Author's Note: Dedicated to my sweetheart, Kristina. You are and will always be my one true love, my twin flame. You always inspire me to keep writing and I can't say I izzy you enough. I hope your toothache is getting better every day, my love, I'm always sending you healing vibes (insert heart emojis here).
Chapter Seven
The brunette lay tearfully in her bed, the covers all the way to her head. She felt sick inside. Sick that her father's blood ran through her veins. Sick that she heard him talk about her mother in such a vile way. Her phone sat in her hands as she cried silently. She didn't know what to do. All she had now was her abusive father. Franny lived in her own apartment across town and Mikey was away in the military. Nobody could help her through this. Nobody knew what she was left to cope with.
She slid open the screen of her phone, looking through her contacts for someone to call. She needed something to keep her mind off reality. When her eyes landed on Nicky's name, she stopped and stared at it. She forgot the two of them exchanged numbers earlier that day. With a click of a button, the phone dialed the number and the dial tone sounded through her ear.
It took only two rings for the line to pick-up. She swallowed nervously, now regretting making the call. What was she even going to say? She asked herself. She sighed and tried to clear her throat enough so that her voice wouldn't sound as though she'd just spent the past hour crying her eyes out. "Uh, hey Nicky, it's Lorna…from school," she finally spoke up.
"Hey, kid," Nicky answered with a warm chuckle. "I know who ya are. What's up? I wasn't expecting to hear from ya so late, is everything okay?"
"Just, um, I don't know. I just wanted someone to talk to, I guess," was her meek response. She really hadn't any clue why she chose to call Nicky at this late hour and was surprised she even answered. But she did, truly, want someone to talk to. She craved friendship—love and the feeling of someone just caring. And, for some unexplainable reason, Nicky gave her that sense of caring.
On the other line, Nicky couldn't but slightly smile at the response. She felt a connection with Lorna. A connection she never really felt with anyone else. A connection she couldn't quite explain. "Well, I'm here. We can talk. What's on your mind, Lorna?"
The question proved to be a challenge for her to come up with an answer for. What wasn't on her mind was the more appropriate question. "I just—it was real fun going to the coffee shop with ya today. I, uh, I enjoyed it a lot. Thank you."
Another smile crept onto her face. "I enjoyed it too, kid. We'll have to hang out more, yeah? What're ya thanking me for, huh? You're too sweet."
"I mean ya just, you're the nicest friend I've had in a real long time. I just wanted to thank you. I would love to hang out more, just—uh, I don't know when. If there was some sorta way we could hang out during school hours, that would be a life saver."
The comment brought a slight bit of concern over Nicky. She scrunched her eyebrows up in intrigue. "Anytime, kid, anytime. Hey, well, now you're speaking my language. I love skipping classes, why not skip it together?" A smirk formed. She would do anything to get out of those mundane courses she was forced to take. And even more so if she could spend more time with Lorna Morello.
The idea was highly enticing to Lorna. Yet, in the back of her mind, she worried her father would find out and punish her even worse. She exhaled deeply, trying to keep the thought at bay. She refused to ruin her new friendship with any pettiness. She was Lorna Morello, the happiest girl on the planet. Yes, she told herself, she was happy. There was no room for negative emotions.
The silence didn't go unnoticed by Nicky. "You still there, kid?"
"Yeah, I'm here," Lorna finally said, forcing a yawn to make it seem as though she was tired—when in reality, she was really too frightened to fall asleep. "How can we skip class without getting caught? I wanna do it, I just—I don't wanna get in trouble, Nicky."
"Getting tired, yeah? Wanna call it a night? We can talk about that tomorrow; you sound like you're about to fall asleep."
The brunette shook her head furiously even though the other girl couldn't see her. "I can't sleep yet, just let's figure out how to not get caught sneaking outta class please?
Nicky sensed the urgency in her voice and felt a heavy sensation in her chest. She had a feeling something wasn't right. But had no idea how to even go about figuring it out. "Kid, it's no big deal. We can figure that out in the morning, yeah? It's late, let's just go to sleep and we'll meet up at school first thing in the morning, I promise."
"It is a big deal. I-I just—please don't go yet, I just wanna make sure we really don't get caught. Please, Nicky."
