Chapter 5

Alex felt so conflicted about Piper. She wanted her, but she also didn't want to mess things up for Sally. Sally had distanced herself from everyone since the accident, and Alex hated seeing her alone. Piper was the only one Sally let into her life in the last two years, and Alex didn't want that to end. There was also something else nagging in the back of her mind, a feeling she always struggled to erase, the feeling that she was inadequate. The feeling that if she did date Piper, she'd just drag the older girl down, like she'd never be good enough.

Alex had been prescribed anti-depressants after the accident, but she didn't take them for long. The pills made her feel so sick, she refused to keep taking them. Sally had practically begged her to try another type, but Alex didn't want to. Aside from being afraid of the side effects, there was something comforting about living in that corner of her own mind. It was so familiar, so easy, some days Alex never wanted to leave it. For so long there were only two people that could get her to re-join the real world, Sally and Nicky. Alex did feel guilty about not spending much time with Nicky lately, she missed her best friend. So after a few more weeks, once she felt up to it, Alex arranged to spend a Saturday night at Nicky's house. But this time there were no parties, just the two girls spending the night together. Nicky's parents would be home, but they generally stuck to their end of the house, having no interest in getting to know their daughter or her friends. Alex hated the way Nicky's parents treated her, they didn't seem to care, Nicky deserved a lot more than that.

Alex had to swear to Sally that no one else would be at Nicky's house and that they wouldn't do anything stupid. She also had to promise to immediately call Sally if anything went wrong. Of course, Piper and Sally dropped her off at Nicky's house, not wanting her to catch the bus.

Alex stared out the window while the two older girls sat in the front during the drive to Nicky's, and for once, Alex felt like striking up some conversation.

"So what are you two up to tonight? Another crazy evening of popcorn and movies?"

"Very funny Lex. Actually, we're going out tonight."

Alex almost choked on air, Sally hadn't been out in a long time.

Piper laughed and filled in the gaps on their evening.

"If you really must know Alex, we're going to John's house tonight, he's having a few people over."

Alex knew who they were talking about, John Bennett was the same age as Sally and Piper and was actually a nice guy. Although Alex didn't think she'd ever deem anyone to be good enough for Sally, at least he wasn't a jerk.

"So, you're telling me that you guys are actually going to a party? Sally Vause! So rebellious."

Sally rolled her eyes and didn't respond to Alex's jokes. She really liked John, he was one of the few people at school that she was happy to spend time with.

Meanwhile, Alex was enjoying making fun of her sister.

"Holy shit, I can't believe Sally is going to a party! So come on, which one of you did he ask? Or did he ask both of you together?"

Piper jumped in before Sally could say anything.

"He asked Sally actually, I'm technically a tag along."

"Ooohh Pipes, sorry to hear that. You can always come join me and Nicky if you get sick of watching John chase Sal all night."

Alex would love it if Piper joined her for the night. It had been two weeks since their last kiss, and Alex was desperate to do it again. No matter what her mind said about not fucking things up for Sally, her body said something completely different. Alex also didn't like the idea of pathetic high school guys throwing themselves at Piper all night, she didn't want the blonde dating anyone else. Her completely conflicting thought processes were driving her insane, but she couldn't be bothered over analysing it.

"Thanks for the offer Al, but I'll pass."

Alex loved the smirk that was plastered on Piper's face, it made her want to kiss the blonde even more. It wasn't much longer before they pulled up out the front of Nicky's house. It was the first time she'd been back since the party, but she tried not to think about it.

Sally turned around and looked at Alex in the back seat, "We'll come get you tomorrow, please be careful, I mean it Lex."

Alex stopped joking around and looked at her sister seriously, "I promise, no fuck ups tonight. And I'll call you if I need anything, but I promise it'll all be okay. Have fun tonight ladies."

Alex squeezed Sally's shoulder and jumped out of the car, slinging her back pack over her shoulder. She was really looking forward to having alone time with Nicky, she'd missed her best friend.

