Rory bit his lip to stop himself from laughing, took a second to compose himself, then spoke closer to Ollie’s ear.

“You tell him, Teddy, it’s me or the maggots.”

Ollie glared at him, and he couldn’t help but laugh. His side pinched, which made him laugh more. Other inmates were looking, but he didn’t care.

Ollie’s lips twitched into a smile. “It’s not funny.”

“Kind of is,” Rory said, wiping his eyes.

“I genuinely don’t know what to do.”

“If you can’t live with them, get rid of them.”

Ollie shuddered, then pretended to retch. “I can’t touch them…”

“Well, I’m not doing it, I’m still recovering, and I don’t fancy getting pummeled by Teddy.”

“Shit,” Ollie hissed, then he paused. “I guess I could tell one of the guards, get them to remove them.”

“You could.”

Ollie pushed off from the table. “Right.”

Rory chuckled under his breath and went back to reading his book. He stopped when he saw a shadow on the table, someone looming behind him.

“You have a nice laugh.”

It was Sebastian’s deep voice. Rory didn’t know what to say in reply, and by the time he thought of something, a substandard ‘thanks’, Sebastian had gone.

****

Captain sat down at the table with a sigh. His white t-shirt was damp from sweat, and he was breathing hard.

Rory closed his book and lifted his eyebrow. “You all right?”

“Fine.”

“Want me to get you some water.”

“No, I don’t want water.”

Rory frowned. He was bright red, panting harshly, and sweating in buckets. He definitely needed a drink.

Rory went to stand, but Captain slammed his fist on the table. Everyone close by looked over, including Sebastian, who stood up slowly, and fixed Captain with a stern glare. Captain ignored him.

“I said I don’t want a drink right now.”

“Okay, I’m sorry.”

Captain mopped his brow with his t-shirt. “I’ve been in the gym lifting weights.”

“I gathered. Did—did you make an appointment with the—”

“Yeah, hence the exhausting workout.”

“Why are you punishing yourself?”

Captain closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Got to prove I’m not weak.”

“Asking for help isn’t weak.”

“I didn’t ask for help, I asked for an appointment with a shrink, that’s all, one appointment, to prove it won’t help.”

Sebastian cleared his throat, and they both looked up at him. A man stood beside him with the same haunted look Captain had. His head was shaved, and on his overworked bicep, he had a tattoo of a lion sitting on a crown.

“This is Sergeant Zeke Chambers. He served two years in Afghanistan. Lost his leg to a bomb blast.”

Zeke grinned, then patted what Rory assumed was his injured leg. “I’ve nailed down a natural stride though, best prosthetic money can buy.”