Chapter One Hundred Nine
"And the stupid, inconsiderate, CPS lady says Lorna's a delinquent for running away from the Chapman's house after that," Nicky threw up her hand in disgust. Her head shook violently; forehead fumed from the intensity of the rage coursing through her veins, her blood. To say she held contempt for Mrs. Figueroa would be a hefty understatement. There needed to be an entirely new word invented to describe what she felt towards that woman. And especially for what she felt towards Mrs. Chapman. Her hit list was getting bigger by the day she deemed. The more people who brought harm to her Lorna the longer her list grew.
It was unjust what was being done to Lorna. Unfair, unjust, and absolutely not okay. Nicky shook her head fiercer, let her feet press roughly into the floorboards beneath them. Her teeth dug into the flesh of her tongue as she tried to keep from losing what small amount of sanity was left inside of her. "Lorna called me last evening, she was in some secluded trail in the woods. She was so upset over the shit decision the Chapman's were making for her that she ran to the woods to get away from them. And the CPS witch had the damn fucking nerve to stand there and call Lorna a criminal? Because she couldn't stand to be in the house with people who were signing her up for more pain? Are ya kiddin' me? The real criminals here are those three imbeciles. All of them are incompetent idiots. I don't understand how they can get away with what they're doing but my sweet, innocent, girlfriend has to spend her days in a delinquent center. Make that make fucking sense. Does it make any sense to you, Dr. Poussey?" Nicky tilted her head and arched an eyebrow.
The longer Nicky spoke on the matter the more worked up she got. That much was effortless for Poussey to pick up on. And the more she heard about the situation from Nicky the stronger the pang in her chest revved up. She sighed and swallowed. It was getting clearer with Lorna's dilemma just how corrupted the child protective system was in Poussey's eyes. The people who were supposed to be helping and keeping Lorna safe were the ones continuously putting her directly in harm's way. CPS was meant to look out for Lorna's well-being but by what Nicky was describing, it appeared the only well-being CPS was looking out for was their own as well as the Chapman's. It was no wonder why so many of her adolescent patients' who were in the system despised it so much. Nobody was truly protecting them like they should.
"First of all, Lorna is in absolutely no condition to be undergoing any kind of medical procedure. How did the Chapmans even hear of this transplant? I didn't think Lorna shared it with them. There's a lot of things that don't make sense here, Nicky. And I'm really sorry how much all of this is upsetting you. It's not easy watching a person you love go through so much."
Nicky nodded her agreement to her girlfriend's therapists' statement. Lorna certainly hadn't been in any condition to be forced to undergo an operation that could possibly take her life, especially from how evidently malnourished she was. At least someone was on her side with that. She wasn't the only person with a rational head on her shoulder—more like a subjectively rational head at times. But when it came to Lorna, she deemed her head as wholly rational. She needed to be rational for Lorna because Lorna wasn't always rational.
A hand was raised up and used to slick back thick strands of her red hair. Eyes peered onto the surface of the coffee table situated in front of the sofa she and Alex sat on. Her coffee cup sat on a coaster on top of it, which she hadn't touched for several minutes now that she realized it. She reached a hand across to scoop it up with and brought it over and up to her lips for a distracting sip. The same distractions she witnessed Lorna use as a way to avoid tough conversations were the same she was using now to ward off some of the fury.
"Exactly what I was thinkin' when I heard the nonsense about the idiotic Chapman's going and signing whatever stupid documents they're signing to allow the even more idiotic doctors to cut into Lorna's body," Nicky said through gritted teeth once she had a few good sips of the coffee still grasped securely in her hands. She shook her head at the preposterousness of it all.
She inhaled a sharp breath and waved her other hand in the air. It was beyond her how the fucking Chapmans' found out about the whole ordeal. There was blatantly no way Lorna mentioned it to them nor any of Lorna's siblings and she sure as fuck didn't say a word to those imbeciles. However they fucking found out was a mystery to them all. A frustrating mystery at that. If she ever learned who the culprit was for this she'd make the person pay no matter what lengths she had to go to make sure of it. Nobody got away with harming her Lorna in any way shape or form.
Air whistled its way from her throat. She switched the positioning of her legs and set the traveler cup back on the coaster she had earlier retrieved it from. "I have no fucking idea how they found about the liver transplant but god I fucking wish I did. Whoever let it slip to the Chapmans, they're fucking lucky I don't know who they are because if I did I'd make their lives miserable. I swear to god I would. I hate anyone who hurts Lorna, I really fucking do. Because Lorna is the sweetest fucking person and there's no reason for anyone to treat her the terrible way she's been treated," Nicky cried out, hysteria gradually overcoming her.
Nicky held a lot of anger inside of her. Probably enough for herself and for Lorna Poussey had observed over the several appointments she had had with the two girls. Lorna hardly ever displayed anger and if she did the anger was mostly with herself. Hardly ever did she witness Lorna display anger towards the people who were truly the cause of her pain. Because to everyone aside from Lorna it was clear Lorna blamed herself for the majority of her issues when really none of what happened to her was due to anything of her own accord.
"You have a knack for revenge, don't you?" Poussey queried having placed her reading glasses back against the bridge of her nose. She eyed the redhead intently, watching her body language rather closely. Nicky couldn't be more opposite of Lorna if she tried. While Lorna believed she was the root cause of all the issues taking place in her life, Nicky was busy plotting how to take down the people who had chosen to harm Lorna out of their own sick pleasures.