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Alex and Nicky locked themselves in her bedroom, taking a bottle of scotch and a few beers with them. Nicky's house was over flowing with alcohol, and her parents never seemed to notice when things went missing. They poured themselves some drinks and put on one of their favourite playlists, it made Alex smile. Between drinking, music, and retro video games, time was flying by. They only left the bedroom to get food and more drinks, they had no interest in the rest of the house. They were demolishing a bowl of chips along with fresh beers, and both girls were feeling pretty tipsy.

Both of them were lying on the bedroom floor, singing along to all the old songs they'd loaded onto the playlist.

"I missed you Nick. I mean…I know you haven't gone anywhere, but I missed you."

Nicky rolled over to look at her friend, it was such a relief to hear Alex say that.

"I was starting to think you didn't like me anymore Vause."

"Don't be stupid, I just got scared, after the party." Alex always lost all inhibitions when she was drunk with Nicky. She lost any remaining fear she might have to speak her mind. But she also knew Nicky would never judge her.

"I got scared too Alex."

"I know, but it wasn't your fault."

Nicky smiled and started running a hand over Alex's side, conscious to not press too hard on her scar.

"Does it still hurt?"

"Sometimes, but not as much as it used to."

The two girls sat in silence for a while, reflecting on everything they'd been through in the last two years. Alex was the first to break the silence.

"It's her birthday soon."

"Yeah, I know."

"Will you come to the cemetery with me?"

Nicky shuffled herself closer to Alex, she knew this was an insanely hard thing for her to talk about.

"Of course, whatever you need Alex."

"Thanks Nick."

The topic and the alcohol was making Alex feel emotional, but she was determined not to cry. She was here to have fun and catch up with Nicky, not cry about things she had no control over.

Alex reached out and hugged Nicky, that's all she needed. Her head was spinning from all the alcohol, and she was just enjoying the hug while they lay on the floor. Alex was disappointed when Nicky eventually pulled back, but she felt like she knew what her friend was going to do. Like they had so many times before, Nicky leaned down towards Alex and kissed her on the lips. But it didn't feel the same as it used to, Alex felt like she shouldn't be doing it. She felt like she was cheating on Piper, which was ridiculous, but she couldn't help it. Her mind was screaming "She's not your girlfriend! Don't feel guilty!"

But no matter what Alex said to herself, she couldn't shake that feeling. The alcohol had numbed everything, and even though it didn't feel right, Alex still let Nicky kiss her. But then Alex felt Nicky's hand slip under her top and move towards her bra. That was a line they'd never crossed before, and Alex reacted automatically. She reached out and grabbed Nicky's hand, stopping her from going any further. Nicky pulled away from the kiss and looked back at Alex, she looked upset.

"What's wrong?"

"We can't do that."

"Why not?"

Alex knew her next words would hurt Nicky, but they were true. Even if Piper wasn't in the picture, deep down Alex knew she didn't want to take things further with Nicky. Nicky's friendship meant so much to Alex, she was a huge part of the reason Alex had made it through the last two years. Alex couldn't cope with the idea of anything damaging that bond. And she felt like sleeping together would ruin everything.

"Because I can't lose you Nick. I can't do all this without you."

She could see the sadness in Nicky's eyes, she wanted to take it away so badly.

"Please don't hate me Nicky."

"I don't hate you….I fucking love you. I try remember to tell you that, but maybe I don't say it enough."

"I love you too."

Alex hugged her friend again, squeezing her tight. She had no idea what to say to make Nicky feel better. She didn't even know what Nicky wanted from her, she wasn't sure Nicky even knew that.

"I just…..I feel like I know you better than anyone. I wanna be the one that you go to when you need shit."

"You fucking are Nick, do you have any idea? I would fucking die without you."

Alex let go of her friend and they lay there looking at each other, she didn't know what to think. But she didn't pull away when Nicky leaned in again and kissed her again on the lips, it was quick and soft. It felt more like the kisses she was used to from Nicky, it felt like comfort. No one might understand their friendship, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was that they needed each other, and they kept each other going through everything.

