Maine: Karlson Family - Foster Care
Three years ago...
She was alone with that fucking creep. She shuttered on the bed. Beneath that pillow was a chef knife because she's so sure he's finally going to react to his predatory senses. Tonight she might lose a part of herself in a carnal way that will definitely scar her for life.
She needed to get the fuck out of this house right now.
Suddenly, she was on her feet. She flicked on the lights and begin to pack what little of her belongings she had into a duffel bag. Just as she was putting on her boots, the door opened and there he stood in his boxers, smiling that fucking creepy smile of his and Piper just knew. She had to get the fuck out of there.
"Please," Piper said softly. Maybe if she was polite he'd take pity on her.
Dear God, how fucked up can this system be? Putting her in this fucking house with this fucking molester.
He was approaching her on the bed, breathing heavily. His gut the size of a watermelon, his cock a bulging erection in his boxers.
All Piper did was blink and he was pushing her down on the small mattress. He was at least thrice her size and she felt absolutely powerless.
She thrashed beneath him as he tried to unbutton her jeans.
"Struggle and it'll hurt more."
"Help!" Piper yelled.
He chuckled sinisterly. "No one will come to save you. No one can hear you." He pressed his big hand on her mouth, muffling her cries.
He spread her legs wider as he pushed down her pants, still smiling.
"Just enjoy it."
"Fuck you!" Piper mumbled.
His wide grin disappeared and a scream replaced it as Piper bit his palm. Hard.
"Fucking bitch!" He grunted.
Piper took that little moment of distraction and poked his eye; sending stumbling a little and then she delivered a rather painful kick to his groin.
She fished for the knife under the pillow and pulled it on him.
"I don't think so, asshole." Piper said. She pulled up her pants as she approached him on the wall. He was grabbing his groin, grunting in pain.
Without taking her eyes off the bastard, Piper picked up her duffel bag and swung it on her shoulder.
She approached him cautiously. His face met her knee and then another kick was delivered to his back.
"You sick fucker! Get up!" Piper yelled.
The knife was under his throat and he forced himself on his feet.
"Is that what you do, Johnny?" Piper asked as they marched out of her bedroom. "Prey on little girls who can't defend themselves? How many defenseless girls did you rape like that before? Or were there little boys too?"
"You're never gonna get away with this." He hissed.
"No. You're gonna stop getting away with this." Piper said as they reached the living room.
His wallet was sitting on the coffee table and Piper pushed him on the couch, pushing the sharp pointy tip of the knife on his throat.
"Pick it up." She instructed.
He picked it up slowly.
"Open it."
There was some pocket change in it. Enough to get her on the next bus as far away from this fucking place as possible.
"Toss all of it on the table." She said.
"You're never gonna get far this late."
"You're never gonna take advantage of another girl again." Piper said.
She pressed just a little bit more pressure on the knife and cut through his skin. Sharp pain produced from his throat as blood spill down his neck into his collarbone.
"The only reason I'm not slicing you open right now and washing the walls with your gut is because I wanna get as far away from this fucked up place as possible." She spoke vehemently through gritted teeth. "But I will leave you with a parting gift because while you won't be rotting in prison for what you are, every time you look in the mirror, you'll remember that someone stood up to you. It will be a pretty nasty scar to explain to people when they ask."
Piper left him bleeding on the floor of the living room but not without leaving his wife a note.
Your husband is a sick fucking pig and you're absolutely disgusting if you know what he is and still stay with him. I hope you both rot in hell!
P.S. Fuck you!
That night before she left for good, she broke into her school's office to retrieve her transcript. Hacked into one of the computers and deleted her whole record from their database.
She was tired of being moved from homes to homes. She tried it the government's way for way too long and each time, they failed her. Those people she's been placed with have never given two-shits. All she was to them was a government paycheck and she was exhausted. Now, she was going to do it her way and just hoped to God she survived long enough with only two hundred and fifty six dollars in her pocket and stolen food from the school's kitchen cafeteria.
...
