Chapter Twelve

The two teens sat in Nicky's car, after another hour of chatting in the shop, in a comfortable silence for several moments. Nicky put the key in ignition and turned the car on but didn't start driving. Instead, she turned to look at Lorna. She studied her closely. Something about the petite brunette made her heart flutter. She loathed that tomorrow could possibly have her leaving her behind. The longer she kept her gaze on Lorna's face, the stronger her emotions and feelings grew.

Lorna sensed the older girl's eyes on her; she lifted her head from the brim of the window to face her. She peered deeply into her eyes, trying to read what she was feeling. There was a glimmer of pain that was almost unnoticeable but she saw it right away. It had her instinctively reaching her hands over to place on each of her cheeks. She observed her methodically; there was a vulnerable part of her that she could tell Nicky hadn't liked to share with anyone.

"Are you okay, hon?" The question was murmured softly as Lorna gazed strongly into her friend's brown eyes.

Nicky gradually inched her face closer to hers. She didn't want to think about anything, only wanted to be present right then and there with the friend that she quickly realized her feelings for may have gone a bit beyond friendship. She placed her hands on top of Lorna's smaller ones. "I'm okay, kid," she answered, her voice breathy and hushed. The kindness, caring, that Lorna showed her only deepened the feelings that were forming within her.

Having the other's breath on her had goosebumps form on Lorna's arms and legs. It wasn't an uncomfortable sensation, but it certainly wasn't something she was used to either. "Are ya sure though? Ya don't wanna talk about—"

To stop her from finishing the inquiry, Nicky leaned her face even closer towards Lorna's and gradually brushed her lips overtop of hers. She kept her hands held warmly over the brunette's as she stroked their lips together in a deeper, longer, kiss. Having her lips pressed onto her friend's felt rather natural to her. It seemed as though the two of them had locked lips plenty of times before.

Lorna was at a loss for words. She certainly was not expecting that. Yet, she didn't regret it for even a second. Her lips tingled in delight from the soft, warm, feeling of having Nicky's pushed against them. They craved more but she refrained from moving even an inch. She didn't know what to think or better yet knew exactly what she 'should' think but felt repelled by such thought. Her family being raised on strict Catholic morals, it was heavily engrained in her brain that being romantic with another girl was an abomination to the lord. She should be pushing herself as far away from the redhead as possible but she didn't agree with the majority of things she was brought up learning.

The pair sat in silence for several moments, both still holding each other's gazes.

"So, that was a lot better than talking about my mundane parents—what do ya say, kid?" Nicky was the first to break the silence. A playful, soft, smirk formed on her face; she knew from a young age that she was properly into women. However, she did not expect that kiss to happen so suddenly. That kiss made her feel something she hadn't felt in a long time—hopeful.

"Uh, yeah," the brunette whispered, lips still tingling, "you can say that." She should be ashamed of herself for kissing another girl but she hadn't felt that way at all which caused guilt to sink into her chest. She was guilty for being satisfied with the fact that she shared a rather lovely kiss with Nicky and enjoyed it.

Although Lorna didn't inch away from her or show any physical signs of being uncomfortable, Nicky could sense in her tone that something seemed to be bothering her. She cautiously reached her thumb over to caress gently back and forth on the younger teen's forehead. "I'm sorry, I hope I didn't weird ya out or anything."

Without any thought, the brunette inched her face closer and let their lips brush together once again. She let them linger together before slowly pulling away and staring intensely into Nicky's eyes. A small smile made its way to her face. Weirded out was the exact opposite of how that kiss made her feel. "Don't apologize, hon. I'm not weirded out at all—I was just surprised, still am. But I really enjoyed that kiss."

To say Nicky felt a sense of relief would be an understatement. She couldn't contain the emotions from displaying themselves. The corners of her mouth formed into a grin as her big brown eyes returned Lorna's powerful gaze with the utmost affection. Everything else seemed to melt away right in that moment; all of her focus was on she and Lorna. Nothing else mattered. "Yeah? I enjoyed it too, kid—I, too, was not expecting that to happen but I don't know…I just couldn't stop myself."

"I think I may be developing some feelings for ya that aren't just the friendly type," Nicky gently admitted, her eyes not moving from the other's face.

"You mean like romantic feelings, Nicky?" The brunette questioned with arched eyebrows. She quietly wondered if she was also starting to have those kind of feelings toward her friend.

That inquiry coming from her dear best friend's mouth made it quite the challenge for Nicky to not let out a tiny chuckle at. She nodded her head, however, and smiled warmly at Lorna. "Yeah, exactly, kid. There's just—there's something special about you," was her gentle response. She meant each word that came out of her; Lorna made her feel things she never thought she would be lucky enough to feel.

