daisy

"Oh my. I can't wait to start! I have denied every single inmate that wanted to work here but I just couldn't deny the sweet girl that was always so polite and said her 'please' and 'thank yous," Mrs Patel gushed in her thick Indian accent the minute Daisy arrived in the large kitchen.

The petite girl shifted on her feet, feeling awkward and wondering if the lady was going to start pinching her cheeks.

Once they began to work, Daisy decided she had fallen in love with her new job. The dinner lady didn't watch her every move as she was left to do her own thing independently. In fact, Mrs Patel ran in and out of the room as if in a constant hurry.

Daisy was given the task to make a large batch of soft bread rolls and although it was an easy task, she managed to make the most out of it.

She made three different animals, pigs, hedgehogs and bunnies, to give them an option of which one to choose but hoped that they'd still eat them even if they were vegetarian. Shaping the creatures with a smile on her face, she wondered how the other prisoners were going react to the buns and if it would be a positive reaction.

Feeling someone hover over her shoulder, she turned out shrieked when she saw Mrs Patel's face extremely close to her own. The woman stared down at the handmade bread animals with a look of awe.

"These are amazing, pet! People are going to be fighting over them." She praised with a astonishment, patting Daisy on the back.

"Thank you," She replied quietly, frowning in concentration as she stabbed holes in the last bunny to make little eyes. After cautiously putting the tray in the oven, she asked Mrs Patel if there anything else to do.

"Finished?" The woman asked, to which Daisy replied with a nod. "I guess you could start cleaning up. I didn't expect you to finish so quickly." Conversationally, she added, "I assume you like to bake then?"

Daisy smiled slightly at remembering all the times she'd bring mini muffins to the guards that would be forced to stand outside her house and then her mind drifted to the bread currently baking in the large oven. "Sometimes I'd make animal bread for the people at the homeless shelter. It would brighten their day and the children love it." She reminisced.

Her hands paused in scrubbing the counter top as she frowned sadly, thinking about the children. She had promised that she would make hippo bread for them to dip in their soup.

"What's wrong, pet?" Mrs Patel asked, seeing the nearly distraught look on her face.

"I-I won't be there to hand out the bread. The children will be disappointed. I had promised them and now I will have b-broken it." She explained her with wide eyes.

The lady pursed her lips and rubbed her shoulder sympathetically. "I'm sure they'll understand. At least your talents won't go to waste while you're here. I can't wait to see people's reactions to your little bread creatures."

Daisy responded with a weak laugh as she carried the dirty equipment to the sink for cleaning. She appreciated Mrs Patel's attempt to cheer her up but it didn't really work. Baking was just another reminder of what her life was like before being locked up. Now, people outside of prison that would see her as a criminal and she knew the parent's of the children wouldn't let her near their children ever again if she ever did get out.

"-sy! Daisy!"

She jumped in the air and accidentally dropped the large metal bowl on the floor with a loud clatter when she heard her name being shouted.

"I'm sorry for scaring you but I couldn't get your attention after calling your name many times." Mrs Patel told her with an apologetic look.

"S-sorry. I was in another world." Daisy picked up the bowl and noticed Dave in the kitchen with them. She gave him a small wave as he smiled kindly to her.

"Anyway, Dave just wanted to talk to you." The lady said, taking the bowl from her hands.

Stepping forward, the friendly prison officer said, "I just wanted to quickly let you know that you are moving cells so when you're ready, I'll walk you there."

"W-what?" She asked in a cracked whisper. Why does everything bad happen to me?! She whined in her head at her misfortune, wondering whether Owen had complained about her to one of the officers. She had made a conscious effort to be a clean cellmate and honestly, it wasn't like she took up a lot of space.

Mrs Patel clapped her hands with a grin, gaining Daisy's attention. "Oh! You can leave early, pet. I'll finish up here."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded in confirmation, already walking away to check on her other dishes.

"Let's go then." Dave gestured towards to door.

Nervously wringing her hands, Daisy walked with him through the almost completely empty hallways and to her new cell. "Why a-am I getting a new cell?" She asked, keeping her voice low as to not attract attention from the people around them.

"An inmate told me you were in a cell with someone who has history with your father. I talked to the Governor and we both thought it would be better to move you away from him. You'll also be in a more secluded part of the prison so you won't be asleep surrounded by other inmates. That's why we're walking further." He explained.

Her eyebrows creased as she looked up at him. "An inmate? Who?"

"Seth."

