Shane leant her head back against the cold cement wall, trying hard to ignore the numerous stares she was getting from the other women in the holding cell. She had been in situations like this before, and knew it was best to just ignore people. If she didn’t, she’d probably just get into a fight and get the shit beaten out of her. The man she had hit dropped charges, the shame of being beaten up by a woman would probably be too much for him to handle. She’d been here for what seemed like years, and she’d probably be there a lot longer. Alice had sounded none too happy, and she wished she could have called someone else, but she knew after what happened Alice would probably be the only one who would sit through an entire 5-hour drive back to LA. “If only Carmen…. No. Forget about Carmen. She’s obviously forgotten about you.” She thought, “God, I miss her so fucking much. The way she feels, the way she tastes, the way she smells, sometimes like flowers or fruit, and sometimes like Mexican food depending on whether she’d been to her mom’s that day or not. Hell, I even miss her mom! What a sweet lady…” The door to the cell slammed open, and her head snapped back up hopefully. Unfortunately, the officer pointed to a different woman, who was obviously a regular because the cop didn’t even need to call out her name, before walking out with her and locking the cell, once again leaving Shane alone with the deafening silence. She had never been claustrophobic, but right now it felt like the walls were closing in on her. She hated this place. Hated how it smelled like vomit from the drunks and the way everyone’s eyes were roaming over her body shamelessly. Hated the flickering fluorescent lights that made it seem like the kind of place she used to go to get high, before Carmen, that is… She still hadn’t touched any drugs ever since the Latina came into her life, well, except alcohol. And cigarettes. “Speaking of which, I wish I had one right now.” She thought, praying Alice would decide to show up soon. The door opened, and the woman yelled out

“McCutcheon, Shane!” Shane grinned and jumped up, following the officer out and into the lobby where Alice was standing with a hand on her hip.