Chapter Thirteen

Fortunately, with the time nearing six o-clock in the evening, Lorna realized he probably wouldn't be there until tomorrow. She was relieved and went up to her room to change into her pajamas so that she could relax and be comfortable for the rest of the night. Once she was changed, she situated herself on her bed so that she was lying on her stomach with her phone held in front of her. She looked at it, trying to decide on if she should call her sister or Nicky first. The phone ringing with her father's number made the choice that neither would be called first.

She sighed loudly, shutting her eyes in irritation. After a few more rings, she finally clicked the talk button and held it to her ear. "Hello?" She hated how meek her voice sounded. No wonder she was such a target for bullying and abuse, she thought.

"Don't use that tone with me, little girl," Mr. Morello shouted on the other end. He was sat out on the balcony of the hotel he was staying, a cigar situated between his fingers. "I'll be home Friday and until then yer good uncle George will be staying with ya—ya better make sure ya keep the house spotless. And if ya give him grief, I'll beat yer ass. Got it?"

Maybe it was the slurring in his speech but Lorna swore she could smell the alcohol through the receiver of her phone. She rolled her eyes, nodding her head with frustration. "Yes, father, I got it. I saw the note—why did ya call me just to say the same thing?" With him not in the same place as her, she felt a little less worried about his reaction to what she just responded with.

On the other side of the phone, Mr. Morello wanted to push his hands through it and ring his daughter's neck for speaking to him in such a manner. Instead, he took a puff of his cigar and a gulp of the whiskey in the glass he had sitting on the table beside him. "Because I know ya can't fucking read well, ya demon child a mine. Now, Uncle George will be there in the morning. And he will be letting me know if ya do anything bad so ya better not."

Lorna was glad to hear him click off on the other end. She dreaded that she'd have to spend the week with her decrepit uncle. The same uncle her mother refused to ever allow the three of them to be around. She never understood why they were never allowed to be around him—that was until they went to a family barbeque, when she was in the sixth grade, and he tried to finger both she and Franny from underneath one of the picnic benches. That was the first and last time Stansie ever let them anywhere near that man.

She decided to call up Franny. In case her uncle went crazy and killed her, she wanted at least someone to know what was going on. A few rings were heard before the phone picked up. She didn't really give the older woman a chance to speak. "Fran, dad went away for the week and he said Uncle George is gonna stay with me until he comes back," she informed her, the words frantically pouring out of her mouth.

"What?" Franny, who'd just prepared her son for bed, stood in the kitchen to fix herself a cup of tea. To hear what her sister just told her, she stood at the counter slightly frozen.

"Uncle George is—"

Franny shook her head, not wanting to her sister repeat anything. She cupped her hands around her cheeks as she rested her chin against the countertop. "I heard what ya said, Lorn. I just can't believe dad would fucking allow that sick fuck to stay an entire week with ya. I mean what the hell—he couldn't fucking let me know he would be away so I could bring ya over here? I've about fucking had it with dad."

"I—I just wish mom was here. I want her back so bad—I need her," Lorna muttered, swallowing roughly. She sat up, pulling her knees to her chest and resting her against her knees. She could feel tears trying to come up but she fought them to stay hidden beneath her eyelids. Life without their mother was like being left in a glass cage underwater. There was no way out.

"I know, honey, I know. Mom would be absolutely livid if she knew what dad was like these days—she would never allow any of this to be going on."

The older brunette placed her mug of water in the microwave and turned it on for a couple of minutes. She sighed, longing for a way to get her sister of that house. She wished Mikey weren't away on the military base so that he could be there to see what was happening with their family, but she knew he was there to be a better person than their father—something she couldn't be more proud of.

"I'll be over to check on ya every day while he's there, okay? I don't trust Uncle George as far as I can throw him. If he even tries anything, please call me and I'll come get ya. I don't want anything to happen to ya, Lorn."


It was the middle of the night when Lorna was jolted awake. She bolted into a sitting position; eyes wide as she looked around the room to see who had woken her but instead realized it was only her phone's ringing that caused her to waken. Relief came over her as she reached for the phone; she felt her heart flutter to see Nicky's name on the caller ID. She quickly clicked the talk button and greeted her friend.

"I didn't wake ya, did I?" The other's familiar husky voice sounded through the receiver.

That voice immediately brought a warm sense of safety and security to Lorna's body. She held the phone tightly against her ear as she lay back against her pillow. A small smile formed on her face. "No, not at all. I was just finishing some homework. I'm real glad ya called, hon. I miss ya—are you okay?"

