"You're, you're sure?" Franky asked as she looked on, fury boiling in her only to be simmered a little when Katherine appeared to be checking out Bridget's head wound and bruises. While she hated the one with the longer blonde hair, she was also somewhat relieved that Bridget was getting medical attention.
"Positive. Those good looks, paired with that legacy family name; unmistakable. I pride myself on knowing the faces and names of those worth knowing. Although, I don't really fathom how she's here. I suppose she brings the term recluse to a whole new level, only showing up for her mum's major fundraisers and then disappearing again. Who would've thought someone bred for success would hide instead of using the attention for her gain? Then again, it's not the first time they made a major move. The Reigns Foundation used to be based in New York but after Katherine's seventeenth birthday, her mother, Victoria, moved the entire foundation to California, stating that it was for the foundation's good. Rumor has it was that while Victoria lost control of her daughter, med school preparation was a start to keep a tighter rein," Barbara trailed on as Franky struggled to listen to what her lawyer was saying, being increasingly perplexed with Bridget who seemed to be enjoying Katherine's touch.
Franky's wrath had begun to boil again as she observed Katherine wrapping her hands over Bridget's. Pull your hands way, Gidge! Franky silently screamed on the inside.
"I wonder what their connection is," Barbara thought out loud. "Perhaps this is Katherine's new venture as she takes a prominent role in the foundation, from healthcare and homeless people to corrections. It's pretty ingenious. Great for me too since I know criminals. Although, it does look a little like she's pining for that blonde prisoner."
"What?" Franky asked as she heard the word prisoner, knowing that Barbara was referring to Bridget.
"I said, Katherine looks rather smitten by that inmate," Barbara repeated. "That inmate has a real talent, I hear that Katherine's rather tight lipped. Oh, what I'd give to know what they're talking about."
Franky raged when she heard Barbara's comment. She snorted at her lawyer's last statement. That inmate, would never break confidentiality, Franky thought. Franky was relieved when the two got up, but then she had to watch helplessly as Katherine wrapped one hand possessively over the back of Bridget's bare neck, scraping past the cropped blonde hair and the other hand on Bridget's upper back, behaving like she was a little child being given her favorite and most precious doll. Don't let her hold you like that! You're mine to hold! Everything inside Franky screamed. But it only got worst for Franky as she witnessed Katherine whisper something into Bridget's ear before planting a quick kiss on Bridget's soft, warm cheek. Pull apart! She internally yelled. Her heart had finally stopped pounding so fast as she saw Katherine release her grip and then her heart fell to a complete stop as Bridget cupped Katherine's face, pulling the doctor's face down to level eyes, as if to examine the doctor's face. It felt as if the air was not only sucked out of Franky's lungs but out of the entire room but it was not so since Barbara was in no way affected.
"Well, their visit is done. When are we going to talk about why I'm really here?" Barbara asked coolly.
Franky sniffled a little, quickly rubbing her eyes to make sure that Barbara would not see her tears before she faced her.
Franky could hardly pay attention to Barbara's questions. She felt a hurricane of emotions inside of her, of the most intense; anger. Anger stemming from the fact that someone else was getting close to her Gidge. Maybe the kiss on the cheek was a friendly one, the rational side of her tried to reason. It was only a peck but the other part of her screamed, what then of the incessant need to touch?! By some oddity, the fuzziness that came with her cold had decreased, rendering her nose with more breathing ease. Franky tried as quickly as she could to give Barbara the information that she wanted before heading back to H2. The brunette was still fuming as she stood in front of Bridget's cell. As usual, the blonde had her cell door closed. Without warning, Franky yanked the door open, unconcerned with the possibility that Bridget may be doing something personal. She has seen it all after having lived with the psychologist out of prison but this would be a new prison experience.
As the universe would have it, Bridget was sitting on the toilet, reading the book she had earlier read to Franky. Bridget was like a deer caught in the headlights, her facial muscles were tensed and she sat frozen staring at Franky. When her brain had finally registered that it was Franky, she relaxed a little.
Franky was also momentarily caught off guard by the sight before her. Her Gidget sat gracefully with her teal pants lowered just below her knees, giving Franky a clear view of Bridget's thigh from the side. It was one of the smooth, firm, flawless thigh that Franky had uncountably kissed and ran her hands over and over again while they were once lost in exploration. In that moment, she forgot her anger. She would have gone over to Bridget and kissed her on the lips. It was always fun for Franky to tease the blonde when Bridget was uncomfortable with bulging blue eyes and tensed jaw but then without a hint, her fury came boiling back up. "Had a good read, did ya?!"
There was only a slight, awkward smile on Bridget's face as she was slightly puzzled with Franky's loud tone. She lifted up the book and asked, "You're upset I went on reading without you? It's quite a good read."