Daisy's eyes widened at the name. He knew Owen wouldn't hurt her, or at least she thought he did. He was only a hacker, practically harmless, and he was, most importantly, her friend. Though, she did remember his friends expressing his dislike and also him saying he'd 'sort it' when she told him she had a cellmate. She didn't realise how serious he was.

"You trust Seth more than Owen?" The girl asked, perplexed.

He shrugged. "He's a good guy, despite what everyone thinks. He's not given me a reason to hate him."

"B-but everyone's scared of him."

Dave raised an eyebrow and lifted his arms in a pose. "Have you seen these muscles? I have no reason to fear him." He said with a cocky look, making the little girl giggle.

She remembered when her father would spend time to make her laugh with his goofy jokes. But when she grew up, his time would be spent working so it was up to her to make herself laugh with her own goofy jokes. It wouldn't have the same effect though.

Daisy looked around and saw an abundance of unoccupied cells that looked clean and practically brand new, making her wonder why she wasn't put in one of them when she first arrived. "Am I moving t-to an e-empty one?"

"And we're here." The prisoner officer announced, before saying, "open cell 101," in his walkie talkie.

His complete disregard to her question made her suspicious and even more nervous than she already was. After the cell opened, she leaned over and peeked her head in the side to see if it was empty. To her surprise, it wasn't and she was met with a topless Seth with a smirk on his face.

"Thanks, man." She heard him say but most of her attention was on his tattooed chest. As much as she tried to tear her eyes away, she couldn't until she was lightly pushed into the cell and stumbled into Seth's arms.

"Look after her."

"Yes, Sir!" Seth saluted mockingly after the officer closed the cell. As soon as Dave left, she felt knuckles graze softly over her burning hot cheeks. She was, after all, in the presence of a topless man that had the body of a model. It would be an understatement to say it was be the first time. "You're always so nervous around me, angel. Your cheeks get adorably pink every time I see you. It's cute."

"B-because you're n-naked." She stuttered with embarrassment, attempting to keep her eyes off his chest.

He chuckled. "I've got pants on."

Daisy pouted as he laughed at her and decided to change the subject to avoid any more humiliation. "W-why did you talk to Dave a-about moving me here?"

His light-hearted expression disappeared as soon as she asked. "I didn't want you staying with that boy anymore." But then, he smiled smugly. "Don't pretend you aren't happy to be here, little angel."

She was about to flounder a reply but winced when he took her hands in hers. Mrs Patel tried to convince her to visit the nurse but after adamantly refusing, she was just made to wear gloves when cooking the food. Making the bread was painful for her still healing hands but she didn't dare complain about it.

"You've not gone to the nurse yet?! I told you I didn't do them very good so they could be infected by now." He told her angrily, yet his eyes held worry and his actions were gentle when he lifted her hands to inspect them, despite not seeing anything through the paper towels.

"I-I couldn't be bothered." She was too afraid and too lazy to ask someone to take her and then walk all the way to there.

Seth shook his head and walked to the cell doors, before banging the bars with his fist. "Oi! My girl needs to go to the nurse!"

Scared, she tried to stop him by pulling on his arm but clearly, it didn't effect him as he wrapped the arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head. Of course, she stopped moving at the affectionate gesture and instead gazed happily into space.

Loud footsteps came towards them as the cell opened and a large tanned man in prison uniform stood in front of them. "Someone wanted to go to the nurse?" He asked with a bored tone.

