A/N
Hi folks. Thanks again for your patience, work has truly sucked lately, but fanfic is always a nice escape. So, my plan was to end it here, but then I started writing and it just didn't feel finished...So this is not the last chapter, there may end up being a few more.
Let me know what you think.
Cheers.
Chapter 24
Dinner was nearly ready and Piper went to check on Alex, who was still in bed. Piper slowly cracked open the bedroom door to see Alex sprawled across the bed on her stomach, having kicked all the blankets on the floor, along with her glasses.
Piper sat on the edge of the bed and gently brushed her finger tips over Alex's cheek.
"Al, are you hungry?"
Alex exhaled deeply and opened her eyes.
"Not really, just stay with me for a while."
Piper smiled as she looked down at her girlfriend, who was sporting a her red nose and watery eyes.
"Are you trying to give me your cold?"
"Mmhhmm you're not allowed to be mean to me, I'm sick, I gotta milk the sympathy while I can."
Piper lay on the small bed next to Alex and snuggled into her, laying her head against Alex's chest.
"I think I'm still getting used to life being normal again."
"I can change that if you like?"
Piper lifted her head, "No thank you!" The blonde smiled and kissed the younger girl on the lips.
"You better watch out Chapman, you'll get my germs."
"I don't care."
Piper pulled Alex in closer to her, there was something she needed to talk about.
"So how about we have that family lunch next weekend? Only if you're feeling better."
Piper was expecting the brunette to protest, but she didn't.
"Okay. But I think you need to prepare yourself for the fact that it might not go so well."
But Piper couldn't let herself think like that, she needed to have hope that her mother would learn to accept Alex.
"Al, I need this to work, I really think it might be okay. Please just humour me, my mum has been a lot better about it all lately. And it'll be at my grandma's house, that's neutral territory."
Now it was Alex's turn to shuffle down the bed and lean her head against Piper's chest, "Okay, I'll try to make sure it works out."
Alex felt so good lying there with Piper's arms wrapped around her, that was probably the one thing she'd miss most once Piper left for college. Alex closed her eyes again, but she could still hear Piper's voice.
"I need you to promise me something."
"What's that?"
"That when I go to college, if things get tough...if you start to struggle at all, with anything, you'll talk to someone about it."
Alex started to talk but Piper could sense the dismissive tone in her voice.
"No, please Al. Three years is a long time, there's so much that could happen. Healy could go to trial, he could be hospitalised, or released, fuck..."
Piper looked into her girlfriend's eyes and saw the hurt that was there, and she could tell Alex was listening to every word that came out of her mouth.
"That situation...that asshole, I feel like I saw him nearly break you Al. And I can't stand the idea of being away from you when you might need me the most. And I know you like to try and deal with stuff on your own, but it doesn't work Al. I need you to promise that you'll call me, or talk to Sally, just talk to someone."
Piper paused and she locked eyes with Alex, she was getting lost in that familiar sea of green.
"Pipes, I promise that you have nothing to worry about. I'm not saying it'll be easy, to be honest I wish I could just erase the whole Healy thing and pretend it never happened. But you don't need to worry. I promise that I'll deal with it properly if I'm not feeling good. I know we've been living in this completely crazy world lately, but it's over. Nothing crazy is gonna happen while you're gone."
Everything Alex said made her feel better. Even if she knew they had no way of knowing what would actually happen while they were apart, Alex's words still put her at ease.
"Thank you Alex."
Alex kept leaning her head against Piper's chest and let herself enjoy the feeling of being wrapped up in her girlfriend's arms.
"I know I have a shitty track record, but you gotta trust me Pipes. I promise I won't do anything completely crazy after you leave for college. I'll be thinking about you all the time."
Piper was about to lean in for a kiss when Alex sneezed and managed to have a coughing fit. She passed the younger a tissue once she'd stopped coughing, with a smirk on her face.
"I can't believe you just ruined that moment!"
Alex took the tissue and blew her nose, "Hey, what did I say about giving me sympathy while I'm sick!"
Piper laughed and grabbed the vaporub from the bedside table, "Stop complaining and take off your top."
"Are you trying to seduce me Piper?"
