Piper watched closely as a roach scurried across the pipe moving and then stopping. She got on all fours following closely bringing her head up to stare as it began to move again. Her blue eyes piercing as she focused on each little movement the insect made. Slowly she stuck her hand out laying flat across the roach's path and watched as it skittered along the pipe and up her finger tips. Her skin danced with sensation as the insect's tiny legs flittered softly across her palms. She rolled her hands as the roach moved keeping it on a looped track across her hands. Smiling she put down the bug and let him continue on his path. She watched him until he disappeared through a tiny crack by the toilet.
She sighed feeling an overwhelming sadness wash over her. Piper paused and started to laugh at the reality of the situation, it sounded strange bouncing off the quiet walls. She was just playing with a roach, and had almost cried seeing it slip out of this cement hole leaving her completely alone again. How long had she been down here. She had lost track along time ago.
The nasty gash on her hand had now just become a faded scar. She absently ran her fingers over it willing to remember the stinging pain that cross had brought just to feel something. She began drumming her fingers in a familiar beat and humming along to a lion king song as her mind drifted, it had always been her favorite movie as a kid. She faintly smiled thinking it silly she would be singing disney songs while rotting in this cement box, she closed her eyes blocking out the blinding light of the SHU.
Alex leaned over her breakfast tray studying the eggs, pushing her glasses up, she glanced over feeling a hard nudge in her ribs. "Yo pasty, them eggs ain't gonna taste any better the longer you stare at em, I swear you don't start eating I'm bout to jack your shit." Tastee stared Alex down with a raised eyebrow. Alex chuckled "Seriously Taystee?" The other inmate just scoffed, "Yeaa, seriously I don't play when it comes to food, even in this shit hole." The whole table burst out laughing. Alex smiled and pushed her tray over, "I wasn't hungry anyway." Alex got up and walked past the table and the COs standing by the door, putting one foot in front of the other til she was back in her bunk. She flopped down no longer hitting cold metal. After weeks of horrible sleep and back pain a new mattress had finally showed up. Her mind wandered as it usually did to Piper. It had been 3 months and 21 days that they had thrown her down in SHU because of that ignorant hill billy. At least Piper had done everyone a public service knocking her disgusting meth teeth out.
Alex rolled over tracing the lines of the brick with her finger tips. They couldn't just leave her down there, people went insane in the SHU. Almost 4 months, Alex was terrified for her. She had been so angry at her, she had a rage in her heart that day masking the devastation she felt when Piper had chosen Larry.
She was angry now that she cared enough to still be mad at the blonde. As angry as she was, it was nothing compared to the fear she felt for Piper locked up completely alone down there. Having to wait and do nothing while they silently tortured her. The worry It gripped her sometimes at night to where she couldn't breathe. Panicked, her heart racing with anxiety each minute that passed. She would be fine if she just knew she was up here and okay.
Nichols tried to keep Alex's mind off of it, knowing how bad it was from her short stay in the hole. She barely lasted 2 weeks, after being let out it took her awhile to adjust to everything. The noises, a brief brush of a hand, skin against skin. A full meal of edible food, the talking and stimulation. That was only 14 days, she couldn't really comprehend what Piper has endured, it went beyond torture. Nicky never told that to Alex though. The whole block was worried, but there was nothing they could do. Get up go to work and keep moving, no one had a choice.
Alex shot her head up hearing a sudden slapping noise against the wall, "Hey Vause, breakfast is over, time to go get our Tim Taylor on." Nicky moved into the bunk smacking Alex on her ass. "Come on I promise to let you wear the tool belt today." Alex laughed a deep chuckle swinging her legs off the bed and adjusting her glasses before hopping off. "I don't think I can pull it off quite like you do Nichols" She smirked and nudged Nicky as she turned past her moving out of the cell. Alex had been moved to Electrical in Piper's absence and wasn't complaining. Anything to get out of that basement and away from the inbred christ cult that Pensatucky led. Plus the work had helped her to keep her mind from going crazy over Piper. She was still angry but knew she would never be able to completely write Piper off, she loved her. After a lot of effort and denial she realized It was something permanent. Whether Piper felt the same way or not, that was a burden Alex was going to have to live with.
117, Piper had lost track of the number of times she had counted the bricks along her cell wall. When she first started doing it she had lost count so many times, she had to start over frequently. 113, 115, finally she got better at it, her eyes flitting quickly and her brain keeping up with the quick counts. She had finally nailed it at one hundred and seventeen bricks. As ridiculous as it sounds It was an accomplishment that she had gotten excited about. The only way she kept some semblance of herself was through little things like that.
The sudden grating sound of the food slot opening made her jolt up. Even after so long the noise still startled her every time. The hand clutching the tray was motionless waiting for her to take the food. Piper scrambled over, slowly reaching for it while staring at the hand. It was soft and slightly smaller than the normal ones and had smooth white skin. This was a female guard, she wanted to reach out and touch her for a second to feel that warming comfort of human contact if just for a moment. Piper craved it. She quickly shook her head not allowing her mind to wander any further. She took her tray and compartmentalized those feelings somewhere deep in her subconscious. It was the only way to survive, never let your mind stay in one place too long. Quick visits that's all she could allow.
Piper sat indian style staring at the food. It was so much worse down here and the portions were a lot smaller, she was always starving. It was some kind of scramble. She closed her eyes, and brought her fingers up to her lips quickly swallowing a mouthful. The gagging had gone away after a couple of weeks. It was all business at this point to keep her body alive. She found it easy now to swallow and repeat until all of it was gone. She had forgotten awhile ago what it was like to eat for enjoyment. Another thing she compartmentalized. It was easier to get this stuff down knowing it was just fuel to keep her muscles moving and her heart beating. After she was done she placed the tray back on the stand. getting up she drank a glass of water, before moving down in the push up position.
When she felt herself starting to lose it Piper had developed a routine she stuck to with the passing of time. She had just picked a feeding period one day after waking up, she had no idea whether it was breakfast lunch or dinner out in the real world since the lights never went off. She had decided to make it breakfast. After she ate she drank a glass of water and started doing push ups. Increasing more and more as each day passed. Next were crunches, then wall sits, then she would pace back and forth counting cities, naming dog breeds, anything to keep her occupied until lunch came. After that it was another set of push ups crunches and wall sits. She had lost any sort of fat that she had, her body was incredibly thin from the lack of nourishment in the food and the daily exercises she was doing. Then she would count the bricks. Dinner came, and she would pace again humming songs in her head.
Finally she would lay down slowly sliding her hand back and forth on her stomach moving it down till she dipped into her pants. This being her reward for making it through another day. As she brought herself to orgasm only in the last moments before she fell over the edge would she allow Alex to take over her entire mind and body. For a minute she could feel Alex's hands, and her breath all over. At the last moment Piper always remembered how she would whisper with her husky voice , "I want you to come for me." And she would, finally getting an escape for the few short seconds her mind exploded and body shook. the first time she had done that she sobbed into her pillow for hours. Now she would allow her body to relax and for a brief moment, she saw her black hair, and glasses. Remembered the way she smelled and laughed. Then she would put Alex back into the box she kept next to all the other ones in her head. This was the only time she would allow herself to think of her. Piper began counting each of her heartbeats from 1 until she drifted off waiting to repeat the routine all over again with the next breakfast tray. She never made it past 70 anymore which was a blessing.
