chapter four

daisy

She found it difficult to believe what Owen had said about Seth being the 'devil'. She thought the guy was probably the nicest person she had met so far, going as far as to calling him her knight in orange jumpsuit in her head and laughing about it afterwards.

However, her cellmate seemed to tremble at just the name of said knight and people did look at Seth with some sort of fear. It could be possible he was dangerous, especially if he was a gang leader but he was very gentle and patient with her. And anyway, Owen was scared of everyone in prison apart from Daisy so she thought he was exaggerating.

They didn't spend much time talking after what Owen said though. She suspected he didn't know what the crime was anyway so she didn't push the topic. Instead, they played with a deck of cards until the bell rung, telling them to go to lunch.

This time, she made sure to not lose sight of him as they walked to the canteen, but her extra caution may not have been necessary. The other prisoners weren't as touchy as they were in the morning. In fact, many made an effort to stay away, although they didn't at all hide the fact they were staring at her.

Daisy mentally thanked Seth in her head, knowing that it was probably his doing. She doubted anybody would want to get punched in the face like Frank did.

As they got their food, the petite girl looked around the room for Seth. Her head would fall in disappointment every time she didn't see his beautiful tattoos somewhere in the room but then look back up a few seconds afterwards in hopes he had arrived.

Eventually, she realised he wasn't coming so she stayed with Owen as they sat on one of the only empty tables. She wondered whether her cellmate had any prison friends but decided to stay quiet. He wasn't brave enough to initiate conversation with another prisoner that wasn't a 4' 11" girl.

"T-this is n-nice." She commented quietly in hopes to start a conversation. Daisy picked at her rice and beans. Nothing had any flavour but she was a little excited to try out the cake. Cake was her favourite and it was obvious from how often she'd bake when she was at home.

"Nothing about this is nice." Owen grumbled back just as quiet. He, however, wasn't picking at his food. Must be used to it.

"At least we get cake." This was better than no food and she knew what a day without food was like. Every so often, her mother would prohibit her from eating for a day if she thought Daisy was looking slightly chubbier than usual. Sometimes it would be two consecutive days if her sister convinced her mother. Luckily, some of the staff would sneak her some bread so she wasn't left in pain.

Owen scoffed and shook his head. "Go on. Try the cake then."

She was about to say no because she hadn't finished her rice yet but just thought, why not be wild. Mother isn't here. But as soon as Daisy's tongue made contact with the sponge cake, her face scrunched up and she spat the disgusting thing out.

"Ew. What is it?" She asked, rubbing her tongue with the back of her sleeve to get all the flavour off.

"Cake. Well, prison cake. The cooks here aren't good at dessert and more often than not, will turn, what could've been a decent cake, in to shit. I think they must've used salt or something." He said.

Daisy knew what cake tasted like and that wasn't it. "It's terrible."

"Hello chaps!"

She turned around at the close voice and saw two guys walking towards them. One had almost white hair and wore a smirk while the other, a brunette, had a more neutral expression. Daisy thought both of them were very attractive but because she could see the beginnings of a tattoo at the end of their sleeves, they only made her think of Seth. Every little thing made her think of that man. He was very distracting.

Owen had dropped his spoon on the tray as his hands were shaking violently as soon as the other prisoners sat across from them. His eyes dropped to his tray, not looking at their direction at all.

"Now, I don't think our buddy Seth is going to like what we're seeing here. Shaky's feeling brave huh?" He laughed at Owen.

"You know Seth?" Daisy found herself asking.

The brunette smiled at her. "Everyone knows Seth so I think you should ask a different question, sweatheart."

She thought for a second, fiddling with the ends of her sleeves, and asked, "Are you friends?"

"That we are. We're his best friends and he's asked us to look after you, his angel." The blonde said, rolling his eyes at the nickname Seth called her.

Daisy blushed and mentally cheered that the guy she was thinking about was also thinking about her. She had to admit that maybe she had a tiny crush on him.

She looked at the guys and decided that if Seth trusted them, they must be ok. He wouldn't save her from a creepy stranger just to give her to two other creepy strangers. Unless... she shook her head. Don't over think!

"My name is Daisy." She knew that they already knew her name but it seemed like something you have to say when meeting new people.

"I'm Levi and this goon is Nate." Levi looked at Owen. "You alright, Shaky? Got a little sweat there."

"He's called Owen." Daisy said, knowing he wouldn't speak up to defend himself. Her eyebrows furrowed as she watched his nervous state.

Nate chuckled along with Levi and said, "look at him. The kid is always shaking."

"Am not." Owen muttered feebly but unfortunately, they just laughed harder and even Daisy joined in a little after seeing Owen smile slightly too. They all knew that he was a bit of a wimp.

"So what did you do to get in this hell hole, little Daisy?" Levi brought all their attention back to her, needless to say, making her feel a little nervous.

"I stole a b-bag and erm- hit a police man when I tried to run away." She said, colour rushing to her face at how weak her crime was compared to all the other people in there with her. It wasn't like she wanted to do anything bigger though.

