The next few days at camp were uneventful. School didn't start for another two weeks and I was still getting to know my way around. Every morning we would wake up at 04:30 hours, take a shower and line up outside. Croy didn't say much other than the occasional instruction, and after drills I would spend my free time reading or learning how to sew with Myra and Allison.
One afternoon, a few days after the incident with Violet, I decided to ask the questions that had been on my mind since I first arrived.
"Hey Mai? How did you end up in here?" Allison stopped sewing when she heard my question. I glanced up and noticed Myra's expression had softened into one of nostalgia and sadness.
"Hazel, I don't think-"
"Ally, it's alright." Myra stopped her before she could intercede.
"Okay." Allison shrugged before going back to her sewing.
"My mother walked out on me and my dad when I was eight. My dad stepped up and took care of me better than she ever could. One day, not long after I turned twelve, my dad got in a car accident and never returned..." She trailed off, her eyes watery.
"After his death, they tried to contact my mom but they couldn't find her. So they placed me in the care of my aunt. Things wouldn't have been so bad if she didn't hate me. My aunt always resented my mom for leaving and since I look a lot like her, she couldn't handle it. Eventually, I ran away. I couldn't stand being a burden.
The cops picked me up from under an overpass for shoplifting. When they asked my aunt, she said she didn't want me anymore, so they brought me here. I'm fifteen now and must remain here until I'm eighteen. They brought me in for shoplifting which is a nonviolent crime. That's the reason I wear white."
"So that's why I wear white too, because I was brought in for a nonviolent offense?" I asked curiously.
"Well what was your offense?" Myra asked as she put down her needle.
"Status offender. My mom and I have a rocky relationship. I was having problems at school and even though she knew about it, she didn't do anything to stop it. She was too focused on her own life with her new boyfriend, so I resented her and began acting out. Eventually she got tired of my attitude. The judge said I have to be here for two years until I'm seventeen." I muttered bitterly.
"Geez, that sucks, what about your Dad?" She asked.
I shrugged. "He died when I was ten but since he was in a different country, I never met him. His death never really made a difference to me." Myra nodded pensively as she considered everything I had said.
"What about you Ally?" I asked curiously. A grim expression contorted her features as all the memories came flooding back.
"Ally, if you don't want to talk about it, I'm sure Hazel will understand." Myra assured as she climbed down from the top bunk and sat next to her friend. I nodded.
"No, it's okay. If you're gonna be our friend, it's time you knew about my past." She said definitively before taking in a deep breath and starting her story.
"When I was thirteen, my mom got remarried. Her boyfriend seemed nice, until he started living with us. My little sister, Adeline and I were close. She was eleven at the time and we would tell each other everything. After a few months of mom's new marriage, I noticed Adeline began acting strange.
She stopped talking and began wearing all black. She would come home from school and lock herself in her room. She began failing her classes and she shut out all her friends, including me. I was concerned, but my mom kept saying it was just a phase.
One day, I stayed after school to finish a project I was doing for science class. I finished around six in the afternoon. As I walked up the driveway to my house, I realized that mom's car wasn't there. I figured she must've been working over-time at the nursing home. As I climbed the steps to the front porch, I heard a scream emanate from inside the house. I rushed in as fast as I could, the screams were coming from the kitchen. What I found..." she trailed off, her pewter eyes angry and watery.
"You okay?" Myra asked worriedly.
"I'm sorry." She whispered. "This is really painful for me to remember." She admitted as she wiped black tears from her eyes.
"You don't have to continue if you don't want to." I said as I took a seat next to them both. She shook her head.
"No, I need to. It makes me feel better knowing you guys are listening." She cleared her throat before continuing. "When I walked into the kitchen, I saw my sister on the floor struggling as my step-father, had his way with her. At that moment, everything became clear to me. Adeline's strange behavior, her disgust for my step- father, it all made sense.
That bastard had been abusing her the entire time and I was too stupid to notice. At that moment, I felt my blood boil. My body shook with rage as her eyes begged silently for help. I reached over the kitchen counter and grabbed the biggest knife I could find, then rammed it into my step father's back."
An eerie silence settled in the room when she paused. "When he screamed, Adeline pulled up her pants and ran. I took off towards the stairs as he turned to me. 'Allison, get out here right now!' He screamed as I locked myself in my room. I backed away as he began kicking the door, I remember the wood cracked with every hit. Out of desperation, I jumped into my closet and locked the door. I peeked through the shutters, as it burst open.
Blood dripped from his back as he pulled out the knife and tossed it on the blue carpet. I watched as he reached into the waistband of his jeans and pulled out a revolver. 'Come out, come out where ever you are...' he sang in a taunting voice. 'I know you're in here, you can't hide from daddy.' A deranged smile framed his face. I backed up as much as I could into the narrow closet, accidentally knocking over a box of shoes. I crouched and covered my ears as he fired, making holes in the wall above me.
I struggled as he dragged me out by the hair and tossed me on the floor. I glared at him as he pointed the gun at my head. Luckily, Addie came in and shoved him just in time, causing him to drop the gun. I took advantage and picked it up, just as he leapt towards us..." Another pause brought me back to reality.
"What happened, what did you do?" I asked anxiously.
"I pulled the trigger." She said in almost a whisper. "I shot him right between the eyes and watched his body crumble lifelessly to the floor. When mother got home from work, she found me holding a gun, standing next to my step-father's body. I told her the whole story and Addie did too, but mother couldn't save me. When the cops came, they arrested me, and forced me to stand trial. When they found other testimonials about that same man abusing small girls, the jury decided to cut my sentence and send me here for five years. He had pull, money. His family members fought to have me locked up and their influence won. "
My heart ached for Allison. Nobody should have to go through such horrible things. Her story made me see my life from a different perspective. I didn't have it as bad as I had originally thought, I was quite lucky.
"It's been two years now, but it's not all bad. If I stay strong, I'll get out eventually and besides, I've got Mai and Croy to help me through it." She sighed.
"Croy?" I inquired casually.
"Yeah, Allison's been head over heels for him since they met but..." Myra trailed off, unsure if she should continue.
"But what?" I asked curiously.
"Croy doesn't trust people. He doesn't like to open up to anyone."
"Why?" I asked.
"Cuz his past is worse than mine." Allison began. "It's not a competition, but if it was, Croy's story takes the cake. I honestly don't know if he'll ever be able to trust people. Still, I'd like to hope he someday will..." She trailed off, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.
"So that's why your shirt is black." Allison nodded.
"It was considered a violent crime. Murder, armed robbery, rape and assault will always earn you a black shirt."
"I see, that means Croy was also charged with a violent crime, right?" Myra and Allison both looked at each other.
"Girl, you have no idea..."
(A/N: Yeesh! Pretty heavy stuff for chapter 4 huh? Don't forget to comment and vote if you guys liked this chapter! Thank you for making it to chapter 4! :P)