May 24, 2015, Fort Madison, Iowa
As soon as the verdict was read, true or not, Toris Laurinaitis knew he was doomed. He had been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for a crime he never even committed. Toris was going to be in maximum lockup with a cell mate who had the same sentence. The only thing that scared Toris was that his cell mate more than likely owned up to what he did in a courtroom full of people with a satisfied smirk on his face.
The whole ride to the prison, all Toris could think of was the truly brokenhearted look on his mother's face when the verdict was read. Tears had streamed from her pine green eyes as she shook her head in disbelief, not wanting to believe that her son had killed all of those innocent people. She never would have imagined that her only son would ever kill a living being, ever. Her heart had shattered to tiny bits when they found Toris guilty, no matter how much her son pleaded innocent.
"No funny business, Laurinaitis," the officer said, opening the door Toris was seated next to. He grabbed the prisoner's arm and yanked him out of the car, causing Toris to stumble but regain his balance. "Welcome to your new home, you twisted fuck."
Toris winced at the hateful words. "Sir, these cuffs are digging into my flesh. Is there any way you could possibly loosen them?"
"Do you think I give a damn about the comfort of a man who shot up a grocery store?" the officer snarled at him. "Now keep your goddamned mouth shut." He began to lead Toris toward the main building. "You fucking teenagers make me sick."
He wanted to argue that nineteen was technically an adult, but he knew that wasn't going to help his case at all. Instead, Toris kept his mouth shut, wishing he had never been born. If he had never been born, he couldn't have been framed for murder.
.
Toris had been growing his hair out for the past year so he could donate it to charity. He was forced to say goodbye to his goal as the officers at the prison cuffed him to a chair and shaved his flowing, brunet locks from his head. His tears in his eyes had long before dried up, so he couldn't mourn the loss of his hair or his dignity as he was thrown into his cell.
"So you're the poor bastard who shot up your local grocery store, huh?" a voice asked from the top bunk. A boy with long, blond hair and shining green eyes hung his head down into Toris's bunk. "Tough break. You look so stupid with your head shaved, by the way."
Toris curled up in his bunk, hugging his knees tightly to his chest. ""I didn't do it," he grumbled.
"Yeah, and I didn't kill my stepdad and feed him to my family," the boy laughed. "You've entered a whole new world, my friend!"
"Feliks Łukasiewicz?!" Toris gasped out, eyes widening in horror. "You're my cell mate?!"
"I think it's because we're both nineteen, and the only murderers here under forty at the moment," the blond casually answered. "You know, we watched your trial on TV here. You're already a legend."
"I'm telling you, I didn't do it," Toris insisted. "I mean, I was there, but I didn't kill those people."
"Then who did?" Feliks asked. He flipped off of the top bunk and moved to sit on Toris's. "Because until they find the guy who did it, you're my roomie. And since you were the one convicted, they're never going to find him, Toris."
"Please stop," the new prisoner begged. "I can't take this! No more!"
"Yes more!" Feliks insisted. "All the more, Laurinaitis! All of it!"
Toris clamped his hands over his ears. "Stop talking to me like you know me!"
"But I do know you," Feliks answered with a grin. "I know your mind, for we have the same mind. You mind has been tainted with murder, my friend. Once a murderer, always a murderer."
"I'm not a fucking murderer!" Toris shouted at him. His fists were clenched tightly and his teeth were barred. "Now shut the fuck up!"
A wide smile spread across Feliks's face. "Your anger proves me right."
Toris glared over at him. "My anger proves nothing!" he hissed.
"You're pretty sexy when you're feisty," Feliks told him with a wink.
"Fuck off," Toris grumbled, kicking at Feliks. "I'm not in the mood for you right now."
Feliks's eyes widened. "Oh, so maybe you'll be in the mood later?"
"Try never, Łukasiewicz."
.
Early July, 2015, Fort Madison, Iowa
"How did your visit go?" Feliks asked Toris as he walked into their cell. He was sitting on Toris's bunk and shuffling cards, not even caring about his cell mate's personal space. "Who even came to see you? Was it your mom again? Did she cry the whole time like she always does, wondering where she went wrong with you and junk?"
Toris rolled his eyes. "Shut up. If you need to know, it was an old friend of mine. His name is Matthew. He's been worried about me since I was convicted. And guess what. He believes my innocence."
Feliks rolled his eyes and twirled his finger around. "Whoop-dee-doo," he sighed. "You're so obsessed with innocence. It's like a dog with a bone. You're like a virgin or something." He snorted. "Toris the crime virgin!" he cried out before bursting into a fit of cackles. "Seriously, you fucking kill me!"
