A/N
Just wanted to say another quick thank you for all the reviews on this story, they're always great to read :)
Chapter 15
Alex went into surgery a few hours later, leaving Sally, Piper and Carol waiting in the hospital.
At least they'd finally given Alex a room, which is where the women sat and waited. Sally sat in a chair with her head in her hands, she was exhausted. Piper walked over to her and put a hand on her back, she was worried about her.
"Come home with us tonight Sal, I don't think you should be alone."
Sally shook her head, she could be just as stubborn as Alex when she wanted.
"No, it's fine, I might just stay here with Alex."
"You need to sleep Sal."
"I don't want to sleep..."
Piper was surprised when she heard her mother's voice cut through the room.
"You're no good to her if you don't sleep Sally, you should come home with us tonight. After she's back from surgery."
Sally felt like screaming, she wished she could smash everything in that hospital room. She really didn't want to leave Alex alone overnight, but she could barely keep her eyes open.
She snapped back to reality when Nicky came bursting into the room, making her way straight to Sally for a hug.
Nicky wrapped her arms around the older girl's neck, Sally had told her most of the story on the phone and Nicky got to the hospital as fast as she could.
"I'm here for whatever you need okay."
"Thanks Nick."
Nicky waited with the rest of them for a while before she went to the cafeteria to get them all a coffee. The nurses brought Alex back into the room before Nicky got back. She was still groggy, but both Sally and Piper were so relieved to see her awake. Piper stood by the bed as Sally hugged her sister, resting her head on Alex's shoulder.
Alex didn't even notice Carol in the room as she put an arm around Sally. She could tell Sally was crying into her shoulder, she whispered into her ear, "Please don't cry."
Alex kept holding onto Sally, she couldn't get close enough. The older girl stood back up once she managed to stop crying. She always struggled to keep her emotions in check when it came to Alex.
"How are you feeling?"
"Tired and nauseous. And my face hurts."
"You can probably come home tomorrow."
Sally stepped back to give Piper space, and the blonde stepped towards the bed.
Alex's voice sounded so tired, but it was still her, "Hey Pipes."
"Hey Al."
Piper leaned over and kissed Alex on the lips, careful to not touch her cheek. She didn't care what her mother saw, she'd never so scared before in her entire life.
"I hate seeing you like this."
"I know...But it's over now."
Piper gave a tired smile and kissed her again, "I love you Al."
"I love you too."
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All of them, including Nicky, stayed with Alex until visiting hours were over. Nicky couldn't help but try and lighten the mood, she could see how anxious Sally was feeling.
"Good thing you've got a hard head Vause."
Alex smirked, "Still not as hard as yours. Your face took a lot of pain when you took up skateboarding for two weeks."
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that!"
They kept joking with each other until a nurse came in, "Sorry everyone, visiting hours are over."
Sally clenched her jaw and took a deep breath, she really didn't want to leave. Alex reached out and grabbed her hand, "Go home Sal, you look exhausted."
Piper walked up next to her friend and grabbed her other hand, "Come home with me, sleep at my place. Then we can all come back together tomorrow."
"Yeah, okay."
They all said their goodbyes and left the room. Sally knew Alex would probably fall asleep straight away. She knew her sister would be fine, but she still hated not staying with her.
Nicky walked alongside Sally down the hospital hallway, putting an arm around her waist.
"I'll drive you back to your place so you can get Piper's car."
"Thanks Nick."
"Don't fall in a heap now Sal, this shit is over, Alex is fine, you're fine. And Christmas is around the corner, we will fucking enjoy ourselves. I'll make sure of it."
Sally smiled, she knew Nicky just wanted to make her feel better, but she wasn't ready for that yet. She couldn't relax knowing she still had to call Julie.
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Piper got into the car with her mother while Sally went with Nicky. Carol wasn't saying much, but Piper needed to know how she felt.
"Are you okay with Sally staying over?"
"Of course Piper."
They were almost home, having sat in silence for most of the drive. Piper needed to know how her mother really felt.
"You're not saying much."
"Well, I'm really not sure what to say dear."
"I won't stay away from Alex..."
Carol sighed, "Yes, I can see that."
"She's not a bad person mum."
"I don't know Piper..."
"You heard what Sally said, she's not gonna hurt me mum."
"I still don't know what you want me to say Piper, it's not easy for me, she's not like us."
Piper tried to stay calm, but she couldn't help raising her voice, "No, she's better than us! I love her..."
"Look, it's been a very long day. Let's just go home and sleep on it, we can talk about this later."