Alex was keen to lighten up the conversation over the next few hours. They started talking about the people from school, Carrie's latest conquests, and eventually Nicky worked up the courage to ask the question she couldn't stop thinking about.

"So what about Piper?"

"What about her? We're not dating, I haven't slept with her."

"That's not what I asked."

Alex paused, she didn't want to lie to Nicky, and she knew the truth would hurt her.

"Yeah, okay fine, I like her. We kissed.."

"And?"

"And what? I liked it, Sally doesn't know anything, so please don't tell her. I'm sorry Nick."

"You don't have to apologise Alex, I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I know...you know how much you mean to me Nicky. I don't want anything to fuck up what we have."

Deep down Nicky was hurting, even though she still wasn't really sure what she wanted from Alex. They'd probably make a terrible couple and end up killing each other. But there was still that annoying feeling that she couldn't shake, the feeling that said no one could take better care of Alex than her. The stupid thing was that she actually liked Piper, but she had no idea what the blonde wanted from Alex, and she wanted to make sure Alex was thinking clearly.

"I just don't want you to get dragged into something with Piper if she isn't gonna take it seriously. I don't want you to totally fall for her, and it turns out she was just experimenting."

Nicky watched on as Alex nodded, she had no idea what her friend was thinking.

"I don't know what she wants. Fuck, nothing is even happening yet, it doesn't matter right now. Honestly, all I'm thinking about right now is getting through the rest of the year. It's another birthday, another Christmas that I'd rather pretend wasn't even happening."

"I know, it's a shitty time of year. Look, we can do anything you want to take your mind off it, all you gotta do is call me."

"Yeah, that'd be good. Let's just get away, I don't think I can be here, there's too many memories."

The two girls put their arms around each other while they were still lying on the floor, and Nicky was relieved the conversation had happened while they were both tipsy.

"I'll talk to my folks, maybe they'll let us have the beach house for a while, we can go there. I'll even let Sally and Piper come along."

Alex laughed into Nicky's shoulder. She felt better that they had spoken openly, but she knew it wasn't over when it came to jealousy. Alex really couldn't be bothered thinking about it as this point, all she could think about was how the hell she would get through the next couple of months.

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The hours and the beers kept passing by, and by 1 am Nicky was asleep on the bedroom floor. Alex decided she might as well take the bed, and tried to get comfortable. Another hour passed before she finally fell asleep, but her dreams kept following her.

Alex woke up again, but it wasn't so chaotic this time, things were quiet, there was no one else around her. She still didn't have her glasses, but at least all the blood was gone. She looked around the room but there was no one there, she wanted Sally, she wanted Diane. She was about to close her eyes again when someone walked into her room, a man in a white coat.

"Hi Alex, I'm Doctor Stevens, you came out of surgery last night. It's good to see you awake, you're extremely lucky, but you'll need to stay in the hospital for a while."

Deep down, Alex was too scared to ask for Diane, so she asked for Sally instead.

"Where's my sister?"

"She's in the waiting room, she's been waiting to see you."

Alex barely had the energy to speak, but she needed to see Sally, she needed someone familiar.

"Please…please can you get her?"

Alex was relieved when the doctor gave her a tired smile and went to get Sally. Moments later Sally walked through the door and went straight to Alex's bedside, gently grabbing her hand.

"Hey kid."

Alex mustered all her energy to smile back at Sally. She didn't really care what the doctor had to say, she just wanted him to leave so she could ask Sally the question she was dreading.

"I was just telling Alex that the surgery went well, and she'll be with us for a few weeks. The main problem was a part of the inner car door that broke off during the accident and became lodged your side, but luckily it didn't hit any organs or major blood vessels. We managed to get it all out and stop the bleeding, but we'll need to keep monitoring it. It's something that might always give you some level of pain, but we can lessen that with physical therapy."

