Hey guys, back again with this new chapter. Sorry it's taken so long to update, I'm gonna try to post more regularly from now on. Hope you's like it, comment and let me know what you think. Thank you for your follows and those who favourited the story, it means a lot to know you like it. Also, thank you for your lovely comment's guys. I hope you're all keeping safe and well.

Chapter 2:

Alex sat on the edge of the bed staring at her phone in a daze, contemplating what to do. She didn't know if it had been minutes, hours or days. Time just seemed to stand still.

'Should I call her back? What if she's in bed with her boyfriend? Should I send her a text? What do I even say? Does she want to hear from me? Well, she did call me first.' Alex thought to herself as she bit her thumbnail.

Alex bounced off the bed and walked to the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator door, grabbed an ice, cold beer and reached for the pack of cigarettes on the counter. The brunette popped the cap off her beer and pulled a cigarette from the pack. She anxiously paced around the living room as she looked for a lighter. Once she found one, she sat on the couch and (finally) lit her cigarette. Alex took a big gulp of her beer and a pull from her cigarette as she stared at her phone screen.

''Fuck it… I'll send her a text. She can decide what she wants to do with it.'' Alex said to herself as she started typing on her phone.

Piper woke the next morning with a pounding headache. The bright morning sun shone through the open curtains (that they were both too drunk to close last night), worsening her current condition. It took a few minutes for the blonde to adjust to the brightness. As she opened her eyes, she noticed Larry's side of the bed cold and empty.

Piper got out of bed and dragged herself to the bathroom. Last night she had managed in her drunken state to strip down to her bra and panties and put her old smith t-shirt on (even if it was on backwards). The blonde brushed her teeth and washed her face, now feeling more human.

Piper made her way to the kitchen, the aroma of warm coffee in the air was a welcoming relief. She poured herself a cup and looked around the old brownstone house for any signs of her boyfriend. The blonde noticed a note stuck to the refrigerator door, scribbled in Larry's awful, hard to read handwriting.

[Pipes, you were asleep, and I didn't want to wake you. Pete invited me to go fishing for the day, then for beers after. Be home late. Love, Larry]

'I hate when he calls me Pipes!' The thought hit the blonde with a wave of nausea. 'That was Alex's nickname for me... She's been on my mind a lot lately, fuck.' Piper thought to herself as she sipped her (almost cold) coffee.

Piper washed her coffee cup and went to the bedroom to find her phone and check the time.

[10:47am]

''I must've drank too much wine last night… I never sleep this late!'' Piper said to herself as she noticed a text message.

1 NEW MESSAGE – ALEX

''Alex? What the fuck?'' Piper asked herself, slightly in shock. It had been three years from she had last saw her name light up her phone screen.

Text message: Friday 3rd April – 3:17am

ALEX

[Hey Pipes, or shall I say shalom? A blast from the past is an understatement. Of course, I recognise your voice, kid. I hope you're okay. I'm back home in New York for a while, since you asked. I'm guessing from the area code that you're here too? Since you're missing me, maybe we should change that? I hope your hangover isn't too bad in the morning, kid. A x]

''Recognised my voice? Since I asked? Guessing from the area code? I'm missing HER? What the fuck does she mean by change that? Oh my God… What have I done?'' Piper frantically read aloud the text from her ex, as she nervously checked her call history from the previous night.

''Oh fuck… Fuck, fuck, fuck! I drunk dialled her last night!'' Piper almost screamed as she saw her call log.

After Alex sent her ex that text, she drank another few beers and chain smoked her pack of cigarettes, all while replaying her ex-girlfriend's voicemail over and over again. The brunette replayed the voicemail so many times that she could recite it word for word.

'Three years, three fucking years… And now she calls! When she's drunk and lonely… AND has a fucking boyfriend. Of course, she went back to boys. She didn't even have the decency to call and check on me after my fucking mom died. Diane loved Piper, she thought we were meant to be… I wonder where we would've been now if she hadn't of left? Still together? Married? Would we have had kids together? With my job… I doubt it. Would I still have been working for the cartel if she had stayed? Would I have changed my lifestyle to keep her, if she had of given me the chance? I probably would have… I probably still would. A part of me still loves her. No matter how deep I try to bury it, it's never deep enough! Three fucking years ago I was a complete fucking mess, my life was a train wreck when she left. But I've been doing good lately, for over a year now. I bandaged and stitched myself back up, but just hearing her voice has ripped that band aid off… Fuck!' Alex angrily thought to herself as she drained the rest of her beer and stubbed out her cigarette butt in the ashtray.

Alex stumbled to bed with a nice buzz, she hoped the alcohol would help her sleep (she was wrong). The brunette tossed and turned all night (it wasn't technically all night considering she didn't go to bed until 4:39am), she finally gave up on the idea of sleep around 8:30am.