Piper grabbed the bottom of Alex's tank top, "I'm trying to put this on your chest so that you might actually sleep properly tonight."
Alex gave Piper one more smirk before she pulled off her top and lay down on her back. Piper shuffled further up the bed and looked down at the younger girl, she would never get tired of looking at her body.
She scooped out some of the vaporub and rubbed it over Alex's chest. The brunette reached out and grabbed her hand before she was done rubbing the gel into her skin. She pulled Piper's hand up to her lips, kissing the soft skin.
"Thanks for looking after me."
Piper leaned in and kissed Alex on the cheek, "Anytime."
0-0-0-0-0
Alex was back at school later that week, sitting in the same spot as always on the school oval with Carrie and Nicky during lunch. Alex was so happy and relieved to see Nicky doing better. She worried so much about her best friend having a relapse, but at least things were going well for now. Nicky was already trying to talk them into having a party once finals were over.
"C'mon guys, the end of this year brings us one step closer to being outta this place, and it's the end of high school for Sally and Piper, we should totally plan something."
Alex actually liked the idea of ending the school year with a celebration, but Carrie didn't seem to agree.
"Do you really think that's a good idea Nicky? Your parties haven't exactly turned out well lately, and you're still sorting your own shit out."
Nicky knew that Carrie was just worried about her, but she didn't want to be treated like a ticking time bomb. She was feeling pretty good about things lately, she'd finally managed to get things back on track with Alex, and she wanted to celebrate.
She got up and gave Carrie some final words before she walked off, "Then don't fucking come!"
Carrie and Alex sat there looking at each other until Alex broke the silence, "Maybe give her a break, she's been doing okay lately."
"No Vause, you need to wake up. I'm the one that has to deal with all her crying lately after everything fell apart with you. Yeah, maybe she's doing better now, but that doesn't mean another party is a great idea. Especially another party where she'll get drunk and watch you and Piper be all over each other."
Alex knew that Carrie was trying to be practical, but she didn't think upsetting Nicky was going to help.
"I don't need to wake up Carrie! Just give her a break, I'm not gonna be all over Piper while Nicky's there. Things have been okay lately, you don't always need to assume things will end badly."
Alex knew that Carrie just wanted to look after everyone, and she knew that they had all gotten used to things never going their way. But it didn't need to be like that anymore. Healy was gone, and Alex needed to believe that their lives could be so much better going forward.
0-0-0-0-0
Friday night rolled around, and Piper had arranged for her and Alex to have lunch with Carol and Celeste the next day. Alex was eating dinner in the apartment with Sally, while Piper was still at school, trying to cram in extra classes before finals. This would be the first time in a while that Piper wouldn't spend Friday night with Alex and Sally.
Sally could see the tension practically oozing from her sister, "So how are you feeling about tomorrow?"
Alex barely looked up from her plate of spaghetti, "Not good."
"Why?"
"You know why Sal."
"And I wanna hear you say it."
Alex sighed, "I'm nothing like them..."
Sally wanted to reach across the counter and grab her sister by the shoulders, "You need to get that out of your head Lex."
But this just made Alex throw her hands up in frustration, "That's easy for you to say! Do you have to deal with John's mum looking down at you all the time? No, you don't. That's what I see every time I'm in front of Piper's mum, she fucking hates me."
"She doesn't hate you Lex."
"And how the fuck do you know that? Look, I don't need you to sit there and try to make me believe that Carol Chapman thinks I'm amazing."
"That's not what I'm doing, you don't know how Carol reacted the last time you were in the hospital, that changed things for her. I'm not saying that solved all the problems and she's gonna love you, but it definitely had an impact."
Alex wasn't sure what to think, and stayed quiet while Sally kept talking.
"Carol drove Piper to the hospital that day, and she saw it all. She saw what happened to you, and how fucking worried Piper was about you. And I made sure she knew exactly what happened that day."
Sally kept looking at Alex, but the younger girl kept her eyes focused on her dinner plate, "Are you listening to me?"
Alex finally looked her sister in the eye, "Yeah, I'm listening."
"That wasn't remotely convincing."