Having sat there quietly for the majority of the time they'd been in Doctor Washington's office, Alex couldn't resist the chuckle that had escaped her instantly upon hearing the question directed at her best friend. She nodded her head profusely in response to it even though it was meant for Nicky to answer. "Nicky's always looking for revenge. I mean just last night she was begging me to drive her to the Chapmans' house with the pot a coffee I'd just brewed so she could pour it on Mrs. Chapman," Alex chimed her way into the conversation. She turned her head and grimaced slightly when she saw the daggered stare Nicky was giving her.
A sigh broke up her spiel. She reached a hand over and placed it gently onto one of Nicky's, giving it a friendly squeeze which she hoped would lessen the heated look she was receiving from her. "Now, I mean, course' I can see why she'd wanna do that to her but I wouldn't allow her to go through with it. Actions have consequences, ya know? And as much as Mrs. Chapman deserves to be served up some karma for what she's willing to put Lorna through doesn't mean I'd let Nicky do something stupid."
Clasping her hands together, Poussey nodded in Alex's direction. It was a good thing Lorna and Nicky had a friend like Alex in their lives; she was of rational thinking, something the two teens seemed to lack at times when it was most required. She took a sip of her coffee and snuffled in a breath. "Nicky, you have a wise friend here. You need to remember that when you're thinking about acting on impulses for revenge," she shifted her eyes onto Nicky, holding up a finger and faintly wagging it in her direction. "Actions have consequences. That's the difference between thinking something in your head and acting on it out here," her finger made a circle in the air as she said that.
Nicky scoffed at that. "Hmm, yeah? Well then where are the fucking consequences for the Chapmans'? Or that stupid Figueroa bitch? Or are they allowed to do whatever they want because they're rich?" Bitterness oozed through the tone of her voice. Bitterness for all of the people she spoke of. All people who only continued to escalate Lorna's suffering. A girl who had a bigger heart than all three of those incompetent fools put together. Nicky inverted her lower lip and shook her head.
Poussey frowned and matched the movement of Nicky's head with the shaking of her own. "Figueroa? You mean Natalie Figueroa?" She pondered, an eyebrow arched. She watched as Nicky shrugged her shoulders and then slumped them back. Clearly she didn't know and by her demeanor was in no mood to care about not knowing either. Who was she to fault her for that? She certainly didn't. Nicky had a lot on her plate witnessing all the shit going down with Lorna and now not even having a plain idea of where Lorna was residing.
"Well, anyway, she used to work here in the practice but then she got a job as a social worker for the child protective system. I don't know how she managed to get that but she did. Mrs. Figueroa is a cold person, I always got an eerie vibe from her when she worked here. Tell me exactly what she said before she took Lorna away, okay? I'll write it down and see if I can't get in touch with the agency she works for. At least that'll give us a chance to get something done about her, yeah? And as for the Chapmans, we'll have to see what's going on with Lorna first. If their custody of her has been revoked then you won't have to worry about them signing anything, okay?"
"And what if their custody hasn't been revoked? Then what? Do we just fucking sit and let Lorna get cut into? Possibly let her die from the greed of her father? The selfishness of Mrs. Chapman?" Nicky interrogated right back. She hadn't meant to sound as spiteful as she had but the more they discussed any of this the more she felt her blood boiling from her own rage.
Alex pressed the palm of her hand soothingly into the flesh of the arm she had it resting on top of. Over and over she rubbed her palm up and down against it in the hopes of bringing some sort of comfort to Nicky.
Air expelled from Nicky's lungs but her fury remained just as intense as before Alex's hand began rubbing along her arm. The only thing she could think about was getting pay back on those who were responsible for Lorna's current predicament. She hated that Lorna was put away somewhere while the people who hurt her were going about their lives as if they hadn't done a damn thing wrong.
"We'll worry about that if the time comes, Nicky. I'm on Lorna's side just as much as you are here, okay? You don't have to worry about that. I'm here to help Lorna, and if it turns out the Chapmans remain having custody over her then I will make sure I get in contact with them and the doctors' to explain how poor Lorna's physical health is. I promise Lorna won't be forced into a procedure she's not fit for. I won't allow it," Poussey firmly assured the fuming redhead.
The drive from Alex's house to whatever facility Mrs. Figueroa was taking her to felt like a century to Lorna. The entire car ride was uncomfortable and stale. She could only breathe with her window down and the second Mrs. Figueroa caught sight of that Lorna was forced to close it right back up. As much as she couldn't stand the idea of being put into a detention center at least being in there would mean she'd get the hell away from Mrs. Figueroa and her stale ass car. And of course it would get her the fuck away from Mrs. Chapman, too.
However, once she felt the car pulling into a parking spot and stopping, what small amount of relief she had momentarily experienced had now vanished. She shifted her eyes away from the window they had previously been gazing out of and onto Mrs. Figueroa who was busy gathering her things so that she could properly exit the vehicle. Lorna didn't budge until she felt a harsh tap on her shoulder. Without one more second passing by Lorna unfastened her seatbelt, pushed open her door, and bolted out of the car. There was a temptation within her to bolt more than just the two inches from the car like she had currently done. She looked to the right of her and saw a trail that led away into a tree-latent path. It was enticing for her to look at, she desired heavily to run in said direction but she refrained with an intense amount of resistance. If she had gone through with her desire she knew she would only cause herself worse consequences with Mrs. Figueroa.
She couldn't imagine what further consequences she'd have faced if she did go through with bolting into that trail leading away from the parking lot. What could be worse than juvie? Hell, what could be worse than having to give a part of her liver to the man who got her into this mess to begin with? Not much, she thought. Well, maybe having to live with her uncle George but she wouldn't have to worry about that happening now. She was about to walk into a detention center for juvenile delinquents like herself. At least she'd be safe from people comparable to her father and Uncle George. And she'd even be safe from Annalisa…unless Annalisa was somehow there, too.