Nicky, laying on the small twin-sized bed in the office/small bedroom her father literally threw together the day she moved in, cradled the phone to her ear and smiled at the sweet sound of Lorna's voice. How she missed seeing that cherub face every day in school. "I miss you too, kid," she murmured softly, yearning to be in the same room as her once more. "I'm fine, it's just real boring here—my dad is even more boring than Marka. But hey, at least he occasionally acknowledges my existence. How are you, Lorna? You doing okay?"

Hearing her response made Lorna long to be physically beside the redhead. She had the urge to wrap her in an embrace and make sure she knew that there were actual people out there who truly cared about her. But instead she had to settle on pretending the phone was Nicky, holding it tighter against her ear. "I'm sorry, hon. Is the school there good? Have ya been able to make friends?"

"You don't need to be sorry, kid. It's not that bad, honestly. Just boring but I'm okay with that. At least I can still talk to ya on the phone and we can meet up on the weekends, yeah?" Nicky noticed how Lorna cleverly tried to avoid her questions and gradually grew more concerned. "Eh, the school is nothing special. I don't care too much to make any friends here, I'm still hoping to find a way to move back down there."

Lorna nodded, using her free hand to reach for the covers to pull them back up around herself. She hoped they could find time to meetup on the weekends but with her dad's control over her, she knew he wouldn't allow her any freedom to go out. But she put a smile on and agreed, "Of course, hon, we can still hang out and talk."

"So, ya wanna tell me how you are, yeah? Everything okay? Is school okay, kid?" She repeated her questions. She remembered Lorna's mentions of being bullied weeks before and never forgot about it.

The brunette paused for a moment, trying to come up with a response that would be believable. She realized how easily Nicky seemed to pull apart her lies and didn't want that to happen. Not right now. "Oh, yeah, everything is good here. I've been tryna get my science grade up so I have a lotta assignments to work on for that. It's sucky at school without you there but it's fine."

Nicky listened closely, picking up on the miniscule shakiness that seemed to seep out between the words she spoke. She shook her head in disbelief that everything was as fine as Lorna claimed. "So, what about the bullying? Remember ya said some kids been picking on ya? Is that still going on, doll?"

Lorna felt a lump in her throat. Of course Nicky wouldn't forget that, she thought. On one hand, she found that very heartwarming because that showed her the older teen truly did care but, on the other, she found it unnerving. Because now, she had to be twice as convincing with her lies. "Oh, no, no that's stopped now. Don't worry, hon, it's all good."

"Yeah, are you being honest with me? Lorna, ya know you don't have to pretend with me, yeah?"

"Nicky, I really mean it—the kids got caught throwing this other girl in a locker and got in a lotta trouble for it. So, I haven't been bothered with in a long time now. But thank you for being so kind about it, I do really appreciate that."

Squinting her eyes as she listened to the brunette's response, Nicky tried to figure out the real answer hidden inside of it. She still didn't believe her—there was something off with Lorna's voice, which may have been a very minor flag, but she refused to let anything slide. "Lorna, did they shove you into a locker? Is that the girl?"

"No, Nicky—" The sound of a door slamming downstairs startled her out of the conversation. She shifted uncomfortably in the bed. That couldn't be her uncle, it was the middle of the night.

Nicky's concern strengthened when Lorna suddenly stopped talking and noted the sound of her breathing got louder. "Lorna, what's wrong? Everything okay?"

Lorna opened her mouth to speak but couldn't find any words. She felt like her heart was about ready to beat out of her chest. She could hear the faint sound of footsteps, that only caused the rate of her heart to climb. Maybe she was hallucinating the sounds; god, she hoped that was all it was.

"Lorna? Please talk to me. What's going on, kid?"

"Nicky," her name came out barely above a whisper. She didn't know if the noises were real or hallucinations so she didn't want to risk being too loud. "I, um, I have to go."

The redhead refused to hang up until she knew her friend was okay. But by the sound of her voice, she knew Lorna wasn't. "Lorna, what's the matter? I didn't mean to upset ya, kid. I just—I care about you, I don't want anyone bullying you. I promise we'll drop the subject, yeah?"

"It's not that, hon. You didn't upset me. I—I'm home alone tonight and heard a sound is all, just got scared and thought I'd go check it out—"

To hear that only made Nicky's yearn to be with her stronger. She sighed, holding the phone tightly against her ear. "Aw, no, kid, it's okay. No, just stay right here. I'll be right here until ya fall asleep, yeah? Houses make a lot of strange noises when you're home alone, just stay right where you are. I'll talk to you all night, how's that?"

Lorna could feel her heart slowing back to a normal rhythm from the other's soothing voice. Her eyes became heavy with sleep, however the second she shut them, the sound of footsteps started again and nearly caused her to shriek. "I keep hearing footsteps, Nicky. My dad said my uncle was coming to stay until he's back but-but he's not supposed to be here until tomorrow. I—I'm scared."

