OITNB: The Fishbowl
WARNING: *Contains slight spoilers, but mostly entertaining speculation*
Her knuckles stung as she stalked back inside, she curled her hands into fists and stuffed them into her jacket pockets. What had she done? The bitter cold night made Pennastucky's warm blood feel almost comforting. A disgusting sensation. Piper kept her head down and headed straight for the shower.
She could hear the Christmas party in the chapel, their distracted hubbub made her wonder, could she get away with this? With what she had done?
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she stripped off her clothes and stepped into the shower. For the first time in weeks, she let herself cry. Each sob erupted, escaping her lips and taking a small piece of her with it on its way out. Within seconds, sobs rocked her body. She curled up into a ball as the hot water washed over her. Her eyes shot to her bloodied jumpsuit. She thought back to Pennastucky's feeble frame, the ease with which Piper had delivered blow after blow. The way that worm like asshole writhed beneath her, trying to save herself. But something in Piper had broken, and she couldn't bring herself to stop beating Pennastucky. And that scared her. It terrified her.
Was Alex right? Was she just a psychotic narcissist? Alex. She'd lost Alex. Larry was out of the equation now, and Healy had turned his back on her. She could have gotten killed and Healy had turned his fucking back on her.
She noticed her shallow breathing, she tried to calm herself. Compose herself. Her knuckles stung, but most of the blood had washed away. She examined her hand, they throbbed. After all, she had connected with bone again and again. She felt a twist in her gut, she was going to be sick. She wretched, her salty tears, the bitter taste of vomit creeping up her throat, the intense heat from the shower and the mind numbingly loud isolation she felt, none of them drowned out the ugliness of what she had just done.
"Chapman...?" The thick New Yorker's accent broke through the thick atmosphere. Piper glanced up at the partially translucent shower curtain, it was Morello. But she wasn't peering in to violate Piper's privacy. She respected it. "You alright? Everyone's asking about where you are."
Piper cleared her throat, "Thought I'd take a shower while it was empty." Her voice cracked as she spoke.
"Ok, take your time."
Piper winced, Morello could tell something was up. But as always, Morello never stepped too far outside her comfort zone. If you did that in prison, you wouldn't last long. Piper listened as Morello's footsteps grew distant. Alone again. Nobody dared be there for her. Maybe she deserved it. Maybe she was a monster. Fuck them all. She didn't need them. None of them. Not Larry, not Healy, not even fucking Alex. No. She'd shut that part of her off completely. This wasn't a fairytale. This was prison.
Alex stifled a yawn as she did sorted the loads of laundry. The Christmas party last night, and by party she meant inmates secretly passing bad wine around, and by Christmas she meant the inmates' disturbing version of the nativity play, had left her with the strangest hang over. She shoved another load in the washer, then wrote a tag and tagged the bag. She still wasn't finished being mad at Piper. The only person she'd felt such an annoyingly unbreakable connection with, but a part of her couldn't help but wonder where Piper had disappeared to last night.
"We gonna talk about my Christmas present?"
Alex smirked and looked dryly up at Nicole. She had wandered into the laundry room with a laundry sack slung over her shoulder. Her mess of a hair, and lazy grin always put Alex at ease. Nicole was harmless. But hilarious. Alex had an unspoken sense of respect for her.
"It was what it was."
Nicole grinned, "It was pretty satisfying, wasn't it?"
"Morello still shut her gates to Bostonian heaven?"
Nicole sighed, "Yep... she's decided he's waiting for her. So she'd have double standards if she was unfaithful to him. I said look morello, it's not unfaithful. It's not cheating if it's with a woman, right?" Alex laughed, she shook her head at Nicole.
"How're you really doing?" Alex asked the rebellious charmer. Nicole took a deep breath, "I don't know. It sucks, but hey if she's happy...and he treats her right, then good for them, right?"
Alex nodded, "You're surprisingly noble."
"It's part of my charm. What's new with you?"
"Not much. Unless you're referring to the hangover I've got." Alex replied as Nicole handed her the bag of laundry. Alex handed her a tag. Nicole held her gaze a moment too long.
"C'mon Vause... I'm not the only one who noticed you and Chapman missing last night."