"Not the book! I'm talking about Katherine," Franky spat out as she realized the cell door was still open behind her. She stepped inside and closed the door.
Bridget's smile faded as she asked, "How'd you know her name?"
"Never mind how I know! Got bored of sinking your diagnostic hooks into prisoners? Bit of an upgrade, yeah? Trying to get into the mind of your doctor?" Franky snarled.
"Okay, we're not having this conversation right now. This can't get any more embarrassing," Bridget said in a tone as calmly as she could manage from her uncomfortable situation as she closed the book and look at Franky who shrugged, looking indifferent. "I'm literally taking a dump a few feet from my bed! Out Franky, I'll meet you in your cell."
Franky studied Bridget, whose face was flushed with humiliation as the blonde remained seated and then the brunette felt that she was indeed being intrusive towards Bridget. So, she huffed and muttered, "Fine," before she walked out.
Bridget knocked on Franky's cell door. She did not really understand why she felt so mortified by the earlier incident. It was not the first time Franky had walked in on her and she has also walked in on Franky since the two had little regard of locking doors when it was only the two of them. This is a new prison low, she told herself. Cautiously, she stuck her head in and was comforted that Franky was just pacing around. "I wasn't trying to get a read on her. She wanted to see me," Bridget started as she walked into Franky's cell with her walking stick.
"Yeah?! Ya face isn't all she wants to see. Would be easy, wouldn't it? Given that she's got probable cause to make you strip?" Franky said, angrier than she initially believed she was.
"She's never done that. You're dragging her name through the mud!" Bridget said, rather angrily as well.
"So quick to defend her. Surely, you're not blind to see the way she looks at you!" Franky said as she pointed accusingly at Bridget. "This short time in prison couldn't have dulled your perception by so much!"
Bridget sighed and said in a less angry tone, "There's no getting through to you right now is there?"
Franky paced near her cell door angrily as Bridget followed the brunette's movements with her eyes. "When you thought Allie and I were fucking, I came straight to clarify it, which is more than what you're doing."
"More?! What do you reckon we're doing? Fucking at the hospital?! In medical?! Or at the visitor's area just now?! What do you want from me?!" At the mention of Allie, it was Bridget's turn to see red.
"I want the truth! I want you to tell me everything," Franky said, a little stunned by how annoyed Bridget sounded.
"Like how you tell me everything? Like how you say it's complicated and having Ferguson get the pleasure of telling me? Or how you say shit like I was trying to protect ya," Bridget countered with steely dark blue eyes.
Franky walked right up to Bridget, two inches away and Bridget flinched. The blonde hated that she flinched, but her brain ran the possibility of Franky striking her. Instead, Franky leaned in and sniffed at her. "Aha! Now I know why you smelled different last night. Before I was holding you, someone else was holding you. It was Katherine! I can literally smell her on you, unlike the time the Freak tried to rile you. She was holding you again! Today! It's so much stronger today since it wasn't watered down like yesterday. And what the fuck did she whisper in your ear?!" Franky shouted as her hands balled into fists.
Katherine's perfume had once again rubbed off on Bridget but before this, the blonde thought that it was all in her head. Bridget rolled her eyes. Her head immediately echoed Katherine's hang in there. She shuffled her weight. "Vera hugged me in the hospital too. The side of my head was pressed up against her boobs since I was sitting in bed. Was she holding me too?" She asked sarcastically.
Franky stopped pacing and blinked a few times before saying, "That's different." Then Franky continued pacing but a little slower.
"Ya damn right it's different. It's also much more different from the time you tried to fuck Allie in her cell. I can't even look at Allie and not imagine what the two of you look like! And it must also be different from the time you had to fake make out with her. How does that compare to two goodbye hugs and cheek kisses?" Bridget sneered managing all that before her voice broke. She did not care, she dropped her walking stick as she sat down on Franky's bed and buried her face with her hands, her own weight was suddenly unbearable.
"Where does this leave us?" Franky heartbreakingly asked, full teary puppy dog eyes visible. She was done shouting at the blonde who appeared to also have no more fight left inside.
Bridget let her hands slide down a little so her eyes could look at Franky, "I don't know," she said weakly.
Franky stormed off. Then she realized that she stormed out of her own cell. She was furiously wiping at her tears. She was not sure where she was heading. It was not like she could get in her car and drive off like she once did after she threw Bridget's house key back at her.
Hi Guys,
Lesson to take away from chapter 23 and this chapter is to always knock before you enter, you never know what the person behind a closed door is doing. If anyone is offended by Bridget sitting on the toilet, it was meant to be humorous but if you didn't find it funny, it's ok. I've been known to have a messed up sense of humor.
Also, thank you very much to everyone who took the time to review; it's an inspiration for me to keep writing.