I was in the mood to write today, and this idea literally just came to me. It's going to be a four-chapter story, focusing on the struggles that both Nicky and Lorna have faced in their lives, and how they find comfort in each other. Let me know what you think in the review section, please. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy this. (:
Damaged Souls
Rain pours down on a hot summer's day – in early June – making it difficult for Nicky Nichols to light her cigarette as she walks down the street from the bar. She lets out a grunt, trying even harder to get it to work. Her body desperately craves the thin little lung-killer; she hasn't had one since the night before. Finally, it catches and she happily starts smoking it. She holds it between her fingers while continuing her way down the street and in the direction of her apartment.
Arriving at the building, she decides to take the stairs for the extra exercise that she knows her body might benefit from. And it's not like she has too far to go since her place is located on the second floor, so it's not that bothersome for her to walk. She gets her key out from her purse and let's herself in to her apartment. A furry creature comes to greet her – her stray cat, Smokey, that she found a few years ago, abandoned as a kitten. Most of the people she knew could have never imagined her to have a pet cat – and frankly, neither did she – but she felt sorry for the little thing, and could relate to his situation, which brought her to taking him in.
Nicky burns out her cigarette and throws it out before bending down to give the cat a pet. "Good to see ya too, Smokes," she smirks as he rubs up against her – begging for her undivided attention. She scoops him up, carrying him into the living room with her where she plops herself down on the couch and grabs the remote. The cat curls onto her lap while she's busy flipping through the channels.
The minute she finds a good show her phone goes off and she groans excessively loud. Annoyed, Nicky gets it out from her pocket while giving an irritated 'hello' to whoever decided to ruin her night. "You do not speak to your mother in such a nasty tone, Nicole!" That voice makes Nicky groan even louder – she can't stand her mother, the woman who's done absolutely nothing a real mother would do. "Look here, young lady, I got a call from your landlord again, and hear that you're not paying your rent! I swear to God you better not be spending the money Paolo and I so kindly gave to you on those nasty drugs! Because if that's the case, you can kiss our kindness goodbye. I'm not working hard to pay for my daughter's drug addiction, Nicole," Mrs. Nichols' voice rings loudly into the redhead's ear.
"Fuck off, Marka," Nicky says bitterly, stroking a hand through her cat's fur. "You know damn well you only gave me that money so I would be outta your hair! You told me to get the fuck outta your house because you don't have the time for me anymore! So, you can go fuck yourself, Marka – I'm tired of your shit!" She hangs up the phone before her mother has the chance to say anything else and angrily throws it back in her pocket. She grabs the cat from her lap, gives him a gentle stroke behind his ear, and then places him on the couch. A nice evening of watching her favorite shows turns into a rage-filled evening of wanting to do drugs; she grabs her purse and runs back out of her apartment.
Just getting off her shift of waiting tables at a local restaurant, Lorna Morello decides to take an evening stroll through town and get herself a much-needed cup of coffee. As she passes by an alley, she can hear arguing and things falling loudly to the concrete ground – so she slowly walks over to have a look at what's going on. A woman with a bush of thick and somewhat-matted red hair is yelling angrily at another darker-toned woman – who's nearly a head taller than her – who looks about ready punch her.
Lorna hesitantly walks closer, hoping she can somehow stop the two of them before the police catch them – as they tend to patrol the city this time of night. "Uh, is everything okay over here?" Her voice meek as she asks this, looking the two over nervously. She probably shouldn't have come over here – what business is it of hers? But she can't stand to see or hear people fighting, so she feels it's her duty to try to stop them.
The darker woman turns to stare at who's interrupted them, angrily rolling her eyes. "This doesn't concern you – get the fuck outta here before I shoot you!" She harshly growls, reaching into her pocket, and pulling out a gun. She points it at her to show her she means business. "You better turn around and walk back to your privileged little life, white girl. Ain't nothin' for you to do here," she hisses, before turning her attention back to the redhead.
Ignoring the woman's order that she leaves, Lorna continues to stand there and observe what's going on between the two. She notices the secret exchange between them, and comes to realize she's witnessing a drug deal take place right before her eyes. Her palms become sweaty as she continues to watch it all play out – she's never been around drugs before and it's giving her a bad feeling. Finally, the darker woman leaves but not before she harshly whispers something into the redhead's ear.
Feeling it's safe now, Lorna finds herself walking closer to the other woman – who's just a few inches taller than herself. "Are, are you okay?" She asks softly, studying her features, and notices the track marks that run up and down this woman's arm. It makes her cringe to see her body's getting destroyed by drug use. "Sorry…I know it's not my business or nothing – I just I heard yelling and got worried," she looks down at the ground, not sure how this person will react to her question.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Nothing for you to worry bout', kid," the redhead responds, her voice throaty – indicating to Lorna that she's probably a hardcore cigarette smoker. Looking down at the petite brunette, her big brown eyes pour into hers as she places a smirk on her face. "You always go around stopping people from fighting? You could get yourself killed doing that, you know kid?" She chuckles a bit as she gets a cigarette from her pocket and lights it up. "I'm Nicky, by the way. What about you, huh?"
Lorna stares back up at her as she shrugs her shoulders. "I'm Lorna," she replies, watching her with curiosity. She's intrigued and appalled by this woman all at the same time. "How'd ya get those marks on your arms?" Her words come out before her mind has a chance to catch up with what's going on. She knows that's a personal thing to ask, especially considering they only just met but she can't stop her curiosity.
