Author's note: I'm surprised to see a new review on this story - pleasantly surprised, of course. Thank you so much, Chrissie 42, for taking the time to read this story of mine and for feeling compelled enough to leave your thoughts. I appreciate that beyond words. It's humbling to hear you can relate to what I've written but, yet, I'm also so sorry you can relate. I wouldn't wish the grief/loss of a loved one on anyone. I'm so sorry you've also lost your grandma and I hope you've been able to heal and find your peace.


Chapter Twenty-Three

"Oh you didn't hear?" The blonde interjected, smirking all the while. She gripped tighter onto Lorna's shoulder, her nails digging into her skin from how rough her clutch was. "Your little friend here tried to kill herself. A real shame, ain't it?"

Nicky watched her with a hard glance; she didn't like how she grabbed at the petite brunette. Her arms crossed firmly over her chest. "Yeah can ya not fuckin' touch Lorna like that? She clearly isn't comfortable so get your hand off of her," the words spilled coldly from her mouth, a protective gleam seeping from her dark colored eyes.

With a grumble, Annalisa reluctantly released her grip but not without making sure Lorna slipped harshly to the ground after which. She nonchalantly rolled her eyes and snickered. "What a klutz ya are, little Morello," she commented, backing further away from the pair of them. Her head shook furiously, she was enraged that the redhead showed up to halt her taunting and teasing of Morello. She gave her a distasteful glare in return.

Immediately helping Lorna up, the anger inside of Nicky continued to amplify. A protective arm wrapped around the small girl's waist, she turned to Annalisa with a fierce glower. "You made her fall. The fuck's your problem? Leave Lorna the hell alone, ya hear me? Get outta here," she yelled, not loosening her hold until the blonde finally scurried away from them. Before she started bombarding her girlfriend with any questions, she carefully took hold of her hand and led them down a different hallway towards the nurses office. Hoping a more private space would make it easier for them to properly discuss the happenings of Friday. Because Nicky couldn't wrap her mind around Lorna's being suicidal. There had to be more to the story, she deemed.


They finally made it into Mrs. Reznikov's office, a short few minutes later, and the Russian woman turned from her desk to see who'd entered inside. Despite a smile not on her face, she was truly happy to see the two girls reunited—their friendship was something to be admired. She was also grateful to have the chance to look after Nicky; to her, it was a surprise the young girl's parents were so easily willing to allow her to live with her. Yet, she couldn't be more gracious for such an opportunity.

Nicky carefully situated Lorna on one of the chairs and then sat in the one right beside her. She reached a hand over to lovingly cup around one of the other's, allowing her thumb to stroke delicately over each of her knuckles. A pang was felt in her chest. She still tried to piece together what was mentioned to her only moments ago. However, no matter how hard she tried to make sense of it, she couldn't comprehend any of it. Her eyes looked Lorna over methodically, she didn't look suicidal. No, Lorna wouldn't even ponder something like that…would she?

Red watched the two silently. She wondered if Lorna had shared with Nicky what took place the other day. Both girls seemed to have a somber expression on their faces and it was proving to be quite the challenge for her to decipher what either of them could possibly be thinking. "Would you girls care for a cup of tea?" She hoped the suggestion would lighten the atmosphere in the room somewhat.

"I wouldn't mind a cup, ma, thanks. Might as well make one for Lorna, too, please," Nicky decided.

While Red was busy preparing the beverage, she turned her attention back on the petite brunette beside her and felt her heart clench inside of her. It seemed more and more was coming to light with Lorna lately and all of it felt like a sharp knife to her chest. Her heart ached tremendously for her—Lorna had done nothing but show her the utmost compassion and now her life appeared to be falling apart right in front of them.

Inhaling slowly, Lorna couldn't bring herself to look at Nicky. Her mind was still trying to process all that just took place. She timidly lifted a hand to slick back her hair out of nervous habit. The tapping of her feet against the tiled floor came as a surprise to her, she looked down at her legs and realized they were slightly shaking. She placed her hands over top of them and pushed her fingers into the flesh to stop the trembling motion.