The doctor kept talking but Alex couldn't focus on his words, she struggled to focus on anything. Her whole body ached, she wasn't sure what all her injuries were but she didn't even really care. She tried to focus again on the doctor, who was still talking, but she couldn't. But she could feel Sally gently rubbing her hand, she tried to anchor herself to that feeling. It felt like the doctor stayed in the room for hours, but he eventually left, leaving her alone with Sally.

"How do you feel Lex?"

"Shitty."

"Doctor Stevens said they'll give you more painkillers soon, but you're gonna be okay. And I'm not going anywhere, they're gonna let me stay in here with you."

Even through her haze, Alex could hear the tremble in her sister's voice, it made her even more afraid to ask. Alex closed her eyes before she gathered up the courage to speak again.

"How's mum?"

The tears instantly started flowing down Sally's face, and Alex knew the answer before she said anything.

"She's gone Lex…"

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Alex was relieved when things went back to normal between her and Nicky over the next couple of weeks. They were spending more time together, but Alex didn't say anything more to her about Piper. Nothing more had happened with the blonde anyway, although Alex felt like there was a constant flirtatious undertone to all of their interactions. She was starting to wonder if it's something Sally had picked up on. But Alex thought that was unlikely, given Sally seemed to be sufficiently distracted by John Bennett ever since her and Piper went to his house party. Sally kept insisting it was nothing serious, but Alex was relieved that Sally had another social outlet, she needed it.

Alex and Sally were eating dinner at home on a Wednesday night. Alex had made them spaghetti that was actually edible, which was a miracle in itself. Alex wanted to take her opportunity to ask Sally about John.

"So how are things going with your boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend."

"Okay, so what is he then?"

"He's just a friend Lex, that's it."

Alex raised an eyebrow at her sister, "Just a friend hey?"

Sally raised an eyebrow right back at Alex. Sure, she liked John, he was a nice guy, but things hadn't gone any further than that. They hadn't even kissed yet.

"He's a nice guy that I'm friends with. Anyway, shouldn't we be talking about you and your latest conquests. You've gone awfully quiet lately in the girl department."

"Well, you know I like to focus on my academic performance."

Sally laughed and ended up spitting out some of her spaghetti, "Yeah right."

Alex smiled and let it go. So long as John wasn't a jerk, she was fine with it.

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After so many weeks of not having to deal with Sam Healy, Alex was starting to think he might finally leave her alone for good, but she didn't want to get her hopes up.

Sally was also keeping a close eye on him, he'd stayed away from Alex ever since she and Carrie confronted him in the empty classroom. Sally wasn't sure how she felt about that, it was the first time in nearly two years that he'd left Alex alone for that long. She pulled aside Carrie at the start of their lunch break at school, Sally wanted to know if she'd noticed anything weird about Healy lately.

"So he hasn't been hanging around you guys at all?"

Carrie was happy to say that they hadn't even seen him lately, "Not at all, maybe he finally got the message."

"I doubt it..."

Sally decided to leave it at that and went off to find Piper so they could eat lunch together. It was Friday, which meant Piper would drive her and Alex home and they'd probably end up sleeping together on the lounge room floor. It had become Sally's favourite day of the week, she'd really grown to trust Piper, especially when it came to understanding her relationship with Alex.

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Carrie made her way to the school oval after she finished talking to Sally, she knew Nicky and Alex would be sitting in their usual spot waiting for her.

"Hello ladies."

Carrie sat down and they started their usual lunch time conversation, which today mainly consisted of who they each wanted to sleep with.

"Now, I know you won't want to hear this Vause, but your sister would be at the top of a lot of guys bang lists."

Alex immediately put her hands over her ears, "Seriously Carrie, I do not want to hear that!"

Carrie and Nicky high fived while Alex sat there in disgust.

"I do not want to think about Sally having sex."