Boston - one month later
The nights during the winter were the brutal ones. It was often dark and calm— almost lonely, but she grew to accommodate with the feeling. The air was always crispy cold and awakening. The trees dry and dead— sometimes she felt that they were mocking her because that's how she felt most of the time. Her blonde hair had grew remarkably long and she found that it kept her ears from falling off most nights when her body fell exhausted in some cozy, dark alley.
When it snows, she earns money by shoveling people's house. She even had a whole clientele list and one lady in particular would shelter her after Piper cleaned her porch and sidewalk.
Mrs. Ficacelli made the best homemade pasta Piper's ever had. After a clean shower and a delicious meal, Piper would get cooking lessons from her, and then enjoy the generous woman's company while being entertained with stories over chamomile tea and delicious home baked white chocolate cookies.
And though Mrs. Ficacelli knew that Piper was a runaway, she never bothered to call the cops. She always sent Piper packing with new clothes from her closet, enough money to last her a few weeks and a huge bowl of those delicious cookies for the road.
She was one of the best people Piper knew until one night she was picked up at the corner of a Brazilian bakery and brought down to the police station.
Apparently, they had been looking for her for since Maine. With no fight left in her, she was accepting the fact that she was going to be put back in the system.
...
The next time she woke up, she was in Chicago's Memorial Hospital being told that her brother was in critical condition and that she better get down on her knees and pray to whatever spirit up there that she believed in because he was going to die if he didn't get a blood transfusion ASAP.
Piper hated Chicago. And she was even more upset because she couldn't understand how the fuck her twelve year old little brother was literally fighting for his life with a bullet in him that barely missed his left lung during a hit and run.
She stayed long enough until Cal woke up and was in the process of recovery, which took a couple of days.
It was a miracle that he was still alive.
Their reunion, though short was emotional. It was the first time in four years since they saw each other and Piper was glad that he had it better than she did.
God knows that Cal had been to a handful of families too but his current one at the time seemed nice and caring enough. He had other kids to play with and she didn't want to impose.
They played "snatch the wallet". A game Piper was quite a master of. They wondered around the hospital and pick-pocketed only the people who seemed like they deserved it. You say bad influence; Piper says fun! And plus, it gave Cal something to laugh about while recovering.
Nearly a week later, Piper said her painful goodbye to Cal just before the SSD came to pick her up.
...
Arizona - three months later
It's where it all started. The whole dealing business. She'd been around enough drug dealers that she began to understand their pattern.
Supply and demand.
It was that simple. So it seemed at the time.
They moved in large amounts of products, bag them and found posses that sold them off the streets illegally.
During her stay in suburb of Scottsdale, she witnessed shit that a fourteen-year-old adolescent isn't supposed to see. And somewhere along the way, she made a friend.
Lincoln Underwood.
She took care of him after he was jumped and left beaten nearly half to death by a group of bangers in an alley. Only sixteen years old, the bruises he suffered that night were substantial and they made Piper want to crawl out of her skin.
She hung out with him for months and got to know him. Turned out, they shared more in common than she thought. Runaways trying to survive.
He was all she knew for a while. They watched out for each other and kept each other safe. He showed Piper the ropes of dealing and together they were almost invincible.
Being around him, Piper discovered skills she didn't know she possessed. All that anger inside her of being homeless and all alone in this fucking cruel world, Lincoln made her challenge it by teaching her how to fight.
Lincoln felt that the drug business dealing was a bit much for her so he introduced her to underground fighting something she really took to and became really fucking great at.
Every night after a fight when she was left feeling like shit after beating the living hell out of another girl, she told herself that it was all about survival. Beat or be beaten. She chose what kept her breathing.
By the time summer came and her fifteenth birthday neared, Piper had saved enough from her fights for a fresh start. She was planning to skip town again, hoping for a better start now that she had enough money and someone who she cared deeply for.
"You could come with me, Linc."
Lincoln smiled at her that night. "No. I couldn't." He kissed her forehead. "You need to get out of here, Pipes. This is no place for you anymore, buttercup."
...
The next morning, while waiting for the bus to her next destination at the bus station, Lincoln shoved a fat bag of weed through a pocket inside a secret pocket in her duffel bag.