"Can ya tell me what happened, kid?" Nicky finally asked, her voice soft and tender. She let a hand frame delicately around one of her cheeks, looking compassionately into her eyes.

Lorna swallowed thickly, shifting her legs back and forth. Her mouth opened to say something but she couldn't get any words to come out. She didn't know how to answer the question. Either response—whether the honest truth or the truth that the whole school assumed—weren't anything she was okay with admitting. A deep breath escaped from her lungs as she continued to inaudibly contemplate. "I—I don't know," she muttered, not much louder than a whisper.

Before the two could continue the conversation, Red came back over with two steaming cups of tea. She handed one to each girl and sat down on the chair beside Nicky. Her eyes glanced between the pair of them, still unsure of what was going on. "Care if I join you girls?"

Nicky gave a nod in response. She wondered if her surrogate mother might have any idea about the Friday incident. Bringing the mug to her lips, she sipped her tea and turned her head to glance at the Russian woman. "Do you know what happened on Friday? Did something happen with Lorna? Some little snot was saying she tried to kill herself but there's no way that's true, right?" There was a desperate gleam in her eyes; she yearned for that statement to be false. She couldn't imagine her Lorna to even ponder over such an idea. Her hand, that was still cradled around the brunette's cheek, caressed softly around its flesh.

Uncomfortable with the many questions, Lorna slightly shied away from her girlfriend's touch. She squinted her eyes as she looked from Nicky then to Red. "I'm sitting right here. Why are ya talking like I'm not here? Do ya not see me?" It wasn't hard to not notice the faint aggravation seeping through her voice.

"I know you're here, kid. But ya said you don't know what happened. I just thought Red might be able to help figure out what's going on with ya, yeah? I'm sorry, I'm just worried about ya," Nicky softly said, placing a delicate hand onto the other's hand and stroking it soothingly with her thumb. Seeing her retreat from her touch only strengthened the worry she felt.

Taking a long sip of her own tea, Red observed the two with a pang in her chest. Clearly, Lorna hadn't informed her best friend of what happened and now, it seemed as though she was trying to pretend it didn't happen in the first place. She couldn't blame her for that, though, an incident like that was something anyone would probably want to forget ever even occurred. "Lorna, honey, why don't ya tell Nicky what happened? It's okay, you two are best friends. You're supposed to talk about things like that with each other."

Nicky's breath caught in her throat after hearing that; she fixed her gaze back on Lorna, eyes soft and warm as they looked her over methodically. Her Lorna, she thought, her Lorna really had tried to—she tried to take her own life. Just thinking it in her head made her shudder. She swallowed uneasily, letting her hand tighten its grip on Lorna's. "You know I love you, kid. Please don't be scared to talk to me about whatever happened, yeah? I'm not gonna judge you," her voice tenderly pleaded, a slight desperateness hidden in her tone.

"No," Lorna started, shaking her head furiously. She set her tea down on the small table that held a pile of magazines and looked between the other two with an exasperated expression looming over her. "No. I am—I'm not crazy, I'm not a fucking crazy person."

"Of course you're not crazy, Lorna," Nicky lovingly assured her, looking into her eyes with the utmost affection. She used a finger to tenderly tuck a stand of brown hair behind her ear and sighed. It was clear that something more serious was going on with her girlfriend—she knew that something wasn't exactly right but would have never imagined that something to be a possible suicide attempt. "Just tell me what happened, please. I wanna help you, baby."

The walls felt like they were closing in on her, and at a rapid pace, nonetheless. It was near impossible for Lorna to catch her breath. Her heart felt like it would fall out of her chest at any moment from how fast it was beating. She swallowed, her throat felt raw and dry and she realized she hadn't had even had one sip of her tea yet. But she couldn't even bring herself to do that, such a simple task. "Nicky, I can't—I don't know how to answer you. I-I don't know what to say," she choked out, her emotions finally catching up to her and she couldn't do anything to stop them. Tears were already soaking her face.