Alex managed to crack a smile, "Fuck off Sal. Yes, I'm listening. I get it, maybe she doesn't think I'm a total waste of space. I dunno, maybe I'm overthinking it all."
"Just don't talk yourself out of it kid, and don't freak out and run tomorrow. Sit through the whole thing, then come home and tell me about it."
Alex nodded with a mouth full of spaghetti. She definitely wouldn't run tomorrow, but that didn't mean she wouldn't be nervous as hell.
Alex's mind was racing by the time she went to bed after midnight. She rolled over to see Sally asleep next to her. The older girl had fallen asleep two hours ago, but Alex couldn't keep her eyes closed.
She pulled out her phone and texted Piper, she needed some reassurance.
A: [I'm so fucking nervous about tomorrow]
Alex was so relieved when she saw a response come through from the blonde.
P: [I'm nervous too, but I promise it will be okay]
A: [But how do you know that?]
P: [Because I've seen my mum change her attitude lately, she won't start any fights tomorrow]
Alex couldn't stop re-reading that last message, she wanted to believe Piper so badly, but after everything that had happened she was struggling to believe that Carol would give her a chance.
P: [Are you still awake?]
A: [Yeah, I'm here]
P: [It means so much to me that you're coming tomorrow, and I promise to have your back the whole time, I love you]
A: [I love you too Pipes]
Alex put her phone back on the bedside table and rolled over, she needed to try and sleep. She put an arm around her sister and closed her eyes.
0-0-0-0-0
Alex squeezed Piper's hand as they stood at the front door of Celeste's house. Piper leaned in close and kissed Alex before she rang the doorbell, "I'll be right here the whole time."
Alex closed her eyes and tried to regain some composure, she knew how much this lunch meant to Piper.
It wasn't much longer before the front door opened and they saw Celeste on the other side. The older woman smiled as soon as she saw the two girls and gave them both a hug.
"It's so good to see you girls again."
"It's good to see you too grandma, I've missed you."
Celeste stood back and looked at her granddaughter, it had been a while since she'd seen her this happy. She led them into the house and towards the kitchen, where she was finishing up with preparing lunch. She looked over towards Piper, who was standing next to the fridge with her arm linked through Alex's, a gorgeous smile on her face. Even though Celeste was always wary of young love, she could see how much Alex meant to her.
But the older woman could see the anxiety on Alex's face. She didn't know much about the younger girl, but she knew that she loved Piper, and that she was obviously not looking forward to spending an afternoon with Carol.
"Alex, it's good to see you looking so well."
"Thanks Celeste, I feel good. How have you been?"
"I've been very well thank you. To be honest, I've been spending a lot of time with Carol these last few weeks."
That revelation made Piper feel guilty for not being home much lately, "Is mum okay?"
Celeste reached out and rest her hand on Piper's shoulder, "She's doing okay, she's just been talking more to your father lately."
"She's not thinking of taking him back is she?"
For all of Carol's faults, Piper knew her mother deserved someone so much better than Bill.
"No, I don't think so, they're trying to work out how to be civil with each other again. That will take some time."
Celeste then turned her attention back to Alex, trying to lighten the mood.
"And how's your sister going, Alex?"
Even though Celeste was nothing but polite, Piper could feel Alex squeeze her hand each time the older woman asked a question.
"Yeah, she seems pretty happy, she's just kinda nervous about finals."
"That's right, the end of the year isn't far away at all. I'm sure you'll all do just fine. How much longer do you have left at school after this year?"
"Two more after this." Alex's voice was barely above a whisper, she felt like that answer just highlighted the fact her life was at a completely different stage to Piper's.
"I'm sure the time will fly by."
Celeste finished her preparations in the kitchen and led the girls to the table so they could sit and wait for Carol. Celeste sat across the table from Piper and Alex, she was starting to realise how grown up Piper really was, that she wasn't a child anymore.
"I can't believe how quickly these last few years have gone by. It doesn't feel like it was that long ago that you and Cal were in diapers!"
"I know, I feel like everything's happening too fast."
Alex reached under the table and grabbed Piper's hand, "You're gonna do great Pipes, and you will definitely be at Smith next year."
