"The worst is over now

and we can breathe again

I wanna hold you high,

you steal my pain away."

-Seether / Broken

chapter 26: broken

"So, this is really happening, huh." Vincent said, his voice hollow. "Yeah." Morello affirmed, her own voice toneless. Emotions churned beneath her passive surface, filling her with guilt and despair. The two of them stared at the documents displayed before them, sitting side by side, each lost in their own thoughts.

"Do you regret it?" Vincent asked without looking at her. "Regret what?" Morello answered, her dark eyes trained on the tiny print on the contracts. "Our marriage." He replied.

"Oh, that. No, no, I don't regret it." Morello shook her head slightly. "Marriage was supposed to be a lifelong thing." Vincent said. "I know." Morello responded softly. "But you're leaving." He continued.

"Yes, I am. I'm sorry, Vincent." Morello said, turning to face him for the first time since they entered the room. They'd planned this over the past few weeks via phone calls and visitation sessions. Franny had helped Morello get a lawyer, and Vincent had taken care of his own lawyer issues, and the two of them had arranged the divorce.

Both Franny and Vincent had tried to convince her to not go through with this, but her mind was made up. Morello couldn't lie to him anymore. Slowly, Vincent reached out, and signed the paper. Each loop of ink the pen left on the paper's surface squeezed Morello's heart.

"I'm sorry, Vince. You're a really, really good guy, and I hope you find someone else." Morello tentatively reached out and placed her hand on his. Vincent didn't object, but he didn't move either. "Just sign it." He said. He sounded so tired, and so sad. He seemed to have aged, not externally, but internally. He didn't deserve this.

Morello signed the document.

Morello wandered around the hallways with no particular destination in mind, simply paced around the place, forcing a smile and waving to other inmates who greeted her. She spotted a CO giving out shots to several inmates, and she ducked into the library quickly.

"Hey, kid." A familiar voice piped up from behind her. Morello whirled around. Nicky stood there with a stack of books clutched to her stomach, her messy brown curls spilling into her face. She swept her curly hair out of her face, her expression curious.

"Oh, hey Nicky." Morello gave her a little wave. Apparently, she'd accidentally wandered all the way here without even realising it. "What's up?" Nicky dumped her books on a table and walked over to Morello. "Oh, uh, nothing." The little Italian-American forced a smile, and shook her head a little, looking down at her shoes.

"Hey." Nicky gently turned Morello's head upwards. Her hand was beneath Morello's head, her fingers under her chin. "What's the matter, kid?" She asked softly, her face a few inches away from Morello's. She hadn't told Nicky about her divorce, and decided to tell her instead of keeping the truth from her.

"I got my divorce with Vince." Morello answered, averting her eyes from Nicky's. She felt awful. Vincent was a good guy, and he didn't deserve this.

"Oh, Lorna." Nicky said softly, her voice gentle. Her gaze was so intense Morello couldn't meet it. She also felt awful for hurting Nicky too, for every time she told her she loved her and didn't mean it. No matter what she did, she seemed to be hurting someone.

"I feel so awful, Nicky." Morello said, her voice full of despair. "I'm sorry, kid." Nicky said gently, wrapping her arms around Morello's waist. She placed her hands on Nicky's shoulders. "Don't be sorry. It's not your fault." Morello answered.

"Well if I hadn't come back into the picture you two would still be married." Nicky gave her a crooked half smile. "Maybe, but it never felt right. The whole time I thought about you, about you being locked away in max, and me here getting married, but I pushed it away." Morello sighed slowly.

"I guess I was hoping you'd give me your blessing, and forgive me." Morello confessed. Nicky sighed. "Oh, kid. I'll always have your back, but I can't think about you being with someone else. I couldn't have done it." She replied.

"I know. I don't know why I was hoping for it. I guess I was hoping you'd moved on from me, because I never thought I'd love you that way." Morello said. "Ouch." Nicky replied, mock-hurt. Morello gave her a small smile.

"Did you love me before this, though?" Nicky asked softly, her joking demeanor slipping. Morello thought for a moment. "No, no I didn't." She pulled away from Nicky, unable to face her, wracked with self-loathing. Morello felt Nicky touch her shoulder. "That's okay, kid." She said, smiling her trademark crooked smile.

"I thought you were mad that I said I did, even though I didn't." Morello blinked in surprise. Nicky shrugged. "I was. But I don't think it matters now, does it?" She said softly. "I don't think it does." Morello answered.

"We've been through so much, haven't we?" Nicky murmured, drawing Morello into her arms. The shorter girl closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around Nicky. "Yes, we have." Morello replied. "You didn't do anything wrong, Lorna." Nicky stroked her hair reassuringly.

"You didn't choose to hurt him. You can't force people to feel something they don't. You didn't choose to stop loving him. There's nothing you can do about it now. What's done is done. The two of you are free now, with both you and him not having to live a lie, yeah?" Nicky smiled. She kissed the top of Morello's head.

"You always know how to make me feel better." Morello laughed softly. "It's what I do, kid." Nicky grinned crookedly. She closed her eyes. Silence settled over the two of them for a while.

"He'll be okay, kid. You made the right choice." Nicky said softly. "Yeah." Morello smiled slightly. "I know."

"I love you." Nicky said unexpectedly, her voice soft. Morello was surprised, but happy. A feeling of warmth spread through her chest. "I love you too." Morello replied.