The Prison Project Chapter 122 Margot’s POV

The steel door slammed shut behind Coban, the sound reverberating through the entire cell like a final goodbye…

I stood there for a long moment, staring at the spot we had only just been kissing in, as though if I willed it hard enough, I could be back in that very moment with Coban, wrapped up in his strong hold once again – all before we were interrupted… I felt comfort being in his arms like that, yet they’d come to take him away for a ‘chat’ – but whatever sort of chat they intended, I didn’t know.

He’d walked away with those two men in suits willingly – who looked to be the kind of men who didn’t belong in a prison like this, not in the cell blocks, not this late at night amongst prisoners… They didn’t look like guards, I knew that for a fact, but what they were, I couldn’t begin to even narrow down or guess. They didn’t have the same twitchy posture as the guards. No, these two had pressed suits and polished shoes, voices measured and rehearsed like they were used to boardrooms, not bloodstains.

So who were they? Why had they come here for Coban? What did they want with him?

The questions spun fast in my mind, each one becoming heavier than the last. The way they’d spoken, careful and deliberate, the way they’d glanced at each other before answering – it had been planned and well prepared… But what brought them here?

Sarah.

But what if they really thought Coban was involved in what happened to Sarah… my stomach knotted at the thought.

No. I wouldn’t let myself think that.

I knew what I’d seen. Coban had been the only one who fought to keep her alive. He hadn’t hesitated, hadn’t stood back or called for someone else to handle it – he’d been the one on his knees with her blood soaking through to his shirt, his hands steady even when the rest of us had been falling apart around him. If anyone dared suggest otherwise, I would defend him until the cows came home.

I sank down onto the edge of the bed, the mattress dipping under my weight. My eyes stayed on the door, locked on the spot where he had stood, but all I saw now was the empty space he’d left behind.

My chest felt hollow. How long would he be gone?

As the time went on, I wondered what state Sarah was in right now. The image of her limp body, pale and broken on the bathroom floor, refused to leave my mind. Her blood had been so thick against the floor, too much for someone so small, as I recoiled at the memory that would be etched into my mind forever.

Please let her be okay… Please let her be making a recovery instead of getting worse… But I knew I wouldn’t have answers until at least tomorrow – if anyone even bothered to tell us, but I’m sure Coban would make it a point to find out….

My throat tightened, tears pricking at the corners of my eyes again. I blinked them away quickly, not wanting to fall apart now. Not while I was alone. Not when I needed to keep it together, even just for myself.

A shaky sigh slipped from my lips, echoing out faintly into the quiet cell. “What a hellish fucking day!” I groaned loudly without shame, letting out only a fraction of the frustration I felt on the inside. Being left alone like this to think, I was quickly becoming slightly overwhelmed as I processed it all at record speed…

So much shit had happened today… shit I couldn’t begin to face ever again in my life. I recapped over each terrible encounter, my hand involuntarily moving up to my neck again… It was then that I remembered the small pack of the two pills I still had kept away in the desk drawer – the ones the doctor had given me earlier. Painkillers to help with the ache in my throat.

My neck pulsed faintly at the thought, reminding me of the constant throb that hadn’t fully gone away all day. Curious again, I slowly stood up and padded toward the small bathroom…

The mirror above the sink caught me instantly, my skin pale, my tired eyes rimmed and burning red, my braid slipping messily around my shoulder. But I wasted no time as I reached up and carefully peeled back the edge of the dressing that had remained on my neck, just enough to catch a glimpse of what was now underneath.

The colour nearly made me cry out loud.

Deep purple blotches mixed with ugly shades of brown and yellow, mottled against my pale skin like bruised and tarnished fruit. It was far worse than it had looked this morning, darker now, and spreading… I swallowed hard, quickly tugging the dressing back into place before I could study it too long.

I turned away from the mirror and moved out towards the desk, sliding the drawer open with trembling fingers. The pack waited inside, alongside a capped bottle of water. Coban must have set them here earlier, thinking ahead in a way he’d never admit aloud.

Because deep down, he did care… He did have a heart…

I pressed the pills out from their foil, small white ovals, and twisted the cap off the bottle. My throat felt parched suddenly, bone dry at the thought of swallowing water as it grew more tempting than anything else.

I tipped them back in one go, chasing them down with a deep gulp of water. The cool liquid soothed the raw tightness in my throat, and I finished nearly half the bottle before lowering it again, my chest heaving like I’d been running around for an hour…

The pills would kick in soon, I told myself. They had to. The ache crawling across my throat would dull, my muscles would loosen, and maybe then my thoughts would too – allowing for me to rest up for the night.

I pressed the heel of my palm to my forehead, sinking back down onto the mattress with the bottle still in my hand.

How long would Coban be gone? Where had they taken him?

And, my chest clenched tight at the sudden thought… What if he didn’t come back tonight at all?

I lay back slowly, eyes tracing the cracks in the ceiling, willing myself not to spiral further. But no matter how hard I tried, the silence of the cell pressed in around me.

I needed company. I needed Coban.