The franticness in her voice immediately rang alarm bells in the older teen's head. She sighed sadly, holding the phone tighter against her ear. "I'm not going anywhere kid, I promise. It's okay, I'm right here. We'll meet up tomorrow morning in Red's office, yeah? I'll convince her to write us a slip outta our morning classes, okay? Please don't worry. Now, why don't we just hang up for the night and go to sleep?"
Lorna swallowed uncomfortably. She didn't want her emotions to come out. The last thing she wanted was for her new friend to hear the sniffles or cries that came out of her. She wanted to keep her happy and bubbly persona. But it was as though she was possessed. She felt like she had no control over anything anymore. "Don't go," she spoke no louder than a whisper.
Nicky's heart ached at her small voice. She longed, desperately, to push her arms through the phone and just hug Lorna close to her. "I'm here, Lorna. I won't leave. Are you okay?"
"I'm okay," she mumbled, not sure she even knew the meaning of okay anymore. Deep down, she knew she hadn't been truly okay since before her mother's cancer diagnoses.
She didn't believe that for even a second. "Are ya really? I don't think you are. Ya called me in the middle of the night and I just—I know something's up. Please tell me what's wrong. I'm your friend, Lorna, I'm here for you."
"I'm okay," Lorna repeated but even she knew it was a lie. "I don't know what I am. I just know I don't want to talk about it. I'm sorry for calling and bothering you, Nicky. I-I didn't even mean to, my fingers just did it without me telling them to."
Nicky couldn't help but lightly chuckle at the comment. "Your fingers know you need me is what it sounds like to me. They made a good choice. You're not bothering me at all—I don't usually go to sleep until way past midnight, I'm just worried about you. But it is late, and I think you need some sleep, yeah? It's okay, I'll talk to ya tomorrow and I'll give ya a hug when we see each other. I want to. Since I can't hug ya now through the phone."
The next morning arrived quickly much to Lorna's displeasure. She sat up in the bed, shutting her eyes momentarily as she sucked in an exasperated breath of air. Another day she hadn't known if she could make it through. After last night's events with her father, she knew today couldn't be much better. She threw her legs over the side of the bed and finally pushed herself off of it. She grabbed a pair of sweatpants and shirt from her dresser, quickly throwing them on, and made her way down the stairs to the kitchen to prepare herself a much-needed cup of coffee.
"You're fucking late again," Mr. Morello spat from his seat at the kitchen table. He glanced up from the newspaper in has hands, shaking his head in frustration. "I'm fucking sick and tired of your shit, Lorna. Ya keep getting up late and missing the damn bus—I'm not driving you anymore. You can walk your ass to school. And don't even make any damn breakfast, ya ain't got time. Get going!"
Lorna ignored her father's words and continued to get her cup of coffee ready. She could go without food just fine but coffee? There was no way she was setting foot outside without having her morning cup. She watched as the coffee slowly dripped into the vessel and grabbed a traveler's mug from the counter while waiting for it to finish.
Rage built up inside of him. He set the newspaper aside and stood up from the chair, slamming it into the table so loudly that it almost broke right then and there. "Fucking ignoring me again? I'm so tired of your bitchy attitude! This is my fucking house, and you will fucking answer me when I speak to you, ya fucking understand?" He marched over to her, grabbing the coffee vessel before it was even finished brewing and poured the steaming liquid right over her head.
"Want yer damn coffee? There, how's that? Now fucking get the hell outta here and to school—and ya fucking better be home on time or you'll regret it," he demanded, pushing her towards the door and throwing her out into the snowy morning air.
By the time she finally made it to the entrance of her high school, she could hardly feel her legs or even her arms for that matter. The coffee burnt terribly, yet the freezing temperatures numbed her up so much she couldn't sense it anymore. She grabbed onto the door and made her way inside the building. And as soon as she did, her entire body collapsed to the ground. She didn't make a sound, however, she just let the cold tile embrace and cool her now very burning body. She felt as though her blood was boiling inside of her. It was so great; she couldn't explain it. She had no energy to make a sound.
It felt like an eternity had passed before she was finally able to move her body again. She used all of her force to push herself up off the ground. It hurt tremendously, but she ignored it and continued through the hall to her locker. When she arrived in front of it, she rapidly opened the door and grabbed her morning class books out.
A gentle hand was placed onto her shoulder, causing her to immediately jump up in fear. She swallowed hard, not expecting anyone to come up from behind and scare her like that. She hoped to God it wasn't Annalisa. However, when she turned around, relief washed over her as her eyes landed on Nicky's.
