Chapter 6

Alex stayed on the couch with Piper, she didn't want to move. She closed her eyes and tried to rest as she felt Piper pull a blanket over her. Alex had no idea how long she'd been lying there when Sally finally got off the phone with their aunt.

Alex opened her eyes and sat up as soon as she heard her sister walk towards them.

"What did she say?"

"She says she's glad you're okay."

Alex knew things were tense between Sally and Julie, and she knew why.

"I'm pretty sure that's not all she said."

Sally sighed as she squeezed onto the small couch with them.

"You know what she's like Lex."

"She thinks this is all my fault?"

"I don't know, you know she's hard to talk to. She doesn't understand the situation, but you don't have to worry about anything. We're both staying right here."

Alex didn't say anymore, she knew Julie thought she was a trouble maker. Julie wasn't a bad person, she just lived in her own little world, and Diane was never particularly close to her. Sally went into the kitchen and came back with Alex's painkillers and a glass of water.

"You might as well take these now. How's your head?"

"Sore. But luckily your boyfriend was there to help."

Alex wanted to lighten the mood, she was happy to see Sally give her a small smile.

"John is a good guy, but he's still not my boyfriend."

Alex passed the glass of water back to Sally and leaned in to give her a hug. They needed to come up with a new plan, they needed to get the school to do something about Healy.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Later that same night, after all three girls had eaten dinner, Alex followed Sally into their bedroom to get changed into her pyjamas. She wasn't ready to go to sleep, but she wanted to get comfortable and watch TV for a while.

Sally shut the bedroom door and walked towards Alex, "I need to hear you say that you're okay."

"I promise, I'm okay Sal."

"Not just physically Alex, how are you coping? Things have been pretty rough lately."

These were the questions Alex hated the most. She could deal with a few cuts and bruises, but the mental hurdles were so much harder to deal with.

"I don't know...So long as I have you, it's okay, I can deal with it. I'm worried about you, not me."

The two sisters sat next to each other on the bed, and Sally put an arm around Alex's shoulders, pulling their bodies close.

"So we're worried about each other then." Sally managed a smile. Her relationship with Alex had changed so much since Diane died. They'd always been close, but they'd never relied on each other like this before, they never had to. She hoped that Diane would be proud of them. She always tried to teach her daughters to stick together, and now that bond was being put to the test.

"We'll get our stories straight over the weekend, then on Monday I'll talk to the school. And if they won't listen, we'll go to the cops. I'm not gonna let him keep on hurting you."

0-0-0-0-0-0

Alex was so glad to be lying next to Piper, even if it was on the lounge room floor. They had so many blankets and pillows piled around them, it reminded Alex of being a little kid. Alex's head and side had been aching all night, but the painkillers she took earlier finally started to kick in. Sally had been asleep for over an hour, there was no chance of her waking up until late the next morning. Alex wanted to seize her opportunity to take things further with Piper. She was lying next to the blonde, who was lying under the blankets in her underwear and a grey tank top, everything about her looked so soft. Alex leaned up on her elbow and starting stroking Piper's face with her other hand, before leaning in for a kiss. But this time she kept going, there wasn't any reason to stop. Even though her side was aching, it was worth it.

She kept running her tongue around Piper's lips until she opened her mouth, and Alex could kiss her properly. She took her time, gently running her tongue over Piper's, kissing her again and again. Alex tangled her hand in Piper's blonde hair, pulling their faces closer at the same time. She loved the way Piper responded to every movement. Every time Alex kissed her a little deeper, or she moved a hand through her hair, Piper lost herself more in each passing moment. Alex started to forget that Sally was asleep in the bedroom, everything else seemed to just disappear. Alex pulled away and looked down at Piper's face for any sign that the blonde was uncomfortable, but all she saw was a smile.

Alex placed a hand under Piper's top, and started rubbing circles across her stomach, lightly dragging her fingernails across Piper's soft skin. But she did want to talk to Piper before she took it any further, she didn't want to be Piper's experiment, she wanted more than that.

