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CHAPTER 16

Caitlin sat in the same spot in the yard while the other girls spent their yard time in motion around her. She didn't feel like moving at all, even after being locked in the small cell for the last two days. She watched as some of them played basketball on the court on the far side of the yard, while others did their own thing in other parts. Still, though, her eyes kept coming back to dark stain on the grass in the middle courtyard.

As she stared, she could see a girl on the far side of the yard sitting almost exactly like her on a bench against the wall, and she was also transfixed by the grass. Caitlin watched the girl and when she paid attention, she could see the girl's shoulders shaking in what had to be sobs. The other girls left her alone just as they did Caitlin, and it made her wonder.

Finally, she stood and made her way around the yard, avoiding the basketball game. She sat next to the other girl, a cute house cat around the same age as her, maybe a little older, she guessed. She had tabby markings on her head and a long, lithe tail behind her, but her ears were flat to her head and Caitlin could see the shine of her wet cheeks while she stared sadly at the grass in the central yard.

"I'm Caitlin," she said softly as she sat.

"Poppy," the cat said, not taking her eyes off the grass.

"I saw you yesterday," Caitlin said, looking over at the girl's face. "Did you know Lilly?"

Poppy's head snapped up at the mention of the name and she looked in wide-eyed shock at Caitlin. "How did you know her name?"

Caitlin held up her hands in a gesture of peace and regarded the other girl with a confused look. "Momma Wolf told me. How did you?"

Poppy's face softened and she turned back to looking at the grass. "She was my friend," she said through tears falling from her eyes. "We were friends outside."

Caitlin thought about that for a minute as her eyes wandered around the yard. For the most part, the other girls were ignoring the two of them, and she had to wonder, because it seemed that everyone in the yard got along with everyone else. All the dramas on television that she saw had everyone fighting all the time, but here, no one seemed angry with anyone else, and it was more like being in a well-ordered boarding school. At the door to the yard, Orfeo looked out over the group with her watchful eye.

"You knew Lilly before you got here?" Caitlin asked.

Poppy nodded. "We were best friends."

Caitlin's eyes widened in understanding. If this girl was best friends with Lilly, then...

"Were you at the store with her?"

Poppy nodded again. "We were both there."

"So you saw what happened. Did she really kill two people?"

Poppy shook her head and looked down at her toes. "No, she didn't. I did."

Caitlin felt like she'd been struck. She sat up a little straighter with a look of disbelief on her face. Poppy saw it and scoffed. "It doesn't take a big person to shoot someone."

"But...why?" Caitlin couldn't understand.

"We were broke. We'd been on the streets together for a year and everything that we had was gone. We couldn't even find anyone to fuck us for money and we were starving." Poppy looked up at the far wall and her eyes glazed as she remembered back. "We went to a little store down the block from where we were sleeping, and all we wanted was a sandwich or two. But the guy, he pulled a gun from behind the counter and he pointed it at Lilly."

The girl's face hardened as she continued. "I was so scared that he was going to shoot Lilly, so I jumped at him and grabbed it. It was just a second, and then there was a really loud bang and he was on the ground bleeding."

Poppy shuddered and her hands found each other in her lap and she started rubbing her thumbs up and down along the backs of her hands. "Another man came in and saw what we did, and I couldn't get arrested and leave Lilly, so I pointed the gun at him and I shot him. Then we ran away."

Caitlin watched all the emotion play over Poppy's face and she reached out tentatively to lay a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Why didn't you tell them?" she asked with a hint of accusation in her voice.

"I did, but they didn't want to listen to me. They said that the evidence said that we both did it. The only reason she was there was because we were hungry and she wouldn't stay behind."

"Wait, they said you both did it?"

Poppy nodded. "My trial is tomorrow."

Caitlin's breath caught in her throat and she looked down at Poppy. Suddenly, things made sense. Her at the window like Caitlin, the other girls leaving them alone when everyone else was getting friendly. They all knew that it was only a matter of time before they saw one or both of them out in the yard.

"They put Lilly in this yard instead of another one because of me. They knew that I killed those guys, but they wanted me to watch Lilly pay for it before I went to trial," Poppy said with a shiver. "Sinclair came to my cell and he told me that when he locked her out there."

Caitlin nodded. That sounded a lot like Sinclair. Why punish just one person when you can torture two at a time? "Poppy, I'm sorry."

Poppy shook Caitlin's hand angrily from her shoulder and glared at her. "Sorry don't help, new girl."

Poppy stood up and glared down at Caitlin. "Now you know why I did it, why did you?"

Caitlin was speechless in the face of the other girl's anger and she stuttered. "I can't remember if I did or not," she said as she looked down, away from the accusatory stare. "I don't remember anything from that night. "

"They must have gotten you pretty good if they're putting you in front of the Mag' so quick," Poppy said.

Caitlin shrugged. "The inspector said that I was on drugs and that's what caused it, but I've never done anything like that in my life." She didn't mention the thoughts that she had about Hunter. She still didn't want to believe that her lover and her friend could have drugged her so that she'd kill everyone at the party. Even as a prank, she couldn't seem to figure it out.

"You don't do C?" Poppy asked. "All the newsies sayin' you do."

Caitlin shook her head with her eyes still cast down to her feet. "I haven't even ever lit up a cigarette," she said.

Poppy eyed her through narrowed eyelids and then nodded. "I believe you," she said as she sat back down. Together, they looked out over the yard, not saying much.

Slowly, Poppy's arm crept around Caitlin's shoulders and before long, Caitlin did the same. "Don't worry, Caitlin," Poppy said. "Momma Wolf remembers everyone. She'll remember you."

Caitlin couldn't think of anything to say, and as if they'd planned it, both girls wrapped their arms around each other and they sat for the rest of their yard time sobbing on each other's shoulders.