The thought of Annalisa instantly made Lorna shudder. She kept her head down and silently followed behind Mrs. Figueroa until they entered the inside of the building. Immediately upon entrance, a wave of cold came over Lorna and the shuddering only intensified. It was colder inside than it was outside she realized while rubbing her arms up and down her body to retain as much heat as was possible. They continued walking a good few minutes before stopping again. This time when they stopped it was in front of what appeared to be a check-in desk of sorts.
Mrs. Figueroa lifted the clipboard from the desk's surface and wrote down the required information of her. When she finished writing she set the item back where she found it and the doors straight ahead of them loudly opened up.
The screeching from the big set of doors opening had Lorna quickly reaching both hands up to cover her ears. It certainly hadn't been a pleasant sound to hear. Nothing about this damn building was pleasant. It was plainer than the high school, and that place was one of the plainest places she had ever been. She didn't think there could be a plainer place but being here now proved her wrong.
Grabbing a bit too firmly onto Lorna's arm, Mrs. Figueroa used the grip on her to pull her through the open doorway. Once the doors swung closed, and the lock latched on, only then did she release her grasp. She turned momentarily to look the young girl over, a stern expression melded onto her face while she did so. "Follow behind me. And, there's no use trying to run away; those doors are sealed lock and can only be opened by staff with a key card," she told her, a faint smirk displaying from her curved up lips.
Lorna swallowed a thick lump, twisting her head to glance longingly back at that very door mentioned. Her bottom lip trembled a bit and the second Lorna noticed she sucked it inside her mouth right under the top one. She couldn't cry. Not here in a prison for children, that would only make her look weak. Would only make her an easy target for bullying just like she was at school. Being bullied at school was one thing but to be bullied at a children's prison? She couldn't imagine how worse it would be in there. Most of the kids in this place were likely the school bullies and if they all ganged up on her she'd surely be a dead person.
"Please let me go back. I promise I'll stay with Chapmans' from now on, I swear," she pleadingly cried out, reaching her hands up onto the material of Mrs. Figueroa's jacket. Eyes peered widely up into the woman's hoping for some sort of sympathy but instead all she was met with was Mrs. Figueroa's normal cold glare. The cold glare that was exactly like the one she received from Mrs. Chapman. Maybe the two of them were created from the same mold.
A chuckle whistled from Mrs. Figueroa's throat the second she heard Lorna's pleading. She stopped from walking and turned around to stare at her, folding her arms over her chest. If Lorna thought she believed a word that came out of her mouth she was certainly mistaken. Mrs. Figueroa wasn't dumb and naïve like the teen before her was. She wouldn't fall for any lies Lorna spewed out in desperation. "Oh, now, you wanna listen and stay with them? Because now you see where disobedience gets you, huh? Well, it's a little too late for that. The Chapmans can't afford to keep you anymore and until some other family decides they can, you're gonna have to just stay right here in juvie. With all the other disobedient little girls who refused to listen. Except these girls did a lot worse than not staying with their foster parents," she tauntingly informed her, the sneer on her face widening. She bent down slightly so that she could make certain Lorna heard her clearly, "You better watch yourself in here, Lorna, these girls can smell weakness from a mile away. And I'm not responsible if anything bad happens to you."
After making multiple phone calls upon the departure of Nicky and Alex just an hour ago, Poussey was finally able to locate the facility where Lorna happened to be taken to. She wrote it down on a piece of notebook paper which she then threw into the front pocket of her handbag hanging on its hook right on the side of her desk. Eyes darted onto her cup of coffee and within seconds her hands were cupping around it, she lifted the cup to her lips and finished off the little bit of liquid that was left.
She fixed her glance on the clock she had placed above the door to her office and was thankful to see it was just about noon. That meant the rest of her patients she had to meet with for the day were at the hospital which happened to be only a few blocks down from the facility Lorna was staying in. If she played her cards correctly she might be able to squeeze in a visit with Lorna before the visiting hours at the juvenile center were finished. Hopefully a couple of her other patients would cancel or at the least reschedule for another day. Not that she didn't want to meet with them but rather wanted to secure that she had time to visit with Lorna today.
However, before Poussey had the chance to do anything she heard footsteps loudening out in the hall until the door to her office swung open and in came her frantic assistant. She lifted a hand up to her forehead and massaged the tips of her fingers into the flesh of it. "Everything okay, Cindy? I was just about to head to the hospital to meet with a couple of my clients there," she told her, but by the way Cindy was swiftly making her way to her desk she could tell her plans were about to be temporarily halted.
"There's a phone call for you on line one. A Franny Morello? Do ya want me to push the call through to you?"
Taking in a deep breath, Poussey pursed her lips into a smile while giving a nod to her assistant's question. "Yes, please, go ahead and push it through. Thank you, Cindy," she told her, waving her kindly out. She watched as Cindy abided and quickly made her way back through the open door, which she made sure to close back up upon her exit. Poussey sighed, bringing her focus back to the top of her desk. Franny was likely calling her to tell her the same thing Nicky had earlier she presumed.
The phone rang on the corner of her desk and she rapidly grabbed it from the base, lifting it up to her ear so she could properly hear the person on the other side of it. Only two seconds into the call and she could hear how distressed Franny sounded through the phone. She inhaled a breath and when Franny finally quieted she decided it was time for her to say something. "Hello Franny," she gently greeted into the receiver, habitually curving her lips into their usual comforting smile despite the fact that no one was there to see it.
