Chapter Forty-Two
The evening arrived and found Lorna sitting in her foster family's living—rather sitting—room with a cup of tea that had been given to her by one of the paid chefs. Another fact that added to Lorna's uneasiness in that house. It made her feel extremely out of place to be living with such a wealthy family. She wasn't accustomed to having people seemingly waiting on her hand and foot. She also wasn't sure she liked that. It didn't feel right to allow random people to do things for her that she knew she could easily do for herself. Guilt was quick to rise within her, however, she was interrupted from her thoughts by the sound of the doorbell going off.
Uncomfortable with the idea of getting up to answer it when she was only a foster child, Lorna remained on the sofa with her eyes intently on the door. She waited several moments for one of the Chapmans to show up and open the door but no one did. And with the failure of no one responding to the person's commotion on the other side of that door, the bell sounded through the house a second time followed by persistent knocking. Lorna shifted unnervingly on the sofa, hoping someone would come to open it but again no one had complied.
Lorna begrudgingly made herself get up from the couch, placing her teacup on a coaster atop the maple end-table beside it, and skeptically walked over to the front door to open it. When she did, she came face-to-face with the CPS worker from the previous afternoon and felt a puff of air erupt from her lungs. Panic quickly set in to see that woman standing in front of her yet again. She backed several feet away, watching precisely as Miss Figueroa entered inside.
Miss Figueroa took her shoes off, after shutting the door behind her, knowing Mrs. Chapman wasn't fond of guests walking about her house with—as she called it—filthy shoes clanging against the beautiful wood. She peered around the room to see if either of the parents were around and was vaguely taken aback to acknowledge that neither were. Her brown eyes looked back on Lorna, she pursed her lips into a tight smile. Teenagers were a breed she hadn't understood much of, not even when she was one herself many decades earlier.
"Where's Mr. and Mrs. Chapman?" The query came out in a rather monotone voice.
Something about the older woman formed goosebumps on Lorna's arms. She appeared almost more superficial than the family she was staying with. Lorna shrugged her shoulders and went back to sit on the sofa, repossessing her cup of tea tightly in her hands. She lifted it to her mouth, sipping it multiple times in mere slow motion. "I haven't seen them since I got back from school. Why are you here? Are ya here to take me to another pointless family that doesn't really want me?"
The CPS worker turned her head to look at a painting on the wall, taking that time to also roll her eyes so that the teen girl wasn't able to see it. At least kids in grade-school or younger didn't have such copious attitudes, she thought. "I'm here to speak with Mr. and Mrs. Chapman about your school, have them fill out some paperwork. I'll have you know they're both very happy to welcome an ill-fated child such as yourself into their home. Maybe you should try being more grateful for that, huh?"
"Grateful? For this? I have a sista who was ready to let me live with her and you snatched me away against my will to live with some random family that will never care about me as much as my sista does. Why should I be grateful for that?" Lorna finished off her tea, slamming it rather loudly onto the coaster, and furiously stomped her way up the mahogany staircase to her room—or the guestroom that the Chapmans were so kindly allowing her to occupy.
With the door of the guestroom locked shut, Lorna sat on the cushioned stool in front of the mirrored dresser that doubled as a make-up vanity and peered irritatingly ahead at her reflection. Her mind hyper fixated on the words of Miss Figueroa while her eyes studied her features from the mirror right anterior to her. An ill-fated child? She felt her eyebrows arch up at the echoing of the comment. What the hell did that mean? Was she just naturally doomed to a life of mediocracy or below? Her hands slammed against the surface of the dresser. She shook her head profusely, reaching into the pocket of her jeans for her phone.
Popping the top of it open with her thumb, Lorna scrolled through until her eyes fell upon Nicky's name in her contact list. Maybe talking to Nicky would distract her from her mind for a while. She needed a distraction. Her mind appeared to be consuming her whole and she wasn't in the mood to be upset or full of rage. She wanted Nicky. Nicky always provided her with a calming effect. A sigh escaped her at the realization—she didn't want to make Nicky feel burdened by that, though. Nicky deserved so much more than what she had to offer. Another breath of air made its way through her esophagus when she became aware of her mind trying to twist her words and confuse her as it so often had.
