HI GUYS. Sorry for the very late update, but I just returned from my holiday to France.
Grey lay awake just thinking about that particular memory. It would be the second last time she'd see Alex, even though she didn't know it at the time. She had been so focused on her and Alex reaching their goal of running Europe that she hadn't seen the signs, the signs of uncertainty and discontent that Alex clearly showed. Looking back she cursed herself for not seeing it sooner.
She shifted to her side and tried hopelessly to get some sleep. If it weren't her thoughts that kept her awake it would be that damned machine of the weird lady. She found out that the weird lady was called DeMarco and the bald lady's name was Miss Rosa. She guessed it was better knowing their names, since she couldn't really keep calling them bald and weird lady.
She thought about breakfast a few days ago. She didn't mean to push Alex the way she did. It was simply too hard for her to act normal around Alex. The tension of that first breakfast had been too much and it made her say things she regretted now. Of course, she wasn't lying when she said those things. The things she had blurted out were based on facts of their shared past. She only regretted that everyone heard them.
The days that followed that disastrous event were better though. Both she and Alex did their best to stay as far away from each other as humanly possible in a prison. If Grey entered the cafeteria when Alex was already there, she would just sit at another table and vice versa. Alex even made sure that she wasn't the one taking in the laundry on her specific laundry day. It had worked out really well for everyone so far. Even Nichols was pretty much okay with the decrease of drama, although she still did her very best to find out about their history.
Living the prison life did get a lot easier the longer she was in. Even though she didn't have a job assignment yet, she created her own kind of prison routine. Once every two days she would get up extra early to take a shower, so she could "sleep in" the other days. Afterwards she had a quiet breakfast with little to no company. She then spent her time reading and once in a while she took a walk down all the areas that weren't out of bounds for her. Every time she saw a hint of Alex or her people, she walked back to her room to avoid unpleasant situations. Her lunches and dinners were usually a lot less peaceful than her breakfasts, as Nicky hopped by almost every time. She didn't mind though; the girl had a great sense of humor and was witty as fuck. Grey couldn't help but laugh at the stupid stories Nichols told her. And at the end of each day she did her best not to think about Alex. Both Alex of the past and Alex of the present were not allowed into her head. But no matter how hard she tried, until she hadn't managed shutting out the unwelcome thoughts.
Grey let out a deep sigh. Better luck next time.
Nichols was lying in her bunk. Things got pretty quiet in their good ol' prison. Nichols didn't mind though. Too much drama wasn't good for anybody. It's like eating your favorite meal all day every day – after a while it gets boring. She wasn't planning on letting this go, though. Vause really didn't want her to know what had happened between them, which had sparked her curiosity even more. Alex was like her best friend in here so if she wasn't going to tell her, Nicky had to find out on her own.
The last couple of days she had accompanied Orange during lunch and dinner. She was intrigued by the girl she started to get to know during their conversations. The girl was around her own age, but seemed to have been through a lot more in her life. You wouldn't say she was damaged by the way she acted or talked, but Nicky could tell. Underneath all the cleverness and sarcasm, were scars. But there was something else that bothered Nichols – something she couldn't quite put her finger on. There was some sort of dangerousness underneath as well.
It wasn't just the fact that she was curious that drove her to the girl, but she actually liked her. She enjoyed the company of the girl and she liked to make her laugh. One time she made the girl spray water through her nose. It was disgusting, but funny. Nichols smiled thinking about it. There should be more people like Orange in this prison. It would be a lot easier to live here without all the other stupid pieces of shit around her.
Piper was tossing and turning in her bed. She had tried talking to Alex several times now, but every time Alex would change the subject entirely. It frustrated Piper. It wasn't like she could blame Alex for having had girlfriends before her in the past. She just wanted to know the truth. Piper knew it must have been a big deal, because Alex had been acting weird ever since she saw Grey.
Piper wasn't one to complain about anything though – she had her own fucked up situation with Larry. She still hadn't talked to him since she got locked up in the SHU for 'lesbian activity', which she didn't even do. Of course she had committed the crime the second she got back from solitary, thus cheating on Larry.
She couldn't expect Alex to tell her everything right away, not with Piper having two relationships at the same time. It wouldn't be fair to force her to tell it, when Alex really didn't owe her anything. She enjoyed being able to touch Alex again. It had been so very long and it brought back all the feelings she had all those years ago. She knew that she shouldn't be feeling this way – it still felt like Alex was hers, even though she herself belonged to someone else. Sooner or later she would have to make a decision.
Fuck her. Alex couldn't stop thinking about the girl that just happened to walk back into her life. She didn't ask for this. Seeing her again felt like someone punched her in the gut. Ten times. She looked almost the same as she did when they met, but the years had done her good. Maturity looked very good on her.
She couldn't explain to Piper what it did to her just seeing Grey. When she and Piper had been together, she had never once spoken about Grey. Grey was her weak spot and at that point in time she couldn't allow people to see her weak side. Alex was surrounded by her employees for most of the time and she knew she had to be tough around them. She had learned that from the best.
After that particular breakfast a few days ago, Alex had been furious. Those words had stung her deeper than she ever cared to admit. She knew she deserved them, but that didn't make it right. The worst part was that the words kept echoing in her ears, haunting her in her dreams. It made her think about the person she was back then and the things she had done. And that hurt her more than anything Grey could ever say to her.