The first time Alex saw Piper, she felt a connection like never before. So much, that she didn't even wait for Piper to conform certain aspects of her WASPy upbringing. She just rushed in, interrupted, too anxious that someone else will get to her first. Alex recalled thinking that she could spend her entire day knowing every millimetre of her body.

It wasn't love at first sight. She was curious at first. The love came after. Her quirks and habits, the way they fit together, their banters and late night talks on literature and politics. Oh, it was so easy to love Piper. Because Piper was always there, always so attentive as if hanging to her each word. She felt so loved that it would overwhelm her sometimes. The way Piper cares for her, whatever she needed. She felt understood. Piper took her time knowing her, her not-so-ordinary lifestyle and yet accepted her, loved her. Or so she thought.

Some moments with Piper were odd. She brushed them off beneath the good ones. Piper would look at her with so much longing even when they were on the same bed, her eyes would turn to a deeper shade of blue and she would kiss Alex as if it was for the last time. Sometimes, Piper would close her eyes, like it hurt to look. Alex never asked why those moments felt like Piper was hiding something. Because she always thought it was a fault on her side. Her insecurities and fears that one day Piper will wake up and realise that she shouldn't be here. That one day she will leave her. That Piper didn't love her as much as she did. And now the worst of her nightmares proved to be true.

Afraid that Piper will leave her eventually, she told her to fuck off. And now she's the one to blame for losing probably the best thing in her life. Only if she could call Diane and ask… Nature has cunning way of hitting your weakest spot when you least expect it.

After Piper had left giving one last glance, Alex had been frozen in place. She cried for a while but stopped when it seemed useless. How the fuck did she managed to lose two of the most important people in her life in one day? When the pain became unbearable, she opened the secret little drawer on the back of the bathroom mirror. She had promised Piper that she would never open this. But now that Piper is gone, who gives a fuck anymore, right?

You know the feeling when you met someone, they fill this hole inside of you… and when they are gone you feel that place painfully vacant, Alex has that hole inside of her now. And that drawer contains a relief from that pain. At least a temporary one. Heroine.

Alex emptied the contents of the drawer on the floor of the bedroom and sat resting her back on the footboard. She dangled the small packet of white powder in front of her eyes. There was still some time left for the flight. She set an injection needle, a spoon, a lighter and a rubber tube in front of her. She has done this before with Fahri. In controlled amounts. Just for fun. She was not one of those junkies who couldn't get enough. She always thought she was better than them. Better than her addict piece of shit father.

But she is not.

Loving and being loved by Piper had been a high. A long lasting high. Just like they say, you only know you've been high when you're feeling low. So, Alex craves a new drug, to get rid of this low, she needs a high. A fucking dose of heroine.

Her thoughts got interrupted by the ringing of her phone. The screen read, Piper. Alex stared at it for a while and pressed the reject button. As much as her heart wanted to give in and talk to Piper she resisted. It's an awful feeling to love someone so much that you absolutely hate them for leaving you.

She picked up the rubber cord and tied it on her upper arm tightly.

A voicemail notification popped up on her lock screen. She ignored it. Or tried to. She pressed the play button with her other hand.

It's a few moments of silence before Piper spoke.

"Hey, it's me." Her voice was shaky, unsure. Alex worried if she was in any kind of trouble. "I am at the airport and-" Piper sighed.

Alex traced the veins on her arm.

"Al, I want you to know that what happened was not your fault. It's not on you. It's me. You were honest and good and I -I…" Piper paused. "Okay. There are somethings that I kept secret. But I need you to understand that it has nothing to do with you. I led a fucked up life. And it's my fault. And I know you think that I betrayed you, then yes I did but not in the way that you think. I did not cheat on you. Alex, I could never do that. You're the love of my life. I love you so much that it's insane. Al, don't do anything stupid. Diane needs you. I'll tell you everything when the time is right. I promise." She continued. "Alex, I just need you to know that I love you. That no matter what happens I will always love you. Goodbye."

