Chapter Fourteen
The next morning arrived rather quickly. Lorna awoke to the sensation of a soft warmth underneath her head. She squinted her eyes from the sunlight that poured through her room and lifted her head slightly to see Nicky's eyes gazing back at her. The sight brought a small smile to her face—she wished she didn't have to go to school, that the two of them could stay like that all day. She reached a hand up to place delicately over the other's cheek.
"Good morning, hon," she softly hummed, allowing her fingers to brush softly against her flesh.
Nicky lay awake the past hour just watching the brunette with intrigued eyes. Her eyes were mesmerized by Lorna's figure; she was falling hard for her and had to stop herself from smashing their lips together right then and there. Instead, she settled for pulling her closer and nuzzling their foreheads against each other's. "Mornin', kid. Did ya sleep well?" She reached a hand to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
Nodding, Lorna momentarily shut her eyes in content at the tender sensation. She let out a content sigh and reopened her eyes to fix her gaze back on the redhead. It was nice—she could go a morning without thinking about anything bad, and instead, just focus on the moment with her friend. She smiled once more as she snuggled closer to the warmth Nicky's body offered her.
"I slept great, hon. Thank you."
Nicky couldn't resist but to smile back at her. She leaned forward to press a warm kiss over her temple. "I'm glad, Lorna. You needed that, yeah? I swear every time I see you, ya look like ya haven't slept in days."
The brunette only chuckled slightly in response. Although the words were true because she had barely slept that well since before her mother's demise, Lorna refused to admit any of that aloud. And, fortunately, before she had the chance to respond, the sound of her alarm boomed through the room. She gave a slight grumble but pushed herself up from the bed to turn it off.
Nicky followed her downstairs, keeping a watchful eye over her. Though the younger girl seemed to be happier that morning, she sensed it was all only a front she was putting up. She walked behind her into the kitchen and observed as she went to prepare a pot of coffee. While the other was preoccupied with her task, a piece of paper that sat on the countertop of the island caught her attention.
Her hands were ready to grab at it so she could read it when she realized Lorna was looking at her with her arms folded over her chest. She felt a slight guilt overcome her from the way the other was staring at her. It wasn't her place to read a note that clearly hadn't been meant for her.
The pounding in her chest started up the second Lorna turned around and caught sight of Nicky seemingly looking at the sloppily written note her father had left her the day before. She hurriedly went to snatch the note off the table, placing it in her pocket. She hoped the redhead didn't have a chance to read it—the last thing she wanted or needed was for her to find out just how messed up her father was.
"What was that, kid?" Even though she knew she had no business asking her, Nicky needed to know what that note had written on it. Especially since it seemed to upset her friend enough that she wouldn't let her even look at it.
Walking back towards the percolating coffee pot, Lorna grabbed two mugs from the cabinet above and placed them on the counter. She sighed, turning back to stare at the taller teen. Of course the question was only asked out of care and concern, however, Lorna refused to give an honest response. Rather, she smiled while pouring some cream and sweetener into her mug.
"Just a note my dad left since he's away for the week," she shrugged. The coffee pot finally finished brewing; Lorna took the vessel from underneath the filter and poured the dark liquid into the two mugs she set on the counter.
She handed the plain cup of black coffee over to Nicky and smiled at her. That was one of the most relaxing, least stressful, mornings Lorna spent in that house in well over two years. No yelling or screaming, nothing being thrown and broken.
Graciously taking the steaming cup, Nicky gave a warm smile back. She sipped the coffee slowly, enjoying the bold flavor. It was a peaceful morning—a morning she actually appreciated being awake for. "Thanks for the coffee, kid. You make it strong."
"Oh, I hope it's not too strong," the younger girl responded. She brought her own mug up to her lips for a desired sip.
Nicky shook her head as she took another sip. "Oh, no, it's just the right amount of strong. I love it, kid."
The two young teens sat in Nicky's car—who insisted on driving Lorna to the high school—with the windows down and music blasting through the stereo. It wasn't a long drive, only a few minutes, but Lorna enjoyed every second of it. She only wished they could repeat that drive every morning, however, she knew the likely hood of that happening was slim to none. Not with Nicky living in another town and having to go to a completely different school.
After pulling into a parking spot, both girls got out of the car and started heading towards the entrance. Lorna turned her head slightly to look at the taller teen. She was curious to know what she was doing coming inside the school with her now that she hadn't been a student there any longer. They entered inside the building when Lorna decided to stop for a second. She eyed her friend suspiciously, trying to decipher what she may have been thinking.