Piper smiled at her girlfriend and squeezed her hand back. She was about to start talking when the doorbell rang through the house, it was Carol.
Celeste saw the anxiety on Alex's face again, and all she wanted to do was reassure her that it would all be okay.
'Trust me girls, there won't be any fights today. Carol isn't perfect, but she's trying."
Celeste disappeared as she went to let Carol in, and Piper pulled Alex in close to her.
"Remember that I'm on your side Al."
Alex let her cheek rest against Piper's before she leaned in for a quick kiss. It was only a few more moments before Carol joined them at the kitchen table.
Piper stood up once Carol was at the table, pulling Alex along with her.
"Hi mum."
Piper hugged her mother and then stood next to Alex, who exchanged a very quiet hello with the older woman. Piper was relieved when Carol at least acknowledged Alex's presence, saying hello back before they all sat down for lunch.
0-0-0-0-0
They'd all been sitting at the table for over an hour, and it had been perfectly pleasant and polite. Most of the conversation was around Piper going to college, and the latest updates on Carol's social life. Alex didn't say much, only because she didn't know what to say. All Alex could think about was getting Carol alone for an honest conversation, she didn't want to do that at the table. Carol got up from the table to get another bottle of wine from the kitchen, and Alex knew that was her opportunity.
Carol hadn't been rude to Alex over the last hour, but she also hadn't been particularly warm and friendly. Alex knew how much it meant to Piper for Carol to accept their relationship, so she excused herself from the table and followed Carol into the kitchen.
Alex stood at the edge of the doorway, while Carol was searching through the fridge. The older woman eventually turned around, and was surprised to see the brunette standing there, looking almost lost.
"Everything okay Alex?"
"Yeah...yeah, I just wanted to talk to you."
Carol gave Alex a grim smile and walked towards the doorway, "Of course, what would you like to talk about?"
"It's about Piper, I'll be quick."
Alex took one last very deep breath before she launched into the speech that she'd been practising in her head for the last hour.
"I know there's probably a lot of reasons for you to want Piper to be with anyone but me. I know that we're young, and maybe on face value I don't look like much, but you need to believe me when I say that I would never do anything to intentionally hurt her."
Carol wasn't used to being confronted like this, and she picked her words very carefully. Her opinion on Alex had softened a lot ever since she took Piper to the hospital that day. Despite how lost Carol was in her own problems, she saw the emotion in her daughter when she saw Alex in the hospital, she saw that raw need Piper had to make sure Alex was okay and be near her. It had been so long since Carol had experienced that raw emotion herself, but seeing it in her daughter that day made her think back to the way her life used to be. Carol also didn't forget what Sally told them in the hospital, that Alex refused to answer Piper's phone call when Healy was in the apartment.
Carol was still learning to balance all those elitist values that had been entrenched in her since childhood with the simple fact that Piper was completely in love with this 16 year old girl standing in front of her.
"I know you don't want to hurt her Alex, I know you're both very close."
"I'm not saying I'm perfect, but...I really do love her. And I don't want her relationship with you to get messed up because of me."
"It's just going to take some time Alex. But I appreciate your honesty. Now, let's head back to the others."
Alex breathed a deep sigh of relief. She didn't think that conversation could have gone any better. Carol wasn't one to get emotional, but Alex considered that conversation to be a success.
0-0-0-0-0
Piper was slightly concerned about Alex and Carol being alone, but she didn't want to barge in. Besides, Celeste was still asking her how she felt about going to college.
"Are you excited about next year?"
""I'm really excited about college, but I'm also pretty scared."
"What are you scared of sweetie?"
Piper lowered her eyes to the floor, "Being so far away from Alex when life has only just gone back to normal."
"It's not forever Piper."
"I know, but it's still such a long time. She's in high school for two more years. Then I have no idea what she wants to do after that. What if we end up on opposite ends of the country? I just wanna be in the same place as her grandma."
"Sweetie there will be so many times that you have to spend apart, but it won't always be like that. And it'll all be worth it in the end."
Piper knew Celeste was right, but it still didn't make her feel any better. It wasn't just about missing Alex, it was about how Alex would deal with her problems when Piper wasn't there.