A/N: Hello! I am very sorry to have kept you all waiting for so long! I must thank the new follower who added this story out of the blue and a follower who's been there since I first published this story for prompting me to get myself in gear and update! I'm still here! I haven't abandoned Coffee Stains as it has far from run its course just yet! Please excuse spelling and grammatical errors… :P
I hope you enjoy this chapter!
BernieWhiskers :)
Coffee Stains - Chapter Five
A slight breeze rustled the thin blue curtains that had been drawn in front of the ajar window in the room, light also streamed in casting rays of sunshine on the sleeping woman's face. Piper stirred slightly at the unfamiliar noise and with a mind still thick with sleep, lurched upright as panic set in due to her surroundings.
A few seconds trickled past and Piper's gaze darted around the room as the day before slowly started to come back to her. She took in the sparse furnishings of the room, the chest of drawers and wardrobe made from the same wood in a similar style. As she began to calm, she recalled where she was and who she was with.
It had all happened so quickly over the last 24 hours that she took a moment to process it all.
Larry had been cheating on her. With Polly. Her 'best friend'. She had found out. And then… all hell broke loose with her memory.
Larry found them at Red's? Shit…
Alex standing up for her and getting punched in the face for it… Even more shit…
Piper tipped her head back on the pillow so her body was almost arching and covered her face with her long pale fingers and breathed out a few short strangled sobs. Her hands became wet with crying that wasn't quite crying and she sniffed sharply to try and get a grip on herself. She sat up abruptly and swung her legs round so she could get out of the bed.
"No point crying about that fact the two people you cared about the most were both fucking you over by fucking each other… It's not going to bloody change it, so I might as well get on with life." Piper muttered bitterly to herself before heaving herself up off the bed and standing for a moment, realising she hadn't thought that far ahead…
Now she wasn't horizontal she felt a little less like crying and she began to think a little more clearly. The blonde focused on a few little details in the room like a picture of a younger Alex with and older woman who looked so startlingly similar that Piper guessed it must be her mother. She smiled as she took in another picture of a teenage Alex caught unaware of the fact she was being photographed, the sunlight played with her dark hair and her eyes were lit up with the signs of genuine laughter. She looked so happy Piper thought to herself. She turned back to the bed and made it, thinking about exactly what she was doing to make the bed and nothing more.
Her moves became mechanical as she repeated the same gesture of making and unmaking the bed again and again just to feel the sensation of the fabric moving in her hands and she worked, it gave her something to focus on for a moment. Soon became still again.
The realisation that she was still in Alex house came over her and the more pressing need to release her bladder made itself known.
After a second of thought, Piper tiptoed to the bathroom, she could hear someone in the kitchen mumbling along to the radio while clanging pots and pans in the general sound of cooking breakfast.
She slowly turned the handle of the door she assumed was the bathroom and sighed in relief when she remembered correctly from the night before. She slipped into the room and locked the door behind her.
After washing her hands Piper and checked herself in the mirror. Once satisfied she didn't look too much of a mess the padded towards the kitchen to see the person who was the source of the noise.
"Good morning!" The brunette said pleasantly when she heard Piper's arrival and carried two glasses of orange juice to the breakfast bar where two plates were already waiting.
"Morning Alex." Piper replied with a small, tired smile. She rubbed her cheek gently and let her hand drop heavily, the noise cutting through the moment of silence. Guilt flooded through her as she took in the colourful bruise covering the brunette's face, she hoped it would heal quickly so her friend would not suffer long with it.
Sensing that Piper did not feel ready for a conversation she added: "You're just in time… Breakfast is ready! I didn't know what you'd want so I've kind of laid out all I could think of…" the brunette trailed off as she gestured to the counter top that had various different foods arranged so all the labels were visible.
"That is very sweet Al. Thank you" This time the smile on the blonde's face was less forced and more intrigued.
"No problem Kid! Help yourself!" Alex replied, her voice much softer and she leant her head to the side ever so slightly in a pose of contemplation. Moments past in silence and both women began to help themselves to food from the counter top and began eating, the sound of chewing being the only thing to break the silence.
Once or twice Alex opened her mouth to say something but before actually speaking she shut her mouth again.
"Hey Kid?" Alex began carefully.
"Yes…?" the blonde answered, just as carefully.