"Have you ever been with another girl?"

"I've thought about it, but I've never actually done it."

"Have you thought about me?"

Alex kept looking down at Piper as she blushed and covered her face with her free hand, while the other held onto Alex's waist.

"C'mon Pipes, don't get shy on me now, especially after I just kissed you like that."

Alex gently pulled back Piper's hand so she could see her face, she couldn't stop smiling.

"Yes, I've thought about you a lot. Have you thought about me?"

Alex didn't hesitate with her response, "Of course."

Alex moved her body even closer to Piper's, she didn't want there to be any distance between them.

"What exactly have you thought about?"

"Kissing you, touching you... The only reason I haven't is Sally, you know she means a lot to me."

Piper had been thinking about Sally too, she had no idea how her friend would react if she found out Piper had slept with her sister.

"I know, how do you think she'd react?"

"React to what? Us sleeping together, or dating?"

Alex saw the smile spread across Piper's face again, and she loved it. She would take Piper on a date in an instant, but she wanted to know what the blonde was thinking. Piper just kept looking at Alex with that same smile, but she didn't say anything, so Alex kept talking.

"What would you say if I asked you out."

"I'd probably say yes..."

Alex smiled back at the girl lying underneath her, and leaned in for another kiss. She felt she'd taken things far enough for tonight, she wanted to talk to Sally about it first. This wasn't just about sex, Alex wanted Piper to be hers. She promised herself not to sleep with Piper until she knew how Sally felt about it, no matter how much self control it would take.

Alex's side was starting to ache, so she lay back down, groaning on the way. Piper reached across and started rubbing Alex's side, trying to take the pain away.

"Does it hurt a lot?"

"A little, but the pills are kicking in, it's not too bad. I may not be able to move in the morning, but for now I'm all good."

Alex stayed lying on her uninjured side, the back of her head hurt too much so she couldn't lie on her back. She closed her eyes and focused on the feeling of Piper's hand running up and down her skin, over her scar. She assumed Sally had told her about the car accident, but it's not something she'd ever spoken to Piper about.

"I don't understand why he hates you so much Al. The way he's treating you, it's insane, it's scary."

Alex opened her eyes, she didn't know what to say, it was a topic she always struggled with. But Piper made her feel comfortable, she made her feel safe. Alex decided it was time to trust her feelings and talk to Piper about what happened. Nicky and Sally were the only other people she had ever talked to about that night. She closed her eyes for a moment, "Just take it slowly. If you want her so much, you need to tell her what happened..."

"He's a complete fucking homophobe, but that's not why he hates me so much."

Piper could sense the hesitation in Alex's voice, "You don't have to say anything if you don't want to, but you know I'm always here."

"Yeah...I know, I just haven't spoken about it much, it's so fucked up."

Piper kept running her fingers over Alex's side, she wanted her to be comfortable.

"I guess you know about the accident?"

"Yeah, Sally told me about it. I'm so sorry you had to go through that, I can't even imagine what it was like."

Alex took her time, she wanted to stay composed, "I don't know how to describe it, it was a complete blur. It's like, I couldn't even believe it happened, I could't accept it."

"Do you remember it?"

"No, which is so fucking frustrating, I don't remember the accident at all. I just remember waking up in the emergency room, that's it."

Alex paused, she needed a moment before she kept talking. Piper had moved her hand and brushed the long dark hair from Alex's face.

"After a few days in hospital, when I was feeling better, the police came to talk to me, Sally was there the whole time. They said there was another car that hit us, a station wagon. The driver went through a red light and plowed straight into the drivers side of our car. I was in the passenger seat..."

Alex paused again, she still couldn't bring herself to think of the details. She was relieved when she felt Piper pull her in close against her body, holding her tight.

"I'm so sorry Alex. Was it a drunk driver?"

