Here's chapter three. Next one's going to be the last - so I'll make it a little bit longer than these first three have been. I wasn't sure how exactly to about ending this chapter...but I think it's okay. Let me know in the review section what you think of it. I hope you guys enjoy reading this, thank you :) Have a lovely day!
Chapter Three
Later that night – after spending a long couple of hours talking at the park – Nicky finally convinced Lorna to come back to the apartment with her. There was absolutely no way she would let her go back to her own house, where she would only continue to get abused and battered. Upon entering her home, she can hear the loud meowing of her cat causing her to stifle a laugh. That cat is constantly whining for attention, she knows, and she always gives in to it – she empathizes with his situation, from her lack of attention growing up.
Smokey comes running when he sees his human standing in the kitchen. He meows loudly while rubbing up against her legs, begging to be picked up. Feeling himself being lifted off the ground, he happily rubs his head against Nicky's cheek and playfully claws onto her fingers which in turn makes her yelp. A hand gently strokes through his gray fur, and he realizes it's not his owner's hand so he looks to see who it belongs to.
Lorna smiles down at the furry little creature, running her tiny hands delicately through his fur. "Well, aren't you just the cutest little thing?" She coos at the cat, stroking gently underneath his ears – something he seems to enjoy as he rubs his head on her hand, wanting her to continue such motion. "I never pictured you as a cat person, Nicky," the shorter woman says with a light chuckle.
"Neither did I, kid. But I couldn't just pass him up when I saw him – a stray, helpless kitten with no family," Nicky replies, giving a gentle kiss to the cat's head before letting him down. She sighs, staring back at Lorna with deep concern showing on her face. "Maybe you should go see a doctor tomorrow about your leg. You're limping really bad. It could be broken, kid." The redhead kindly suggests as she gets herself a can of Diet Coke from her fridge.
Hearing that irritates Lorna somewhat but she gives a small nod – not wanting to argue about it. She's not even too sure if she should permanently stay here with Nicky, it's not like they've known each other that long or anything. And besides, her older sister will be worried for her if she's not home. She can't just up and abandon Franny – the one person in her life who's tried to protect her from the abuse. "I'll stay for a night or two…but then I have to go back. I gotta help my sister with her kids and my mom's real ill. I appreciate your kindness and wanting to help me, but I just – I can't abandon my family, especially Franny; she's always been there for me. I hope you understand, Nicky," she softly says, trying to compromise with her. As much as she'd love to get away from her father, she knows what a mistake that would be.
Slamming her hands angrily on the counter, Nicky's face turns beet red as she turns to stare at the other. It frustrates her to no end how wishy-washy this young woman can be. "Are you fucking kidding me? Why the fuck do you want to go back to a place where you're being beaten to death? And your sister has kids living here? Maybe you should tell her to get the hell outta there too! You're not going back, I outright refuse to let you, kid. How can I let you go back when I know you are just going to continue to be abused? What kind of friend would I be if I did that to you? You may not value your life, but I do and there's no way I will allow you to go back," her voice is firm and filled with rage. She cups Lorna's face in her hands, just staring intently into her eyes – trying to understand what could possibly be going through her mind.
A harsh knock on Nicky's apartment door wakes she and Lorna up the next morning. Agitated, Nicky lets out a groan as she reluctantly forces herself to get out of bed and go see who's chosen to piss off the wrong person. When she opens the door, she is met with her mother's arrogant face while she hurls insults at her. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence, mother dearest?" Sarcasm clearly lining her tone as she glares darkly into the older woman's eyes.
Marka Nichols huffs out a dissatisfied breath, looking her daughter over. Crossing her arms angrily over her chest, she shakes her head disapprovingly. "Well, seeing as you've so rudely ignored my calls, I had no other choice but to come here. I'm giving you until Friday to pay your rent – if you don't, I will not be giving you any more of my hard-earned money. Paolo and I had a talk; and he's right, I'm way too generous to you," she snottily says, impatiently tapping her well-polished shoe on the ground.
Laughing obnoxiously loud, Nicky claps her hands together while getting a cigarette from a pack that's lying on her table. She quickly lights it and sticks it in her mouth, purposefully blowing the air out right in her mother's face. "Paolo is an idiot and so are you, Marka. You're not generous – I doubt you even know what the fuck that even means. And I don't give a rat's ass if you give me money or not, I got a job and make my own damn money. I sure as fuck don't need yours. So, fuck off and get the hell outta my place," she yells, not caring that the smoke keeps getting inhaled by the older woman. She pushes her back out the door and then quickly shuts and locks it.
"Nicky," Lorna's voice softly calls out as she meekly walks in from the living room. She worriedly stares at the taller woman, noticing how angry and upset she seems to be. "Are you okay? What was all that yelling about?" The way Nicky stands there, smoking away with the cigarette, very faintly shaking causes concern to grow on Lorna's face. She slowly walks closer to her, placing a soothing hand on her shoulder while staring warmly in to her eyes.
Nicky hates herself for the way Lorna makes her feel. Her young, innocent face makes her want to throw her cigarette away and never touch another one again. And that absolutely baffles her – nothing ever interferes with her craving for drugs. "It's all good, kid," she takes a breath and discards the cigarette. "I'm gonna start a pot of coffee, ya want some?" Looking the petite brunette over makes her want to repeat her actions from the first time she brought her to her apartment – sex never felt so good as it had with Lorna. She has an itching desire to just take her back to her bedroom and have her way with her, but can't bring herself to do it – not after finding out that she's been sexually abused, she doesn't want to do something that might mentally scar her for life. So, she settles for wrapping her in a tight hug and giving a tender kiss to her head.
