A/N

Thanks for all the support on the new story guys. This is an idea that's been rolling around my head for a while. Even though he treated the ladies like crap, I really like Piscatella as a character, he will be a central part to this story.

Cheers.

Chapter 2

7 years ago

I wake up but it's still dark, I have no idea what time it is, except that it's very early Friday morning. I should be happy that it's nearly the weekend, but it makes me nervous instead. The weekend means I have nowhere to escape to, it means I'll be all alone. I haven't seen mum in two days, I miss her, I always miss her. My dad has been at home, but he might as well have been somewhere else, all he ever does is sleep.

I'm not tired anymore, so I decide to check if mum has come home. Before I even open my bedroom door, all I can smell is stale smoke. Our apartment always smells like this, the smoke occasionally mixing with a hint of whiskey that's been spilt all over the carpet in the lounge room.

The apartment is small, but at least it's ours. Dad is always telling me I should be grateful for what I have, and maybe I should be, I don't know. He's never treated me like a daughter, it's almost like we're acquaintances. He puts up with me so he can have my mum, I'm pretty sure he doesn't love me. But mum, I know how much she loves me, sometimes I feel like her love is all I have.

I walk into the lounge room and see her lying on the dirty two seater couch. The curtains are drawn shut behind her, I can practically see the smoke lingering in the air above her.

I think her dress is meant to be white but I can see the mud, or maybe it's dried blood, I'm not sure.

It doesn't matter! The important thing is that she's home. She loves me and she's home, she'll protect me, she loves me.

I keep walking until I'm standing next to her lying figure, I place a hand on her shoulder.

"Mum, are you awake?"

But she never answers.

"Mummy, where were you? I missed you..."

I keep nudging her as I talk but still, she doesn't move. I look a little closer to make sure she's still breathing, I'm so scared of her dying in her sleep.

I just want to be near her, just for a little while, and I want to make sure she's okay. I get ready to lie on the floor next to the couch when I see a needle next to her drivers license. I've seen them around the apartment before. I know that whatever is in the needle is putting her to sleep.

I used to hardly ever see needles around the apartment, but I keep seeing more and more of them.

I push the needle under the couch and look at her license, Diane Vause. This picture doesn't even look like her anymore, she always looks so tired now. I lie down on the floor, looking up at the ceiling. I move my head so I can get a better view of her on the couch, she's still breathing.

I slowly close my eyes, but I can't stop worrying about whether she'll still be breathing when I wake up.

0-0-0-0-0

Present day

I'm surprised by how well I actually slept, or maybe sheer exhaustion won out in the end. My cheek feels better, but I still can't forget about it, I still know it's there.

I stretch out my arms and look at my watch, it's just after 7am. There's enough sunlight creeping into the room to let me see Alex still asleep in her bed. Her glasses must have fallen on the floor during the night, along with the book she was reading. She's lying on her stomach with one arm dangling over the edge of the bed.

I want to wake her up, but stop myself. I really just want someone to talk to. I've spent so long living in silence, I'm ready to hear the sound of my own voice again.

I pick up the book Alex gave me last night and keep reading. After all, it is the summer holidays, it's not like I need to be anywhere. I keep looking across at Alex, but she's still sleeping. She doesn't even move her arm, it stays dangling over the side of the bed.

0-0-0-0-0

Like most mornings, I'm woken up by Desi knocking on the door. Except this time it's not just me he's trying to wake up, it's Piper too. It takes me a moment to remember that she's actually in the room with me, that I'm not alone in here.

"Girls, time to get up!"

I hear his footsteps walking back down the stairs, probably towards the kitchen. It's almost 9 am, he's such a fucking morning person, I can't stand it. I reach towards the floor and grab my glasses. I see Piper sitting on the other bed, but she's changed back into the same clothes she was wearing last night.

She throws me a smile, obviously an early riser, "Morning."

I offer her a groan and throw back the blankets.

"Not much of a morning person?"

"Hhmm, not really."

"Does he always wake you up in the morning?"

"Yeah, but in his defense I probably wouldn't get up at all if he didn't."

She laughs, it's kinda nice. I get myself out of bed and pick out jeans and a t shirt from the drawers. We do the same awkward dance as last night, except this time Piper turns around so I can get changed.

In another 30 minutes we're helping Desi clean out the spare room for Piper, I guess she'll be staying here for a while.

The room was mostly filled with old books, some photo albums, and random boxes filled with his old stuff. I never paid much attention to it before, but he had a lot of shit in this room. Piper and I pick up some boxes to take down to the basement. We pile everything into a corner and she notices the old blanket and books I'd left out from the night before.

"Surely that can't be comfortable?"

Of course it's not comfortable, but it sure as hell beats dealing with his bulshit, "It's actually not too bad, I like to read down here sometimes."