Lorna ignored her contradicting thoughts and let her thumb mechanically click over her girlfriend's name. She waited through the rings, working her hardest to not allow her mind to wander too much. All the thoughts were seemingly exhausting to her. A break from them was something she highly craved. The line picked up just seconds later and relief washed over her. "Hi, Nicky," she gently greeted once she heard her voice speak out on the other end.
"Hey, doll. How are ya feelin'?" Nicky warmly asked, moving from the living room—where she had sat watching the television with Red—to the kitchen to get more privacy. She held the phone up against her ear using one shoulder while fixing herself a cup of coffee with the coffee that had previously been brewed and still sitting in the pot.
"I-I don't know. I just I need something to distract myself right now, hon. What are you doing?"
Pouring the dark liquid into her mug she'd retrieved from the strainer in the sink, Nicky immediately felt her eyes glaze over. She held the cup by the handle and went to sit down at the circular table. "Are you okay, baby? What do ya need a distraction from? What's the matter? I'm just having some coffee. Do ya wanna come over? I can pick you up, babe."
"Coffee," Lorna repeated. She sighed. Coffee would fix things, she reasoned with herself. Coffee always fixed whatever was bothering her or maybe it was only the placebo effect. "I'm okay, hon. I just want to get away from the Chapmans. They're nice but really—they're wealthy and it makes me feel weird to be here. I need a distraction from this house. Coffee would be a great distraction, especially with you. But I don't wanna make you drive all the way out here. I can walk to town and meet ya there, it'll be less of a hassle for ya, hon."
A large sip of coffee was taken by Nicky before she responded. Her eyes yearned to roll all the way to the back of her head at Lorna's suggestion of walking. However, the gesture was made out of love and concern for her own well-being which, of course, warmed Nicky's heart rather fiercely. "Lorna, you know how I feel about you walking the streets when it's dark out. It isn't safe, doll. I appreciate your sweetness, I do, but it's not a big deal for me to just drive to get ya. Just tell me the address, yeah?" Nicky shook her head at how stubborn her girlfriend was, yet, sighed at how much more endearing that made the younger teen.
The brunette mirrored Nicky's sigh and decided it was not worth arguing over even though she knew it also wasn't fair for Nicky to have to make the drive over all the time. Instead, she stood up from the stool and rummaged through her suitcase—that still remained packed—for a thicker coat to wear over her clothes. "Fine, hon, I'll give ya the address. But at least can I buy ya a coffee or something? You're always being so sweet to me and I wanna do something sweet for you for once, okay?"
"Sure, kid," Nicky chuckled lovingly while getting up from her chair to grab her car keys and satchel from her bedroom. She walked back through the living room, after retrieving the items she needed, and let Red know where she was headed before going out the front door to get in her vehicle. "We'll stop at the coffee shop on our way back to my place, yeah? And I promise I'll let ya pay, doll."
A half hour later had the two teens sitting in Nicky's car as she drove through the neighborhood to get them back onto the freeway. The blaring music had been turned down several notches the second her girlfriend got into the passenger seat next to her. Her eyes slightly shifted to peer over at the petite brunette, a smile easily spreading across her cheeks. Having Lorna with her constantly had the unrelenting ability to turn her into a huge pile of mush. She innately reached a free hand over to cover atop the smaller girl's.
"Nicky?" Lorna was the first to break the silence since the pair had been occupying the vehicle together.
Caressing her palm delicately up and down the flesh of the top of Lorna's hand, Nicky turned her head slightly—upon stopping at a redlight—to peer compassionately into the other's eyes. "Yeah, babe?" She searched over the younger girl's face quite meticulously, hoping to decipher exactly what she might be feeling. The hand that was held around Lorna's, she moved it up to frame around one of her cheeks instead.