"Sorry, sorry I know it ain't real nice being greeted by me yellin'," Franny admitted now that she had calmed down some. Her shoulders held the phone up to her ear while she had her hands resting on either side of her forehead trying to massage away the aching sensation. "But I don't know who else to call right now, the state ain't helpin' and clearly CPS ain't doin' nothin', either. I just heard from Nicky that my sista's been hauled off to juvie and I don't know what the hell to do about it. They won't even give me an update on my guardianship paperwork let alone tell me how Lorna is or why she's there to begin with."
Once more a pang formed in Poussey's chest to hear about the Lorna debacle all over again. She couldn't imagine what it felt like to be Lorna's sister just finding out that she was placed in a juvenile facility. That family had gone through so much in such little time. It was heartbreaking to witness all the events that took place. She sighed, resting one hand on her lap while the other remained around the phone so it stayed put on her ear. "I understand, Franny. I know this whole situation really sucks and I'm so sorry. Nicky was just here with her and Lorna's friend, Alex, tellin' me all about what's going on. It's completely messed up that they would put Lorna in a facility like that when she has done absolutely nothing wrong. But after those two left, I made some calls and I got information on where your sister is. I have a couple of appointments I need to attend to at the hospital but after I finish those I'm gonna try to see if I can get in there and visit with Lorna, okay? I'll at least talk with her and make sure she's okay. And let her know that you guys are all trying to find a way to get her out of there. Does that sound good to you?"
Air expelled from Franny's lungs hearing Poussey's revelation. She nodded her head graciously though she knew the other woman couldn't see it from the distance between them. "That's real nice a ya, Dr. Washington. I appreciate that a lot, thank you. It's betta than nothin', that's for sure. Do ya know if they're still gonna make Lorna go through with the liver transplant, though? I heard Mrs. Chapman was signing the consent forms…please tell me that's not actually happening?" Franticness oozed from her voice. She swallowed uncomfortably and shifted her body against the cushion of her couch she had perched herself on.
"As far as I know if the custody of Lorna has been taken from the Chapmans then they no longer have the right to make any sort of decisions when it comes to that. So, no, that should not be happening. But, right now, I don't know all the facts so I don't want to tell you one thing and it not be true, you know? I'll try to get the information for you, though."
Franny's hands rubbed from her temples all the way down to her cheeks, smashing her face briefly inwards. The more she discussed the ordeal with her sister's therapist the more confused and distressed she became. None of it made any sense to her. None of it seemed fair to her. Lorna was a victim in all of this but she was the one being punished? How the fuck was that right at all? The ache between Franny's temples intensified. No amount of massaging eased any of it away.
Teeth dug down into the flesh of her tongue. She couldn't begin to imagine what Lorna was facing right now, what she must have been feeling wherever the hell she was. Lorna had to have felt so alone, and so incredibly confused. Maybe even a little betrayed. The longer she let her mind ponder on her sister's possible thoughts the worse the throbbing of her head grew. A breath snuffled out of her. "Okay, well, hypothetically if they do still have custody of my sista, and they try to go through with this procedure—what the hell do we do to stop it? Because over my dead fucking body will I allow any doctah near my sista with any damn cutting devices. Lorna's suffered enough and I refuse to allow her to be put through a surgery that not only will save a man who deserves no saving but could also fucking risk her life."
"If it comes to that, Franny, then I'll step in. Lorna isn't healthy enough to be put under anesthesia for any reason at all, especially not a procedure that is only to benefit her own abuser. No, don't you worry at all, I will do my damnedest to make sure nobody cuts into your sister. I promise you that. I couldn't in good conscious allow such a thing to occur. That surgery could absolutely kill Lorna in the frail state that she's in and if any doctor agreed to put her through that kind of procedure they must have their license revoked immediately."
It was nearing three o'clock in the afternoon when Red came in through the front door of her house. She slid her shoes off once the door was secured shut behind her and used her foot to move them onto the shoe matt right beside it. Eyes searched around the room landing on Nicky who was sat slumped on her recliner a few feet away. Arms immediately crossed over her chest to see her there. Disdain molded onto her face the longer her eyes lingered on her daughter. Her daughter who not only hadn't come home the evening prior but who also failed to attend school that day.
Clearing her throat obnoxiously loud, she waited for Nicky's focus to shift up onto her. When it had, only seconds later, she gave a hard stare into her brown eyes and shook her head. "Would ya like to explain to me why you weren't in school today, Nicky? Or why you didn't come home last night? You know if ya wanted to spend the night with Lorna all ya had to do was call and tell me," she gently told her though kept her stare and demeanor rather firm.
Nicky gulped uneasily and shifted her legs underneath her. Guilt came over her when she saw the slight hurt in her mother's eyes. Red was an amazing mother to her and the idea of unintentionally causing her pain or worry felt a lot worse than being scolded by her. She could handle being scolded but she couldn't face the sight of the agony in her mother's blue eyes. Agony caused by her own decisions. Decisions of course that weren't made to purposefully cause such a sensation but they had, nonetheless.
"I'm sorry, ma, I know I shoulda called last night to tell ya where I was," Nicky started off, looking down at her lap as if it would magically poof the guilty pang out of her chest. She grabbed a hold of a loose piece of string and twirled her thumb nervously around it. "I really didn't mean to worry you. I wasn't even thinkin'. Lorna called me in the afternoon and was all hysterical in the woods. And then me and Alex went to get her and we all went back to Alex's house and things just got worse from there."