"I feel at home with you," Lorna interjected, nodding her head as well.

It was as though she took the words right from her own mind, Nicky thought after hearing that. Her smile only grew. "That's exactly how I feel with you, kid. It just is so natural and right."


Franny carried a steaming cup of coffee in her hands, walking to the spare bedroom where her younger sister was staying and knocking on the door. She sensed something was wrong with how reserved she'd been the past couple of days. A frown sat on her face when no movement was heard on the other side of the door. She sighed and turned the knob to open it. Her eyes darted over to her sister, who lay hidden under a pile of blankets. She placed the mug on the end table beside the bed before sitting on the edge of it, reaching down to caress her head motherly.

"I fixed ya a cuppa coffee, Lorn," she informed her, hoping that would somehow make her want to get out of the bed. She gradually pulled the blankets off of her and then walked over to the window to pull back the curtains. "Come on, ya gotta get up and get ready for school."

A grumble escaped the petite brunette; the brightness made her eyes squint. Ever since she and Nicky had their intimate moment and then the day after hearing that Mr. Nichols actually did show up to get her, Lorna felt numb. She didn't have the momentum to care about anything anymore. It was as though everyone she cared for, she would eventually lose them in one way or another.

Franny exhaled a breath of air, keeping her lightly colored eyes on the teenager. She had no idea what was going on with her sister but she loathed to see her in this way. She reached for the mug of coffee off the table and handed it to Lorna. "Have a sip of it; maybe some caffeine will fix your mood."

The younger girl held the mug in her hands, staring it over with a blank look in her eyes. If she hadn't been so depleted of life at that moment, she'd have chuckled at Franny's comment. She didn't, however, just brought the cup to her lips and took a swig of the lukewarm liquid. "Doubt it, but thanks," she muttered, keeping her stare down inside of the mug that she cradled in her hands.

"Ya wanna tell me what's wrong?"

Lorna took another sip of the coffee. She refused to look at her sister; instead, she focused her eyes out the window. The sun peeped out of a band of clouds while a few birds perched on the branches of a nearby tree. "Nothing's wrong, Fran."

Folding her arms over her chest, the older brunette immediately knew that was a lie. "Mhmm. Is that why ya barely been gettin' outta bed lately?"

"I just don't feel good. My stomach's been queasy," the other responded, her words half true. Her stomach had, indeed, felt queasy—however, she knew it wasn't due to being ill. It had more to do with not having her friend nearby anymore, knowing that she had to face her bully completely alone and balance her schoolwork. Everything was building up around her and she felt suffocated.

"Queasy, huh? Maybe because ya haven't eaten hardly anything while you've been here. You want me to fix ya some toast before we leave?"

Franny took a minute to really look the petite brunette over; she noticed just how small her frame had become. With everything that went on with their mother's cancer diagnosis, then her death, and their father's drunken fits, she hadn't even realized how her sister seemed to be thinning away.

"Nah, I think I'll just finish the coffee and get ready. My stomach is hurtin' too much to eat right now, Fran."


It was duller at school than Lorna even thought possible. Sure, even when Nicky was there, the two hadn't seen each other that much but now, the day seemed that much more stagnant without her there. She walked aimlessly through the hallway, not thinking or caring about anything or anyone. She kept her head down and let her eyes focus on each dotted tile as she walked.

Air escaped her at an alarming rate; Lorna swallowed in an attempt to catch her breath. She momentarily fell to her knees until she was finally able to get air back into her lungs. When she pushed herself back up, she turned and realized what the culprit of that tiny episode was. Her eyes landed on Annalisa. She wasn't surprised at all to know she'd been the reason for her fall—the blonde despised her since the first week of school.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there," Annalisa said with a smirk. She watched the brunette closely as she steadied herself and hugged her books over her chest. It brought her pleasure to see how uncomfortable she could make Lorna Morello—the girl was such an easy target.

Lorna exhaled deeply, not in the mood to deal with her bully at that particular moment. She didn't have the energy to say anything in response—didn't care to say anything, all she wanted to do was to get to her counselor's office so she could sit down. She walked right past the other girl and kept on the path of where she needed to head towards. Her hand was placed on her temple; in all honesty, she was in no form to really focus on what assignments needed done or what tests she needed to make up. But she walked into Mrs. Mendoza's office anyway.

The room had an aroma that almost caught Lorna's attention. She situated herself on a chair adjacent to the counselor's desk and inhaled sharply. A light linen scent took up the entire room. Usually such a lovely smell would put a smile on her face but even the thought of trying to smile seemed all too much for her. She held her books tight against her heart, letting the sound of clacking fingers against the keyboard lull her into a daze.