By the time the message ended, Alex had untied the rubber cord from her arm and thrown the injection away. Tears were streaming down her eyes. Uncontrollable and pathetic. She decided that she will stop fucking crying and pack her bag. Go to New York. Make sure her Mom is okay and then maybe get back to Piper. But she wished Piper was here despite everything. That she was here to hold her. To help her get through with this.

But she isn't here.

So, Alex got up and wiped away the remnants of her tears. She flushed away the drugs and threw away the other things out of the fucking balcony. She took a moment to watch Paris having a wonderful morning outside like everything was normal and nothing had changed. But then again, that was the thing about heartbreaks. For her it was the end of the world, for the world it was just another cliche.

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Alex tried to reach her aunt a number of times at the airport and then after landing. Turned out, she had admitted Diane to a City hospital and left. Alex was the emergency contact. Alex was furious at that but there was nothing she could do. Alex was the only one Diane had.

Being back in New York was nostalgic. She always enjoyed the trip back home. Diane waiting for her with her favourite dishes at home. But not today. Today, she is probably lying on a hospital bed breathing through machines. Alex processed out quickly with just a duffle bag in tow.

Alex sat in silence as the taxi slithered in traffic from JFK International Airport to a hotel in Brooklyn that she had booked due to its distance closeness to the hospital. Alex wanted to be as close as possible.

Suddenly, the taxi came to a stop.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked.

"Some kind of roadblock ahead. It'll take some time."

"Okay. It's just a few blocks from here, anyway." Alex said opening the door. "I'll walk. Here." Alex paid the taxi driver got out. She could use a walk.

She was at the receptionist's desk in less than 10 minutes. She checked in pretty quickly. She got upstairs, took a quick shower to clean up a bit and changed into a pair of jeans and a casual white t-shirt. She took her wallet and mobile with her and left the rest of her stuff in the room.

Soon, she was on the streets walking her way to the hospital. The traffic and busy noises started a slow growing headache at the front of her head but it was bearable enough. She was expecting a headache sooner or later anyway.

What she was not expecting was an explosion. An earth shattering sound of collapse. And then fire. Alex stopped in her tracks and so did hundreds of passerby around her. The traffic stopped dead in its tracks. Suddenly everyone was getting out. Gaping at the huge ball of smoke, approximately two miles from where Alex was standing.

For the first few seconds, Alex was frozen. She was seeing it happen. The explosion. But at the same time her brain was detached. Like she was watching it on tv. But soon enough, her senses returned and the panic began. Diane. The blast happened in the direction of the hospital.

Alex started walking. Fast. Police sirens flew past her. Ambulances too. Alex couldn't care less about the people bumping into her. People had their phones out. Some clicking pictures, taking videos, some calling loved ones out of panic. Some people were running away in the opposite direction. A fucking chaos.

Alex made a mental note to call Piper as soon as she makes sure that her mum is okay. The way to the hospital seemed too far as the streets were crowded with panicked people and cars bumping into each other. Even after fifteen minutes of walking, Alex had just covered a few blocks. She used every shortcut she could remember and still it was half a mile away from there. She could see the smoke getting thicker and the increasing sound of sirens from ambulances, fire brigades and police cars.

"They have a suspect." She heard a teenager talking when she was waiting for the red light to turn green as the fire brigades raced towards the smokes. The girl was staring at her phone screen. Alex took out her own phone and quickly refreshed her news feed.

The news site was filled with updates on the recent terrorist attack on New York City. A bomb had been detonated in a children's hospital were the Vice-President was visiting. There were zero survivors so far. Alex felt goosebumps rising on the back of her as she scrolled down and clicked for the next page.

And holy fucking shit.

A picture of her was staring back at from her phone screen. She was the suspect? The article said that the FBI has confirmed that she had affiliation with terrorist organisations working against America. She even had a huge reward on her head.