"Nicky? Don't ya needa get to your high school?"
Chuckling at the question, Nicky only shrugged and gently pulled on the other's hand to continue their walk down the hall. It wasn't like she never skipped school before. In fact, she deemed herself a professional school skipper. Before she met Lorna, she had more absences than she could count. "Nah, what's one day? I'm gonna go pay the nurse a visit. I'm sure they won't even question why I'm here, kid."
Nicky entered into the familiar office of her favorite school nurse. Although it had only been a week since she switched schools, she missed the comfort that sitting in Nurse Reznikov's always seemed to bring her. All the natural sounds that were part of her daily tasks—it soothed her when she was in there, pretending to be sick to get out of her classes. She sighed and caught sight of the Russian woman sitting at her desk—a pair of glasses halfway off her face—reading over something on the computer screen in front of her.
She walked inside and plopped herself down on one of the chairs. Her eyes watched closely as the older woman clacked against the keyboard for several minutes longer. The sound mesmerized her; she shut her eyes momentarily and just listened to the softly clacking keyboard.
"Nicky? Why didn't you say anything? You nearly gave me a heart attack," Nurse Reznikov called out, covering a hand over her heart as if to stop it from beating so rapidly. She used her thumb to push her glasses back up on her face and turned her chair completely around so that she could properly glance at Nicky.
With a light chuckle, the teen threw up her hands and shrugged her shoulders. "I was just listening to ya type and was kinda daydreaming," had been her honest response. She observed Red's facial expression closely. A breath of air expelled from her lungs. She wished she had been graced with a mother more like Red. Someone who actually cared for her—who didn't just throw money at her to get rid of her.
Mrs. Reznikov nodded and arched her eyebrows curiously. "Wait, haven't you moved to a new school district? What are ya doing here?"
"Yeah, but I spent the night at Lorna's so I gave her a ride here and decided to come see the best school nurse ever." A sheepish grin sat on her face.
Red held a hand up and waved it in the air. "Oh, stop—you only say that because I let you sit here and skip classes," she pointed out but gave a kind chuckle to lighten her words.
"Ma, any chance I can take up residence with you?"
Lowering her glasses, the older woman folded her arms over her chest and fixed her eyes intently on Nicky. The inquiry quickly brought an inquisitiveness over her. "That's an interesting question, Nicky. What makes you ask it?"
"Uh, well, I like you better than both my parents combined as a starter," Nicky pointed out, and she meant it. Nurse Reznikov displayed characteristics she knew neither of her parents could ever be capable of possessing. The kindness, compassion, and warmth that radiated from her was a far cry from what Marka Nichols ever showed her in sixteen years. She'd give anything to have a mother as full of affection as Red seemed to be.
"Plus, I rather stay at this school—I already got friends and everything here."
That was a first. In the twenty years she worked as a school nurse not once could she recall a student asking to live with her. She lifted a hand to slick back her hair. Blue eyes firmly focused ahead on the young teen; she observed her thoroughly, trying to figure out if she was being serious or not. "Back up a minute, when did you and your mother move out of town?"
Nicky shook her head, biting down on her lip to stop herself from rolling her eyes. "Marka and I didn't move…Marka forced me to go with my father—who might I add has never come to get me for any of his weekends," she felt the anger bubbling inside of her with each word she spoke.
Hearing that made the older woman's heart slightly shatter. She felt for Nicky, she really had. But there wasn't much she could do for her other than to allow her to talk about it. "Oh, Nicky, that's just terrible. I'm so sorry—"
"No sorry, can I just move in with you? Please? I mean ya might as well be my mom, yeah? I could really pass as your daughter anyway with the red hair," Nicky smirked, using her hand to puff out her bushy curls.
"As much as I've always wished to have had a daughter, I'm not sure your parents would be okay with you living with the school nurse. I mean I think you're a sweet young lady and would love to let you stay with me but I can't just say yes and that's it."
The comment had Nicky stifle a laugh. Of course, it made sense why Mrs. Reznikov would say that—without all the facts, no one would automatically assume one's parents to not care if their child chose to live with a person they hadn't even known. But Nicky knew her parents—especially Marka—very well. Neither really seemed to want her and she, in turn, didn't want to be stuck with them either. It wouldn't take much convincing to get the both of them on board with her choosing to move in with Red.
"What if I talk to my parents about it and they agree? Can I stay with you then?"