"No...not exactly. The driver, she was okay and they arrested her. Turns out she had some issues, like, some serious mental issues. She was meant to be taking pretty hard core anti-psychotics, but she still lived at home. Anyway, she stopped taking her meds, apparently she was having hallucinations, she didn't know what the hell was going on that night when she got behind the wheel."

"What happened to her?"

"She was eventually charged, and now she's locked up in a psychiatric hospital, they couldn't put her in jail."

Piper was shocked, she didn't know how to comfort Alex with words, so she just kept holding her.

"I never went to any of the court stuff, but Sal did, she saw most of it. I didn't know how to feel about it, this person destroyed our fucking lives. But she didn't seem to have much of a life herself... I eventually went back to school, and that's when I found out, that's when all this crap started."

"What happened Al?"

"The driver...it was his mum."

0-0-0-0-0-0

Monday morning rolled around and Piper was still reeling from what Alex had told her, she couldn't believe that Sam Healy's mother caused the accident. She was the reason Diane was dead and Alex was nearly killed. But he was so angry at Alex, she was the one that survived. She became the target for all of his anger and pain. It wasn't fair, it didn't even make sense to Piper, but that was how he felt. It was scary, it made Piper never want to leave Alex alone at school, which might end up as a last resort if the school kept doing nothing.

Sally had arranged a meeting with the Principal just before lunch, Piper was going with her. Sally wanted Alex to stay home for a couple of extra days to make sure she was okay, but also to keep her away from Healy. Principal Caputo seemed like a reasonable guy, but he'd obviously never done much to protect Alex.

11 am came quickly and Piper found herself sitting next to Sally in Caputo's office, Sally was doing most of the talking.

"I know we've spoken about this before, and you said there's nothing you can do, but this situation is out of control. He literally put her in the hospital on Friday. He's getting more violent towards her, and to be honest, I'm scared of what he might do to her next."

Caputo sighed, he looked frustrated and tired. "I feel for you girls, I really do. What happened, it's unprecedented. We are keeping an eye on him, but there's not much we can do about the stuff you guys don't report."

"The teachers were there on Friday! They know what he did to her." Piper could feel the anger rising from Sally, so she reached across and grabbed her friend's hand, trying to keep her calm.

"I know, I know Sally. But he says it was an accident, he says ran into her while he was playing football. What am I meant to do with that?"

"Suspend him! You have John, Carrie and Nicky who all saw what happened. They all told the teachers on duty what happened, but you still won't fucking do anything about it! Do you need him to kill her before you do something!"

"Hey! I know you're upset but you don't get to talk to me like that, calm down. I've got him saying it was an accident, and I've got your friends saying it wasn't an accident. I can't do anything with that, I can only do something if the teachers see it."

"Great, so you won't do anything. Even when the teachers see it, you still won't do anything. How am I meant to keep her safe!"

Piper could hear the emotion in Sally's voice, which was starting to tremble. She wanted to say something, she wished she could convince him that he needed to do more, but she didn't know how.

"You keep her safe by reporting any incidents to us, I'll tell the staff to watch him closely. In the meantime, I suggest you tell Alex to keep clear of him."

Sally was standing up now, she couldn't stay still anymore.

"She can't stay away from him when he follows her, don't you get that? Don't you understand that he blames Alex for what happened to his mother?"

"I understand Sally, but we're doing everything we can."

Piper stood up and grabbed onto Sally's arm, she looked like she wanted to scream and cry at the same time.

"Fine, do nothing, like you always do. You're all fucking useless."

With that, both girls walked out of the office and down the hallway. Piper was expecting Caputo to get angry and call after them, but he didn't, he let them go.

Sally was walking ahead of Piper, she didn't know what to do with herself. It didn't help when they saw Healy walking down the hallway towards them, he was probably going to have his own meeting with Caputo. Piper felt like Sally was about to do something stupid, so she jogged up next to her and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Just keep walking Sal, don't pay any attention to him."

Sally nodded and kept walking with her head down, she didn't want to look at him. But she heard his voice as soon as they were about to pass each other.