Piper knew that was her mother's version of 'shut up', so she didn't bother saying anything else. She still considered it a victory, even if Carol wouldn't say anything positive about Alex.
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Sally and Nicky went back up to the apartment so she could grab a change of clothes for herself and Alex. The place was still a mess, but at least the police were gone.
Nicky looked around at the smashed TV and cabinet, her mind wandering and imagining exactly what happened there.
"I'll come around tomorrow and clean up while you're at the hospital, I'll grab some dinner too."
Sally walked out of the bedroom with her backpack, "I really appreciate your help Nicky."
"It's fine Sal. You called Julie yet?"
Nicky knew how much Sally didn't want to make that call.
"No, not yet. I might as well do it now, I don't wanna do it at Piper's place."
"Good idea, I'll stay with you."
Both girls sat on the couch and Sally pulled out her phone, staring at the screen until she worked up the courage to call her aunt.
Nicky stayed on the couch while Sally walked around the small apartment. She listened to Sally explain the situation to Julie, and then she went quiet, never saying more than one or two words.
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Sally knew exactly how this conversation would go, but she couldn't put it off any longer. She couldn't even fight back against what Julie was saying, there was nothing she could say. She tried to switch off, but Julie's words were killing her inside.
"She can't stay with you anymore Sally, I'm sorry. I'll meet you at the hospital tomorrow."
The phone call eventually ended and Sally slumped back on the couch next to Nicky. But she didn't say anything, she didn't want to talk about it.
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Sally felt so dejected by the time she got to Piper's apartment. Julie had no reason to let Alex stay with her. The only thing working in her favour was that Julie didn't really want to look after a 16 year old girl. Julie was driven by guilt and not much else.
Even after a late dinner and a shower, Sally still felt like she was somewhere else. She ended up sleeping in Piper's bed, she was surprised Carol didn't make a fuss about it.
Sally lay in the bed, looking up at the ceiling, she was so tired but her mind wouldn't stop turning.
Piper moved closer to her friend, "Do you wanna talk?"
"Julie won't let Alex stay with me."
"You don't know that yet Sal."
"Yeah, I do. I called her before I got here. She said that Alex can't stay with me anymore, that she'll take care of her. She has never given a shit in the past. But now, fuck, she's decided she's the one for the job."
Piper linked her fingers through Sally's, she knew how much this was hurting her.
"I know exactly what will happen, Alex will just keep running away, she doesn't want to be there. She didn't even help plan the fucking funeral..."
"There might still be something we can do Sal. She still needs Alex to be okay with moving."
"She doesn't care about that Pipes, she won't listen to anything Alex has to say. They've never gotten along, she thinks Alex is trouble and that's it."
Sally rolled over and Piper put an arm around her. She was worried that her friend was about to give up, she couldn't let that happen.
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Piper drove Sally to the hospital the next morning, Carol stayed at home. Both girls stopped in their tracks as soon as they walked into Alex's room, Julie was already there.
Sally looked at Alex, she could see the hurt and anger all over her sister's face.
"I'm not moving."
Sally walked next to the bed and took her sister's hand, "I don't know what to say Lex..."
"I'm not fucking moving."
Julie already looked frustrated, she'd never been close to her nieces, she had no idea how Diane ever controlled their behaviour.
"Sally and I have already talked about this Alex, this is what's best for both of you. I don't live far away, you'll still be going to the same school, you'll still see each other."
Alex looked to Sally with hurt in her eyes, she couldn't believe that Sally would've just agreed to something like this without putting up a fight.
"Do you want me out?"
Hearing that question come from Alex completely gutted Sally, "No Lex...you know I'll always want you to stay with me."
"Then what's all this crap about everyone agreeing that it's best for me to move?"
"It's not like that kid, you know it's nothing like that."
Alex knew that her sister had limited power, but she would never agree to move in with her aunt.
Julie stepped forward to try and regain some control over the situation, "This isn't a decision you get to make Alex. How many things have happened in the last few months? How many times have you gotten in trouble? I'm responsible for you."
"None of what happened is Sally's fault! You have no idea what's been happening because you don't fucking care! I'm not moving, I'll keep running away, I'm not leaving Sally."
Piper kept standing near the doorway and watched Alex and Julie yell at each other. But Julie's next words hit a nerve.
"Do you want to end up in foster care!"
"Right, that's just fucking great. I'm sure that's exactly what mum would've wanted, you splitting up me and Sal and then dumping me in the system."