"Hello, I didn't hear you come in," Mrs. Mendoza greeted a few moments later; she looked up from her computer screen across at the young brunette teenager.

Lorna sighed and lifted her head to meet the older woman's stare. "Hi," she responded quietly, wishing she were anywhere but in that damn building. Wishing she were still in her sister's spare bedroom, hidden underneath a pile of blankets in the bed. She reached for her folder, retrieving her assignments from within. She was somewhat thankful she took the time to work on those before Nicky's departure.

The Hispanic woman observed her with an indecipherable mien. She picked up her mug, sitting on the coaster beside the computer mouse, and sipped its contents slowly. Her eyes kept focus on the young teen who sat in the metal chair adjacent to her desk; it was easy for her to notice that something must have been upsetting her.

"Did you have a good weekend? The weather was actually nice for it being the end of winter."

The rather innocent inquiry ripped a bandage from Lorna's heart. She swallowed thickly, shifting her feet uncomfortably against the tiled floor. "I finished my assignments for Mrs. Bell—I guess that would make it a good weekend," her voice was deadpanned. She couldn't remember what it was like to be the bubbly Lorna she used to be.

Mrs. Mendoza gave a friendly smile with a slight nod of her head. "That's great, that'll help get your grade up. I actually have another email from her with a list of smaller assignments that she said you can pick from to earn some extra credit," she informed her before going to turn on the printer. She went back over to the computer, clicking through the emails until she got back to the one from her coworker Wanda Bell—she copied the list from the message and pasted it in a word document so that she could print it out.

Being handed the paper, a few minutes later, Lorna exhaled sharply and looked at it absentmindedly. She knew she should be grateful that she was being given this opportunity to get her grade back to passing—and on a deeper level she was—but right at that very moment all she wanted was to hide away from the world. She didn't want to even think about all the work she had to complete.

"Now, she said ya don't have do all of em'—pick three or four and it'll count as extra credit."

Lorna nodded, placing the paper into the folder she carried with her. "Thanks," she managed before getting up to leave. She was halfway to the door when the counselor called out.

"Wait," Mrs. Mendoza held up her hand to stop her from exiting the room; she sensed something wrong the moment she noticed the petite brunette sitting in her office and knew as one of the school counselor's, it was her job to help any struggling students. Especially when she knew how expensive it was for anyone to afford professional assistance outside of the school. She vowed from the day she accepted this job to reach and help as many students as she possibly could.

"I noticed how down you've looked since ya came in here," the short-haired brunette woman started, peering at her with a sense of sympathy in her eyes. "Is everything okay, Lorna? Do you want to discuss anything?"

The compassion and kindness that emanated from her words almost tempted Lorna to sit back down. Almost. But she resisted; instead, she slightly turned to gaze at Mrs. Mendoza with a small smile—an empty shell of a smile, but a smile, nonetheless. She greatly appreciated the comforting words that the counselor offered; it made her think of her mother and that immediately clammed up all her emotions and thoughts. Hence why she settled on smiling and thanking her before finally exiting the office.


When she arrived home that evening after school ended, she already felt her stomach churning in anguish. She loathed that she had to go back to her distressing life with her father. It immediately brought a strong pang of queasiness over her as she entered into the house. She never knew what to expect when walking in the front door. Her heart pounded slightly faster than normal the moment she shut the door behind her.

Not to her surprise, the scent of alcohol seemed to consume the air all around her. It caused her nose to scrunch up in disgust. How she despised that god-awful smell. She sighed and walked into the kitchen to prepare herself a heavily desired cup of coffee. A note sat on the island countertop and quickly caught her eyes. She grabbed it from the surface, bringing it a little closer to her face so she could properly read it.

Lorna,

I am on a much needed fucking trip away from ya and yer damn attitude. Ya give me a goddamn headache so I gone down fishin' for the week. Yer Uncle George will be over to make sure ya don't burn the damn house down. And I swear ta god if I hear ya givin' him a rough time, I'll beat the shit outta ya when I come home.

Go to hell,

Dad

Lorna nearly felt a rush of relief at the fact that she was going to have an entire week without Mr. Morello there to shout and yell at her. That was until she read that her uncle George would be joining her in her father's absence. She closed her eyes with an exasperated breath of air. George Mendez was even worse than her father, she thought while rubbing at her temples. She hoped that he wouldn't show up until the next day. She needed a day to prepare for his arrival. A day to prepare her emotions and mental health.