"How's your dyke sister? Still blaming me for everything?"

Sally didn't know how to respond with words anymore, actions seemed to be the only thing he responded to. She reached into her jeans and grabbed the small pocket knife Carrie had given her a few weeks back, she let her emotions take over. She took out the knife and walked towards him with it. His eyes went straight to the blade and he kept stepping backwards until he hit the hallway wall. Finally, she had his full attention.

"I meant it Sam, I meant it when I told you to stay away from Alex. I'm fucking sick of it, I'm sick of you blaming her for what happened to your mother. We all know that's what this is about, even if you won't admit it. It's not Alex's fault that your mother has issues, it's not Alex's fault that she stopped taking her meds. Our mother is the one that died in that crash, not yours. If anything, we're the ones that should be angry, not you."

Piper was completely shocked, between Sally's words and the knife, the situation felt like it was getting out of hand. Piper was expecting Healy to react with anger like he usually did, but he hadn't said a word.

"If you touch her again, I will hurt you. I will hurt you just like you've hurt her. I don't give a shit about Caputo, it doesn't matter any more. So stay the fuck away from all of us."

Sally backed away from him and walked towards Piper. Healy kept standing against the wall, not saying anything. He stood there and watched as Sally and Piper kept walking down the hallway.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Piper sat across from Sally at their usual lunch table, still in shock about what just happened. She didn't condone threats or violence, but she knew Sally wasn't left with much choice. Eventually she heard her friend's voice from across the table.

"You think I'm insane?"

"No, I just...I'm just still trying to process what happened back there."

"Pipes, this is the only way I can protect her."

"I know..."

They kept staring at each other until Nicky joined their table and started talking to Sally.

"So c'mon, what happened with Caputo?

"Nothing, he won't do anything."

"Fuck!" Nicky slammed her fist against the table, this situation was starting to push all of them over the edge.

"All we can do is make sure one of us is always with her, she can never be alone at school."

Nicky nodded in agreement. It wasn't perfect, but it was the only solution they had, "Okay, deal. So how's she feeling today?"

"She's better." Sally wasn't trying to be rude, but she was out of energy. She knew Nicky just wanted to make sure Alex was okay, but Sally was exhausted. She just wanted to sleep, she felt like there was never enough time for her to just rest.

Nicky seemed to take the hint and said her goodbyes, leaving Sally and Piper alone. Piper tried to reassure Sally that they had the situation covered, she was worried about her.

"Look, we'll be with her every morning until she goes to her first class. Then she's with either Nicky or Carrie in all her classes. I can go meet her during all the breaks to make sure she's not alone. Then after school Carrie or Nicky can stay with her in the parking lot until we're ready to go. We'll have her covered between the four of us, she'll never be alone."

Sally tried to give Piper a smile, but she didn't have it in her. Deep down she knew that their plan would never be bullet proof.

"And what if he still tries something? What if instead of him just hurting Alex, he ends up hurting whoever is with her too? What if he brings a knife to school, or a gun? I can't deal with this Pipes."

Piper knew Sally was right, but she was determined to stop her friend from falling apart.

"Hey, you can't think like that Sal, we will find a way out of this."

"I know, I'm just tired."

"Why don't we stay home tomorrow and just relax? You, me and Alex, we can do whatever we like."

This was the first time all day Piper saw any sort of spark in Sally's eyes.

"Actually, that's a pretty good idea. I feel like I'm going crazy here, we should go do something if Alex is up to it."

"Okay perfect! I'll look into a few things and we can pick what we wanna do tonight. I'll drop you home after school, then go pick up a change of clothes from my place, then I'll come back to yours."

Piper was so relieved to see her friend give her a real smile. Sally needed a break, and Piper was pretty sure she had the perfect solution.

A/N

Hello again :)

This chapter is a bit shorter, but just because I wanted their day off together and what follows to sit separately. What do you guys think of the Healy revelation in this chapter?

Cheers.