Chapter 4: Difficult Decision

Lydia lay on the long bench in the cell with her face towards the ceiling as she reflected on her conversation with Mister Jayden White.

Marriage for her freedom wasn't marriage, and it wasn't an option. She had always believed love should be the only reason anyone should marry, and that hadn't changed yet.

She snapped out of her thoughts when the cell bars unlocked and opened. Her eyes darted to the bars, and she saw the officer standing before two women about to enter the cell. The black-haired woman to his left wore a black crazy jean, and her hair looked too messy for the morning. She stood almost the same height and size as Officer Jackson and looked terrifying. Her mascara looked messy and scary, and the way she stared at Lydia made her tremble inside in fear. The brunette woman on his right looked more decent in her sundress and black hose. She, however, had a creepy smile on her face, and the mischievousness of it also ticked Lydia off in the wrong way.

Officer Jackson stepped out of the way, and the two women entered the cell confidently. He shut the door and walked away from the ward.

The two women walked to the other side of the cell and sat there, and Lydia did her best to keep her gaze away from them. She had never been in this situation before, but she had watched enough movies to know that the best way to get into trouble with someone who seemed dangerous was to lock eyes with them.

Lydia never made friends at work because she had begun dating Anthony a month after he employed her, and that made a few of her colleagues who had gotten along well with her stay off. She didn't bother because she still had her best friend from college, Jules Mariano. Four months into dating Anthony, he told her to end her friendship with Jules because he didn't trust her. She had no one now—no friend, brother, or boyfriend—and no one was coming for her.

"I'm talking to you." Lydia heard a growl following the question, and she snapped out of her thoughts only to find the blonde-haired woman standing before her with a murderous look.

Lydia looked confused, staring at the woman towering above her. "What?"

The angry woman scoffed and turned to the brunette. "Did you hear that? Now she's insinuating I was speaking gibberish, Summer."

"I think you should teach her a lesson, Beth." The brunette named Summer replied with a devilish giggle.

Lydia's hands shot out to protect herself; she had been through enough to face another physical abuse. Her poor body would not take it. "No, please do not hurt me. I will do what you want."

"Then why are you still sitting on my seat?" Beth growled at her.

Lydia raced to her feet with her legs trembling, and Beth sat and folded her hands across her chest, laying her head against the wall.

Lydia stared around the cell and found the third bench Beth had been sitting on before Lydia wandered off into her thoughts. She moved over and sat on it, her body still trembling. Beth's head turned to her, and her blue eyes darkened.

"What the fuck do you think you are doing?" Beth demanded.

Lydia's eyes grew weary, not knowing what she had done this time; nonetheless, she shook her head. "Nothing."

"It doesn't look like nothing." Beth growled at her, "Why are you in my seat?"

Lydia pointed to her seat, which Beth had taken over, not knowing what she was missing. "I thought you already took a new one."

Beth's jaw bone flecked, and she couldn't tell if it was normal or if deciding the best way to deal with her. "You thought one bench was enough for me?"

Summer giggled from her corner and twirled her hair around her finger. "You should have taught her a lesson when I told you to. People never learn until they are taught a lesson."

"You are right." Beth rose from the bench.

Lydia ran off to her feet, but not fast enough because Beth reached out and grabbed her by the hair, painfully pulling at it.

"Help me! Please help me!!" Lydia raised the alarm, and the fist that collided with her face the next second silenced her. Beth followed with another punch, and Lydia's bones cracked. She swore she saw stars as blood pooled in her mouth.

Beth shoved her onto the floor, "This is where you should be." She spat at Lydia.

"What the hell is happening here?" the voice of the officer who brought them in asked.

Beth stepped away from her with her hands held up. "Nothing, officer. We are just playing around." then, staring at her, she asked, "Isn't that right?"

Lydia nodded weakly, "Yes."

The officer brought Lydia into the medical unit at the station so the nurse, Zara Austin, would attend to her. Beth's fist had wreaked havoc on her, which would take a while to heal. She should be used to physical abuse, having endured the ones Anthony inflicted on her for many years, but she wasn't. This hurt every part of her body, and it will take a while to recover.

The stranger, Mister Jayden White, was right; she wouldn't survive prison, and that was where she headed. She will have no right, no voice, and not enough strength to defend herself.

The nurse withdrew the cotton wool and closed the first aid box to move it away, and the officer, Jackson, walked into the room.

"Any major wound?" he asked.

She placed the box under her desk and shook her head. "No, but she needs to keep the wound on the side of her face treated or risk infection." She replied.

Officer Jackson walked over to her. "Would you like to stay here for a little while before returning to your cell?" he asked.

Lydia felt terrified by the thought of returning to the cell after what had happened. "I'll be going back there?" she asked, her voice breaking towards the end.

He gave her a pitiful look. "We have only two cells at the stations, the male and the female. We cannot put you in the male cell; it will be worse for you." He replied.

Lydia feared she would die in there before the day ended for sure. "They will kill me."

Officer Jackson looked torn by her words, but there wasn't much he could do.

"Look, I am not supposed to tell you this, but the man that visited you this morning signed in the visitor's book, and it has his number," he said. "You could call him and ask for help."