"I know you probably don't want to talk about yesterday right now, so I'm not going to mention it again after this, but-" Alex paused as she tried to gauge Piper's reaction to where she was going with this. "I just wanted to say you are welcome to stay with me for as long as you want… I mean if you want…" she trailed off, silently cursing herself for bringing it up.
Piper put down her cutlery and looked down at the dark wooden table, following the grain of the wood until she knew she'd waited too long to reply. She worried her bottom lip with her teeth and gave Alex a small strained smile.
"Thank you Al." the blonde said quietly. "I really do appreciate it…"
"But…?" the brunette prompted gently, realising she'd almost hoped Piper would have agreed to stay with her.
"But I don't want to put you through that…I've got to sort what I'm going to do and it's not fair to drag you into it…"
Alex smiled and looked at her plate, the thought that she'd already been through something like this crossing her mind. She thought about what she would have wanted and chose her reply carefully.
"For now Kid, just enjoy your breakfast. Anything else we can go through once we're finished, 'kay?"
After the pair had cleared away the remnants of breakfast and washed up the evidence they retreated to their separate rooms in the little apartment to get ready for the day ahead. An hour or so passed before the sound of shuffling feet came from the direction of the room the younger woman had been occupying. The shuffling came to a stop by the end of the sofa the brunette was laying on, completely engrossed in one of her favourite books.
"Hey, Alex…" Piper began.
"Hey yourself, Kid." The brunette replied with a smile as she quickly placed a book mark in her place.
"I've spoken to my boss and taken the day off work… I just can't do it right now… But I need to go and get my things from the apartment… Um… I wouldn't ask… But would you come with me? I mean if you're busy or don't want to that fine, I just-" Piper stopped abruptly at a gesture from Alex and waited for her to speak.
The brunette sat upright on the sofa and turned to face the younger woman head on.
"Hey, Pipes, it's okay. Of course I'll come with you, if I'm honest I don't really want you to go by yourself anyway… You can bring it all back here and then decide what you want to do from there." Alex leaned forward and brushed the back of the hand of the young woman in front of her. "I'm want to help you, okay?"
The blonde smiled at the reassuring gesture and her worry calmed somewhat with the knowledge that at least someone she knew cared enough at this moment to want to help her though it.
"Okay." She exhaled in relief. "Can we go now?" she added quickly.
"Of course." The older woman replied. "Let me just get my keys."
Piper put the key in the lock of the apartment she used to call home and exhaled a shaky breath. She released the key and turned around to face her friend who stood behind her.
"I don't think I can do this…" she whispered into Alex's shoulder as she felt the brunette's arms wrap around her in a gentle hug. Her heart rate suddenly through the roof.
"You don't have to Piper. I can go in and grab some clothes and we can come back some when else." Alex soothed, stroking the blonde's soft hair comfortingly.
After a moment of gathering herself, Piper stepped back and turned to the door again.
"I've got to do this now otherwise I might never have the courage." She breathed.
"Okay, well I'm right behind you okay?" Alex said, resting a reassuring hand on the blonde's shoulder before lowering her hand to her side again.
The key turned in the lock with a soft click and the door swung inwards with a low creak, and the two women were greeted with silence as the door stilled. Piper reached behind her for Alex hand and the brunette gave her outstretched hand a quick squeeze.
The pair walked into to apartment and realised they were both holding their breath. Piper angled herself toward the bedroom and stiffly decreased the distance between herself and the bedroom door. Each step closer filled her stomach with a heavy lead weight of realisation that this was actually happening.
Almost on autopilot she looked around the room she had shared with Larry and felt her heart clench at the sight of all the pictures and memories the room held for her. This is it she thought. With a sharp intake of breath she pulled out rucksacks and overnight bags from where she knew they would be underneath the bed, sprawling them over the floor then began throwing clothes from the nearest wardrobe onto the bed.
Alex caught Piper's eye as she turned to throw something else towards the bed and gestured towards the bag at her feet. The blond nodded mutely and she took that moment to begin packing the closest bag to her with the garments the blonde was now throwing in her general direction.
Once the wardrobe was empty of all her clothes, the blonde moved to the chest of drawers and began the same process of removing everything that belonged to her. Alex worked at a steady pace, hurriedly refolding and organising the clothes being thrown her way and slowly filled up the bags as she went. Working like a miniature golden hurricane, Piper darted in and out of the room throwing books, documents and other sentimental items from around the house and from in the bathroom onto the bed to be crammed into the waiting bags.