Piper gives me a weird look that quickly turns into a smile, "Thanks for the book last night, reading always helps me sleep."

"Me too," I spend a few moments looking at her before I lead us back upstairs.

0-0-0-0-0

It doesn't take much longer to clear the room, my room, it feels so weird to say that.

Desi is standing in the middle of the now clear room, with a freshly made bed and a chest of drawers in the corner, "Good work girls, the room is officially yours now, Piper."

"Thanks Desi, you really didn't need to go to this much trouble."

He walks over and puts a hand on my shoulder, he seems sincere, but I can see Alex standing behind him with a frozen look on her face.

"You've got a place here with us for as long as you need. Oh, and before I forget, Irene called me this morning. She's picked up some of your things, she'll drop them off later tonight.'

The idea of Irene physically going into my parents home to pack my clothes makes me nauseous, they're going to blame me for everything, I'm so sure they hate me. I can't bring myself to think about it.

I look at Alex, and I'm so fucking thankful when she starts talking, "Now that we're done, can I take Piper for a walk down by the creek?"

I see the stern look he gives Alex, but it only lasts for a second, "Sure, just behave yourself."

Alex nods and leads me out of the house. It's a beautiful day and I love being outdoors, although I am acutely aware of the fact that I'm with a girl I barely know. It should bother me more than it does, but honestly, there's something about her that puts me at ease, she feels safe.

We walk in silence for about 15 minutes before finally reaching the small creek, which is mostly dried out. I watch her step down into the creek bed and reach out for my hand, helping me do the same. It feels so good to be out in the sun, I don't even care that we haven't said anything to each other since leaving the house. The creek eventually leads to a grassy area, we stop and walk up to the grass and sit in between the trees. Finally, I hear her voice.

"I come here a lot."

I keep looking up at the impossibly blue sky, "I can see why, it's really nice, and it's a great reading spot."

Alex lies down on the grass, her knees still bent, and I find myself doing the same thing. She shifts her head to look at me, "I mostly come here to draw."

"That's great, so you're an artist?"

A small smirk spreads across her lips, "I wouldn't call myself an artist, it's just a hobby."

I start to feel more daring as the conversation flows, "Can I see your work?"

"Sure."

0-0-0-0-0

I'm not gonna lie, I'm starting to like this girl. It also doesn't hurt that she's kind of adorable. We're still lying in the grass, talking about nothing in particular. In the last hour I've learnt that her favourite topic is English, she loves running, and she has two brothers. Once she starts talking, I almost can't stop her, but it's nice. It's the first time in a long time that I actually want to learn more about someone else. Lately I spend most of my time trying to avoid other people. I'm so tired of being let down, I'd rather be alone and have no expectations.

I watch as she leans up on her elbow and looks down at me, "So what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Do you have a family?"

She's obviously decided that it's now my turn to do the talking, but that's not gonna happen. I might like you Piper, but that doesn't mean I'll ever tell you about my family.

"Desi is my family now."

She obviously didn't get the message, and I feel like she's leaning in even closer now, "And before Desi?"

I'm starting to get frustrated and force myself to look at her, but then it all ebbs away, don't be a jerk to her Vause, her life's just fallen apart, play nice.

"I don't see my parents anymore, I don't know where they are."

Her expression instantly changes, but I don't want her pity, and I remind myself again not to be a jerk.

"Shit, I'm sorry Alex."

I want to lighten the mood, I don't want her pity or her sympathy, just her company.

"It's fine, it's not your fault."

But I can't relax, no, not now. I need to get up, need to move, I'm afraid I might die if I sit still for too much longer.

"Let's keep walking, there's a small lake further up."

"Sounds nice."

I stand up first and reach out my hand to help her up, it's not something I even think about, it just happens. She smiles as she takes my hand and I pull her up. Then we're walking again, but there's no silence this time.

"Which school do you go to?"

I think our shoulders just brushed, no, maybe I imagined it...

"Litchfield High, starting 10th grade at the end of summer, you?"

"Well, I used to go to Columbia Girls, but I'm pretty sure that's over."

"So Litchfield then?"

It's the closest public school, so I assume that's where she'll end up.

"Yeah, probably."

For the first time all day I hear the sadness in her voice, and I actually feel bad. I reminded her about the fact that her life's changing, she'll be the new kid, all that crap. So I do something that I never do, and loosely swing an arm over her shoulders.

"Don't worry about it, you'll know me, and I'll introduce you to some people."

I see her smile but it looks forced, so I try again.

"And look, if you ever wanna talk about stuff, I know what it's like. So, yeah..."

Seriously what the fuck was that! You may as well be asking for her granny's best cookie recipe!

I see her smile again, but this one isn't so sad anymore, is that relief in her eyes?