"You stole this?" Piper asked incredulously. "Are you insane?"
"It's fine, Pipes."
"No. It's not!" Piper whispered. "They'll kill you if they find out it was you."
"They won't find out." Lincoln promised. "You promise me you'll stay safe, Pipes. Go back to school, get your education. You're fucking too smart for this shitty hand life has handed you. You get the fuck out of here, go to school and become somebody."
"Why can't we both get that chance?" Piper asked. Tears threatening to burst from her eyes.
Lincoln didn't answer. Instead, he gave her hand a hard squeeze and smiled that beautiful smile of his. "You be strong, buttercup." He tilted Piper's chin up and grabbed her shoulders. "The weed—don't fucking smoke that shit okay? You'll need it when you the twenty grand you have is done. Distribute into little zip lock bags like I taught you and sell accordingly. Don't piss nobody off, keep your head down and fucking survive, you hear me?"
Piper nodded. The tears had burst and they were endlessly rolling down her cheeks.
"Come here."
Lincoln pulled her in his arms and hugged her so tight. Piper closed her eyes and tried to savor that last moment. Those hugs are what saved her so many nights when things were too fucking horrible to bear, let alone fathom escape or survive. Those hugs are what kept her going after those fights that left her sore and weak after the adrenaline rush had worn out.
"Please stay alive, Linc."
He laughed. Piper could hear the tears in his voice and she couldn't help but smile.
"I'm always going to be one phone call away, buttercup. You ever run into a snag that you can't take care of, you call me."
"Okay."
They pulled away and Lincoln kissed her forehead one last time.
"Time to go."
The last of the passengers were boarding the bus and the driver was growing almost impatient.
They let go of each other, not before having the last words.
"I love you, buttercup."
As the bus departed, looking out the window, Piper realized that she wasn't so alone anymore in this world. Blood is not the only thing that makes family.
She waved goodbye to Lincoln through the glass window as tears ran down her cheeks.
"I love you, too." She mouthed.
After what was hours later but really felt like days, Piper woke up from a slumber just in time to see the sign that said, "Welcome to California".
This was her fresh start. Things were going to be different here. The good type of different. She could feel it.
888
So here they were on a Saturday night, nearly three years later at Joe's laughing at those crappy days that were now way behind them.
"I swear to God, you got prettier." Piper gushed.
It's been long enough since she's seen her best friend in the entire world. The person who saved her and gave her life meaning again after she lost everything she knew on this planet.
After almost three years, she was staring at him again in flesh and blood. His piercing blue eyes filled with happiness and he was so physically different from the sixteen-year-old Lincoln that she once knew. He was 6'3 of muscular male covered in ink with dark brows, thick wavy, shiny brown hair, piercing blue eyes, strong jaw, pointy nose and plump pink lips. In other words, Lincoln Underwood looked oh so fine!
"I swear to God, you got hotter."
They'd spend the whole day together since his arrival and maybe those vodka shots were starting to get to them a little bit.
"I missed you so much, Pipes." Lincoln grabbed her hand and gave it that squeeze Piper missed so much. It always made her feel safe. "You look great, buttercup."
"You too, ace."
"This Larry guy, is he good to you?"
Piper chuckled. "Always so overprotective, ace." She teased. "He can be a bit of an ass but he's okay."
"Why do you settle for just "okay", Pipes?" Lincoln asked, his expression serious.
"I don't know. I guess because "okay" feels safe. "Okay" doesn't ask questions and "okay" doesn't need to know about the shit I've been through."
"I get that." Lincoln nodded understandingly. "Does he know about anything at all?"
"Not really." Piper replied as she took a sip of her beer from a plastic red cup.
(She's not legally cleared to be drinking, let alone be at a bar but a firecracker will always be a firecracker.)
"He knows that I don't talk about them so he doesn't ask questions. And I like it like that."
"You still have those nightmares?"
Piper shook her head. "No. They stopped a while after I settled here."
"And Cal?"
"He's great." Piper smiled. "He's due soon for a little family reunion. Graduation and all. You'll be here right?"
