Alex had awoken the day after she had been placed in her bunk. She hadn't needed to get up for count, they didn't know how many people were supposed to be in the Prison. CO Maxwell had deleted a fair few of the prisoner personnel files from the computers in the front office. In an effort to show Caputo how much they needed the experienced staff. Because of that Red had taken the unofficial role and just 'reported' to CO bubble how many people were in the suburbs. They never questioned it, they had more important things to do and Healy trusted her. They weren't going to make any more work for themselves
Over the night Alex's pale porcelain skin had swollen and changed colours across her face arms and torso various shades of pink, red, purple, yellow and green as her bruises developed. It was thankfully a weekend for the prison so none of them were expected anywhere, and in a series of fortunate events, the underwear factory was going like the clappers so Piper was there, making extras.
Nicky and Morello had been there at the time when Alex gasped deeply and then wailed from the pain, and they had been by her side immediately.
"Vause! Vause hold you're hollarin' you're fine, you're gonna draw attention to yourself." Nicky had attempted to whisper, but it was just as loud as normal just had a husky edge to it, but she caught Alex's attention.
Alex had no clue where she was. She didn't know why there was a bunk above her bunk, but she focused enough on the faces in front of her to concentrate for as long as she could.
Alex moved to take a handful of Nicky's Khaki's top, and then screamed as the muscles in her fingers tried to bend her broken bones. She looked at her fingers strapped in twos with popsicle sticks and electrical tape and then she turned to Nicky "Is Piper ok?!" Alex's voice was scratchy and she was dehydrated but she searched Nicky's eyes for the truth intensely as Nicky just stared back in bewilderment.
Nicky measured her breath and said slowly "Vause, do you know what happened to you?"
"Nicky just answer my question, where is Piper?" Nicky stared into Alex's eyes, she didn't know this person she was looking at who looked like Vause, she certainly didn't sound like Vause and she definitely wasn't acting like Vause. Alex looked like a rabbit in the headlights and she needed to be sedated.
"Morello, go get Alex's prescription from Red, you know I can't touch it - sticky fingers n'all" Nicky said as she looked at Morello apologetically, but she was under strict instruction not to be anywhere near the pills.
Alex looked at Morello with wild eyes. Morello couldn't go without saying something.
"I'll be right back honey, get you something to make you feel more comfortable."
Alex looked back at Nicky as slow tears slid silently from the corner of her eyes. "I shouldn't have backed away. Fucking Kubra, she didn't fuckin' believe me, I didn't protect her."
Nicky was struck dumb, she literally didn't know what to say, she opened and closed her mouth several times. She managed to say "Vause -" But Alex began to cry heaving sobs that hurt her ribs even more. Nicky wanted to say that Piper was fine, but every fibre of her being couldn't Piper would get away with pulling this woman by her heartstrings the second Nicky did and that couldn't happen.
It wasn't long before Red came marching into the dorm with Morello and Boo behind her as she wiped her hands on a kitchen towel. They heard Alex's cries before they saw her lying on her back unable to move cause of her ribs. She was inconsolable and no one was going to try.
Red dipped her fingers into her pocket and pulled out two pills she dropped them into Alex's open mouth and then shut her mouth and held it closed with her palm.
"Swallow Vause, swallow them down." Red waited for a visible swallow movement and then checked her mouth. "Good girl, you'll feel better in an hour - drink some water yes?"
Alex didn't look at her, Alex was paying no attention to her. Through her tears she babbled "I couldn't protect her, oh my god Piper."
Red looked at Nicky perplexed. Nicky raised her eyebrows to Red as she explained. "She thinks its all her fault, she thinks someones hurt Piper and she didn't see it coming, she didn't save Piper."
Red fixed her eyes on Alex, powerless on the bunk, it was pitiful.
"She gets another two pills in four hours, you find me then."
Nicky nodded as she said "yeah Red, i'll find you."
The prison was so crowded you could literally get away with murder. It happened. One of the new girls found keeled over her plate in the cafeteria. Someone had stabbed her with something long and pointy apparently collapsed her lung. She did it just right minimal blood loss, or so the gossip went. But for Morello she wasn't too bothered. She stayed away from the new girls and they stayed away from her. Like a real life prison West Side Story.