Her breathing constricted a bit at the soothing sensation. Lorna squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and longed for an off button for her incessant mind. The mind that refused to allow her to enjoy any moment without opposing thoughts whirling their way in to convince her that what she truly wanted was something she would never be worthy of. A sigh escaped through her windpipe. She reached one of her hands up to place onto Nicky's and stroked it softly.
"I just want to make sure ya know how much I love you. I mean it, hon. I love you more than anything."
Nicky's heart swelled beneath her chest. If only they were already parked in front of the coffee shop so she could properly pull Lorna to her for a maddened kiss. She sighed and settled for a soft peck over the knuckles of Lorna's hand. "I know, Lorna, I love you right back. Just as much. You're making my heart melt and I can't even kiss you right now," a light-hearted, warm, chuckle escaped from her throat. She placed the hand that belonged to her girlfriend onto her chest and held it there for the remainder of the drive.
When she pulled into a parking spot, only ten minutes after the fact, she turned the key in the ignition and pulled it out to place in the front zipper of her satchel. Her eyes averted over onto Lorna, growing slightly serious as they looked her over carefully. "A lotta shit happened today, doll, so it's okay if you're not okay. You know ya don't have to fake it in front of me. You're allowed to let me comfort you, baby. I just want you to know that and let it ingrain in your brain, yeah?"
Sucking in her bottom lip, Lorna felt her eyes slightly moisten with tears. Tears, not particularly of sadness, but rather of a strong sense of affection for the redhead sitting beside her. She felt her chest constrict a small amount while lifting her hands to cradle lovingly around Nicky's cheeks. Her brown eyes peered softly into her girlfriend's brown ones. A lump was swallowed down to her throat. She ran the tips of her fingers delicately around the flesh of her face.
Nothing meant more to Lorna than having someone as sweet and compassionate as Nicky for her girlfriend. A contented sigh pushed its way through her windpipe. She didn't believe she deserved the volume of love that Nicky never failed to show her, however, that hadn't negated the fact that she was beyond appreciative of all that her girlfriend was willing to do for her. "I know, hon. Thank you. But is it okay if we not talk about any a that for right now? I just wanna be with you and have a coffee," she softly murmured, continuing the tender motion around Nicky's cheek.
Nicky gave a small nod in response. Her hands wiped tenderly around the skin beneath the brunette's eyes, pushing away the tears. As the pair stared directly into one another, she felt her heart ache deeply—the words that came from the younger one's mouth gave her a faint amount of hope. They implied that Lorna—on some level—was admitting the events indeed had taken place. And, to Nicky, that was certainly a step in the right direction.
"Sure, kid. We can talk about all of that later if ya want," she commented, letting her face inch closer to Lorna's just enough so that their lips brushed together in a warm kiss. The two stayed in that same position for several seconds before Nicky finally decided to pull away. She flashed a soft smile to her girlfriend, patting her cheeks, and quickly unfastened herself from the seat.
Lorna followed suit, undoing her seatbelt before exiting the vehicle to walk behind the taller teen in direction of the coffee shop. The bell above the door rang while they entered inside of the quaint building. Instantly, both of their noses filled with the strong aroma of the very bold beverage with cinnamons and nutmegs mixed in here and there. They made their way up to the counter and Lorna was highly grateful to see her older sister standing on the other side of it.
"Hi, Fran, can Nicky and I get a plain coffee and Cinnamon Toast Crunch latte please?"
The second her eyes landed on Lorna, an intense bout of relief came washing over Franny. A small smile molded onto her face as her head intuitively nodded. "Ya sure can, Lorn," she stated, going over to start preparing their order. Her eyes peered back over to look methodically over the younger brunette's entire figure. "Is the foster family being good to ya, hon?"