The girls all kept talking until Alex decided she was still hungry and started making her way to the cafeteria. There were a group of guys playing football on the oval, she didn't pay much attention to them. But she did notice John in the group, she had to admit that he was kinda cute. Alex slipped her earphones in and started flicking through the playlist on Nicky's iPod when she felt a sharp pain in her side and felt herself falling. Her head was slung into the ground, and then everything went black.

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Carrie stared off into space while she listened to Nicky complain about her Spanish teacher, when she saw Healy in the corner of her eye, she was annoyed at herself for not noticing him before. She watched on as he played football with the others, noticing him running towards another guy called Tony who had the ball. But Healy didn't stop when Tony threw the ball over his head, he kept going until he ran straight into Alex, who was walking down the side of the oval. Carrie got up and ran towards her friend, with Nicky running behind her.

Before Carrie and Nicky got anywhere near Alex, they noticed another guy on the field grab Healy by his shirt, at least someone else was finally standing up to him. In a few moments they were close enough to hear the shouting.

"What the fuck was that! You ran straight into her you fucking idiot!"

Healy pushed back but he still couldn't get himself out of this guys grip, "Fuck off Bennett! She got in the way, maybe she'll be more careful next time."

Carrie and Nicky finally reached Alex and knelt down next to her, but they could still hear the two guys shouting right behind them.

"No, she wasn't in the way! You weren't even watching the ball, you went straight for her!"

John kept shaking Healy by the shirt until two teachers ran towards them and pulled them apart, trying to work out what happened. John ran over to Alex as soon as soon as the teachers pulled him off Healy.

"Is she okay?"

Nicky was shaking, she wasn't sure how hard Alex had hit her head and was worried about trying to move her. She didn't even notice John kneeling next to them, all she could see was Alex. Nicky couldn't see any blood, but she must have hit her head pretty damn hard. She was out cold for a few moments, but Nicky was so relieved when Alex started responding to her.

Nicky rubbed Alex's arm, trying to reach her.

"Alex, can you hear me? You gotta fucking answer me..."

Alex started to groan, and it was obvious she was in a lot of pain. Carrie was now standing behind Nicky, getting ready to go find Sally.

"Thank fuck she's awake. I'm gonna go find Sal, I'll be right back."

Nicky barely paid any attention to Carrie and kept all her focus on Alex. She kept rubbing her friend's arm, trying to help her ride out the pain. John sat next to them the whole time with a look of shock and concern on his face.

"Where does it hurt Al?"

"Fuck...my side."

Alex was clutching her side and could barely bring herself to open her eyes. She had a lot of scar tissue there ever since the accident, and Nicky knew that it was still a source of pain for her friend. It was no surprise that she was in agony after being tackled to the ground. The more she thought about it, the more Nicky's shock turned to anger, and all she wanted was to hurt Healy.

She stood up and ran towards him, shoving him hard in the chest as soon as he was in reach.

"What is wrong with you! I will fucking kill you, you psychotic asshole!"

John was now standing and managed to pull Nicky back before she ended up hitting Healy in front of the teachers.

"He's not worth it. I saw it all happen, I'll tell the teachers it was his fault. But there's no point getting yourself suspended over him."

Nicky shook herself free from John, but she never took her eyes off Healy, who was standing there with a smug look on his face. Nicky didn't think she'd ever been this angry before, but she took a deep breath and followed John back to where Alex was still lying on the ground. She needed to forget about Healy until she knew if Alex was okay. The brunette was still in a lot of pain, but she was clearly determined to stand up.

Through a strained voice, Alex spoke again.

"Help me sit up."

John quickly moved behind Alex and helped her sit up, letting her lean her back against him so she could keep her balance.

But moving that much obviously hurt, Nicky saw the strain on her friend's face as she tried to regain some composure.

"Just take it easy Alex, stay still."

John could feel Alex leaning heavily against him and he could feel her body shaking. But there was no way Alex was going to stay on the ground while Healy looked at her.

She leaned over her shoulder so she could speak to John, "Help me up."