All she knew was with the few CO's they had, they were more concerned about stopping people from hurting each other than they were that she was sneaking out two whole portions of food back to the dorms for a Nicky and Alex. And not the slop either, between Red and Gloria, who now knew Alex was awake, it was in everyones best interest to get her mobile as soon as possible, so fresh fruit and veg from the garden and the stores it was.
Alex didn't each much her entire body was battered, if anything she felt it was realistically ridiculous for people to even conceive she could do it. But she endeavoured because Red was keeping the pills hostage unless she ate.
By lights out, Alex was in a fitful sleep. They really should have worked out when was best to start giving Alex pills by when its best to knock her out at night but they hadn't and they were just going to have to deal with it now.
Alex was crying again, audibly, and she was waking up the dorm room.
Nicky looked down from her bunk toward Morello who looked up at her with an equally confused look about what to do. It was only when Alex loudly wailed "Pipes" did they move into some sort of spontaneous response.
"HEY! NEW GIRL STOP FUCKIN' CRYIN! You're keeping the rest of the god damn dorm up and a lot of these trolls need their beauty sleep!" Nicky yelled over the sound of Alex's cries, to the girl on the bunk opposite hers, as Morello scuttled across the floor to Alex's side.
"Aw come on Vause, it's justa dream sweetheart." whispered Morello into her ear whilst she patted her head.
Alex choked out "Its' not a dream it's a fucking nightmare."
Nicky was still ripping it into the girl opposite her who was paralysed with fear with some of the threats Nicky was making, something about finding a Chicken for Red, she didn't know it meant exactly, but she didn't want to do it.
Nicky looked down to Morello and Alex who was still crying - fuck it she thought. "And then if that doesn't work we'll just get big bad Chapman over there to get you sent to MAX! Cause she's got powers or something to do that. SO STOP CRYING!"
The dorm fell quiet. Nicky looked down at Alex who just stared straight back up at her.
"See!" Morello whispered to Alex, "she's fine, we tried to tell you earlier but you weren't in the right frame of mind sweetheart."
"You're lying to me." Alex whispered back to Morello.
"Lying why would we be lying?" Morello is confused.
"If she was ok, she would of come to see me by now." Alex closed her eyes squeezing out a final tear.
Morello looked up at Nicky, she didn't know what to say.
From her birdseye view Nicky could see people looking over to her, Nicky looked in the direction of Piper and Red's (and whoever slept above them) cube. There wasn't even a hint of movement from Piper. Casting her eyes back at those looking at her, Nicky finished with "Alright bitches shows over!"
Piper removed her homemade vaseline and cotton wool ear plugs from her ears. Everything had been muffled but she'd heard sounds of crying she couldn't place the voice so it must have come from one of the new girls. Was that Nicky yelling? She didn't even know Nicky was back?! Bizarre.
She heard Nicky use Red's name and then she heard her name being used as a threat. She liked that, she liked the power it gave her, and she especially liked that her name had the power to shut up the crying immediately, not Red - hers . She wasn't the girl who was getting starved out any more. she looked over at Red who was staring at her.
"I never realised how good it would feel when someone else says your name like that. I feel like Liam Neeson in Taken y'know? I'm sure there's a better reference but the whole 'I will find you and I will kill you thing.' Striking fear in the hearts of my enemies, I like it."
Red could see Piper's toothy white smile through the darkness, and she truly wondered if Piper saw herself to be like Red, then Red would be disgusted with herself. But she knew in her heart she was different.
"You don't strike fear into the hearts of enemies Blondie, you only ever scare the people the people that love you."
Piper's smile dropped, Red couldn't see her grin, it was beginning.
Red turned to have her back to Piper.
Piper didn't get what Red was playing at, there was no need for her to try and knock her mood just at bed time. She hadn't loved Stella, she just did what she wanted to do, and she wanted to do Stella until she fucked her over so she fucked her back. No love lost there.
And if it wasn't about Stella - Alex had broken up with her, granted yeah- she may have been with Stella at the same time but she didn't know that. And back to the important point Alex had dumped her. Fucking Alex, now that Nicky was back she was probably retelling the same story casting her as this super jilted girlfriend. Fuck her. She had a reputation to upkeep now.
She'd fucking have words with Alex first thing in the morning.