Watching her with concerned eyes, Nicky felt her heart bursting in pain for the younger teen. It was blatantly evident how much suffering she was mentally going through at the moment—not just on her face, but through her body language as well. She sucked in a deep breath and let her arms protectively wrap around Lorna's petite frame. "Just be honest, kid. It's okay, I'm not gonna judge ya. I just want you to be open with me, that's all. I love you so much and I can only help you if I know what's going on, yeah?" She brushed her lips delicately along the flesh of Lorna's forehead.

Red observed the two quietly and decided to give them their privacy. She excused herself, walking back to her office to catch up on some much-needed paperwork on her computer.

Lorna gulped. Why was it so hard for her to come up with the words to respond with? She rubbed vigorously at her temples. "I-I promise you I didn't do it, Nicky. It wasn't me, I promise."

"What didn't you do? Talk to me, baby," Nicky murmured in a hushed tone, letting her hands run soothingly through dark waves of hair.

"Try to—try to drown myself in the toilet. I swear I didn't do that," the brunette pleaded, tears spilling from her eyes like a never ending waterfall.

Biting the side of her mouth, Nicky only tightened her arms around the smaller girl. She maneuvered her so that her head was resting directly onto her chest. The one and only place she knew she could keep Lorna safe. The mental image of Lorna's head submerged in a toilet bowl made her stomach churn unnervingly. She swallowed thickly. "Lorna," she warmly said, looking down at her with a tenderness in her eyes. She brushed her lips on the top of her head, hugging her closer. "Why, why did ya do that, kid?" Her voice slightly shaky as the question spilled out from her mouth.

Lorna shook her head, glancing back up at her with wide eyes. "No, Nicky, I said I didn't do that. It wasn't me. I swear, I wouldn't do that. I'm not fucking crazy. I mean I might be but I'm not suicidal crazy."

Combing a hand lovingly through her hair, Nicky sighed and rested her head against Lorna's. Her arms squeezed softly around her body, not wanting to ever let go. The fear was too much. "You're not crazy, not even close," she murmured, nuzzling her cheek against the brunette's. "Did someone else try to drown you in the toilet? Who was it, baby? Who hurt you?"

"It, it don't matter who, hon. It just wasn't me."

"No, no," Nicky firmly responded, cupping a warm hand around Lorna's cheek. She let her eyes peer fiercely into hers. "It absolutely does matter who did that to you, baby. They tried to fucking kill you. You could have died, Lorna. Tell me who the hell tried to kill you, yeah?" Desperation seeped heavily through her voice as she held her gaze. On one hand, she felt a sense of relief to know that at least Lorna hadn't done anything to herself; however, on the other hand, she was enraged to hear that someone else had been the culprit of the almost deadly incident.

Slicking her hair back out of nervous habit, Lorna swallowed roughly and reached for her cup of tea from the table in front of their chairs. The cup was still slightly warm as her hands wrapped around it. She brought it up to her lips, sipping the tea slowly. Immediately, the lukewarm liquid hitting her raw throat brought a soothing sensation to it. "Nicky, I don't think it's a good idea for me to tell ya who did it."

"And why is that, kid?" Nicky questioned, folding her arms over her chest. Albeit the defensive aura of her positioning, compassion was the only expression that was molded onto her face.

Another sip of tea was taken to procrastinate her response. Lorna considered silently whether or not it was a beneficial pronouncement to share with her girlfriend who had been the one to almost drown her in the toilet. The last thing she wanted was for Nicky to get upset and act on impulse. However, the longer she observed her face, the more she felt her heart clench. Placing her tea back down, she reached a hand gently over to cup around Nicky's cheek. She let her eyes meld into hers.