Red sighed and lessened her stern conduct somewhat. She walked over to the recliner, placing both of her hands on either side of Nicky's face. The grasp she had on her was used to bring Nicky's head closer to her own. When she felt satisfied with the distance between them Red leaned forward and pressed a comforting kiss onto the flesh of her daughter's forehead. She couldn't stay mad at her for long. Nicky was very impulsive and only made choices she knew were not meant to intentionally upset anyone. Of course Nicky hadn't meant to worry and stress her out, not returning the evening prior. But Red couldn't stop her motherly instincts from doing exactly that. When it came to her children—whether biological or chosen—her heart could not rest until she knew they were all safe.
Another comforting kiss was placed on Nicky's forehead before Red released her grip altogether and went to have a seat on the sofa just catty-corner to the recliner Nicky was sitting atop of. Red situated herself so she was turned towards Nicky, eyes watching over her rather precisely. "Why don't ya tell me what Lorna was doin' running around the woods for first off?"
A disgruntled sigh burst through Nicky's windpipe. She raised a hand up to the side of her neck and rubbed it anxiously along the length of it. If she had to explain the situation one more time she was going to literally explode. Both hands now moved up to her cheeks and smashed them inwards out of frustration. All she wanted was to have Lorna back with her and to never allow anyone evil around her again. Her head shook angrily at the fact that that wasn't going to be happening any time soon.
"Because the fucking CPS system is fucking bullshit, that's why. Nobody cares about Lorna; all they do is toss her around like she's a fuckin' basketball, ma. And then they get fucking mad at her for not wanting to deal with that. Where's the fucking logic?"
The anger was clearly evident in Nicky's voice. As well as in the way she was sitting on the edge of her chair Red visually noticed. She scooted to the end cushion of the sofa and reached over the end table to cover a warm hand on the top of one of Nicky's. The tips of her fingers delicately brushed along the flesh of it. "What actually happened though, Nicky? I know what's going on for Lorna right now isn't fair or okay but that doesn't mean the entire system is bad," she carefully pointed out, grabbing the young girl's hand in her own and lifting it off the lap it had been laying on so she could give it a soothing squeeze.
Nicky's head shook harder at her mother's words. Words that couldn't be further from the truth if they tried. She swallowed hard and grinded her teeth bleakly together. "Really, ma? Lorna was ready to spend the night in the fucking woods and risk being mauled by a bear than having to spend another night in the Chapman's house. And then that stupid bitch of a CPS lady came barging her way into Alex's house this morning hollering insults at Lorna and hauled her away to juvie. Now tell me again how the fuck the system ain't fucked up?" The anger had tripled in intensity so much Nicky couldn't remain seated on the sofa any longer. She needed to move around, wanted to slam and throw things too but figured that wasn't the brightest of ideas.
Instead of acting on such a desire, she caught sight of a box of tissues on one of the end tables and chose to pull one from the box. She crumpled it in her hand as tight as possible while mentally imagining the tissue was Mrs. Figueroa's head she was squeezing.
Watching helplessly as her daughter angrily paced around the living room with a death grip on a random balled-up piece of tissue, Red snuffled in a breath and pushed back her shoulders. She felt her heart break for the girl's blatant distress. Felt saddened to have her eyes opened to how not okay the foster system currently was. It tugged strongly on her maternal heart to have to come to such a realization.
The pacing went on for another couple of minutes before Red finally had enough of it and went up to Nicky stopping her by pulling her in for a fierce embrace. She took Nicky's head and placed it in the crook of her neck, keeping it in place with her chin resting gently on the top of it. A sigh whistled out from her windpipe. Her hands soothingly combed through Nicky's thick red curls. "I didn't know, my Nicky, I didn't know things were that bad. I'm so sorry, honey. I'm so sorry," she whispered softly into one of the teen's ears, gently swaying from one side to the other as she continued to hold her daughter close.
She retained her arms around Nicky for a few more minutes as she continued to rock them. Once she released her arms she took a hold of Nicky's hand and carefully led her into the kitchen. Nothing a kettle of tea couldn't fix, she thought to herself. Or at least it wouldn't hurt any to prepare a kettle of it. It might not fix any of the problems but it would ease away some of Nicky's anger. Red let go of Nicky's hand and motioned for her to sit at the table. When she complied Red went over to fix the tea kettle with hot water.
By the time the water had boiled on one of the stove's burners, nearly five silent minutes had passed on around them. Red picked it up and poured it into the two mugs she had waiting on the nearby countertop. Two teabags had already been chosen and, now with water appropriately filled in each cup, Red put one bag into them both. She carried them over to the table placing one mug down on the surface in front of where she was going to sit and carefully scooted the other towards Nicky.
Nicky graciously took the cup when it came sliding in her direction, looping a hand through its handle. Her other hand was used to grip onto the string of the teabag that was lying outside of the cup; she tugged on it to move the bag around with. Once the color of water changed to a clear mint green shade she used the string to completely pull the teabag out with. Now she lifted the mug to her mouth and took a long sip of it. Peppermint and spearmint were the flavors swirling about the taste-buds of her tongue. She sighed as she set it back down and thought of all the cups of minty tea Lorna had consumed in the the time they knew each other.
It felt as if a decade had passed since she'd seen Lorna when in reality it was only a matter of hours. Both of her hands raised up to her head nails of her fingers slightly clawing into the scalp of it. All she truly wanted right now was to be with Lorna again, to take Lorna in her arms and make sure she knew just how deeply loved she was. How no one would ever be able to make her do anything she wasn't okay with. But instead of that she was stuck sitting in Red's kitchen with a measly cup of tea which was meant to comfort her but she and Red both knew that wasn't what would be accomplished.
