Chapter Twenty -Five
Piper lunged towards her saying " Alex, Alex oh Alex, baby" over and over. She moaned and Piper pulled her into her arms. Her face was bruised and her nose was bleeding profusely. Piper could see she had whacked her head some on the toilet.
"Go get help," Piper said frantically but they just stood there looking at her. Alex was blinking her eyes and Piper was sure she'd been knocked out cold.
Gina finally said, " Look, I'll go get Red. You guys help her up and see if you can get her out the other side here, down the hall and out the side door to the yard. Um, let's meet at the greenhouse. Red and I will bring some stuff...you don't want her to report this Chapman. They may put her in the SHU for fighting until they figure out what really happened. There aren't any cameras in here so it is her word against whoever did it." She explained and Piper just nodded. She was so tired of how the reality of their place in this prison meant they had to compromise their personal freedom and health.
Alex was clutching to Piper now and trying to stand up. She noticed that Alex shoved something in her pocket as she stood. She leaned on Piper and it helped to calm her some.
"I'm okay, don't worry...looks worse than it is," she said as Norma and Piper helped her out of the stall. Norma went to look ahead and left them alone standing in the curve of the hallway out of sight of anyone that came in the other way.
"Who did this to you?" Piper asked her as she put her arm around her and pulled her up closer to compensate for Norma not helping keep Alex upright. She was still very dizzy. Alex gasped in pain and winced. Piper pushed her against the wall and reached for Alex's uniform shirt. She pushed at Piper's hands feebly trying to stop her but the blonde was determined. She lifted her shirt to see bruises and a nasty scrape on her side.
Blood drained from her face when she realized someone had hit Alex, knocked her into the stall and then kicked her. Piper wanted to cry but she felt that cold fury settle into her very bones.
"It's okay..oh there's Norma...where we going again? Don't take me to the nurse," Alex said and Piper could tell she was feeling better because she was already trying to help with the cover up. They snuck out and walked together quietly to the greenhouse. Piper hadn't ever been back here so Norma led the way. Once inside, Norma brought over a chair and Piper eased Alex down into it.
Alex reached her hand out and pushed some hair from Piper's eyes. She ran her knuckles against her cheek and Piper slid her glasses on her face. Alex blinked and frowned at the scratches. The frown made her wince in pain and she pushed her head back some to stop the flow of blood from her nose.
"Oh Al...this place is going to kill us," Piper said softly. Norma reached out and put her hand on Piper's shoulder. She looked up and Norma touched her heart in a loving way. "Yeah, maybe love will get us through." She was going to ask Alex again when Red showed up with Gina in tow. She pulled a bag out from under her shirt and opened it.
"Let me see, ah..well the nose makes it look worse. My boys came home every day with a bloody nose like this, no problem. Gina, be a dear and see if you can get Gloria to give us some ice. Tell her I'll get her some better quality Cayanne Pepper if she wants a trade. Make a pack with a sock and be quick about it or she'll swell up too much," Red ordered. Piper stayed on her knees holding Alex's hand. She felt better with Red there and realized yet again how lucky she was to be a member of her family.
"Thanks Mom," Piper said quietly. Red looked down at her and gave her a tender look. She cleaned up Alex's face and felt the knot on her head. She took a long while investigating.
"How long was she out? If she starts having symptoms of a concussion we may have to tell medical," Red said clearly. She rattled them off and told Piper she learned all about it in medical. "Nothing like getting your head slocked to addle your brains," she joked. Piper saw her look to a point on the floor and winced.
"Oh shit Red, sorry...you were attacked here," Piper apologized. Norma put her hand on her mouth like it just occurred to her too. Piper recognized that Red wouldn't make a big deal out of it.
"Look, usually prison sucks but it isn't full of violence. It takes certain people to promote it. I live here and have to live with it, so no worries," she said nodding to Piper. Alex's nose stopped bleeding and Red felt it to make sure it wasn't broken. "I think just busted, don't worry Piper, her good lucks are intact."
Alex smiled and told her, "Ah you think I look good Red." Red glared at her and pressed the ice Gina handed her as she slipped back inside.
"I got you a new shirt as well Vause," Gina said. Alex's was covered in blood. Her blood was so dark and red. Piper stared at it and had flashes of blood on a snowy ground. Did Alex feel that way when she found her out cold from Suzanne's attack? She understood instantly how it changed Alex. Piper assisted her removing her shirt and showed Red her bruises.
"Those fucking steel toed boots," Gina mumbled. Piper closed her eyes as flashes of a helpless Alex being kicked flooded her. Red asked her to take deep breaths and she did. It hurt but there was no sharp sting.
