caterpillars. Four of them. They were black, furry, and had what looked like a row of spikes down their backs. Ollie gagged.

Teddy rolled his eyes with a fond look.

“I’m sorry,” Ollie said. “They just make me feel gross.”

The smile on Teddy’s lips began to fade.

“We’re keeping them, though,” Ollie blurted before it went out altogether. “In here.” He pointed to the small sill in front of their window. “Up there.”

Teddy’s smile grew to a dazzling grin again. He nodded.

“But I swear, Teddy, if I wake up to one burrowing into my ear, eating my brain, I won’t be happy with you.”

Teddy surged up and smacked a kiss to Ollie’s mouth.

“And we have to put a towel or something over them when we’re intimate. I don’t want to get distracted…or, more likely, for you to get distracted.”

Teddy chuckled but agreed with another nod.

“And if you start to give them more attention than me, I will throw them out of the window.”

Teddy froze, wide-eyed.

“I was joking,” Ollie said. He pouted. “But kind of not too.”

Teddy took hold of Ollie’s hand. He turned it over until his palm was flat.

“Hell no.” Ollie snatched his hand back. “I’m not holding them. They might burrow through my skin and up to my skull.”

Teddy scrunched his face, giving Ollie a look as if to say, What the hell happened to you ?

“Nothing,” Ollie said. “I just don’t like creepy crawlies, and they”—he pointed at the tub—“are both creepy and crawly. They’re your thing. I prefer dogs, cats, rabbits. You know, cute things that won’t eat your brain.”

Teddy raised his eyebrow; it kept lifting and lifting.

“If you keep that up, you’ll have hair on your head again.”

The caterpillars were carefully placed on the windowsill, then Teddy attacked Ollie with tickles and wet raspberries blown into his neck until he surrendered, apologising profusely.

Teddy pushed Ollie down to the bed, clambered on top, then kissed him breathless.

Teddy grabbed a book from the library to show Ollie what their caterpillars would turn into.

Ollie whistled. “That’s one hell of a metamorphosis.”

The butterflies Teddy pointed out were huge, primarily red in colour but with big black and purple spots, and splashes of yellow. They were beautiful, but the maggots squirming around in their tub were not.

Einstein arrived with another rat full of contraband.

“We don’t need more.”

“Food.” Einstein smirked.

Ollie shot Teddy a mischievous smile. “I was hoping for a mallet.”

Teddy’s expression flat-lined.

The head of the rat came off easier the second time, and Ollie stuck his hand inside the chest cavity only to howl and curse in pain. Teddy shot from the bed, holding on to him while he shook out his throbbing hand.

“What the hell?”

Teddy grabbed Ollie’s wrist to inspect the damage. Raised white bumps covered his reddening fingers.

“It stings.”

Teddy crouched, snatching up the rat. He turned it upside down, gave it a shake, and green leaves dropped to the floor.

“Fucking stinging nettles,” Ollie hissed.

Teddy touched Ollie’s lips, snorting, Language .

“But it hurts.” Ollie looked at his hand. “I may need to visit the hospital wing.”

Teddy pulled Ollie flush against him while shaking his head. He leaned back to press kisses all over Ollie’s face, then took hold of Ollie’s wrist.

Teddy blew against Ollie’s fingers. It didn’t help with the burn, but Ollie appreciated it all the same.

He kissed Ollie’s fingers until eventually the throbbing stopped.

“Nice creatures don’t eat stinging nettles,” Ollie said. “They eat dog or cat food.”

Teddy smirked. He released Ollie, picked up tweezers from the sink, then picked a leaf off the floor. Ollie clambered onto his bunk and watched Teddy feed a leaf to his new pets.

“Woah,” Ian said from the doorway. He glanced over his shoulder, then stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He toed at the leaves with his trainer. “What if an officer had seen?”

“They’re not marijuana leaves; they’re stinging nettles,” Ollie replied.

Ian frowned. “You can get high off stinging nettles?”

Teddy turned to Ian, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Right,” Ian blurted. “Letter.”

He held it out to Ollie.

Ollie knew it was another from Howard. It had the same flowing handwriting and gold corners.

“Thanks.”

Ian bowed his head, retreating.

“I’ll open it later,” Ollie said, dropping down from his bunk.

He shoved the letter into his bottom drawer.

“How long until the maggots mummify themselves?”

Teddy glared but still flashed his fingers.

“Thirty days?”

Teddy nodded.

“And then how long as mummies?”

Teddy used his fingers again. Fifteen days.

“Right, so…no sex for forty-five days.”

Teddy dropped the tweezers.

“It’s agreed,” Ollie said, jumping back onto his bed.

Teddy narrowed his eyes. A smug grin twitched his lips. It said, You won’t last one .

“I’ll last longer than you.”

The maggots grew until the tub could no longer contain them. Teddy stole a container from the kitchen. No one challenged him, not even the officers when they caught him with it in his cell. Seinfeld stared at Teddy, Teddy stared back, then Seinfeld backed out of the cell, muttering, “I’m going to pretend I didn’t see that.”

Teddy slid the tray beneath the bed.

Every single officer who had seen the tray had performed the same routine.

“I heard them last night,” Ollie said, lying in bed.

Teddy stood in front of the sink, brushing his teeth, but he paused to let Ollie know he was listening.

“They were whispering. It was hard to make out, but I’m pretty sure they were saying braaains .”

Teddy snorted, then spluttered toothpaste into his beard. Ollie smiled, proud of himself for making Teddy laugh.

Knuckles wrapped on the door.

“Ollie, I need you up and ready by eight,” Seinfeld said.

Ollie frowned. “Why?”

“For your visit.”

“For my…” His wide eyes found Teddy’s in the mirror.

“Didn’t Officer Hargreaves tell you?” Seinfeld asked.

“No.”

Every time Ollie sent a letter to Leo, he included a visiting form. It had become a habit. He filled it in, including a date, and all it needed was a phone call to the prison to confirm the recipient was coming.

“He said yes?” Ollie asked, but Seinfeld had already moved on. He looked at Teddy. “He said yes.”

Teddy nodded slowly.

“Oh fuck.” Ollie bit his lip. “Oh fuck.” He shook his head. “I can’t do it.”

Teddy slotted his toothbrush into the holder and came over to the bed.

His expression said, You can .

“What if he’s just coming to tell me he hates me?”

Teddy shook his head.

“You don’t know that.” Ollie squeezed his eyes shut. “What if when I see him, I can still see how he looked that night? What if it’s the same for him? What if he looks at me and still sees a monster?”

Teddy shook his head again.

“But you don’t know that!” Ollie slipped down from his bunk. “What if…”

He lowered his head.

Teddy lifted Ollie’s chin with his finger.

It’ll be okay.

Ollie exhaled, nodding. “I’m just scared, that’s all.”

I know.

Teddy moved aside so Ollie could get ready. He pulled on clothes, sprayed on deodorant, brushed his teeth and sorted out his hair, all while trying not to hyperventilate.

“Ollie,” Seinfeld called, unlocking the cell.

Teddy pulled Ollie into a tight hug. He leaned Ollie back to look at him, waiting for Ollie to read his expression.

I’ll be here when you get back . He glanced at the bottom of the bed where the maggots were hidden. And they will be too .

Ollie snorted, giving Teddy a watery smile, then kissed him just before Seinfeld pushed open the door.