There was so much tension in the room, Piper kept watching as Sally put a hand on Alex's shoulder. Julie kept standing in silence, looking like she'd seen a ghost.
Piper had no idea how much time had passed by the time Julie walked out of the room, an icy stare plastered on her face. This woman didn't seem to understand how much Alex and Sally relied on each other and just how close they were.
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Alex was released from the hospital later that day, but didn't go to school much before the Christmas break. They didn't hear much from Julie either, other than she wanted to see them again in January to discuss Alex moving in with her.
Sam Healy was still sitting in a jail cell, and nothing would happen with his charges until the new year. Sally had plenty of conversations with Caputo about what happened, but she didn't care for his apologies. So long as Healy wouldn't be returning to the school, that was all she cared about.
Both sisters wanted to forget about all their problems over Christmas, they needed a break, a chance to have fun. Sally and Alex decided to drive to the beach house with Nicky and Carrie on Christmas eve, with Piper joining them later on Christmas day after she had lunch with her family. Despite all the fights they'd had, Piper didn't want to miss Christmas with her mother. Part of her was glad that Cal would still be home on Christmas night so that Carol wouldn't be alone. She knew that her mother still didn't like Alex, but at least she wasn't trying to stop them from seeing each other.
Alex wasn't fussy about what they did at the beach house, so long as there was plenty to drink and smoke, and she had a private room to share with Piper.
It was nearly midnight on Christmas eve and Sally, Alex, Nicky and Carrie were all lying on the beach, ignoring the cold air of the night. They'd watched the sun go down and decided to stay on the beach, the moon was bright enough. Alex and Nicky had smoked most of their joints, with Carrie and Sally sticking to beer.
Sally looked at her sister's face in the moonlight, it was still bruised but the swelling had gone down. She knew her cheek still hurt, even though she'd never admit it. Sally leaned in close to Alex and kissed her carefully on the cheek. The younger girl smiled and offered the joint to Sally, who shook her head and started talking.
"It's been a crazy year..."
"Fuck yes, at least it's nearly over."
"What the fuck is wrong with me Alex?"
Alex put an arm around Sally and pulled her in close, "Nothing is wrong with you. Don't let that bitch Julie get you down, she doesn't have a fucking clue about you or me. And mum fucking hated her."
Carrie overheard the conversation, "Alex is right Sal, don't let that bitter old bitch fuck up your Christmas."
Carrie passed her another beer, and the girls kept drinking. Sally knew they were right, and she was determined to keep drinking until she forgot all about Julie.
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Carrie headed to bed around 2 am, leaving Sally passed out on the sand while Alex and Nicky kept smoking.
Alex took off her hoodie and lay it over her sister so she wouldn't get too cold, then she went back to Nicky. It had been a while since Alex had smoked that much pot and she was definitely feeling it. Nicky was too by the sounds of it, swapping the joint for the last of their beers.
"How do you feel Vause?"
"I know Sal thinks everything is fucked, but I feel pretty good, all this bulshit is over. And Julie can get fucked, I will never live with that bitch."
Alex lay back on the sand and closed her eyes, her world was spinning, but in a good way. She felt Nicky crawl on top of her, but she didn't think anything of it. They hadn't kissed since she started dating Piper, and Nicky had been respectful of the relationship so far. Alex felt Nicky put a fresh joint in between her lips, so she inhaled as deep as she could.
Nicky kept lying on top of her friend, she was trying to remember what it was like when it was just them. When they'd spend most of their spare time together, when there was no one else. She tried to think of what to say, but it never came out sounding right.
She shuffled up Alex's body until their faces were nearly touching.
"Watch the face Nicholls, I just had it put back in place. I don't think my ego can take any more scars."
Nicky was more careful, but kept looking at Alex's face. She started to feel so overwhelmed, she could almost convince herself that there was still an open window for her and Alex. She watched Alex close her eyes and lay her head back on the sand.
Nicky moved closer and closer until her lips finally touched Alex's. She kissed her softly, and waited for Alex to stop her, but she never did. Nicky pulled back and looked down at Alex, who was still lying there with her eyes closed. So she leaned in again for another kiss, it was longer this time, but Alex still kissed her back.
Nicky leaned her head against Alex's chest, she felt her friend wrap her arms around her. Nicky had no idea if Alex would remember this the next day, but she definitely would.
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Sally woke up the next day with a mouth full of sand, with Carrie standing over her.
"So I see you classy ladies spent the night out here, good choice."
Sally groaned and rolled over to see Nicky and Alex sprawled out next to her. Alex was lying on her back, while Nicky had spent the night with her head on Alex's chest.