He started to protest, but Alex wasn't interesting in his opinion, "I think we should just wait.."

"Look, you either help me or I'll do it myself."

John looked towards Nicky who just nodded. "Okay, I'm gonna put my hands underneath your arms, then I'll pull you up, just keep leaning on me."

Alex nodded and braced herself for the pain. He pulled her body up as gently as he could, but the pain still shot through her.

"Fuck!"

John positioned himself so he was standing next to her, with one arm around her waist to keep her steady. Alex put her forehead against his shoulder to hide her grimace, she wasn't expecting it to hurt that much, but there was no turning back now.

Nicky walked around to Alex's other side to help her steady herself, "Can you walk?"

Alex was breathing heavily against John's shoulder and was starting to feel dizzy, "Just give me a minute."

John could feel her losing balance and tightened his grip on her, he was worried she might lose consciousness again. They kept standing there until Nicky saw Carrie, Sally and Piper running towards them. Sally and Piper ran straight to them, while Carrie went to talk with the teachers who were still with Healy.

Alex saw that look of pure fear on her sister's face all over again.

"Carrie told me what happened. Lex you shouldn't be trying to walk around, we should go to the hospital."

Alex tried to protest but Sally would not listen to her this time, "You fucking blacked out after hitting your head, we're going to the hospital!"

Piper was standing next to Sally, she didn't know what to think. How the hell could this happen again? Why don't the school do anything about this guy? Alex doesn't deserve this...

Piper put a hand on Sally's shoulder to try and calm her down, "I'll drive you guys to the hospital."

Nicky wanted to stay with Alex, but she also didn't want to get in the way. She looked to Sally, who seemed to know exactly what she was thinking.

"Nicky, please talk to the teachers with Carrie, tell them what you saw, I'll talk to them on Monday. I'll call you as soon as we've seen a doctor, I promise."

Nicky nodded and said goodbye to Alex, who was still leaning heavily on John. Her head was spinning, but she still managed to pull Nicky in for a hug.

"I'm calling you later Vause, I don't care where you are."

Nicky let go of her best friend and walked back towards Carrie and the teachers. Alex kept pressing her face into John's shoulder, she couldn't shake the dizziness, and he could sense she was struggling.

"I don't think you're gonna be able to walk to the car park. Put your arm around my neck, I can carry you."

Alex didn't move her face from his shoulder, she couldn't think straight, but she did not want to be carried anywhere. She wanted to show Healy that he couldn't hurt her, that she could take anything he threw at her and still survive.

"No...I can walk."

John didn't say anything, and very slowly helped Alex try to walk a few steps, but her mind was so scrambled and she couldn't keep her balance. The dizziness just kept getting worse, she started to stumble, and Sally stepped in, she sounded completely heart broken.

"Please just carry her."

John didn't hesitate and put an arm under Alex's knees and picked her up. They started walking slowly towards the parking lot, eventually making it to Piper's car. John carefully lowered Alex's legs to the ground and helped her get in the back seat. He could see how groggy she was, she definitely had a concussion. He closed the car door before he turned to Sally.

"I can come to the hospital if you want?"

"No, that's okay, me and Piper will be there. But I'll see you next week, thanks for helping her John."

John smiled and hugged Sally goodbye, leaving the three girls to make their way to the hospital.

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Sally had to call their aunt on the way to the hospital. After what happened to Diane, it was agreed that she would cover any of their medical expenses. She didn't have a huge amount of money, but more than Diane ever had. If she was going to end up with a hospital bill, Sally needed to let her know what happened.

Sally and Piper sat in the waiting room while Alex was being seen. Piper didn't know what to say to maker her friend feel better.

"We have got to speak to the school on Monday, we don't have any choice. I'll come with you, you don't have to do it alone."

Sally gave Piper a tired smile, "I know, we can talk about it over the weekend. I just don't even know what to think right now."

Piper was about to start talking again when she saw an older woman walking towards them, and Sally stood up.