"Nicky, you're the sweetest person I ever met. And I just don't think you knowing the person who done it is gonna benefit ya in the long run," Lorna softly commented, letting her fingers brush lightly along the flesh of her girlfriend's cheek.

Giving a slight shake of her head, Nicky cupped her hand overtop of Lorna's. She peered passionately into her brown eyes, feeling her lungs bursting with air. "How am I supposed to protect ya, though, if I don't know who hurt you?" Using her thumb, she delicately tucked a ringlet of brown hair behind the younger teen's ear.

Protected? Lorna bit down her on lip. No one protected her but herself, she thought. The sentiment, of course, warmed her heart tremendously but she knew it was no one's responsibility to protect her other than herself. "I appreciate the thought, hon, but it's okay. Ya don't gotta worry about protecting me, really. I love you," her voice murmured softly, she gave a small smile towards the other girl. A genuine smile even though it hadn't really made it to her eyes.

"I love you too, Lorna. That's why I want to protect you. Please let me help, yeah?"

I'm not worthy of protection was a thought that ran through Lorna's mind in response to the words that were said to her. But she kept it to herself and instead pursed her lips into another smile. "Thank you, hon, but everything's fine now. You don't have to worry, I promise. I, uh, should probably get to class. I'm already late."

Nicky grumbled out a groan, quickly growing frustrated with the brunette. How she once again seemed to minimize the seriousness of the situation. It irritated her to no end how anyone could be so—so dismissive. She felt a slight twinge of anger bubbling up as well, mixing in with the vexation. "No, no, no! Fine? Fine?! Everything is not fucking fine, Lorna," she gritted her teeth, yanking on her arm a little rougher than she had intended. Yet she couldn't help it with how angry she felt at that moment. Maybe the anger wasn't directed at Lorna, but the words she kept spewing out—like a broken record—surely didn't ease any of the anger. "Why do you not fucking care about yourself? I don't fucking get it, Lorna. You act like being drowned…or nearly drowned in a toilet is a normal occurrence and it just, it really boils my blood. How can ya fucking sit and have compassion for me when you don't even show yourself any? It's maddening to me."

The smile rapidly dissipated from her face. Her grip on Nicky immediately released itself. Those words cut at her like a knife. She felt her breath hitch in her throat. Feet pushed her backwards, farther away from the redhead. As she looked up at her, her heart clenched inside her chest. The look in Nicky's eyes told her she was fed up and Lorna turned towards the door. Needing to get as far away from her as possible. She didn't hesitate another second, pushing it open and running out of there as fast her as legs would take her.

She ran down the hall, through a corridor and back towards the school entrance. It didn't even matter to her anymore that school was still in session for another several hours; she needed to get the hell out of there, now. Everything was just too much for her. A sense of claustrophobia plagued her until she exited through the set of double-doors that led back to the outside. Though her ears welcomed the chirping of birds, rain poured from the clouds in buckets. Soaking her in a matter of seconds. However, even that wasn't enough to deter her from continuing her mad run through the parking lot.

Wind whirled around her as she kept the pace, she didn't have any clue as to where she was going but she hadn't planned on stopping any time soon, either. The only thing that plagued her mind at that moment was to keep breathing. Because the speed of her run made it a challenge for her lungs to take in and disperse the air around her. The rain continued to pour on her, also contributing to the provocation of her lungs trying to contract. Her vision was slightly blurred from the heavy downfall. She forced her way through it, regardless, following the cement path past the school and soon into the small city.

The rain gradually let up once she made it into town. She walked past several local businesses until she found herself standing in front of her favored coffee shop. Her shoes squeaked against the cement underneath them from how soaked the rain made them. Bold scents seeped from underneath the door, hitting her right in the nose and encouraged her hands to pull the handle of the door to finally allow herself to enter inside. She didn't care too much if her sister was there and caught her skipping school, she hoped if that were the case that Franny would give her leeway after the previous Friday's incident.