When at last the final tangled garment, stray toiletry and piece of paper was unceremoniously stuffed into a bag, Piper stumbled over to the bed and sank to the floor with her back against the mattress and bed frame. The older woman moved over to where she sat and crouched in front of her. Silent sobs caused the blonde's slender frame to shudder as she tried control the emotions coursing through her head. Alex wrapped her arms around the blonde once more and just held her quietly until she felt the shudders subside.
"Is that everything?" she asked gently, hoping the sound of her voice would not startle her friend.
"Nearly… Just a few work manuscripts." the younger woman managed to whisper.
"Where?" Alex said softly, cocking her head slightly as she felt herself frowning in displeasure at her friend's current state.
Piper gestured to the bedroom door and into the open plan apartment. "All in the briefcase on the table out there…"
Alex nodded her understanding and retrieved the last bag and brought it to be put in the small pile next to the open bedroom door. After a few moments they began moving the bags to the front door and into the hallway of the building. Between them travelling up and down the stairs alternating who went each time, it took two trips to the car each to clear the bags from hallway. After one last sweeping look about the apartment Piper removed her door key from her key ring and gently placed it upon the kitchen sideboard and stepped backwards towards the open front door.
"Goodbye." She said to the empty apartment, pulling the door closed with a final click as she left for the very last time.
The drive back to Alex's house was in silence, neither woman wishing to disturb the delicate calm that had come over them both. As they turned the corner to the street upon which Alex's apartment building resided, Alex smiled in recognition at the wild haired woman who sat on the stairs to the entrance of the building, completely engrossed in an intense typing session on her phone. The brunette pulled into her designated parking spot and unclipped her seatbelt.
"I should probably warn you my friend Nicky, whom you met yesterday is here… Probably checking up on us and seeing if I'll be going to work tomorrow… I can ask her to leave if you'd like?"
"It's okay…" Piper replied with a tired smile.
It occurred to Alex she was trying to hold it together for her sake, hoping that if she acted like it was all okay, perhaps it would be. The pair exited the car and wandered over to the steps to meet the red haired woman.
"Hey Vause, Blondie." Nicky greeted with a grin. "I come bearing stuff…" she added, picking up a medium sized brown bag as she stood. "I didn't know what you'd like so I got a range of things…"
"Thank you Nicky." Piper said by way of reply as the bag was handed to her.
"My pleasure!" Nicky beamed back, her upbeat personality beginning to ease the slightly sombre mood that had settle over the other two women. "Hey Vause, Red wanted to know if you're up for working tomorrow? She's beginning to despair with Lorna's organisation skills…"
"I'll be there Nichols." Alex answered, pushing her glasses to the top of her head while she gently massaged the bridge of her nose.
"'Kay, I'll let Red know." She paused as if considering how wise her next words might be. "Hey, d'you want a hand with that?" the crazy haired woman asked gesturing to the heap of bags on the back seat of Alex's car.
Alex looked over at Piper for her answer, she raised an eyebrow in question, knowing that the blonde had not agreed to stay, nor had she refused completely. Regardless, the look presented the offer to her once more.
The blonde seemed to debate with herself for a moment before nodded her agreement. Alex noticed the relief she felt at the blondes answer, and briefly wondered why exactly she had been hoping she would agree. She didn't have long to consider it though as her thoughts were quickly interrupted by her colleague.
Nicky took a step towards the brunette with a sly grin. She clapped her lightly on the shoulder and said: "Come on then Vause, let's get started."
They unloaded everything from the car into the room the blonde was occupying in Alex's house much quicker than it got there with the three of them working at it. Alex and Nicky flopped down onto the sofas in the book lined living room, a familiar ease between them that made Piper believe it was a common occurrence for the two. Although she felt grateful, Piper felt a wave of exhaustion sweep over her like a heavy blanket. She hovered for a moment by the sofa Alex was lounged on.
After a moment of collecting her thoughts the blonde managed to for words that came out as a tired sigh.
"Thank you for your help Nicky, and I'm really sorry Alex, I'm exhausted. I think I'm going to go back to bed…" Piper said, her gaze fixed to the floor.
"Okay, Pipes. Just shout if you need anything, I'm not going anywhere." The brunette replied softly from the sofa, missing her wild haired friend's raised eyebrows at her response.
