Red took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a mere second. Down the hall, third door on the left, that was Ruby's bunk. She wasn't sure what she was going to say, just that something needed to be done. She knew this woman wouldn't stop until Nicky was carried away in a body bag, and she would do anything to ensure that didn't happen.
With one foot in front of the other, she slowly made her way towards the bunk, standing straight with her chin up. Finally, she was in the doorway, Ruby's green eyes immediately catching hers. Two other inmates followed Ruby's gaze towards Red, both of them looking ready for a fight. Ruby shared a glance with the other women, calming them down.
She wasn't what Red had expected. She was young, maybe twenty-five at the most. Her long auburn hair spanned across her back in soft curls, a few pieces made their way to the front to frame her face. She was pretty, a girl whose image didn't say criminal, she certainly didn't fit the image of the frightening leader she was.
Ruby's expression twisted into a smile, and her eyes hardened. She nodded to the two other inmates as a signal to leave, then looking back at Red, signaled for her to sit in the chair across from the bed.
Red walked over but chose to remain standing.
"Galina Reznikov. Can't say I'm surprised to see you. Figures that pussy Nichols would send her fake mommy to come deal with her problems," Ruby said with a scoff.
Red stayed calm, not giving in to the woman's childish jabs at Nicky.
"I've come to tell you that your message has been received. Nicky isn't a snitch, there's no need for anything else to happen," Red said, her jaw set and her eyes like daggers.
Ruby snickered, leaning forward and resting her elbows on her knees.
"That's not the way I see it. I have a tight operation, it's contingent upon zipped lips and a strict code. What she's done deserves punishment. Besides, she already told you, what's to stop her from telling anyone else,"
"She's a smart girl, she wouldn't just tell anyone. She told me because she was scared, and she had every right to be. And what the hell do you mean 'what she's done'? The only thing Nicky is guilty of being in the wrong place at the wrong time,"
Ruby began laughing, her delighted surprise was off-putting to Red.
"Oh shit!... She played you, momma," Ruby said, still laughing.
"What the fuck are you talking about," Red asked, growing impatient with the woman's games.
"Nicky didn't just see a transaction go down…she tried to steal the drugs that were coming in for herself," Ruby said with a wicked smile.
Red's heart dropped.
"That's a lie. She's clean," she said, sure that it was the truth.
"I can tell you she's not. Hasn't been since I started selling to her about six weeks ago,"
Red's anger had gotten to its breaking point. This woman had gotten her daughter back on drugs, back on a path towards destruction. She was angry at her, angry at Nicky, and angry at herself for being so blind. But deep inside she knew Nicky wouldn't actively seek drugs, not after everything, which meant the Ruby had to have enticed her. She had to have drawn her back into using. That thought caused all that anger to be aimed at the young woman in front of her.
"You fucking cunt," she said through clenched teeth.
Ruby ignored the comment and continued.
"She ran out of things to pay with pretty quick, tried to resort to stealing,"
"Why should I even believe you?" Red asked.
"You shouldn't, so go ask her about it," Ruby replied simply with a shrug of her shoulders.
She took a deep breath and stood up, taking a step closer to Red.
"Listen, I heard about you down the hill. I know that you had a little group of followers, you had power. I like you, I like your style, but here, I'm the fucking top. Nicky broke the rules, and someone has to pay. One of my girls is set to shiv her in the yard this week. Because I like you so much, I'll tell her to try and miss the important stuff. If Nicky survives, then I'll consider the score evened. I know it sounds a little bit much, but I've learned that until blood is spilled…the message just doesn't stick as well,"
Red felt faint at the thought of Nicky bleeding out helplessly, at the thought of having to bury her, the thought of never seeing her again.
Before she could come up with anything to say, Ruby began speaking again.
"You know…I think you're pretty badass. I could use some of that motherly protection you give so freely to lowlife junkies. I want you to consider joining me,"
The thought of being around Ruby made her sick, but she thought about ways she could use this to her advantage.
"If I join you, then you leave Nicky alone," she said.
Ruby snickered, walking closer to Red to the point where they were face to face.
"That's not how this works. I made you an offer…a good one. You can choose to take it or leave it, but either way, Nicky will learn her lesson and serve as a reminder never to cross me. Keep that in mind before you reject my offer,"
Red, not cowering back, stared her down.
"Fuck you and fuck your offer. Do you think I'm scared of a five-year-old? In Russia, we can tell the difference between a person with real power and a person who feigns power to hide their fear. These people who work for you, you really think they respect you? No, respect is earned, and not by tyrannical bullshit. I wouldn't work with you, let alone for you. Power like yours…burns out quickly. Trust me, I've been around long enough, I've seen this a million times before. I hope you have a plan for what to do when this all fades because it will. You will be left with nothing and no one and you will die alone in this cell if someone doesn't murder you first,"
Red turned and left before another word could be spoken.
She went down the hall furious and determined, and once her eyes landed on Nicky, she walked quickly towards her.
"Ma, how'd it go with—" Nicky started but was interrupted by Red yanking her arm and pulling her aside.
"Woah, Jesus go easy, I'm still healing," Nicky said annoyed.
"You're using?" she said sternly, trying to conceal the fact that her voice almost broke saying the words.
Nicky paused and looked into Red's eyes only to see the familiar presence of hurt and betrayal.
Sick o the lack of response, she grabbed Nicky's chin and looked into her eyes.
"I haven't used since before I got the shit beat out of me," Nicky said, pulling her chin away.
She blew out a deep breath.
"I'm sorry, I should've told you before…I didn't mean to—"
"Fucking hell Nicky! After everything you've been through, all the times I've helped you get clean,"
Nicky remained silent, ready for the verbal beat down she knew she deserved.
"You told me you were done, and I believed you," Red said, her heart breaking.
"Red, I'm sorry,"
"No. No more. I can't do it again. I already lost Sam—" she said as a tear fell.
"What the hell does Healy have to do with this?" Nicky asked angrily. She never liked Healy, and she didn't think he deserved to be a constant topic of conversation in life or death.
"Because I can't lose anyone else! I can't lose another person I love. But I especially can't watch as you pump your body full of poison," she yelled.
Nicky was taken aback by the fact that Red admitted she loved Healy, but she chose to ignore that information for now.
"I'm sorry," was all she managed to say.
"I can't do shit with 'I'm sorry'. Get yourself together, I don't even want to see you until you do," Red replied, shaking her head in disbelief and disapproval.
She looked into Nicky's eyes, tears glistening and threatening to spill endlessly. She scoffed in frustration and turned to walk away. Before she forgot, she turned around once more.
"You should ask to be taken out of gen pop for a few weeks. Ruby's dead set on making an example of you," Red said simply before turning back around and continuing to walk away.
"What does that mean?" Nicky asked.
"Red! What the fuck does that mean?" Nicky shouted.
Red kept walking, not paying her any more attention.
"Fuck," Nicky whispered to herself.
Red went back to her bunk, sat on her bed, and picked up the book which rested on top of her covers. She began to read like she always did, but found that those same images reemerged in her mind. Nicky dead on the ground, her blood seeping out onto the concrete. Sam, looking at himself in the mirror with tears in his eyes, taking the bottle of sleeping pills out of his cabinet.
She didn't know how he actually did it, but she hoped it was peaceful. She didn't want to think of his death as bloody or gruesome, that was too much to bear. As the words in her book weren't enough to take her away from herself, she grew frustrated and threw it across the room with a grunt. Her fists clenched until her knuckles became white and she allowed herself to cry.