Technically, she did commit the crime but it wasn't her fault at all. If it was anyone's fault, it was her older sisters but Daisy couldn't telling the truth to anyone and risk both of them in prison. Her parents would never forgive her. She remembered how a simple question led to her life changing forever.

flashback

"Want to go shopping, brat?"

Daisy looked up from her book and gave a confused look to her sister. She was leaning on the doorway of the library and as always, she was wearing the designer brands with the logos printed on so people knew how much money she had and who she was wearing. It was like she wore a sign saying, "look at me! I'm rich!"

"Shopping? You want t-to go shopping with m-me?" She asked timidly as she was honestly a little afraid of Anna. Many times had her sister made fun of her for any reason she could think of. If she didn't get her way, she'd go as far as slapping her but would always apologise afterwards. They were sisters so Daisy always forgave her, hoping that their relationship would improve.

"Yeah. Father said I'd get a new car if I spent time with you and got you out of the house." She said, inspecting her freshly manicured nails.

Daisy felt disappointed. She felt silly to assume her sister would want anything to do with her willingly. Anna made it no secret that she hated being seen with her in public so the new car must be important. Daisy didn't want to anger her so she reluctantly put her book on the table and followed Anna out of the house.

~~~

Their whole shopping trip was exhausting to Daisy. They walked along a strip of stores that held products more expensive than some people's houses. She mainly talked to the bodyguard, Bruce, that followed them as Anna walked ahead.

"Hey, bodyguard guy. We're just going in here. You can talk a break or whatever." Anna said to Bruce when they stopped in front of Chanel.

"I'm sorry Miss but your father has given me specific orders to stay by your side at all times." He said with little emotion. Apparently it was part of the job description to never show feelings.

Anna gasped and cocked her hip with smug face as she thought of something, a look that Daisy had seen many times before and it was never followed by good things. "Well, if you don't do as I order then I will get father to fire you because you touched me... inappropriately."

Daisy watched their exchange in horror and couldn't believe she was related to such a person. Her head whipped to see Bruce's reaction and saw that it was as horrified as hers.

"Anna you can't say that! You're just j-joking right?" She asked, laughing nervously.

"It's ok, Miss. I'll be waiting for you in the cafe over there." Bruce said, walking quickly across the street without another word.

"Ugh! Finally. I thought he'd never leave." Anna rolled her eyes, sighing exasperatedly and walking into the store.

Daisy looked down, intimidated by the sales assistants watching them, specifically her, closely. She felt like she was being scrutinised under their watchful eyes, her every move and action being judged.

"You sh-shouldn't have said that to B-Bruce." She muttered, feeling the need to voice her opinion for once.

"Who?" Her sister asked as she sifted through the racks of clothes, barely paying attention to her words. "And you know how much I hate your stuttering, freak."

"S-sorry." She said, looking down. "Bruce is our bodyguard."

"I just wanted some one on one sister bonding time." Anna sent Daisy a tight lipped smile.

Daisy's mouth opened in shock and then she timidly asked, "s-so you don't hate m-me?"

"Hmm? Er- no. Course not."

She smiled in happiness at her sibling's reply. Though it seemed like she was distracted by the many accessories on display, the response was good enough for her. They browsed through the rest of the store, glancing at every single item in detail.

After a few more minutes, Daisy begged to wait outside and after a pleading look for mercy, Anna allowed it. As she stood playing on her phone, her stomach was rumbled in a painful cry out for food. She reminded herself to ask if they could stop by the cafe Bruce was at to get something to eat.

Daisy started to day dream about all the different foods she was craving when her sister walked out of the store with more bags then they started out with.

"Woah. What did you g-get?" She asked, trying to peek into the bags.

Anna placed some on the ground and look through her bags as she said, "just some small stuff but the best thing is... this." She lifted a tote bag and from just a brief uneducated look, Daisy could immediately tell it must've cost several thousands of pounds.

"Oh my gosh! How did you afford that?"

"I didn't. My card is maxed out." She laughed.

With creased eyebrows, Daisy muttered, "b-but how did you..." her question trailed off when she saw the tin foil wrapped around the security tag. "You stole it?!"

"Yes! And be quiet brat. I do this all the time so don't go messing it up for me now." She hissed and looked at the bag like it was her greatest accomplishment.

"B-b-but, that's against the law." Shook her head and reached for the bag, saying louder, "we should take it back b-before we get in trouble."

Anna tugged it back to her, glaring at her sister with hate. "Hey! Get your ow- "

"What's going on there?!" A deep voice shouted from a bit away from them. The two turned around to see two police officers frowning at them while beginning to walk closer.

Daisy wanted didn't want to get in trouble so she gave them a smile small, while also trying to act casual as to not draw any unnecessary attention from the other people shopping. She didn't know whether to tell them it was a mistake and that they were just about to return the bag or to not act suspicious and hope that they go away.

But, she didn't end up making a choice because a loud shriek was heard from inside the shop. "The new bag is gone! Someone stole it!"