Alex put on a pot of coffee and went for a long, hot shower. The warm water helped relax her tense muscles and ease her anxious mind. No matter how hard she tried, the brunette couldn't get her ex-girlfriend off her mind. Everywhere she looked she was reminded of memories from her time with the blonde; spending all day in bed making love, hot showers and sexy baths together, cuddling in bed as they fell asleep, cooking together, reading to each other as they cuddled on the couch, Piper fixing their toaster with a hot glue gun. It didn't help matters that she never moved apartments. This was the apartment they used to share together. Alex bought the penthouse apartment before she met Piper, when their relationship got serious the blonde moved in and they made it theirs. Occasionally the brunette would have girls stay over (no more than a night), but no other woman got to call it their place. Alex Vause was permanently single, forever unattainable, a one-night stand type of woman… She didn't do relationships (not since her).

By 9:47am, Alex was showered, dressed, with her teeth brushed and hair dried. She was now sitting on the couch, sipping her first coffee of the day and smoking a cigarette. The brunette had finally gathered up the courage to check her phone (hoping for a text from a certain blonde). As Alex hit the button, her phone screen lit up and showed no new messages. Her heart suddenly sank, like a lead balloon.

'It's 9:52am. Piper's always up by now… She rarely sleeps past 7am. She called me, she got back into my head and now she's blowing me off! Typical, same old, self-centred bitch!' Alex thought angrily to herself as she stubbed out her cigarette, only to light another straight back up.

Piper paced around her bedroom in a frenzy, she didn't know what to do.

'Should I text her back? Do I ignore the call and pretend it didn't happen? Why did she text me a one-sided conversation? The call was less than two minutes… Oh God, did I leave her a drunken voicemail? Fuck, I left her a voicemail! After three years and everything I done… Abandoning her when she needed me most, she still responded back. I can't ignore her… Not again! 'Since you're still missing me, maybe we should change that?' Does she want to talk to me? Meet up? Get back together? I don't think I could face seeing her again. I must have told her that I missed her… Shit! Fuck, what am I gonna do? What am I gonna say back to her?' Piper anxiously thought to herself as she continued to pace the room.

The blonde went to the kitchen and poured herself another cup of coffee to steady her nerves. She sat on the living room couch, set the coffee on the table and pulled out her phone. Piper reread the brunette's message. Alex was nice in her text, 'Pipes', 'kid', 'I hope you're okay' and 'I hope your hangover isn't too bad in the morning, kid'. She even signed off with her initial and a little kiss 'A x'. (If the tables were reversed, the blonde didn't think she would have been as nice in her reply. She would have told the brunette to fuck off, given the way she abandoned her and the three years silence after it.) As she reread the text (again) her heart fluttered at Alex's use of her nicknames for the blonde and her caring message.

The blonde typed out several texts, rewriting them until she was satisfied with her reply. Piper didn't want to be rude to the older woman, she wanted to be nice back. Show her how much she has grown up into a nice, young, blonde lady. Her gut was telling her not to reply at all, to leave well enough alone, 'this will only end badly, Piper,' she thought to herself. But her heart was telling her the opposite; do it, it's only a friendly text (to your ex-girlfriend, (still to this day) the love of your life), it would be nice to catch up after all these years. 'Honestly I still do miss her,' the blonde thought (but this thought was buried deep inside her).

Piper reread the text a final (hundredth) time and pressed send. She sipped her (now cold) coffee as she waited on a reply.

After chain smoking another few cigarettes and drinking another cup of coffee, Alex tried to busy herself by tidying her apartment. She was trying to distract herself from checking her phone every few seconds (which wasn't going well). The brunette knew that the blonde had to be awake at 10:34am. 'She's read my text by now and she's just ignoring it. I bet she's pretending the call didn't happen.' Alex thought to herself feeling deflated (but subconsciously, secretly hoping for a text back). She was trying to keep herself busy as to not get her hopes up too much (which was failing badly).

By 11:20am, the brunette had her penthouse apartment sparkling… In the kitchen; the dishes were washed and dried, the counters were cleaned, and the floor swept and mopped. The living room had been tidied, surfaces dusted, and the floor was also swept and mopped. The bathroom had been scrubbed with bleach, from top to bottom. In the bedroom; the bed had fresh sheets, her clean laundry put away and the room had been vacuumed. Alex had just finished putting on a load of laundry and now she sat on the living room couch with a coffee and a cigarette.

Alex had just stubbed her cigarette out in the ashtray when she heard her phone beep, indicating a new text. The brunette quickly grabbed her phone feeling anxious, she could feel butterflies in her stomach as the screen lit up.

1 NEW MESSAGE – PIPER

Text message: Friday 3rd April – 11:22am

PIPER

[Hey Alex, I'm sorry about the voicemail, as you heard I had a little too much to drink last night. I can't really remember what I said. Shalom? I'm fine, thanks. I hope you're keeping well. Yes, your guess was right... I'm still living here in New York. Maybe we should change that… What did you mean by that? No hangover thankfully, just a slight headache. P x]

There we go guys, chapter 2. Let me know what you think by leaving a comment. I'll post again soon. Stay safe!