"Wouldn't miss it for the world, buttercup."
Piper shoved his shoulder and laughed a joyful smile. "You're having a fucking child. With a girl who hated my guts for whatever reason I still don't even know."
"Don't even start with that," Lincoln shook his head. "I know it's ironic."
"Ironic my ass. I bet she still hates me."
"I don't think so." Lincoln smiled. "Not a lot of people understood the relationship we had. And you and I were basically inseparable while she had a long-lasting crush on my fine ass." He said. "But after you left Pipes, I crumbled and completely lost my shit. If it wasn't for Katerina who was there to pick up the piece and put me back together, I probably wouldn't even be here right now."
Piper smiled tearfully. "I guess I owe her a huge thanks then."
"Yeah. I guess you do."
Piper signaled for the bartender to bring them a round of shots to their table for a toast.
"To us and better things."
"Cheers."
As Piper was in the process of throwing her drink back, a certain tall, dark haired, gorgeous vixen stumbled in the grill with a short blonde at her tail, both laughing wholeheartedly.
"Well, it must be my lucky night."
Lincoln glanced at the direction where Piper's eyes was fixated and wolf-whistled. "Must be." He agreed. "Who's the hot one?"
"Off limits and out of your league." Piper replied. "You're having a child."
"Yeah but I'm not blind."
"Yeah. Still off limits."
Lincoln laughed. "Look at you all feisty." He teased. "Put your claws back in kitten. I intend to keep my distance."
"Good."
"She looks a little bit older to me."
"She is indeed." Piper replied.
"You sound interested." Lincoln said.
"That I am." Piper nodded.
"I didn't know you bat for the softball league." He wiggled his eyebrows. "So to speak. It's kinda hot."
"Pervert." Piper rolled her eyes. "And I don't know that I bat for them yet. But I'm definitely interested, I can tell you that."
"So you're not just going through a bi-curious phase?"
"Nope. She's not the type of woman you make your experimenting project." Piper informed.
That much she knew for sure.
"Sounds like you know her a lot."
"I do." Piper answered.
"Who is she anyways?" Lincoln asked curiously.
"She's my history teacher." Piper replied.
"Oh, for fuck's sakes Piper!" Lincoln exclaimed. "Your fucking teacher? You little hussy!"
"I know, I know." Piper mimicked surrender. "I know it sounds bad but there's something. She's a fascinating puzzle. And you know me, I could never resist solving puzzles."
"No. What you are is a trouble maker." Lincoln said.
Piper smirked. She took her shot and let the burn settle in her throat before biting on her slice of lemon. "Takes one to know one, ace."
"Nice comeback."
"I'm gonna go say hello." Piper said.
"I'll get out of your hair." Lincoln began to reach for his wallet to pay their tab but Piper stopped him.
"Joe and I are good pals. Save your money, ace."
"I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"
"Definitely." Piper took him for a hug and kissed his cheek. "You call me as soon as you're back at the hotel, okay?"
"Okay."
Once Lincoln left, Piper started strolling towards Alex and her friend at the pool table across the bar.
"Looking good Ms. Vause."
Laughter died and Alex turned to the familiar voice behind her.
She thought it was Piper that she saw when she walked in with Nicky but she wasn't really sure.
"Holy shit!" Nicky broke the awkward silence that grew between them. "Chapman?"
"Yeah." Piper nodded.
Well someone's been talking about her to their friend.
"You must be Nicky. Our girl here has said a lot of good things about you." Piper smirked. "Nice to finally meet you."
888
AN:/ Alas! An update! I'm sorry for the long wait guys and I hope you've all had a great holiday! This chapter proved to be a little bit hard to write, hence why it took so long for me to update. I try to take you guy's suggestions into consideration so I thought I would give a bit of a background on Piper's past that I hope you guys enjoyed a little. And I promise I'll make up for the lack of vauseman in this chapter.
Shout out to all of you who have PM'ed and all of you who have reviewed, fav, and followed this story. I'm so glad you guy like this story. I continue to be amazed by your support of this story. Thank you! Anyhoo, please leave me a review and let me know what you guys thought! Until next time…