"Hi Aunt Julie." Sally hugged the older woman, who sat down next to them.

"Is Alex okay?"

"I think she'll be fine, the doctors are seeing her now. I brought her here as a precaution, she was pretty groggy."

"You did the right thing to bring her to the hospital." The older woman stopped talking and looked towards Piper, who was watching them speak.

"Oh, Aunt Julie this is Piper, she's a good friend, she drove us here."

Piper smiled at Julie, who gave her a stern smile back, "Thank you Piper."

Before Piper could say anything, Julie had turned back to Sally, who kept looking straight ahead at the wall.

"I feel like things are getting out of hand Sally. Maybe it's time for us to reconsider your living situation, you know.."

Sally stood up and turned to face her aunt, her eyes were full of anger, "We are not reconsidering anything! You didn't want her two years ago, why the fuck would you want her now!"

Julie didn't seem overly surprised by Sally's outburst, "Sally, it's not that I didn't want her.."

"Yes it is! You never gave a shit about mum while she was alive and you never wanted to take care of us after she was dead! I will not let you take Alex away from me. I'm 18 now, I'll become her legal guardian if I have to."

"Sally, you need to calm down. I don't want to take her away from you, but she's always been a difficult kid."

"How would you know! You were never there..."

"I might not have always been there, but I still spoke to your mother."

"I don't care! I can take care of her, and she's staying with me, that's it."

Julie didn't even bother responding, she looked defeated, like she knew what Sally said was true. She picked up her bag, "Just let me know what the doctors say."

Then she turned on her heels and walked away from them. The spike of emotion was too much for Sally and she finally gave into her tears, still standing in the same spot. Piper jumped up and hugged her straight away, her heart was breaking for Sally.

"None of this is your fault Sal, I see how much you do to take care of Alex. And I see how much she loves you, she doesn't blame you for any of this. "

Sally kept crying into Piper's shoulder, but managed to speak through her tears, "I know...But fuck, I don't know how to fix this."

Piper fought back the lump in her throat, she was determined to not take the easy way out like her family always did. She'd do whatever she could to help both Sally and Alex.

"You're not fixing this on your own, I'll be here the whole time. So will Carrie and Nicky, you gotta let us help you Sal. You do more for Alex than either of my parents have ever done for me."

Piper felt her friend starting to calm down and slowly, she managed to stop crying.

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Four hours later they were finally leaving the hospital. The doctors said Alex would be fine, but to keep an eye on her for any follow up concussion symptoms. They also reassured Sally that the sharp pain in Alex's side was being caused by the old scar tissue, but there wasn't any permanent damage. Alex was sent home with painkillers and instructions to take it easy over the weekend. It was early evening when they got back to the apartment, they were all completely drained. Sally called their aunt back from the bedroom to let her know Alex was okay, leaving Piper and Alex on the couch to decide what they wanted for dinner.

Alex cuddled up to Piper, she felt so vulnerable and tired. Piper had her arms wrapped around the younger girl, and she couldn't stop her mind from wandering. She kept thinking about how scared she was earlier in the day, and how much she wanted to kiss Alex again. Want, that was the overwhelming emotion Piper felt towards Alex. She wanted to kiss her, she wanted to protect her, she just wanted her. She knew her mother would never approve, but Piper wasn't scared of her own feelings.

Piper started running her fingers through Alex's long dark hair and along her cheek, she wanted to keep the younger girl close to her.

Alex sat up and leaned her head against Piper's shoulder, "You must be getting pretty sick of getting caught in the middle of my bulshit."

"No Alex, I'm sick of Healy thinking he can get away with treating you like this. I'm sick of never being able to stop it from happening."

"I know…"

"I really care about you Al."

Alex lifted her head and looked into Piper's blue eyes, she leaned in and kissed her on the lips, she never wanted to stop. She eventually pulled away and placed her head back against Piper's chest, taking a deep breath. Alex felt so close to the blonde, it actually scared her.

"I care about you too."