"She needs her hands checked out." Seth told the man and then turned to Daisy to see her looking at him sadly. He kissed her nose and patted her on the butt to urge her forward when she didn't move. "You'll be fine and it'll be over before you know it."

~~~

"Come in." A kind voice called from behind the white door after the man knocked on it. He didn't say much on the way there but it didn't bother Daisy at all as she was too panic-stricken to make conversation.

The room looked like the typical doctors room with an examination table, scales and cabinets full of things she didn't understand. A pretty blonde woman, most likely in her early twenties, smiled warmly at her from behind her desk. "Hello. I'm Maria. You must be the Daisy I've been hearing so much about."

"H-hello."

"The girl needs you to check her hands." The man from beside her said to Maria.

She nodded and politely gestured for Daisy to take a seat on the table, which she did after much difficulty. "Thanks Lionel. I'll call you when I'm done." Once the two women were alone, the nurse freed her hands from the bandages Seth made and winced as they unveiled the sore red cuts, still a little caked with blood. "Ouch. How did this happen?"

"I had to p-pick up bricks." Daisy told her, trying not to cry like a baby as alcohol was rubbed onto her skin.

"I see. So I'm guessing prison life has been terrible so far."

She shrugged, not knowing how to answer. She had imagined prison to be much worse and frankly, she loved every second spent with Seth. It made her feel alive and everything that has happened so far was much more exciting than the life she had lived before.

"So... do you have a cellmate?" Maria asked.

Daisy realised the nurse was one of those people that needed to fill every silence where as she would rather sit in an uncomfortable silence than force a conversation. Although, a female friend would be nice while being in an all male prison. "Yeah. I-I just moved into a new cell."

Surprise was evident on her face when she heard this. "I didn't think they'd put you with someone. Y'know. Considering you've got a vajayjay and all. That's inhumane!" Maria said with a frown as she wrapped some clean white bandages on Daisy's hands. "Who're you rooming with?"

"Seth-"

She was instantly cut off by a loud squeal. "SETH KNIGHT?! Oh my gosh! I'm so jealous. You're so lucky." That took Daisy aback as she leaned away from the woman with a startled expression. Maria seemingly didn't notice Daisy's discomfort while she carried on with her excitement. "He's so insanely hot and even though he never says anything every time he comes in here, I feel like we have a connection and it's just meant to be. I can tell he can feel it too."

Do they really have a connection? Daisy asked to herself. She thought she had felt one with Seth but it seemed that it was just some sort of magic spell he put every woman under. Maybe she was delusional and he actually liked Maria. She felt deflated at the thought of they guy she liked, being with someone else.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I've made you uncomfortable. I'll stop." The nurse said when Daisy didn't say anything.

"No, i-it's fine. I understand." She replied weakly, while an unsettling feeling bubbled in her chest.

"I know he looks terrifying and dangerous but he's probably a real big softie. Anyway, every girl likes a bad boy right?" Maria laughed, while Daisy had to force one out.

It sounded like Seth was friendly to the nurse as well, which did not make her feel better at all. She assumed that he only had a soft spot for her but it turned out that maybe that wasn't the case at all. Daisy hated how Maria thought she needed to tell her Seth was a softie. I ALREADY KNOW! She wanted to scream but just gave a tight lipped smile and jumped off the table when her hands were bandaged up.

"Thank you for helping me." She said, more than ready to leave the room.

"That's alright. It was nice to talk to a girl for once and if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask. Us girls have to stick together in this place."

Ugh. I wish you were mean.

~~~

It was near the end of dinner when she finally went back to her cell after taking advantage of Maria's private bathroom. Too exhausted to fight her way through the canteen, she decided to skip the food and just go straight to her cell. Maybe she could have an early night and fall asleep before Seth came back.

But unfortunately, he was already in the cell waiting patiently for her, this time with a white t-shirt on and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. Thankfully, it was unlit so she hurriedly pulled the thing out of his mouth with a frown. "No! You smoke?" Guess everyone can't be perfect.

"Problem?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

Frantically nodding, she said, "yes! You can d-die from these. You can get cancer. D-don't you care?"

He shrugged an indication that he didn't care. "Everything gives you cancer nowadays, apparently." Daisy tried to ignore how true that was. "But, if it bothers you that much, I'll stop."

"I-it bothers me." She confirmed.

He pulled out a box of cigarettes from his pocket and threw them through the bars of the cell. "Then, I'll stop. Now tell me how my little chef is doing." He said.

"Huh?"

"You made the little bread things right? I mean, it's pretty obvious it was you. People were confused at first, as you naturally are when you see little bread animals being served in a mens prison, but they loved them. Some were even fighting for the last ones." Seth said, looking proudly at her. She wondered if he ever gave the same look to Maria.

"Did you like them?" She asked, shyly.

He put his hands on the sides of her waist and pulled her towards him, only she tried to squirm away when she reminded herself that this was not her man. Maria liked him and she was likely more deserving of him too. The nurse was stunning and obviously not shy and awkward like herself. Daisy didn't doubt that Seth would fall for someone like the blonde bombshell.

"Yeah, I loved them." He held her chin in his thumb and forefinger to lift her head up with his eyes meeting hers. "Hey. What's the matter? Are your hands still hurting?" He asked her, surprisingly softly in his husky voice.

She shook her head. "N-no. They're fine now. Maria bandaged them up." She emphasised Maria's name and watched his reaction closely but it didn't really change, though maybe he seemed a little more confused.