No amount of minty tea could make any of this situation any better. Nothing could aside from getting Lorna the hell out of that damn juvie place she'd unfairly been taken to. Nicky huffed out an exasperated sigh and rested both of her arms on the surface of table. She leaned closer and let her chin fall onto her folded over arms. "She called Lorna a delinquent, ma. Lorna, my Lorna a delinquent. Can ya believe that? And all just because Lorna spent the night at Alex's house instead of those nasty Chapmans. How dumb is that? How fucking dumb?" Anger slowly began to build once more as she relayed the morning conversation with Mrs. Figueroa over and over in her mind.
Having a gradual sip of her tea, Red frowned while peering across the table at her daughter. That reason sounded like a reason a grade-school kid would give when asked about why a person might be sentenced to prison. It certainly didn't sound like something an adult with a well-developed brain would say. Or rather not what an adult with a well-developed brain should say. It was hard for Red to believe but she knew Nicky wasn't lying. Nicky was not one to lie no matter what the situation at hand. Even when it might be considered better to lie Nicky wouldn't.
"Lorna's not even close to a delinquent. How can this CPS person even say such a thing in front of her? That's not right at all. Has she no compassion? Why is she working for CPS if she doesn't truly care about children?" Fury seethed through Red's words now. She still couldn't get her mind to wrap around the whole debacle she had been informed of. How could a professional person who chose to work in a field that was supposed to care for the well-being of children sit there and name-call a teenager in that very same breath?
Nicky's head shook furiously. Compassion? She had to cover her mouth to keep the chuckle she felt brewing from coming out. That was a word severely lacking from Mrs. Figueroa's vocabulary. Hell, Mrs. Figueroa wouldn't know how to be compassionate if it was demonstrated right in front of her face. "That woman has no idea what the word compassion even means, ma," she pointed out, throwing a hand up in the air. She sighed and reached for her cup of tea again.
Lips hugged onto the rim of the mug sucking in a heaping volume of the liquid contained within its parameters. Thirst was soon quenched from the sip and Nicky replaced the cup back onto the table's wooden surface. Eyes returned the stare her mother's blue ones were giving her. Air expelled out through her slightly ajar mouth. "She kept sayin' Lorna couldn't obey and stay with the Chapmans and because of that she's a delinquent who has to go to juvie. It's bullshit. Why can't they just fucking let Lorna go back with Franny and leave her the hell alone?" Hands bounced about above her head while she rolled her eyes so far back she swore she could see the inside of her brain.
"That's the biggest load of crap I've heard. This CPS bitch sounds like she just cares about money and not actually anyone's well-being other than her own. But how come Lorna was wanting to get out of the Chapmans' house so bad, huh? I mean I know from what you and her have said that they're real uppity but that shouldn't make sleeping in the woods look better than a bed in their house, should it? Unless, is there something else you've neglected to mention, Nicky?" Red quirked an eyebrow, reaching a hand across the table to gently place overtop of Nicky's with.
"Somehow on this fucked up planet somebody told the Chapmans about the liver transplant issue," Nicky started off, teeth gritting together as she spoke. Otherwise she knew her anger would consume her once again. She couldn't bare the thought of what Mrs. Chapman was willing to do just to get Lorna out of her life. A breath was slowly taken in and carefully released. Nicky raised one of her hands and let it comb through her mane of hair. "And Mrs. Chapman had the fucking nerve to tell Lorna she was going this morning to sign the consent forms so that Lorna would have to let her body be cut into by greedy fucking doctors. That's fucking why Lorna was wandering in the woods, why she fucking didn't care if she ended being some wild animal's supper last night. And why the fuck the stupid CPS lady was calling her a criminal, telling Lorna she deserved to be in juvie for not wanting to deal with a family that was ready to fucking discard her like she was last night's fucking stew."
Red moved herself closer to Nicky and gently placed a comforting hand onto her face, stroking her fingers softly around its flesh. The blatant distress oozing from her daughter's voice was very hard to miss. She snuffled in a breath and mentally prepared a reasonable response to come out with. It tugged vastly on her heart to know how much her daughter's girlfriend happened to be suffering through right now. How more and more continued to pile up on her. None of that was fair but unfortunately life wasn't always fair for everyone. Sometimes the kindest of people were dealt the most horrific of cards. Did it make sense to her? Not one bit but it didn't need to. Life didn't need to make sense to anyone. Life happened the way it happened and sometimes there wasn't anything that could be done to change it.
Getting Nicky to realize that, however, was a challenge in and of itself. Nicky, aside from Lorna, happened to be one of the most stubborn people Red had known. It wouldn't be easy trying to help her understand that not everything in life could be controlled to a T. Did that mean she didn't wish that was how life worked? No, but she had to be realistic. Realistic meant things weren't always going to be the way a person wanted them. Things weren't always going to be pleasurable or fair, or right or okay. However, that hadn't meant the future would be permanently doomed. Life had the ability to change in an instant.
"I don't understand how the Chapmans were able to make a decision like that so lightly. Do they not know the man who'd be receiving the transplant is the fucking man who abused Lorna? That he is the reason she's their foster child to begin with?" Red furrowed her brows trying to decipher the whole debacle. It was as if the Chapmans'—or at least Mrs. Chapman—were so desperate to be rid of Lorna that they were willing to risk her life just to accomplish that. Red felt sickened at the thought. How could anyone be willing to do a thing so vile?
Both of Nicky's shoulders popped forward. She couldn't comprehend the reason behind why the Chapmans' did what they did any more than her mother could. That was one of the main reasons she considered them a pair of incompetent imbeciles. No competent person would choose to consent to a dangerous medical procedure without taking the proper time to fully think it over. To figure out if a procedure was actually beneficial to the person on the receiving end of it, which in this case, it certainly was not. And if either Chapman had a sane thought in their head they would have easily realized that but it was clear to Nicky neither of them did.