While their beverages were being made, Lorna placed her handbag atop the counter so it would be easier for her to rummage through it for the cash she had thrown in there before she was whisked away from her father's house. Once her hands grasped onto the paper items, she removed them from her purse and laid it out on the counter. "They're not mean or nothin'. Just kinda snooty, the woman is anyway."
With the plain coffee quickly poured into a to-go cup, Franny handed it across the counter to Nicky. A lump was swallowed when she noticed the slight scowl on Nicky's face as she gave her the cup. It was clear to her that the young teen still wasn't too happy with her over the whole abusive father situation, she mentally acknowledged. She couldn't entirely blame her for feeling the way she did—if she were in Nicky's shoes, without knowing all the details, she'd most definitely feel the same amount of disdain.
She hurriedly grabbed another traveler's cup and got to work on making her sister's specialty latte. It took only a few minutes before Franny was carrying it back over to reach across the counter to hand it to Lorna. "Good, I'm glad they're not mean to ya. I applied for guardianship of you so hopefully ya won't be stuck with them for too much longer," she informed the younger girl.
Pleasantly retrieving her highly sought after cup of coffee, Lorna eagerly took a sip of it once her hands were cradled around the hot object. The second the sweet taste of cinnamon hit her tastebuds she closed her eyes while a content smile formed from her lips. She peered over her cup at Franny and instinctively felt her heart metaphorically double in size. To say she was grateful for having a deeply caring older sister would be an understatement. There weren't proper words to describe what she felt towards Franny for being so willing to take her in in order to avoid having her stay in the foster system for too long.
The sisters shared a momentary smile before Lorna turned to her girlfriend and the pair of them went over to sit at one of the tables. Nicky, as per usual, gravitated towards the table near the window that she always occupied when stopping by the dainty coffee house. The younger teen situated herself in the chair opposite Nicky and—after having a long sip of her latte—placed the cup on the surface in front of her.
Lorna stared intently over at her girlfriend, allowing her eyes to study every inch of her face in a rather precise manner. A breath of air expelled from her lungs to see such a distasteful expression oozing from Nicky's eyes. She reached a hand across the table to delicately cup around one of the other girl's cheeks, letting the tips of her fingers to caress softly around its flesh. Though a slight tightness melded into her chest, she ignored it and held her stare on her girlfriend. She understood why the faded frown sat on her face—it made sense that Nicky would still be a bit taken aback around Franny. Nicky didn't know that the only reason Franny never went to the authorities was because of Mr. Morello's extremely threatening demeanor.
Sensing the eyes of her girlfriend on her, Nicky looked up from her hot beverage to return her gaze. To see the intensity of affection that spilled from Lorna's face only caused the frown that was on her own to gradually dissipate. A deep sigh escaped from her larynx and she mirrored the younger teen's movements by lifting her hand and placing it over one of her cheeks. Her thumb stroked lovingly around it.
"Thanks for the coffee, doll. It really hits the spot," Nicky broke the silence, a heartfelt smile spread across her face.
Returning the smile, Lorna delicately folded a strand of red hair behind her girlfriend's ear. It was a breath of fresh air to be able to just sit in her favorite coffee shop with her favorite person and enjoy a casual conversation instead of worrying about the events of the past few days. "You don't gotta thank me, hon. It's the least I could do for ya. You're always here for me and giving me so much love and I just wanna return that," was her truthful response. After all that Nicky's done for her in the short span of time that they've been together, the least Lorna could do was treat her to a coffee.
Once again Nicky felt her heart bursting from the warm comment that slipped from the younger girl's mouth. It made her yearn to take her back to her place and cuddle her all night in her bed, however, she refrained herself from making that move—after all Lorna did spend her money on those coffees, they might as well wait until they're finished with them. So, instead, Nicky settled on taking her other hand and cupping it around Lorna's other cheek. She gradually moved her face closer to hers until their foreheads were neatly pressed together and their lips naturally glided against one another's into a passionate kiss.