After observing the outburst between the two girls, Red got up and went to sit with Nicky—who looked stunned at all that just occurred moments earlier. She only heard bits and pieces from her office, but enough to know that something was clearly amiss amongst the friends. She placed a comforting hand onto the young girl's shoulder, sufficient of a touch to yield her attention. Their eyes met, hers with sympathy and the younger's with anguish. She let her fingers brush against the shoulder they rest atop.

The touch on her shoulder brought an instant comfort. Despite still feeling slightly agitated, Red's presence seemed to easily relax the tension in her body. She slumped somewhat in her seat, in a comfortable manner, and turned her head to stare back at the older woman beside her. The same woman who became like a surrogate mother to her. If she hadn't been so concerned with Lorna, she would have effortlessly smiled. "I was too harsh on her wasn't I, ma?"

Nurse Reznikov moved her hand from her shoulder to cover over top of Nicky's, letting her thumb stroke comforting circles around the flesh of it. Though the atmosphere was left disheartened after Lorna's running out, she still formed a warm smile on her face. One that held compassion and empathy for her Nicky. "Well, you could have probably been a little gentler with your words but sometimes tough love can be helpful too…but in this instance, I think maybe less harsh woulda been the way to go," Red truthfully answered her, giving a soft pat to the hand she held.

Covering her head in her hands, Nicky exhaled a frustrated puff of air. She sorely regretted her earlier spout of outrage at her beloved girlfriend. Even when the words flowed out without hesitation, she knew she was being too hard. Too edgy. And now, Lorna ran off to only god knows where. She rubbed at her temples. Hopefully the girl only ran to her class like she had originally stated but she couldn't know for sure. And the not knowing was what pulled at her heart the most, she realized.

"I'm not the gentlest person, am I?" A faint chuckle escaped her as she queried; gentle was something she strayed away from and had she allowed herself to display any gentleness, the only recipient was Lorna.

"That's not entirely true, Nicky," the Russian maternal figure informed her and she meant it. She'd witnessed that right before the outburst between the pair. "You're the gentlest when it comes to Lorna, I seen that earlier. You just get passionate over things, sometimes, and the emotions cloud your judgment. But that doesn't negate your gentleness. I think it's best to let her have some time to herself, whatever it is that's happened to her she doesn't seem quite ready to open up about it. Prying her right now will only make things worse."


The coffee shop seemed to be hustling and bustling with a decent sized line of customers waiting to place their beverage orders. Lorna stood at the end of it and glanced at her phone to see it was only eight o'clock in the morning—hence the business, she deemed. The line moved rather quickly, she noticed, and soon she found herself at the front of it, standing at the sales counter as she looked over the coffee menu with a critical eye. She noticed both her sister and Alex were working behind it, Franny taking the orders and the latter preparing the drinks.

Franny glanced up from the register's screen and felt a bout of concern inch its way up her face when her eyes landed on Lorna right across from her. "What're ya doin' here, Lorn? You're supposed to be at school…how did ya get here?" Instinctively, she folded her arms over her chest and raised an inquisitive eyebrow over her lightly colored eye. Albeit her stance, she wasn't too upset with the girl for not being in school—not after all that had happened only a few days prior.

"I walked—erm, I guess maybe ran here. I just—I can't focus on school today, Fran. I thought if I came and got a coffee, it might help."

Slicking her hair subconsciously back, Franny inhaled a breath and gave a small nod. Since she knew her younger sister's coffee taste, she yelled over the beverage to Alex and then refocused her attention on the smaller brunette on the other side of the counter. The time nearing closer to nine, it wasn't unusual for there to be no one else waiting behind Lorna. She was grateful for that fact and while the coffee was being prepared, she took the time to question her sister.

"How much are ya walking or running places? You look real small, hon," Franny commented as she observed her sister's frame fully for the first time in weeks. She suddenly felt sick at how thin Lorna appeared before her. Sick that she hadn't even noticed until just then. Sick that their own father who'd been around her for months and not once took any steps to get her the proper help she so blatantly needed.