"When will prison stop being a joke to you?" Toris sighed.
"Try never," Feliks snorted. "The whole legal system is a joke! I murdered my stepdad and fed him to my family, only to end up in paradise!" He laughed gleefully. "I love it here, Toris! People fear and respect you here, and no one really fucks with you! It's great!"
Toris just stared at him blankly for a long moment. "There is something seriously wrong with you."
"Says you," Feliks laughed. He fell back onto Toris's bed, laughing loudly. "I think I'm perfectly normal."
"By what logic do you base that?" Toris walked over to the wink in the corner and splashed water onto his face, using some to flatten his hair, which was starting to grow back. "Because it sure as hell isn't based on any kind of reason whatsoever."
"But isn't that what makes it unique?" the other said.
Toris groaned. "That's not the point, Feliks."
"Nothing is ever the point with you," Feliks grumbled, sitting up and crossing his arms over his chest.
"Because when it comes to you, nothing ever has a point."
"Doesn't mean you have to constantly shit all over my logic," Feliks huffed.
"Don't' get so butthurt over it," Toris scoffed, using a towel to dry his face. "For a murderer, you sure get down about the dumbest things."
Feliks jumped up and ran at Toris, putting him in a headlock before he knew what was going on. "Who's dumb, Toris?" he demanded, laughing loudly.
"Feliks Łukasiewicz!" Toris answered.
The other inmate tightened his hold. "Take it back, Laurinaitis!"
"Never!" Toris laughed.
A guard ran over to their cell. "Łukasiewicz! Laurinaitis! Knock it off in there, will ya?!"
Feliks instantly let go of Toris, who fell to the floor, both laughing like madmen. They loved to freak the guards out like that. It was some of the only entertainment they had in maximum lockup.
"And to think you kids are infamous murderers," the guard grumbled.
The blond inmate suddenly launched himself at the gate to their cell. "Would you like to say that again?" he demanded. "You can't share my stepdad's fate if you do!"
The guard's eyes widened. "Is that a threat?!"
"More of a statement, really."
"Asshole kid," the guard muttered, walking away.
"You're next!" Feliks shouted at him, shaking the bars threateningly.
Toris placed a calming hand on Feliks's shoulder. "Feliks, calm down. He just wanted to get a rise out of you. You can't keep letting him win. All he wants to do is prove himself right. And when you get angry like that, that's exactly what you do."
Feliks pushed Toris's hand off of his shoulder. "Fuck off, Toris. You don't understand."
"Then help me understand," Toris told him.
"You want to know what he did to deserve death?" Feliks asked. His face was uncharacteristically serious; so serious, in fact, that it worried Toris.
"Yes," Toris answered.
"He…" Feliks's voice trailed off as he began to tremble. "He used to…" He shook his head vigorously as he pushed past Toris. "Forget it. I don't want to talk about it anymore." He heaved his slender body onto his bunk and laid on his back, staring up at the ceiling. "Just know that there are bad people in this world, and those bad people deserve to die."
.
Feliks hadn't realized he had fallen asleep until he woke up after lights out. He blinked a few times, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. His entire body felt cold as ice. All he craved was warmth, and he knew only one place to get it. He climbed off of his bunk and bent over Toris's.
"Toris, are you awake?" he whispered, trying to keep his voice quiet so the guards wouldn't hear him. "Toris, please wake up! I need you!"
Feliks felt horrified the moment that last sentence escaped his lips. Never in his life had he ever needed anyone. What made Toris so special? His mind went back to Toris's words that afternoon. "Then help me understand." Did he want Toris to understand? Everything was just so confusing. He felt as if he were going to scream at any moment if he didn't find some form of relief.
"Feliks?" Toris's sleepy voice asked. "What's going on? Do you need something?"
Before Feliks knew what was happening, he fell to his knees and buried his face in Toris's blankets, sobbing. He couldn't understand why he was sobbing, though. Was it all of those repressed feelings from his past, or was it something else? Feliks couldn't tell, so just just kept at it, not even caring what Toris thought of him for crying.
Toris moved to the edge of the bed and rubbed Feliks's back as he cried. He could feel the other boy trembling and shivering beneath his fingers and frowned. His hands snatched his blanket and draped it around his cell mate. "I may not understand what's going on right now, but I can offer what little comfort I know how to give," he softly stated, running his fingers through Feliks's hair like his mother used to do with him.
Feliks's eyes flew open at Toris's words. His sobs began to slow until they were just mere sniffles. He moved to sit with Toris on his bunk. "Could I lay here with you for a little bit?" he timidly asked.
"I don't see why not," Toris answered. He laid back, leaving room for the seemingly broken Feliks next to him. "I'm sorry that you're having a rough night."