Alex almost dropped her phone on the sidewalk. She blinked a few times to get into the right state of mind. The red light had turned green and people were bumping into her shoulder. She turned right back to the way from where she had come.

Soon, her picture will be on every channel and every news site. It's a miracle nobody has recognised her yet given how she has been walking. She kept her head down and hair in front as a meek attempt to disguise herself.

She couldn't go back to the hotel. No. Too many police cars were waltzing into the streets as cops got out to handle the crowd. Alex turned to a back alley and walked in the sheds of different stores. God, she needed a place to hide. Somewhere. Till she figures out what to do.

She took turns whenever a cop walked her way. It's a good thing she had had practice in avoiding authorities. Blending in crowds when needed. Most of the stores on the street started closing. Everyone wanted to leave and be with their family. But it also meant that she has no place to hide.

She turned south and saw a cop walking towards her so she turned around again and not so subtly. That definitely raised signs in the cop's head.

"Hey, miss-" the cop shouts. He looked young and maybe just maybe Alex could shake him off.

Alex walked fast aiming for the public library a few meters away. She could feel that the cop was still following her. A hand on his holster and another reaching for her. But she did not look back. She took long strides and entered the library. She was familiar with the place as she had been there before with Piper. Fuck, Piper. She needed to call her as soon as possible.

She ran to the stairs at the far right corner, leading to the basement. She kept an eye out for the cop as he walked in and took a glance everywhere. The library was almost vacant. He walked a few steps but his radio turned on and an order to be back was barked through it. He obeyed the order and retrieved his steps out of the library.

Alex released a breath she didn't know she was holding. She walked further into the basement to the old newspaper section. A dark and dingy room filled with years old newspapers and inches of dirt (last time she was here, she was eating Piper out on top of those stacks). She walked to the farthest corner and slid down. Her back to the wall and knees up close. She felt like it was a dream. A very realistic nightmare.

She took out her phone and visited the site again. There was new information. About her.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

The hospital, her mother was in, had taken some damage but not that much. The children's hospital was the target of the bombing. The Vice-President was already dead along with his wife and security personnel. The most recent death toll estimated 56 lives lost. People were devastated. A tragic loss. And all the blame was being put upon her. Alex Vause. Allegedly the most dangerous terrorist in the world as of this moment.

Landed on JFK international hours before the bombing… alleged affiliations to terrorist organisations… seen in Brooklyn minutes before the bombing… eyewitnesses claim her walking away from the scene after authorities showed up… a history of connections with drug cartels…checked into a hotel room in Brooklyn few miles away from the Children's hospital… possibly armed and dangerous… do not approach

Alex couldn't believe what she was reading. It was all a lie. A fucking lie. It was not her. But all of America seemed to be thinking that it was her. Someone was framing her. Or she was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Her fingers were shaking when she called a familiar number. Her last hope. Her last strand of sanity.

The phone went straight to voicemail. Alex was disappointed but she did not really have a chance. She had to tell someone. Not someone. Piper, specifically.

"Hey, Pipes." Alex said. "It's me. Pipes, I really have no fucking idea what is happening. I was on my to see mum and then the explosion happened. Pipes, I am not involved in this." It sounded like she was begging. "Pipes, I need you to know that I didn't do it. I am not what they are making me. You know that, right? I need you to believe me. I would die rather than killing people. And I have no fucking idea how to handle this or how much longer I have as a free woman. Pipes, I love you. I love you so much that it hurts. I hope you love me too. Good bye." She finished and hung up.

She laid her head back on the wall. For the first time in her life, she prayed to God that she comes out of this innocent. She couldn't live with being a convicted killer of hundreds of children. She doesn't want to accept this reality. This truth. Because just when she thought life couldn't fuck her over anymore, it did.

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Thank you for all the reviews. It has been wonderful writing for you guys. The next chapter will probably be the end of Part 1. The story will be getting thicker and a bit more into action.

Hope you enjoyed this one. See you in the next chapter. Happy reading!