Red admired her persistence on the matter. She gave a gradual shrug of her shoulders, though reached a hand over to place gently over the teen's hand. Her thumb stroked comfortingly over her knuckles. "You really are serious about this, aren't you?" She watched as the other nodded profusely in response to her question and let out a sigh. "Look, if you talk to your parents and they are okay with it then you and I will discuss this further."
The ringing of the last bell had Lorna running to collect her belongings from her locker. Her mood was a little brighter than it had been in quite some time. With her bookbag securely in place on each of her arms, she walked down towards the front of the school and was slightly surprised when she noticed Nicky sitting in the office right off the entrance. She hadn't realized that she was still at the school—she figured she had gone home hours ago.
Intrigued, the brunette walked into the office and plopped herself down right beside her friend. She placed a hand on her arm, tapping softly against it to get her attention. When she felt the older girl yank her arm away from her, she shifted uncomfortably in her seat but looked her over in concern. She knew it wasn't like Nicky to be so cold and therefore, she only sat there and waited to hear what was bothering her.
Taking notice of who was beside her, Nicky immediately regretted her previous actions. Her mind had been so focused on the irritation from speaking with her father that she didn't even realize her surroundings. She sighed and reached gently for Lorna's hand, cupping it delicately in her own. "Sorry, kid, I didn't mean to push you away like that. I wasn't really paying attention."
Lorna shook her head and looked at her intensely. It didn't take long for she to notice the faded tear stains on her cheeks. The sight instinctively had her squeezing the other's hand even tighter. "Don't worry about it," she softly hushed, studying her features meticulously. "Are you okay? I was surprised to see ya still here."
"I'm fine, kid. I just got off the phone with my father—he's not happy with me for leaving in the middle of the night and he just got me all frustrated is all," Nicky retorted, biting the side of her mouth to hold back some of the anger she felt.
The statement impulsively caused Lorna to unnoticeably tense up. She hoped that didn't mean her friend's father was also an abusive one. The last thing she wanted was for another person she cared so deeply for to have to go through something so harmful and traumatic. Her hold on Nicky's hand tightened. "I'm real sorry about that, hon," she apologized, shamed of herself for making Nicky come over the night before and unintentionally causing her to get in trouble.
Using her other her hand to place over her cheek, Nicky shook her head while peering into her eyes fiercely. "Don't be, Lorna. I don't regret for a damn second coming over and staying with ya last night. I'm just mad at my dad—for sixteen years he didn't care to even call me once in a while and now he thinks he has the right to be mad that I used my free will to go check on my friend? Tough shit, pops."
"I'm—"
"Please don't. Do not apologize. I'm over it with my parents. I don't care anymore."
Lorna brushed her fingers softly along the veins of the other's hands. The pain that so indistinctly mixed in with Nicky's tone of voice as she spoke did not go without notice. It brought a pang to her chest. "I'm here for ya, too, Nicky," she informed her softly, continuing the soothing motion on her hand.
The gentle caressing of her hand gradually washed away the majority of Nicky's frustration. She exhaled deeply, allowing herself to relax somewhat. It was never an easy thing for her to let her vulnerability show—she preferred to maintain her tough exterior at all costs. However, she found herself becoming less and less able to keep that composure when in Lorna's presence. It was as is if it were the most natural thing for her to allow her guard down in front of the other.
The walk home from school was rather peaceful. Sunshine poured through the sparse clouds bringing with it a warmth that made it that much nicer. It only took twenty minutes for her to arrive on the front porch of her house. Lorna entered inside, setting her bookbag on the ground near the shoe rack on the other side of the door. She hurriedly made her way into the kitchen to prepare herself a pot of coffee.
Busying herself with getting the ground beans into the filter, she hadn't realized whether or not her uncle had been in the house. She didn't even care if he was there or not; the sunshine and spending time with Nicky earlier raised her mood more than she even thought possible. Nothing could tear it back down, at least, that was what she told herself.
As the coffee began to drip into the vessel, Lorna took out her favorite mug along with a carton of cream and packets of sweetener. She emptied the packets into the mug, then took the creamer and poured a few heaping tablespoons in as well. The sound of sputtering from the machine alerted her that the coffee had finished brewing. A smile formed. She retrieved the pot from underneath it and carried it over to pour into the cup she'd prepared.
The smell was bold and flavorful. Lorna cradled the mug in her hand, sipping it longingly. There was hardly anything better to her than the taste of her beloved hot caffeine-filled liquid. It satisfied not only her tastebuds but her mind and stomach as well. She walked back into the living room and sat down on the sofa, still holding onto her steaming cup of coffee.
"Well, it's about damn time you showed up."
