A Final Fall novel Chapter 2

The car ride was eerily silent. Before prison, I used to fill the silence with chatter, telling Ashley about my day, the latest movies, the new art supplies I'd bought, the people I'd met.

She had always been quiet, even annoyed by my constant chatter. "Leo, do you ever stop talking? Don't you ever get tired?"

I had laughed, my happiness bubbling over. "What can I say? I love you, and I love talking to you."

She had shaken her head, a resigned smile on her lips. "You're unbelievable."

But I had loved those moments, cherished every minute spent with her, even if I was the only one doing the talking.

Now, she looked at me, confusion in her eyes. "You used to be so talkative. Why are you so quiet now?"

I didn't understand. Didn't she hate my endless chatter? Shouldn't my silence please her?

Besides, the warden had made it clear: I was not to touch Ashley, not to speak to her, not to even look at her.

She belonged to Ethan. I was a vile creature, unworthy of even breathing the same air as her.

"Ashley is Ethan's woman. Stay away from her, you piece of trash! Or I'll make you wish you were never born!" He had flipped the switch on the electroshock machine, the current coursing through my body, leaving me trembling and numb.

The warden's cruel face flashed before my eyes. I instinctively curled into a ball, my arms wrapped protectively around myself.

Ashley, growing impatient with my silence, reached out to grab my chin. "Are you blaming me for sending you to prison? It was your own fault, Leo. You brought this upon yourself."

I shook my head, but that only seemed to anger her more. "Then why are you giving me that look? What are you trying to pull?"

Her fury, the barely contained rage in her voice, made me flinch.

I forced a smile, trying to appease her, but it came out twisted and grotesque.

Before she could say anything more, we arrived at the house. A man in a navy blue suit, his features handsome and composed, walked towards the car.

He smiled, but a chill ran down my spine.

"Ethan is my nephew. Who the hell do you think you are, trying to steal his woman? You pathetic excuse for a man!"

"Ethan is upset with you today, Leo. What should we do to make him feel better? The whip? The needle bed?"

I hung my head, the shadows of the past threatening to engulf me.

The relentless torture, the starvation, the constant humiliation, had taken their toll.

Warden Barnes had treated me like an animal, tossing me scraps of rotten food. Sometimes, he would throw frozen meat on the floor, forcing me to eat it raw. I had gagged, my stomach revolting, but the hunger pangs were unbearable.

"Ethan said you should eat like the dog you are, Leo. You're in prison now. Don't expect to be treated like a human." He had grabbed my face, his grip bruising. "Stop dreaming, you pathetic mutt."

In the end, I had learned to eat whatever they gave me, my dignity sacrificed to the gnawing hunger in my gut.

Even then, food was not guaranteed. The other inmates, sensing the warden's animosity towards me, had taken every opportunity to torment me. They would stomp on my food, urinate on it, anything to earn the warden's favor, a few extra scraps of meat.

Days would go by without a single morsel of food, my stomach cramping in protest. The warden's praise, the promise of a bigger portion, fueled their cruelty.

Their torture went beyond starvation. They beat me, threw my blankets in the toilet, pulled my hair at night, anything to make my life a living hell.

How could I not be thin?