"Thanks Alex, I might take you up on that offer some day."

I smile back and take my arm from her shoulders, and we keep walking.

0-0-0-0-0

I wouldn't mind if she left her arm around my shoulders, but she moves it away and keeps walking next to me. She's so closed off about her family, it makes me think something really horrible happened. I mean, my situation isn't exactly great, but it feels good to finally talk about it. Even if I didn't tell her about the bad stuff, it was still nice to talk about Cal and Danny.

It's not much longer before we reach the small lake, it's all so picturesque. I've always spent most of my time in the city, but I'm actually really enjoying being out here. I take a look around, the water looks clear and the grass is long and green, there's no one else here.

"Wanna get in?"

"What?"

"The water?"

"Uhhmm..."

"C'mon, it's hot as hell out here."

I wouldn't quite call it hot as hell, but the day has definitely warmed up. But besides that, it's not like I have bathers, I'm not exactly ready to strip down to my underwear in front of this girl I barely know.

I keep hesitating, and Alex's smirk just keeps getting bigger, "C'mooonn Piper, I won't bite."

I don't even know what to say, so I stand still and watch her. She takes off her sneakers, then she pulls her jeans down to reveal black boy shorts underneath. Then she uses the hair tie on her wrist to pull her hair into a messy bun before pulling off her t-shirt, but she has a grey tank top on underneath.

She turns her back to me and walks into the water, and I'm left looking at her back as she gets further away from me. My eyes are fixated on her shoulders, and then I notice all these small red marks on her skin. At first I think they're mosquito bites, then I think they look like scars. I don't want to scare her off with any more questions, so I push it to the back of my mind and follow suit, and taking off my shoes and jeans and following her into the water. I'm soooo fucking glad she lent me a tank top this morning, otherwise I'd be standing here in my bra.

The water isn't very deep, and I walk towards her in the middle of the small lake until we're face to face. The waterline is resting just below my chest.

"So what's your plan for the rest of the summer holidays?"

Alex looks towards the sky and seems to seriously contemplate my question, "Hmmmm, absolutely nothing."

"C'mon, you must have some plans, what about your friends?"

"I don't have many of those."

"I don't believe you," this girl might be quiet and moody, but I'm sure she has at least one friend.

She gives me her best sarcastic voice, and I keep my eyes plastered on her smile, "Okay, you got me! If I'm not drawing or reading, I spend most of my time with my friends Nicky and Frieda. I'm sure you'll probably meet them soon, seeing as how we live together now."

It sounds so weird when she says that, but it is technically true. It makes me think about our living situation, and the fact that Alex seemes to know Irene.

"So you've known Irene for a while?"

Alex seems to ignore my question and splashes water in my direction, "Hey!"

She comes closer to me again, still sporting that damn smirk, "Okay, you got me again Piper! I've known Irene since I was sent to live with Desi."

I start talking again, but this time I can't stop the serious tone slipping past my lips, "She was really nice to me last night."

I'm half expecting Alex to avoid any serious conversation, but she doesn't, not this time.

"Yeah, she's nice. I've given her a hard time over the years, but she's done a lot for me. She'll look after you."

Now I lock onto her gaze, "Will she force me to go back home?"

"I don't know, it depends what happened, what your parents say. But if she honestly thinks it's not safe for you at home, she won't force you to go back."

For the first time since this morning my cheek starts to sting, maybe it's the water, or maybe it's the fact that I can't stop replaying what happened over and over again in my head. I raise my hand to my face without even realising it.

"Does it hurt today?"

"Just a little."

This time she moves closer to me until our faces are nearly touching, and I let her inspect the cut on my cheek. My stare moves from her green eyes, then down her neck and onto her shoulders, where I can see a few of those same small red marks on her pale skin. They are definitely scars, and the fact that her face is only inches away from mine gives me a new found courage to ask another question.

"What are those?"

She looks me in the eye and part of me wants to look away, it's intense being this close to her, "What?"

"Those marks on your shoulder?"

I watch her look down at the scars and she takes a deep breath, "Nothing."

I instantly feel bad for prying, but I'm relieved when she doesn't move away from me, and I hear her voice again.

"We should head back, we've been gone for a while."

She walks out of the water without saying a word, I hate it.

I follow her, "Alex, I'm sorry, it's really none of my business."

"It's really okay, it's just...I don't even know what it is, it's not something I talk about."

"I completely understand, I shouldn't have said anything."

Again, I let her walk towards me and put a hand on my shoulder, "Piper, it's fine. We both ended up here because shitty things happened to us. Let's just enjoy the rest of the day, go home for dinner and watch shitty movies."

"Sounds like a plan," I'm so relieved by her words, but I still feel bad.

You talk too fucking much Piper! You wouldn't be in this situation at all if you just learnt to shut your mouth...