The blond sighed, laying back. "It's life."
The next morning, neither boy acted as if the night before had happened. But for the next three nights, Feliks slept in Toris's bunk with him.
.
One Week Later
Feliks approached Toris in the weight room one afternoon in one of his trademark tantrums. "Laurinaitis!" he shouted, storming over to him. "I demand to know why you're so nice to everyone! You're like a sweet, little old lady, and it makes me sick!"
Toris blinked up at him in confusion. "I'm sorry?" he finally said.
"That's all you have to say?!" Feliks demanded, leaning over him. His nose was inches from Toris's. "No one is as nice as you! No one! You are a fucking murderer, now start acting like it!"
The brunet jumped up and tightly grabbed his cell mate's collar in his fists. "What the fuck did you just say?! I didn't fucking kill anyone!"
"Did the devil make you do it?" Feliks taunted. "Because he sure seems to be possessing you right now."
After taking a few deep breaths, Toris let go of Feliks and backed away, heading toward the showers. He needed to calm down. He could not like Feliks get such a rise out of him like that. As he stood under the piping hot water of the shower, his mind began to clear. His bad mood went down the drain with the soap and water.
Feliks was waiting for him outside of the showers. "It was nice seeing you so feisty for the first time since you got here," he commented, following Toris to their cell.
Toris rolled his eyes. "And why is that?" he dared to ask.
"It's like I said before," Feliks began as the guards closed them into their cell. He waited until the guards were gone before turning to Toris. "You're pretty sexy when you're angry." Feliks winked at Toris and climbed onto his bunk.
Toris shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Whatever, Feliks."
Feliks laughed loudly. "My word is law, Toris. You'll figure that out soon enough." He placed his hands behind his head and smiled up at the ceiling. "I've even seen some of the other inmates checking you out."
"Ew," Toris commented, sitting down on his bunk.
"What? You don't like pedos looking at you?" Feliks teased. There was hint in his voice that made Toris highly uncomfortable, but maybe it was supposed to be there or something. Knowing Feliks, it was.
Toris laid down and kicked the mattress above him.
"Okay, I get it," the blond laughed. "So only me then?"
Toris kicked the mattress above him harder.
"Loud and clear, Laurinaitis," Feliks stated with a groan. His back was starting to ache from the kicks to it. "Loud and clear."
.
July 22, 2015, Fort Madison, Iowa
Toris felt something was off all day. Feliks hadn't been acting like his usual self. It was starting to worry his cell mate. The thing that worried Toris the most was that no one else seemed to care. Was there something he was missing about the date? He knew he would have to ask Feliks what was going on, but the question was: how?
Sure enough, after lights out, Feliks climbed off his bunk and asked if he could sleep with Toris. After getting the okay, he crawled in next to him and closed his eyes, dreading the questions he knew were coming.
"Is today the anniversary of anything?" Toris asked him.
Feliks's eyes flicked open. "You mean to tell me you don't know? Everyone else seems to."
"I'm not them, Feliks."
The blond chuckled bitterly. "Right. You're not." He looked over at Toris. "I was convicted and brought here one year ago today. A year ago, I thought that today would be a good day, you know? But after a year of silence from my mom and name calling from my siblings, today is just shit." Feliks let out a deep sigh. "I always thought I would be so much happier without them, but now that they're not with me anymore…"
Toris frowned. "I had no idea you truly felt that way." He rolled over to face his cell mate.
Feliks rolled over to face Toris. He bit his lip. "Yeah," he softly said, nodding. "I do."
Out of impulse, Toris's arms wrapped around Feliks as he pulled him closer. "If they won't be your family, Feliks, I will. We lifers need to stick together."
Before he could stop them, tears spilled down Feliks's cheeks. "Why are you so nice to me, Toris?" he asked. "I killed the man who raised me and fed him to my family!"
"But you also said he was a bad person," Toris answered in a soothing voice. He reached up and smoothed Feliks's hair as the blond buried his face in his shoulder. "He must have done awful things to you, Feliks."
"He did," Feliks whispered. "He did terrible things, unspeakable things."
Toris frowned. "Then I'm glad he's dead."
"You're the only person to ever say that to me," Feliks softly said, pulling away from Toris to look at him. "Thank you. It means a lot."
"You're a victim, Feliks," Toris said. "You only did what you had to."
Feliks sighed. "If only the world saw it how you did." He closed his eyes. "You know, I think I might actually sleep well tonight."
"Here's to good sleep." Toris closed his eyes as well. "Goodnight, Feliks."
But the blond didn't hear him, already too far gone in his dreams.