"I didn't mean to scare ya, kid," her husky voice commented. Big brown eyes staring her over in intense concern. She sensed an uneasiness among them. She searched the petite brunette with thorough eyes. "I've been looking for ya all morning, where were ya?"
Lorna felt her heartbeat rising at the question. She had to come up with an excuse and fast. "Oh, uh, sorry—I just got here. I missed the bus and had to call my sister to take me. She lives a bit away."
Nicky folded her hands over her chest, not buying that excuse whatsoever. "Lorna, I don't know if I believe that."
Her heart pounded so hard, that's all she could hear. The shorter teen shifted her feet as she stood, trying to come up with the words to say. She didn't know what to say, honestly. She didn't want to have Nicky find out the truth. As if she needed more reason for her to regret their friendship.
"Lorna, are you okay?"
Lorna nodded but she wasn't. She knew she wasn't okay. Her entire body ached and burned. Her skin felt raw and chapped. But she nodded and put on her bubbly Lorna smile. Damned if she'd let anyone ever think otherwise. "I'm okay, Nicky. I just—I didn't even have time for my coffee. I feel caffeine deprived is all."
The redhead inwardly sighed, still not believing a word. She didn't say anything—only wrapped her arms warmly around Lorna's petite frame. She gave a soft kiss to her head. "Here's that big hug I promised you, kid. God, it feels so good to hug you," she gently whispers, embracing her for several moments before finally releasing her.
That statement Lorna couldn't agree more with. She never enjoyed a hug quite like the one she just shared with Nicky. Something about it just felt right—natural. It made her crave more. But she refrained. Her body was too horrid to be embraced by such a wonderful human being, she told herself. Especially now after what happened that morning.
"Thank you," was her murmured response.
Nicky couldn't help but give her a soft smile. She reached a hand over to frame delicately around her cheek. "You're very welcome, sweet girl. I'm here for ya, yeah?" She parted a strand of hair from her eyes, gazing into them with a strong waive of sincerity.
Lorna bit her lip to keep her emotions in check. She felt something come over her, yet she couldn't figure out what it was. She swallowed thickly. The older girl made her feel calm and cared for. Something no one else seemed to have the capability of. "Thank you, Nicky." All she could muster up without her emotions getting the best of her.
Gently grabbing hold of her hand, Nicky led her to the bathroom and locked them in one of the stalls. She framed Lorna's face in her hands once more and studied her features much more closely. She could see the tears that threatened to spill out and let her thumb slowly stroke around her soft flesh. "You can cry, baby. You're allowed," she murmured warmly, taking her head and cradling it in her arms.
"I don't wanna cry, Nicky." Lorna swallowed hard, trying so very hard to keep the tears from falling. She peered up at the other and just felt such a warm sensation fall over her. She sighed, shutting her eyes. The tears kept building. She opened them and stared back at Nicky, who's soft brown eyes only seemed to gaze at her with such a warmth it was almost overwhelming.
"I know you don't want to, but you need to. I can tell you need to," Nicky soothed, continuing the soothing sensation around her face. "Those tears want to come out, let them. It's okay. You are allowed to cry, beautiful. You're allowed to cry here with me."
The shorter girl shook her head and forced a smile. "But I'm happy. I don't wanna cry. I-I can't."
Shaking her head as well, Nicky knew that was a blatant lie. She easily saw right through Lorna's façade and that only made her fondness for her grow. She wanted to break Lorna's very stubborn walls and see what was really inside of her. "You're trying to convince yourself that you're happy, I can see that. But you're so exhausted, so tired, baby. You need to cry; I can see it in those beautiful eyes. Just let it out," she softly commented, letting her thumb trace comforting circles around her cheeks.
"I knew something was up when you called me last night, kid. And now, I'm even more sure of that. I'm not asking you to tell me—at least not right now—I'm just telling you that I'm here and you can cry here with me. You don't have to pretend in front of me, anymore. I'm not gonna leave, Lorna. You don't have to worry, I'm here now. I'm here, I'll take care a ya, kid."
Lorna still refused to let the tears fall even though she knew Nicky was right. Her body and mind felt so exhausted and drained. She wanted to finally just let it all out but there was something holding her back. She couldn't let her bubbly persona just leave like that. She couldn't give in. She had to make sure everyone saw her as the happy and cheery girl that she was—or thought she was.