Can’t Win Me Back by Ginger Sue

Landon had beaten up Zoe quite badly. Two of her ribs were broken, so her treatment at the detention center was marginally better than Betty's. At least, Zoe was placed in a single cell, spared from the torments of other inmates.

Zoe coughed up blood every day. She didn't even have the energy to cause a racket. Every day, she lay stiffly in bed and cried. "Help me. I'm going to die... I drank the blood of someone with HIV. I'm going to be infected. Save me, please!"

Strangely enough, Betty's ruse had an effect. Zoe was plagued by constant fear, her days filled with bouts of vomiting triggered by the vile words she had heard.

It was a shame that no one bothered about her.

Despite her suffering, Zoe endured until the news of her impending medical parole revitalized her. In a sudden surge of energy, she sat up, laughing and crying hysterically in front of the prison guard and her attorney, Horace Finch, appearing unhinged.

"I knew it! I knew that Grandpa and Mom wouldn't abandon me! I just knew it!" Zoe exclaimed, her laughter bordering on madness. "Landon tried to end my life... but only in his dreams!"

was foolish and unrepentant. Even the prison

she might attack him like a rabid animal, necessitating a rabies vaccine. Instead,

Why do I have to ride with

you are still

her frustration. "You can't even get this little bit right. What is our family paying you

clenched his teeth in

the detention center, her wrists restrained by handcuffs,

a somber mood. Despite the dismal atmosphere, Zoe looked up at the sky with anticipation, inhaling the fresh air

convinced that she would escape legal consequences unscathed,