"Shh, shh, shh," Nicky hushed warmly on the other end, letting her finger brush softly against the pillow beneath her. If only the pillow was Lorna's hair, she thought. "It's okay, kid. It's okay. Maybe he got there early, yeah? Were the doors all locked before ya went upstairs?"

"Yeah, I checked them."

Nicky nodded, a frown on her face. How she longed to be there to embrace Lorna, to protect her from all of her fears. "Okay, kid, then you don't have to worry. He probably just got there early and those are the footsteps you're hearing."

She swallowed hard; that gave her even more reason to be fearful. "I have to worry more now," she muttered faintly, rolling onto her side away from her bedroom door.

If Lorna thought her words went unnoticed, they certainly hadn't. Nicky heard her and felt her own sense of worry building up. "Why do ya have to worry more now? What's wrong?"

"Oh, uh, nothing. It's all better now, hon. I meant I don't have to worry anymore now."

"No, no, no. I heard ya, kid. I heard you say you have to worry more now. Do I need to come over there and get you? Are you not safe, baby? Because I will not hesitate to come there and get you if you're not. You know I won't."

It was very, very tempting for Lorna to agree to that. Oh, she wanted to—longed to tell Nicky to come but she couldn't, wouldn't, do that to her friend. Her friend that she cared so strongly and deeply for. Her friend who she wanted to keep from seeing into just how fucked up her home life was. No, she was not going to allow that to happen. Because that would make it real and Lorna didn't want that.

The footsteps were louder, it sounded as if they were right outside her room. And without even comprehending, she held the phone closer to her mouth and whispered into it, "Nicky, please."

That was all it took for the redhead to jump out of bed and start throwing on a pair of sweats and a hoodie. The phone still held against her ear, she grabbed her satchel off of the one small dresser she had and started quietly heading out of the room. "I'm coming. I'm coming, kid. Don't worry. Stay right where you are, yeah? I'm on my way to get you. I promise."


The drive only took twenty-five minutes from her father's place. But to both girls, it had felt like an eternity. Lorna told her that the spare key was underneath the doormat. She grabbed it and carefully opened the door to the house. There were no lights on as she entered, she shut it close once more and relocked it. She walked up the stairs, looking around to see if there was anyone else but didn't see any signs of another person. The sound of faint sniffling led her to Lorna's room.

Nicky carefully entered, shutting the door quietly behind her. When her eyes landed on the petite brunette, she felt her heart ache. She walked over to the bed and perched herself on the edge right beside Lorna's head. "I'm here, kid," she murmured, gently moving her head down to press a warm kiss to the other's forehead.

Looking up at her, the brunette quickly wiped at her tears and looked shamefully up into her eyes. "Hi, Nicky," she whispered, grateful to see her friend beside her and not her sick uncle.

"Hi, doll," she greeted back, carefully laying down beside her and spooning her tenderly from behind. "I don't think those footsteps were from your uncle—I didn't see anyone in the house."

Lorna bowed her head in shame of herself. She despised how much of a chicken she was about even the littlest of things. And she wondered why it was so easy for other people to abuse her or bully her. "I—I'm sorry, hon," she responded, her cheeks flushed red in embarrassment of her own reaction.

Nicky shook her head, pulling Lorna close to her and delicately let her hands brush against the sides of her arms. "You don't need to be sorry. I'm glad to be here with ya, kid. Now I can make sure you're safe. And now, you can sleep without any worries. Are you okay with me holding you like this, doll?"

"Yes, please," the brunette murmured, cuddling closer to the warmth from Nicky's body. The sensation of the older teen's chest softly rising and falling beneath her head gradually lulled her into a daze. She felt arms tighten around her waist and she shut her eyes in content. She never imagined that she could ever feel safe or cared for like this again.

Nicky happily tightened her arms around the smaller girl's waist, kissing the top of her heard in a soothing manner. "Of course," she whispered softly into her ear, "I'll be right here holding you all night, yeah? Everything is okay now. You can go to sleep, baby."

"Thank you, Nicky. I appreciate this so much—I-I'm so sorry I made ya—"

"No apologizing, Lorna. I'm glad you told me to come because I honestly was planning on it anyway. The second you told me you were home all alone in the middle of the night; I was scared for you. I want ya to be able to sleep without worrying, that's why I drove here so I can hold you and keep you safe," she kept her voice firm but filled with compassion. She used one hand to rub soft circles around Lorna's back, continuing the soothing motion until she felt Lorna's breathing labor.