Standing on the tip of her feet, Lorna softly cups the redhead's face in her hands and presses a light kiss on her lips. "You make my heart flutter… a lot, Nicky. There's just somethin' about you that makes me so intrigued – I could just watch you all day and listen to you talk for hours," she runs her finger slowly across her jawline, smiling brightly at her.
The resistance Nicky tried to hold onto vanished the minute she felt Lorna's soft lips on her own. She stops everything she's doing and fiercely envelopes her arms around the smaller woman, pulling her against her own body as she smashes their lips back together – this time much longer and deeper. "Goddamn Lorna; you're hot when you're unintentionally blurting out your feelings," she says through the kiss, her voice breathy and warm against Lorna's face. Her hands grab fistfuls of her hair as she continues to kiss her, slowly moving them to her bedroom.
Gently pushing her onto the bed, Nicky looks down at the brunette and takes in all of her beauty. She runs her hand delicately down each of her cheeks, making sure to be extra cautious as she's not too sure how to go about having sex with her. Knowing what Lorna's been through with the sickening father of hers, Nicky refuses to do anything that might hurt her or bring back painful memories. "Lorna, kid, you gotta tell me if I'm going too fast for you, okay? And if you want to stop, you just the say the word – I won't be mad at you, I promise." Her lips softly press against Lorna's forehead.
"Nicky, please don't be skittish around me…I know you're nervous because of what my dad's done but I know you're not like him." Lorna looks up at the redhead, reaching her hand up to gently caress her chin. "You're sweet and kind and so gentle. You make me feel safe with you; I know you won't try to hurt me or nothing," she speaks softly, pressing a trail of kiss down Nicky's neck, "You're so beautiful and have such soft skin."
Nicky smiles warmly down at the smaller woman, feeling her body become all tingly and warm from the kind words being said to her. "That's right, baby; I'm nothing like that poor excuse of a father of yours. I would never do a thing to hurt you… I mean look at you – you're so damn adorable, how the fuck could anyone want to cause you pain? And you're so sweet you make my gums hurt," she laughs light-heartedly, kissing her gently on the lips while running her hand through her hair.
Her heart exploding inside of her, Lorna places a hand on either side of Nicky's cheeks as she deepens the kiss – keeping it going until they both must stop to catch their breath. "You're full of so much love, I don't see how your mother could just not want to be your mom… That makes my heart hurt for you – your own mother doesn't even care, what a bitch," she tenderly says, looking softly up at her as she strokes her cheek with her thumb. "I'm sorry, I hope I didn't ruin the moment."
Stroking Lorna's hair, she kisses the top of her head softly and stares gently down at her. "You kinda did, kid – but that's okay," she speaks against her ear, cupping her hands around the smaller woman's cheeks and kissing her lips lightly. Afterward, she lays Lorna's head delicately onto her chest, using one hand to continuously ruffle through her hair, "I don't mind just laying here and holding you for a while. It's kind of relaxing, actually."
While Nicky's busy cleaning the bakery, Red sits down with Lorna at one of the circular tables as they sip on coffee. She's surprised that the two young women (whom she became close to) have met the way that they did. Though, she's glad that they did meet because she had a hunch that the pair of them could be good for each other. "How's your job treating you, Lorna? You like waitressing?" The Russian woman wonders, taking a sip of coffee.
Smiling, Lorna nods and takes a sip of her own coffee. She's always liked Red, ever since she met her a couple years ago. Knowing her for so long and visiting her bakery so often, she is a bit surprised she never met Nicky in all that time – especially because Nicky and Red have known each longer than the two of them have. "Yes, it's not too bad. I get good tips and the customers are usually nice so I can't complain."
Unfortunately, before their conversation can go any further, an angry customer enters the bakery and is carrying a gun in his hand. Lorna's heart beats faster when she sees that the customer is her father, and tries to hide herself by making herself look tiny in the chair. Despite her attempts, Mr. Morello sees her and comes marching over to her. "A little bird tells me you think you're moving out…Is that so, little girl?! You think you're capable of living on your own, Lorna? You think you know how to be an adult and have responsibilities? What a bunch of bullshit that is! You can hardly afford to live at home…and you don't even have to pay rent! What the fuck makes you think that you can survive without me and your mother?" He points his gun at her head, angrily glaring into her frightened eyes.
Nicky immediately runs to Lorna's side, trying to grab her, and pull her away from the man but he's too strong for even her to stop him. He pushes her away, roughly putting his arms around his petite daughter while keeping the gun pointed over her head. Watching the scene, Nicky feels a hot surge of rage run through her – she stares at Lorna, longing so terribly to want to get her out of this mess. "Lorna, it's okay…don't be scared, baby…Red and I won't let anything happen to you. Just try to-try to stay calm, kid. I'm not leaving you, I promise," she keeps her voice soft, hoping to soothe Lorna's fear away, even though she knows that's very slim.
Red takes out her phone and immediately dials the police. She yells at them to hurry, throwing the phone in her pocket once she's finished. "You let that sweet child go right now, Mr. Morello. You are already in enough troubles as it is – you shoot her and you'll be in prison for the rest of your life. Now, you had better let her go…I swear to God if you hurt her, I will slice your head off with a damn cake knife." She hisses darkly at the Italian man, which only ticks him off more and causes him to slide his finger onto the trigger.