Thoughts absent from her mind, Lorna only acted on impulse and deepened the kiss significantly while moving one of her hands to rest against the back of Nicky's head. Her eyes shut as she immersed herself in the sweet, heated, sensation between their mouths. Nothing could compare to that, she believed. It was a magical, mystical, touching of their lips that proved to be something that was a challenge to explain to those who did not understand it. Something that she certainly would never get sick of taking part in.
"I'd ask ya if ya wanna spend the night at the Chapmans' house with me but I don't know what they would say to that—Mrs. Chapman, especially, gives me the creeps. I mean not in a she's gross way but like she's real fake."
Though the kiss had, unfortunately, ended, Nicky kept their foreheads resting over each other. She watched with attentive eyes as Lorna's dark eyebrows curved up when she spoke. Her thumb rested on the flesh beneath her eyebrow, slowly caressing around it. "Nah, you'll spend the night at my place, kid. We can cuddle up in my bed and you can tell me all about these Chapman folks, yeah? I'm interested to hear what stories ya already have on em'," a warm chuckle escaped from her windpipe. She grabbed her cup of coffee and sipped it fervently.
"Yeah, I like that idea better," Lorna nodded intuitively while flashing Nicky a soft smile. She copied her actions, reaching for her latte and sipping it savoringly. A very tiny wink was given to the girl who sat opposite her. "Maybe we can also, possibly, take part in some promiscuous activities while we're—ya know—cuddling in your bed."
"Promiscuous activities, huh?" The redhead questioned with a playful smirk melding onto her face. That certainly wasn't something she had been expecting Lorna to come out and say right then—especially in a public place. However, it warmed her heart, nonetheless. She moved her thumb up to her forehead, lovingly brushing a strand of hair out of the way. "Hmm, I think that could be worked into it. Very bold of ya to suggest that, kid. I like it." Another strand of Lorna's brown hair fell over her forehead and again, Nicky brushed it softly away with her thumb.
Lorna sipped her latte rather quickly, itching to get out of there and back to Nicky and Nurse Reznikov's house so that the pair of them could get comfortable and cuddled up on her bed. There was nothing she craved for more, in that moment, than to be in close proximity with the girl her heart yearned so strongly for. To lay in Nicky's bed, the both of them wrapped in each other's arms talking into the wee hours of the night—maybe doing other things as well between conversations. A dreamy sigh escaped her at such thought. Nothing felt more right than what the two of them had together.
"I mean I can be bold when I wanna," the brunette nonchalantly threw out, casually waving a hand in the air.
Nicky chuckled, finishing off her coffee and cradling her hand around her girlfriend's cheek. She leaned closer, stroking her lips once more over Lorna's—this time much slower and softer. When she released the kiss, her lips curled into a meaningful smile and she rubbed the palm of her hand lovingly along the cheek that it rested against. "You sure can, doll. And I love ya for that. I love ya for a lot of things, really. We'll head out after you finish your coffee but please don't rush yourself. It's early, we have all evening to spend together in my bed."
It hadn't been much longer than an hour later that the two teens were walking through the front door of Nurse Reznikov's house. As they entered inside, Mrs. Reznikov—who'd sat upon her favored arm chair with a cup of tea cradled in her hands—looked up from the book she'd been reading and smiled kindly at the pair of them. "Hi girls, where'd you decide to venture off to? The weather's finally starting to warm up, yes?"
The girlfriends simultaneously nodded in response to Red's query. Smiles took up form on both of their faces. Though the start of the day hadn't been the most optimistic, after a lovely stop at the local coffee shop, both were certain that the day could be ended on a rather pleasant note. Straying away from the dismal topics for an evening wouldn't change anything in the long run, so, there was a mutual agreement between the two teens to not bring any of it up.