Piper nodded her head in understanding before slowly shuffling to the room she had occupied earlier that day.
Once Piper was out of earshot Nicky opened her mouth and spoke around her massive Cheshire cat grin. "Despite not having known her long, you've got a real soft spot for that kid, Vause."
"She just needs someone to be there for her right now Nick… I'm just trying to be a decent friend…" Alex replied, a small frown formed on her brow and Nicky held her hands up in surrender.
"It was only an observation my friend, not an accusation. She seems like a nice kid." Nicky smiled again, this time is was in genuine happiness for her friend. "And as much as I've greatly enjoyed my time with you, I must also bid you farewell as I said I'd swing by Lorna's house to help her with something…"
Alex stood as her flame haired friend did and walked with her to the door.
"Thank you Nicky for coming by today and helping bring Piper's things in, I think it helped a lot." the brunette said gratefully to her friend.
The shorter woman smiled in response. "No need to thank me Vause, I just hope Blondie is doing better soon, though I have no doubt you'll look after her." Nicky said completely deadpan.
Alex raised her eyebrow in the signature Vause pose at the comment, knowing full well although her friend had not given the words that intonation that the thought had definitely crossed her mind...
Before she could think up a response the wild haired woman had begun walking down the hallway, the sound of her laughter could be heard until Alex closed the front door to her apartment and went back to the sofa shaking her head in mock despair. As she sank into her favourite position on the sofa she picked up a book that had been resting on the nearby coffee table and took out her bookmark.
A little later that evening a small knock sounded at the door to Piper's bedroom.
"Hello…" the blonde called from where she lay curled on her side, in the middle of the bed. The door opened and the tall figure stepped into the room towards the bed.
"Hey…" Alex replied as she perched lightly on the edge of the bed, in her hands a steaming mug of a chocolaty coloured liquid and the brown paper bag Nicky had gifted them with upon their arrival earlier. "I brought you a hot chocolate and the pastry bag… I thought you might want something sweet but didn't know which you'd prefer…"
"That's really sweet of you Al… Thank you." The younger woman said as she sat up and took the spotty blue mug the brunette offered to her. She took a sip and closed her eyes as warmth spread through her, the drink sweet but not overly so and hot but the perfect temperature to drink.
"You've got the choice of pain au raison, Cherry Bakewell or chocolate brownie… there might have been a fourth option but I see only crumbs…" Alex joked in an attempt to make her friend smile. She was pleased to see a small smile flicker across the blonde's mouth as she took another sip of her hot chocolate.
"What one would you like?" Piper asked her by way of reply.
"I'm really feeling the Cherry Bakewell if I'm honest… I have a kind of weakness for them…" the brunette admitted with a low rumbling laugh.
"Okay, I'll try to remember that! Um… I think I'd like the brownie please…" the younger woman said, finally answering the question. Alex fished into the brown bag and handed her the brownie as requested. Piper felt the warm brush of her fingertips as she did so and smiled at the comforting touch.
They pair began munching in silence, until Piper looked up at Alex and saw she had crumbs all around her mouth and she began chuckling to herself.
"What…?" the older woman asked, confused as to what had amused the other woman.
"You got that everywhere Al!" Piper exclaimed jokingly, as she spoke her chuckling became full laughter at Alex's horrified expression. She brushed her hand across her face to dislodge the crumbs and rubbed her hands together self-consciously, a grin spread across her face to hide her embarrassment. A few minutes passed and Piper's laughter finally simmered down enough for her to finish her drink.
"Hey Pipes?" Alex asked a while later, nudging the other woman with her knee as she spoke.
"Yes, Al?" the younger woman prompted, nudging her back.
"Tomorrow's going to be better." She answered simply and reached over to give her hand a quick squeeze, her long finger leaving tiny tingles of heat long after she had released her.
Piper laid back into the bed once more as she watched her friend stand and collect the mug and bag from her. She gave her friend a reassuring smile to say she appreciated what she had said and continued watching the older woman as she waved her farewell and closed the door behind her retreating form.
A few moments passed before she spoke.
"I think it just might be, Al." The blonde replied as she closed her eyes once more.
A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, please let me know what you thought by reviewing! This was kind of a bridge between the major events of the last chapter and the upcoming plans for the story, so I apologise if it feels like not much happened. Also, I promise it will not be quite so long before I update next time! ;)