She sighed and picked up the cup of tea sitting in front of her. A slow, long, sip was taken of it. The warmth soothed her throat but definitely not her mind. Nothing could soothe her mind right now. She needed to be with Lorna but it was obvious that wasn't going to be happening for a while now. Unless something miraculous occurred. She hoped maybe Dr. Washington would find a loophole or some legal way they could get Lorna out of whatever facility Mrs. Figueroa had brought her to. Only time would tell.
At least Lorna was away from the Chapmans, Nicky thought. Maybe the detention center wouldn't be so bad. Maybe there might be people there who actually had an ounce of compassion in their hearts. Nicky hoped so anyway. That was all she could do at the moment was to hope for the best for her girlfriend. She set her mug back down and stared into its contents, watching the liquid sway from side to side. "Mrs. Chapman is a cold-hearted bitch that's why. She doesn't like Lorna at all and has made that clear more than once. So can ya understand why Lorna was wandering around the woods for yesterday?"
Brushing the tip of her fingers gingerly along the length of Nicky's cheeks, Red nodded with a solemn frown shaping onto her face. She sure could see why Lorna chose to wander off into a secluded trail in the woods. No one in that Chapman family truly cared for her. Why would anyone want to stay in a place where they knew they weren't wanted? Poor child, Red sighed and clutched her free hand onto her chest. It broke her heart more than anything to imagine what Lorna must have been feeling.
No child should be made to feel the way Lorna did. No child should have to be told by a person who was supposed to be responsible for their care that they didn't like them or wanted them out of their house. But, yet, that was exactly what Lorna was told. And not even the CPS person cared what it was doing to her well-being. Red brought her hand up, laying it over one of her temples and massaging it incessantly. All those people seemed to do was brush Lorna off, made her feel as if she was less than. As if having feelings and emotions deemed her a criminal. Red couldn't bare what all this was doing to Lorna's mental health. Lorna already had a hard enough time expressing her feelings, now she'd be even worse off in that department.
Air heavily pushed its way out of Red's mouth as she slowly opened it to respond to her daughter's comments with. "I can completely understand why Lorna chose to venture into the woods. I think it's really fucked up how Mrs. Chapman acts in front of Lorna, how she makes it known to her how obviously unwanted she is there. That's sickening to me. Why would she agree to be a foster parent when she knows she doesn't truly care about the children she and her husband are taking in? And what is Mr. Chapman doing about all this? Sounds like he's just a blind sheep following whatever the hell his alpha wife says," she bitterly retorted, shaking her head fiercely along with each word.
Nicky nodded fervently. That was exactly what Mr. Chapman appeared to be. He might have shown a small amount of compassion to Lorna but he sure was weak when it came to his wife Nicky inwardly determined. Arms crossed distastefully over her chest. The men in Lorna's life were either demented degenerates such as her father and uncle or they were scared little weaklings like Mr. Chapman. None of them had the balls to stick up for what was right. None of them had the capability of putting their foot down when enough was enough. Mr. Chapman was too much of a coward to stand up to his wife and tell her to go to hell like she should have been told many weeks ago.
A lot of people in Lorna's life happened to be too cowardly to protect her properly was what Nicky had witnessed and concluded. She sighed, shaking her head. As if Lorna wasn't worth getting over their cowardice. Nicky would move the Earth to keep Lorna safe; she would fucking climb through a burning building to protect Lorna. Nothing was more important to her than Lorna's health and safety. It baffled her how others didn't feel the same way. That blood relatives were the ones who caused the very harm they were supposed to protect Lorna from.
Hands rubbed tirelessly at either side of her face. "Mrs. Chapman is a narcissistic bitch just like fucking Marka is. She only agreed to foster Lorna so it would make her look good in whatever rich community she's in. She doesn't and never cared about Lorna or taking care of her the way she should be. Because if she had even a morsel of compassion inside of her pea-sized brain she would have noticed how fucking skinny and sickly Lorna looks. She would have done something to help her instead of now agreeing to some bullshit procedure that will make Lorna worse. A stupid fucking procedure that's only helping the stupid fucktard who put Lorna in this mess to begin with, ma. I wanna fucking hurt Mrs. Chapman and Mr. Morello. I wanna make them feel the way they made Lorna feel. I want them to know how bad it hurts being in Lorna's shoes for a day. Those two are the evilest people to exist. Lorna's uncle is right behind them in the evil department—"
"Why is Lorna's uncle behind them, Nicky? I thought he would be the number one evilest since he hurt Lorna the worst out of them all. What kind of rating system do you have to make these decisions?" Red queried, quirking an eyebrow in wonderment. In her own mind, Mr. Morello and Lorna's uncle were the same amount of evil. Maybe her uncle was a smidge eviler since only a satanic individual would find pleasure in sexually assaulting a child the way Lorna's uncle had done to her.
"Mr. Morello willingly and knowingly allowed his brother to violate his own daughter in the worst fucking way possible. That makes him the evilest in my book, ma. He was Lorna's fucking father—he should have been protecting her from predators like his piece of shit brother but no, he threw her right into his hands. Only a truly evil and sick person would be able to do that to their own fucking little girl. You have no idea how bad I wish I could be locked in a room with him and her uncle. God, I'd make sure those two would never even think about hurting Lorna in any way ever again. And Mrs. Chapman is on the same level as Lorna's father because she knows damn well Lorna was abused by him and still wants to give consent to having Lorna put under this fucked up procedure to save his life. That's just as fucking evil as directly causing the abuse is. It's a good thing I have a conscience or I'd fucking torture Mrs. Chapman until she succumbed to the pain. I swear to God karma better come to her and everyone else who did my sweet Lorna wrong. Because I don't trust that I can hold back from my impulses forever, ma."