Suddenly, it looked like a lightbulb lit in his head as he reached inside his blanket, which she now realised was much thicker than her own, and pulled out a plastic container. "I know. You must be hungry. Luckily, that dinner lady person sneaked me this because you missed dinner." She opened it and saw some meatballs and spaghetti. When she looked up at him in awe, she saw Seth unfold a ball of tissue to uncover three of the buns she made, one in each animal. "I also took these from Nate and Levi. They weren't happy but whatever."

For the first time ever, she felt cared for. After living with people that couldn't care less whether or not she went to sleep hungry, it made her a little emotional to know that Seth, someone who had only known her for a few days, was so considerate of her.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Are you angry I made you go to the nurse? Angry that I didn't try the buns? Because I lied. I got these buns from other inmates and ate five myself." He said, sitting on the seat in front of a small desk and placing the food on it, before making her sit sideways on his lap with her legs hanging off. To add to more of her embarrassment, he began to feed her the food.

"I can feed myself." She grumbled, reluctant to open her mouth and give in to his babying, despite her stomach making very loud whale noises.

He looked at her in bewilderment. "But how? You're so small."

Daisy gave him her most menacing glare but unfortunately, it only made him chuckle, which she felt through her entire body as she leaned comfortably on his chest. Sighing, he gave in, making her do a little victory dance in her head as she ate the food with a satisfied smile.

After finishing her little meal, Seth didn't let go off her with his arms wrapped tightly around her midsection so she was practically immobile. He tried to make conversation by asking her questions about her favourite books, knowing that she liked to read, but because Daisy was disheartened by the knowledge that Maria was the one that held the key to his heart, she kept her answers short. She was eager to go to bed and get away from his intoxicating smell that she was positive was hypnotising her.

"Ok. I can't take it anymore. What has got my angel looking so glum, huh? Tell me now." From the tone of his voice, she knew he wasn't taking any answer that was less than the truth.

Keeping her head down and avoiding his eyes, she fiddled with the bottom of his top in an attempt to distract herself from the embarrassment she'd feel in the next few seconds. "Maria likes you." She said, trying to hide the sadness from her voice.

"And Maria is...?" He trailed off.

"The nurse." She mumbled, confused about why he didn't know.

"And you're sad because...?"

"You like her too." Daisy concluded.

She felt him tuck her hair behind her ear, grazing her cheek softly whilst doing so. "I can assure you, my jealous little kitten, that I do not like her."

Finally looking up, she saw him looking at her so many emotions that it would overwhelm her to decipher them all. "A-are you sure?" She asked, not even denying that she was jealous.

Chuckling, he said, "positive. Y'know why?" Daisy shook her head. "Because, I very much like you. I'm completely obsessed with you, actually."

She wanted to ask why and how that was even possible but she didn't want to risk sounding like an insecure teenage girl fishing for compliments. So, she tucked her head under his chin and confessed, "I like you too." Unfortunately, it was said through a yawn, interrupting their moment.

"C'mon, sleepy girl. Let's go to bed." He lifted her up to her feet so they could brush their teeth in the tiny shared sink. Like a gentlemen, he let her go first with the little energy she had left.

She crawled under the thin blankets of the bottom bunk as Seth seemed to have claimed the top one with his thick duvet and puffy pillow. She'd reminded herself to ask how he got those in the morning.

"What are you doing?"

"S-sleepy." She said, yawning again.

"You're sleeping with me in the top bunk." He walked to her with arms out, ready to carry her up to his bed.

"Nooo." She whined, when he pulled away her blanket.

"You'll get cold." Seth said, sternly.

"I'm fine." She blushed at the thought of sleeping in the same bed as him.

Finally, his hands stopped tugging her away but then a heavy weight fell on top of her. Seth had covered her with his blanket, making her feel like she was in a cocoon of warmth. He proceeded to climb in with her and carefully pull her on top of him. Too tired to complain, she just snuggled into his chest.

"Well, I'll get cold. Keep me warm."

"M'kay." She said, smiling to herself. "If you insist."

~~~

Thank you for reading!

Wattpad hasn't been working on my app recently, which is where I write the chapters, so that's been more than annoying.

Hopefully, you've not forgotten about me and that this book does exist. Thank you to new and old readers because this book hit 100k reads while I was away, which is unbelievable!

Also, here are the animal bread things that Daisy made!



Is the book going too fast? Too soon to say they like each other?

WORD COUNT: 3845

Much love <3

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