That question causes Nicky to take a smoke of her cigarette before she gives an answer. She can tell that this young woman has never been around drugs before since she can't tell what those scars are. "Those are called track marks, kid. I'm addicted to heroin. You do know what heroin is, right?" Another chuckle escapes her as she looks over at the brunette. She can't help but search her over; she has never seen a more perfect woman and is somewhat surprised she hasn't run into her before.
Nodding her head, Lorna quietly gasps. She has never been around any drug addicts before – seeing as her family raised her to be a good little Catholic girl. They sheltered her and her siblings' life while they grew up, not letting them hang out with friends outside of the church or going anywhere without the entire family. "I know what heroin is…just never known anyone who was addicted to it. What makes you like it so much? It's not healthy to be taking that kinda stuff," she blurts out again.
Nicky laughs, "No kidding! I thought hitting myself up with heroin would make me live longer!" She jokes, staring at Lorna – who looks anything but amused with it. Sighing, she brings her cigarette to her lips and takes a long smoke. "Well, let's just say when you don't have the pressure of having to keep your grades up in high school or anything important, you get bored and find something to occupy that time. So I found heroin, and now it won't go away. Not that I want it to go away though, it's really all I have now," she says the last part quietly, hoping the shorter woman isn't able to hear it.
Hearing that causes a sympathetic expression to form on Lorna's face as she peers into her eyes. She can sense the pain that Nicky seems to be carrying inside, and that makes her heart feel heavy. "I'm sorry you feel that way… You know if you ever want to talk about things, instead of turning to drugs, just give me a call. I'm a great listener – here's my number," she says as she quickly scribbles it down on a piece of paper and hands it to the redhead.
A week has gone by since their encounter and Nicky decides to give Lorna a call – she's been feeling a bit down lately, and doesn't think the heroin can fix it this time. The two plan to meet at the coffee shop, a little way down from Nicky's apartment. On her way out, Nicky gives Smokey a pat on the head and grabs her purse off the kitchen table. She locks up her place, then makes her way to the elevators.
When she arrives at the coffee shop, only a few minutes later, she smiles as she notices the tiny brunette already sitting at a table with a cup of coffee in front of her. She quickly waits in line to order herself a coffee, and then goes to join Lorna at the table. "Good to see you again, kid," she gives her a playful smirk, taking a sip of her latte. "Thanks again for agreeing to come out with me – I could really use someone to talk to right now." Her tone much more serious now as she looks across at the other woman.
Smiling kindly, Lorna nods her head. "It's not a problem at all; I needed something to do, anyway. Plus, this gives me an excuse to have a coffee," she truthfully states, savoring the sweet goodness from her mocha. "Is everything all right, Nicky? What's on your mind?" Her voice soft and gentle as she gives a concerned glance towards the redhead. She's tempted to reach over to stroke her cheek – something her older sister always does to calm her – but refrains herself, not wanting to come across as strange.
"Nothing's all right these days, kid," Nicky smirks, but means it. Her mother has been giving her grief about not paying her rent or bills or anything that isn't heroin, and she's just about had enough of it. "Just been having a hell of a week – my dumbass of a mother won't get off my back about shit… Like she has the right to say anything to me! Fuckin' bitch throws her stupid money at me yelling at me to get the fuck outta the house and now she's mad at me for using her money – what the fuck kinda logic is that?!" She doesn't even notice at how hard her fists are shaking against the table or how loud her voice is getting.
Seeing how angry Nicky is, Lorna doesn't stop herself from leaning over the table and gently gabbing a hold of her hands. She strokes them tenderly with her thumbs, looking softly into the taller woman's brown eyes. "You gotta calm down there, Nicky," she soothes, not taking her eyes off of her. "So, I'm guessing you and your mom aren't on the best of terms? Could she possibly be the reason you're addicted to heroin?"
Nicky angrily laughs, shaking her head. "Mom? Marka doesn't know what the fuck that even is! She didn't do shit to raise me – all she did was throw me in daycare all my life – from the time I was a baby until the time I began school! She ain't a fucking mom, or mother; she's just a bitch who cares about her shitty ass self…and her precious dick of a boyfriend," she growls, feeling a mess of hot tears come rolling down her cheeks. She furiously wipes them away. "Ding, ding, ding – we have a winner! Of course she's the damn I reason I turned to heroin, at least heroin doesn't neglect me! You know what, fuck this…talking about it just makes me feel worse!" She stands up and yanks Lorna out of her chair as well, making her follow her back to her apartment.
The minute they enter Nicky's place, she grabs Lorna by the face and starts kissing her on those perky-red lips of hers – something she's dreamt of doing since the day she first saw her. Her hands run up and down her body, desperately needing to feel her skin. She's pleased to feel Lorna kiss her back, and doesn't hold back on leading her to her bedroom. She gently pushes the smaller woman onto her bed, hovering over her as she traces her hands down her body.
To say Lorna was surprised about the turn of events would be a bit of an understatement. She didn't think their little coffee run would turn into a heated make-out session in Nicky's bed or that she might possibly be enjoying it. This is definitely new to her – she's never slept with a woman before, let alone kissed one. But she can't seem to find the will to stop her and is somewhat liking it.
"Goddamn, Lorna – you're fucking stunning," Nicky says in-between kisses, looking lustfully into Lorna's caring brown eyes. She reaches up with one hand to stroke her entire face, and uses her other to trace around her lower portion. Slowly, she starts undressing the younger woman – starting with her pants – but she stops midway when she notices faint bruises lining her thighs and calves. Concerned, she stares up at Lorna, "What happened to you, kid? Why are there so many bruises on your legs?"
Oh fuck, Lorna silently says in her mind–she forgot all about those.