"We stopped at that coffee shop in town—Lorna, here, was sweet enough to pay for both of our coffees," Nicky was the one to respond out of the pair of them. Her eyes shifted onto Lorna and she couldn't resist the smile from widening on her face. Nobody had the capability of making her heart flutter and melt the way her brunette girlfriend had. She cupped a hand instinctively around one of Lorna's porcelain cheeks.
Red narrowed her glasses a smidge, eyeing the two closely. After taking a couple of sips from her cup, she set it on a coaster on the end table beside her chair and let out a light-hearted chuckle. It wasn't much of a shock to hear that's where the pair of them had spent the past couple of hours at. "Why am I not surprised? I think the both a you have a coffee problem," the Russian matron pointed out with another warm chuckle. She definitely knew Nicky had one with all the cups of coffee she'd seen her consume in the almost two months that she's lived there with her.
The redhead teen peered back at her surrogate mother with both of her eyebrows curved upwards. She shook her head, pointing her hand at the cup of tea that sat on the end-table next to the armchair. "Yeah? I think you have a tea problem, ma. I swear I always see ya with a cup of it," her husky voice jokingly sputtered out with a chuckle of her own mixing in with it.
"I'll have you know I drink non-caffeinated tea, my Nicky, so therefore my tea problem isn't real." The middle-aged woman lifted a hand and waved it at her surrogate daughter.
"Okay, ma, whatever ya say," Nicky commented in response. Another light-hearted chuckle escaped from her larynx. "Me and Lorna are gonna go chill in my room now," she informed the school nurse while wrapping an arm naturally around the shorter teen's shoulder and gradually leading her to the archway that led to the hallway.
Before the two could fully leave the room, Red held out a hand to halt them. Her eyes narrowed from behind the lenses that covered atop them as they peered sternly at the pair of them. "As long as your foster family knows you're here, yes Lorna? I just wanna make sure because I don't want any weird knocks on my front door in the middle of the night."
Lorna quickly nodded her reply to the older woman—who mirrored her nod—and then she and Nicky proceeded to walk down the hallway into her bedroom.
With the two youngsters retreating from the living room, Mrs. Reznikov shook her head with a small chuckle. It was highly apparent to her that the pair of them were deeply—head-over-heels—in love with one another and, honestly, she couldn't say she was entirely surprised to discover that. She suspected for quite a while that Nicky was developing feelings for Lorna, just with how openly affectionate and protective she was of her. Though, neither had mentioned anything to her yet, her heart swelled pleasantly to know they had each other.
Once the teens were in Nicky's room—the door shut and locked behind them—the older of the two was the first to rummage through her dresser for a couple of pairs of pajamas. One was kept for herself and the spare one was gently handed over to Lorna. Nicky quickly undressed from her day clothes, replacing them with the t-shirt and gym shorts she had picked out. Dressing in front of others wasn't too big of a deal for her—it was something she'd done since grade-school. She grabbed her clothes from the floor and threw them in her laundry basket.
Brown eyes averted over onto Lorna, who stood frozen on the other side of the room with the pajamas gripped tightly in her hands. The apprehension that spilled from her face instantly caused Nicky to grow worried. "You really don't like changing in front of people, do ya kid?" She warmly inquired, walking over to her and placing a hand atop her cheek.
"I just—it's not something I enjoy doing. But I mean I know you're my girlfriend and we're planning on maybe doing promiscuous things together tonight so I guess it's dumb a me to be too chicken to change in fronta ya, huh?" Lorna's words fumbled together from how fast she was talking. Inadvertently, several nervous laughs accompanied. Her cheeks turned a rather bright shade of pink and felt as though they were on fire from the volume of heat that was coming off of them.
The words that spewed out so hurriedly from her girlfriend's mouth only strengthened the worry looming over Nicky. She stroked the tips of her fingers softly around the pale skin of her cheek. "Doll, I don't want you to do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable. I mean we can be promiscuous while still fully clothed in our pajamas, yeah?" A warm chuckle escaped her while she tenderly tucked a strand of her brown hair behind her ear.