That was more than enough for Red to wrap her arms securely around Nicky's shoulders and pull her up for a tight embrace. She wasn't risking giving Nicky a chance to do any of what she had just talked about wanting to do. It was understandable why she'd want to harm those three in the same way they harmed her girlfriend but it wasn't going to accomplish anything of benefit. Evil people like them didn't have empathy or moral compasses that made them feel the same emotions the rest of them did. So hurting them wouldn't make them realize what they'd done to Lorna was wrong. They already knew what they did was wrong but they didn't care. That was what made them so evil was the fact they knew right from wrong but chose to do what was wrong anyway because they could and it didn't bother them one bit who it hurt or how bad it hurt.
Red felt her heart ache when she sensed Nicky's body slightly tensing. She tried to ease it away with a tighter squeeze but to no avail. Lips soothingly pressed onto the top of Nicky's head. "I promise you, my Nicky, karma will come for them. It always does even when it doesn't seem like it. You just have to put your focus on Lorna instead of the anger towards those three. I know it's hard but the anger isn't worth it and it won't do you nor Lorna any good. Lorna needs your attention a lot more than those three evil monsters do. Stay anchored on taking care of yourself and doing what you can to help Lorna. Those are the only two things that matter right now. Revenge is not where any of your focus should be."
The dimensions of the room she was now supposed to call her temporary home surely hadn't been much wider than the locker Annalisa had shoved her in that one day in the girl's locker room at school she thought to herself. Maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration but it was a highly tight squeeze in there. It amazed her how they were able to fit two single beds between the two very close walls surrounding them. The air was as tight as those same walls. She couldn't take enough in no matter how many times she opened her mouth to inhale some.
Lorna sat on the edge of the bed near the right wall, knees pulled up and resting exactly beneath her chin. She'd been there a total of two hours and was already ready to get the hell out. The only positive thing was that she had no roommate. At least she hadn't seen anyone come in or out of the room she'd been assigned in the time that she had been there. Maybe she truly didn't have one and if that happened to be the case she would be rather grateful. Knowing her luck if she did have a roommate it would likely be a person who ended up wanting to plot her murder. With that in mind, it would be in her best interest to not have one at all.
Moments later, however, proved her assumption was made just a bit too soon. She heard a key being placed into the latch on the other side of the door and the next sound which pierced through her ears was its squealing open. In came a tall, Hispanic, teenager who looked Lorna over as she entered into the small space. Lorna swallowed uneasily, lowering her eyes down onto her legs. She placed a hand on the material of the pants covering them and realized now the only true bright side was that she hadn't been forced to wear the black and white jumpsuits she had observed prisoners wear in movies she had previously seen.
The other teenager kept quiet but the guard who'd been about to shut the door peeked in through the small crack. Eyes darted in on Lorna, staring at her in a bit of a menacing manner. "Your bed is on the other side, Morello. You better not already be starting shit, young lady. Your social worker warned me about your disobedient attitude. Better watch yourself in here," the guard sternly warned Lorna before fully shutting the door and relocking it.
Morello. Lorna felt her body involuntarily flinch at being addressed as such. Her own last name which suddenly made her feel sick to be called by it. Morello was what people called her father—Mr. Morello, sure, but it still was on the same wavelength. Having that as her addressing name by the staff here left her with a bitter taste in her mouth. She didn't want to be referred to as a name that reminded her so much of the very person who was to blame for why she was in this damn facility to begin with.
"What'd ya do that was so disobedient, Morello?"
Another microscopic flinch was shaken from her body. Lorna closed her eyes momentarily and sucked down hard on her bottom lip. When she reopened them a few seconds later, she caught sight of the taller teen plopped down on the mattress of the bed directly across from where she was sitting. Her eyes studied the girl intently, trying to decipher if she was being genuinely curious or just asking in a mockful demeanor. It was hard for her to come to any sort of conclusion. The expression on the other girl's face was indistinguishable to her.
Lorna sighed, puffing out her shoulders momentarily before they fell back to their normal position. "I don't know. I guess the CPS lady just didn't like that I wouldn't stay with the stupid Chapmans," she stated, eyes now glaring down at the cement-like floor. She lifted a hand up to her face and pressed it into the flesh of her cheek. Uneasiness was gradually starting to morph into frustration. It wasn't fair she was locked in a place like this when she hadn't even done anything against the law.
The girl on the other side of the room snickered a bit. "Wow, you're a real criminal. Damn. I thought I was disobedient but I mean refusing to stay with whoever the stupid Chapmans are is way worse," she jokingly responded hoping to lighten the mood but quickly observed it hadn't even remotely done that. In fact by the expression on Morello's face, she witnessed, her comment only tensed the mood.
"You really think I'm a criminal?" Lorna's eyes widened in shock, eyebrows arching puzzlingly overtop of them. Her nerves and anxiety were so high that she couldn't differentiate between a joking tone and a normal one. She already felt disgusted with herself for getting in this predicament to begin with now she just wanted to scream. Wished she could be alone in that room so she could find something sharp to cut herself with. She didn't deserve to not be in physical pain.
"I was just kiddin' around," the other muttered shrugging her shoulders.
Lorna shrugged her shoulders as well unsure what else to say or do. She felt rather awkward. Almost more awkward than she'd felt staying at the Chapman's house. She couldn't completely figure out why that was. The Chapmans' house was much worse than this. They were uppity and had a stuffy atmosphere about them. Yet sitting in this entirely too small of a room room Lorna couldn't resist from feeling just as out of place as she did there. Maybe there would never be a true place she'd ever feel she belonged.