"Oh, and don't worry, I got plenty of photos before you woke up."
Sally managed to drag herself up, "Yeah, thanks Carrie."
She gently poked Alex with her foot, "Wake up Lex."
Alex managed to open her eyes, but not for long. The sun was too bright and her mouth tasted like dirt.
"Okay...so we fell asleep on the beach."
"Actually, I'd say you passed out, there is a subtle difference."
"Thanks for the reminder Carrie."
Nicky woke up and dragged herself off Alex's chest, they were all feeling tired and hungover.
"Nick, you fucking drooled on me!"
"Well I'm sorry precious, be thankful that's all that happened. Actually, be thankful we didn't freeze to death out here."
They all slowly dragged themselves off the beach and back towards the house for water and showers. It was nearly midday, Piper would be there by early evening.
Alex collapsed on the couch after her shower, she'd managed to get rid of most of her hangover symptoms, but she was dying for a nap. She fell asleep as soon as she lay down.
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Piper was nearly at the beach house, and for the first time in the while, she was happy and excited. She'd had lunch with her mother, grandmother, and Cal, without any fights. It was all very civilised, but Piper was glad it happened. She was even happier to know she'd be with Alex and her friends soon.
For the first time, she felt like there was nothing to worry about. Alex was okay, she wasn't in danger anymore, and she knew they loved each other. She couldn't wait to have a few days with her. She parked her car in the driveway behind Nicky's and looked at the house, it was huge.
She knocked on the front door but no one answered, luckily it wasn't locked. Piper walked through the house, but she didn't see any of the girls. Eventually she found her way to a large TV room, and found Alex asleep on the couch. She knelt in front of the couch and gently stoked Alex's face. She'd feel so much better once all the bruises were gone, it brought back all her vulnerabilities every time she looked at her girlfriend's face.
She leaned in and kissed the younger girl on the lips. Piper felt like they'd hardly spent any quality time together lately, she missed her.
Alex opened her eyes, and Piper loved seeing the smile spread across her face.
"Mmhhmm, Pipes, I missed you."
"I missed you too."
Alex pulled Piper on top of her on the couch, she just wanted to have the blonde's body against her own. Piper hummed as she felt Alex running her fingertips over her back, closing her eyes.
"How was the family lunch?"
"It was good, no fighting at all, that's a win. What about you?"
Alex laughed to herself, trying to piece together what actually happened yesterday.
"Hmmm, from what I can remember it was great."
Piper linked her fingers through Alex's, "So that's why no one is awake?"
"Exactly."
Piper kept resting her head on Alex's chest, she could tell that the brunette was falling asleep again. She gently ran her hand up Alex's arm, "Let's go to bed sweetie."
"Mmhh, I won't say no to that."
Both girls got up from the couch and Alex led them to their bedroom. It was on the second floor and overlooked the sandy beach, and had a queen bed for them to share.
Alex stopped Piper before she lay on the bed, slowly pulling off her top and jeans, before removing her own. She took the blonde by the hand and pulled back the sheets so they could both lie down. She shuffled her body up against Piper's back and wrapped her arms around her, it felt perfect.
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Two hours later and all the girls were awake again and ready for another night of drinking on the sand. They had frozen pizza's cooking in the oven and a fridge still full of beer. Sally was hoping John would join them the next day, and Alex was desperate to get her sister to admit they were dating.
"Seriously Sal! We all know you two are fucking, admit it already!"
The beers had been flowing for a while, as had the joints, and everyone was feeling pretty loose by 10 pm.
Sally threw her beer cap at Alex, trying to avoid Piper who was sitting in between her legs on the sand.
"Okay you asshole! Yes, we're dating."
Carrie and Nicky started hooting and shaking up their beer bottles as soon as she admitted it. Nicky tackled the older girl to the ground and spilled half her beer in the process.
"Oh my god she finally admitted it!"
Alex laughed while everyone made fun of her sister, but she was happy for her. Sally deserved something good in her life, and she obviously enjoyed spending time with John. She just wanted her sister to stop being so hard on herself, and she wanted life to be easy for once, even if it was just for a little while.
Piper watched the other girls rolling around in the sand and smiled, while she leaned further back into her girlfriend. It felt so good to just be in a different environment and be able to touch each other, without worrying about people like Sam or her parents. She almost didn't want to get out of bed after their nap earlier. She lay in that beer for nearly two hours with Alex's arms wrapped around her, it made it easier to breathe, but all of those feelings scared her at the same time.