Alex said they were just bruised. "They aren't broken, just a few bruises." Alex seemed to be saying that for Piper. She wanted Alex to see a Doctor but the thought of her being ripped away or sent to the SHU over it made her go along with hiding it. Alex looked better already. She had a bruise on her cheek and a cut on her forehead under the bump. "I'll tell them I fell down the stairs to the laundry if they ask," Alex said clearly. Piper hated how fast they came up with a cover. She wanted to scream at the prison officials to tell them their policies of tossing prisoners in the SHU keeps them from seeking even basic medical. She helped Alex lower her new shirt over her head.
"Who did it?" Piper asked again. Red put things in her bag but looked up expecting an answer as well.
Alex shifted in the chair, "I didn't really see. I don't know, maybe she thought I was someone else." It was lame. Red snorted and turned away.
"Don't give me that shit Alex! Tell me...she hit you in the face and knocked off your glasses, there is no way you didn't see her!" Piper yelled. She was mad at who did it and now she was mad at Alex.
"I'm not saying Pipes because you'll try to do something about it and you're still recovering yourself," Alex said. As if on cue, Officer Bell came into the greenhouse.
"Chapman! You came out here without an escort, what are you up to?" Bell was so damn mad! Piper forgot she wasn't supposed to go anywhere without an escort. Fuck!
"Sorry Officer, I asked them to help me...deal with what happened here," Red's voice broke and she turned away. Gina and Norma both rubbed her back. Alex dropped her head and let her hair fall in front of her face. "My bunkmate was just helping me and forgot to tell you. We watched out for her, though she seems much better now." Piper was still sore but she was getting around just fine.
Bell seemed to shift and become uncomfortable with an emotional Red. She also knew that the violence from inmates had touched the guards more than they actually thought. She ushered them out and Alex hurried out first. She wanted to get back to her bunk and hide her ice pack. Piper felt stupid that the fact she ahd to have an escort had nearly got them in trouble. She walked slower, letting the rest go ahead and forcing Bell to follow her along.
Piper went straight to Alex once she was alone. She sat on the floor at her feet and looked up. "Tell me now...tell me...I promise not to do anything-" Alex put her finger on her lips.
"Tell me what you wanted to tell me on our walk," Alex asked as she held the ice to her face. Piper sighed and tried to calm herself. She wanted to tell Alex about her conversation with Bell and Polly. She wanted Alex to tell her who it was and she was really upset. She sat there and closed her eyes trying to control her anger. Alex let her catch her breath and simply held her hand.
"Polly was here. We had a good visit...didn't talk about you know who," Piper said softly. She was going to tell her about Crocket but she realized that she wasn't supposed to know what he looked like. What was she supposed to say to Alex? 'Oh Polly saw your parole officer, she recognized him from the website where she looked up his number.' No Piper sighed and told Alex the information that Bell told her about the investigation. She told Alex about Fig in soft quiet tones.
"Nicky told me some of it...but damn Pipes. You were spying for a reporter? You're lucky all they did was put you on a transfer list," Alex scolded. Yet Piper could tell she was proud of her. "It makes sense about the guards but I really think the escort around is to keep that lawyer from suing."
"You should call her. I spoke to her earlier as well," Piper explained. Alex nodded and then looked lost in thought. She had other things she wanted to tell Alex but she was very upset with her for the silence about her attack. How could she trust Alex if she didn't trust her? Piper was in such turmoil inside but she hid it. She stuffed it down as she was taught to do long ago and if she was on the outside, she'd go out...drink...and maybe get laid. All to push this fear and worry away. But she couldn't escape all of it here. No, there was nowhere to run. Taking steps is easy...standing still is hard.
Piper leaned up and put her arms around Alex carefully. She turned and hugged Piper. She was kneeling before her on her knees and it wasn't that hard to slip her hand in that pocket. She pulled away holding a slip of paper. She got up and moved back as Alex saw it. She was unable to stand quickly and Piper put her hand on her shoulder to hold her down.
She demanded Piper give that back. She saw it was a number. A phone number...she handed it back to her, bent at the waist and kissed her on the cheek. She could tell from Alex's glance that she was completely stumped by Piper's behavior. She left her on the bunk, wondering and went to help Norma get some snacks for the movie. She was sure to ask Bell to escort her to the microwave in the Rec room.
***I am loving all the reviews. It has been a crazy week for me but I hope you are enjoying the story thus far. Please Review. I am afraid my long vacation has come to an end and I will seek to keep the story posts up at a regular interval. Please Review, Peace Fae***