Seeing the reaction on the sisters' faces, the policemen instantly knew who were to blame for the missing bag and Anna must've known this as she thrusted the bag into Daisy's hands, shouting, "run!"

Realising there was no time to argue, the little girl sprinted down the streets with the men shouting behind her, telling her to stop. She wanted to stop really badly because she grew a stitch in her side and felt like she sprained both ankles twice as she ran as fast as she could, but it was too late to stop. Just running away from the police was a bad idea but at that moment, she thought her sister was with her and they'd escape together. Only when she turned around, Anna wasn't there but the two policemen were.

"Stop!" They yelled but Daisy could hardly hear it through her heavy panting and the blood rushing to her ears.

She barged past the shocked people in fancy clothing, squeezing through the crowd and trying to lose the people gaining up on her. Daisy started to slow down as the cramps got worst, making her wish she had participated in some form of exercise in her free time.

Finding limited places to run, she turned a corner but tried to turn around when she saw that it was a dead end. However, the two policemen blocked her way out and stared down at her with angry and exhausted expressions.

They started to back her into the wall to cuff her but Daisy panicked and flailed her arms about, hitting one of the with the bag in an attempt to get away. "No! Don't hurt me! Please! I didn't do anything!" She begged, while salty tears ran down her face.

Too tired and too weak to fight anymore, she slouched in their arms, dropping the bag on the ground and giving up as one of them put her hands behind her back and trapped her wrists in metal handcuffs. She whimpered at the feeling and tried to pull her hands free but knew it was impossible.

"Don't even bother. You're not going anywhere." One of them snarled in her ear, yanking her forward. "You alright, mate?" They asked their partner.

"It hurts man."

Daisy looked at him and gasped at the long scratch across the mans cheek. She guessed the metal details on the bag got caught on his face when she hit him with it. Feeling incredibly guilty, she cried out, "I'm s-sorry! I didn't mean to."

The injured guy scoffed and said with sarcasm, "sure you didn't."

"Please don't arrest me. It wasn't my fault! Have you talked to my sister? Anna? Where is she? Is she ok? Did you arrest her too?" She frantically whipped her head in every direction but couldn't find her anywhere in the crowd that had formed around them.

"The girl you were with? Yeah, she told us everything."

flashback ended

It turned out that Anna had told the police it was only Daisy that participated in stealing the bag and she had nothing to do with it. Apparently, they had all the evidence they need to believe her when Daisy ran away and hit the guy.

Her parents were not too thrilled with the news that their daughter was arrested and while they could afford amazing lawyers, they said it would be easier for their family if she took the punishment and told the media that their troubled daughter would learn from her mistakes because of this.

With the promise of a better relationship with her family, Daisy took the punishment but didn't like it one bit. It wasn't as frightening as she thought it would be but it wasn't ideal. It was prison.

"So what did you do?" She asked Owen, trying to get the topic away from her.

He looked slightly embarrassed and awkward as he said, "I erm hacked into your father's company."

She stared at him like he was an alien mutant. Her father owned a computer software company and invented a software to protect people from hackers and viruses. She remembered that a few years ago, someone found and sold a lot of her father's secret information and sold it to competitors. Around that time, she stayed far away from him and his short temper.

"That was you?!" She shouted.

He rubbed the back of his neck and nodded sheepishly. "Lame right?"

Daisy quickly shook her head in disagreement. "Not at all! You must be some sort of genius." She said in awe.

"Well, I sold illegal weapons. Got myself ten years." Levi said, almost proudly.

"That's not a good thing." Daisy said with an incredulous look. "Anyway, Nate. What did you do?"

He said, "robbed a bank with firearms. twenty years."

She desperately wanted to ask what Seth did and opened her mouth to ask but Levi said, "I know what you're going to ask and Seth has got life in prison."

Daisy gasped at the revelation. "Life?! What did he do?"

"He- "

A prison officer interrupted when he barked, "girl inmate! You've got work."

Confused, Daisy slowly got out of her seat, looking around to see if the words were definitely directed to her. She muttered a bye to the guys whilst they too got out of their seats when the bell rang.

The officer brought her to the other side of the prison where it looked like a construction site. Many other inmates were also in there, all moving bricks from the broken walls to a separate room. Daisy had to resist scrunching her face at the sweaty armpits they all seemed to have.

"Your job's easy, girly. Just move these bricks using the wheel barrow from here to here." He gestured to a pile of bricks in the corner of the room and then to a door way where the other inmates went wheeling their bricks.

Nervously looking at the other prisoners, she asked, "d-do I get gloves or a-anything?"

"N-n-no you don't!" He said, mocking her stutter. "Get to work!" The officer ordered loudly so she scampered off to her designated area with people, both officers and prisoners, laughing at her.

As she began to work, her small hands scratched on the rough bricks, causing her to hide a wince. She could feel them watching and heard their nasty snickers all around the room. Everything weighed down on her like heavy bricks on her shoulders and with her emotions piling up, it was only natural that Daisy felt the silent tears fall.