The pizza's were nearly ready, so Piper, Carrie and Sally went back to the house to bring them to the beach. Nicky and Alex stayed on the beach and waited for them to come back.
Nicky lit up a joint and thought about the day. She'd been forced to watch Alex and Piper with their hands all over each other for the last two hours, and she was over it. She tried to remind herself to not do anything stupid, but they were alone now. She wanted it to be like last night again, when it was just the two of them, when she didn't need to share Alex with anyone.
"Dance with me Vause."
Nicky dragged Alex off the sand and spun them around in circles until they both tripped over, with Nicky landing on top of the brunette.
Alex couldn't stop laughing, Nicky loved it, she looked so beautiful when she laughed, she looked happy.
Nicky didn't want to think anymore, she just wanted it to be like last night again, she wanted Alex. She pressed her lips against Alex's and started running her fingers underneath her black t-shirt, she didn't even notice Alex pushing her hands away.
"No, c'mon Nick."
Nicky could feel her eyes burning, she tried to tell herself it was from the joints, she wasn't ready for this to be over. She moved her hands from Alex's stomach to her jeans, she wanted them to be somewhere else, she wanted to be someone else.
Alex grabbed her hand harder this time and pulled it back, "Nicky, I can't do that."
Nicky immediately felt the anger pulsing through her chest, she shoved Alex back into the sand and started pacing back and forth. Alex didn't want to get angry, she knew Nicky was hurting, but what was she meant to do? She loved Piper, she loved Nicky, both for different reasons but Piper was still her girlfriend. She wasn't willing to give up either of them.
Alex groaned as she pulled herself off the sand, then she heard shouting, and she knew exactly what was about to happen.
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Piper, Sally and Carrie were walking back towards the sand with the pizzas and more beer when Piper saw Nicky lying on of Alex. She assumed they were just mucking around until she saw Nicky try to kiss Alex, and then push her down. Her protective side immediately flared, and she was just tipsy enough to lose control. She threw down the beers she was holding and started shouting while she kept walking towards them.
"What the fuck are you doing?"
Nicky kept pacing, but she looked up and saw Piper's angry face marching towards her. The sun had gone down, but just like the night before, there was enough moon light for her to see what was happening. She'd had more to drink than Piper, and there was no one she'd back down from the blonde, even if she was Alex's girlfriend.
"Just fuck off blondie, this has nothing to do with you."
Piper had gotten close enough and shoved Nicky back, "It is my fucking business!"
Alex was now standing and held Piper back, she couldn't be bothered dealing with a fight, what happened to having fun...
Carrie and Sally were now standing near them, watching it all unfold as Nicky started shouting again.
"We get it okay! You're the fucking girlfriend, I know."
"If you know I'm her girlfriend then why the fuck are you trying to kiss her? And why the fuck are you shoving her into the ground when she's hardly been out of hospital for two weeks!"
Nicky started walking towards Piper but Alex stepped between them, "C'mon guys, it's Christmas, we've all been drinking, let's just calm down."
But Nicky didn't want to calm down, there was so much she needed to say to Piper, so much she wanted her to know.
"I know her better than you ever will! I've always been there for her!"
Alex knew that Piper was angry, but she felt so bad for Nicky. It was a completely shitty situation and there was nothing she could do to fix it. Alex walked towards her friend and tried to grab onto her hand, but Nicky kept pushing her away.
"Hey, look at me Nick, it's okay. You're my best friend, you know I love you. Let's go inside and talk."
Nicky shook her head and stepped away from Alex, she couldn't talk to her yet, she was too upset.
"Just fuck off Alex..."
Nicky started walking down the beach, away from the house. Alex looked back towards Piper, Carrie and Sally.
Carrie started walking in the same direction as Nicky, "I'll follow her, she just needs to blow off some steam, and stop smoking so fucking much. I'll text you guys."
Sally felt bad for Alex, she knew how close she was to Nicky, she wasn't sure Piper understood how much the two meant to each other.
Alex wasn't sure if Piper was angry at her, and approached the blonde carefully.
"Pipes, it's not what you think.."
Piper interrupted her, she did trust Alex, she saw her push Nicky away, but she still felt uncomfortable.
"I know, I'm not angry at you. But I do deserve to know what the hell is going on. I feel like I just got you back..."
Alex knew the fun was over for the night and they'd be having a long talk. She was hoping everyone would be calmer after sleeping and sobering up. She loved both of them, and the last thing she wanted was for them to end up hating each other.