Alex cocked an eyebrow, "Maybe we had one final fling..."
"You scoundrel." Nicole feigned offence and heartbreak. Alex smiled at her. "To think, you moved on so fast... it's official then, you and Morello have dreadful taste." Nicole leaned in close, holding Alex's gaze. Alex tried not to roll her eyes, she let Nicole lean in closer.
"How about an early new year's present?" Alex leant closer, and whispered, "How about you work on your pick up lines?"
"Oh, sorry." Piper's voice said, Alex pulled away from Nicole, who turned and glanced at their interruption.
"It's cool. Vause was telling me about your steamy rendezvous last night..."
Piper looked to Alex, who simply looked straight back at her. Piper's eyes searched hers. She could see it. She had been shut out. Alex didn't even mistakenly look happy to see her. Nicole glanced between the two women.
"Well, if you two ladies are done with the staring contest, I gotta pay Red a visit. Don't fuck too hard."
Alex studied Piper, who had a laundry bag slung over her shoulder, her eyes were puffy. Had she been crying? Alex ordered herself to stop it. It wasn't her business. Piper's well being wasn't her priority. She was done letting herself be used.
Piper didn't say a word. She simply put her bag of laundry down before Alex. Alex instantly noticed the bruised knuckles on Piper's hand. Their eyes locked. Piper didn't speak, she simply lowered her gaze and walked away.
"You forgot your tag." Alex said, Piper flinched and headed back to the laundry counter and picked up her tag.
"Thanks." Piper mustered. Alex didn't even acknowledge her. As Piper walked away, Alex glanced at Piper's bruised knuckles.
Alex emptied Piper's laundry into another machine, she spotted the blood on Piper's uniform. Fuck. What did you do Pipes?
Piper walked through the living quarters, and settled onto her bed. She cradled her bruised knuckles. She shut her eyes, exhausted. She wanted a break before what she did to Pennastucky caught up with her. The sound of hubbub made her look up. She noticed several of the women lining up and leaning against her wall. Some whispering others gaping at someone out of sight. Piper shifted slightly, she caught the end of Red's mutter, "She used kids as drug runners. Disgusting."
Piper sat up, Red glanced at her, "You're about to get a new roommate, Chapman."
Piper's eyes drifted to the newbie, who walked with a sense of real conviction, she met Piper's gaze head on. She was led in by CO Bennett.
"This will be your bunk. That's Chapman, she's your room mate, bunkbuddy, whatever you prefer to call her. She'll show you the ropes. Chapman, this is Yvonne Parker."
"Nice to meet you." Piper mustered. Parker gave her a brisk nod. Parker was middle aged, and frankly, pretty intimidating. From the way she carried herself right down to her ability to silence people with a simple look. Something she had done instantly by shooting one look at Red. Gloria bit back a smirk. Red scowled at Gloria.
"I'll leave you to it, Chapman. Carry on with your day ladies." He said to the audience they had attracted.
Leanne's shouts drew everyone's attentions, "It's Pennastucky! Quick...!" Bennett hurried after the crazed blonde, who led him outside. The inmates flocked over to the window and peered out. Piper felt paralysed. Too petrified to move. She didn't say a thing.
"You don't care for what happens here?" Parker asked, curious.
"What? No, I just... I'm very tired." Parker smirked and headed over to the crowd of inmates peering out at Pennastucky.
"Shit! Look at her face!" Taystee exclaimed. Piper felt a knowing pair of eyes land on her. She glanced up to see Alex studying her, was that disapproval in Alex's eyes? Piper clenched her jaw and looked away.
The speaker blared throughout the prison, "ALL INMATES RETURN TO THEIR BUNKS. NOW." The inmates all scattered.
"It's like they left her out there to die!" Leanne cried out as she was escorted back inside by a different CO. She caught Piper's eye, "it was her! IT WAS HER!"
Piper kept her head down. The CO paid no heed to the accusation, he simply escorted the hysterical inmate back to her bunk. "Back off Leanne..." Poussey warned, on Piper's behalf.
Nicole scowled at Leanne, "It couldn't have been Chapman, she was with Vause last night."
Both Alex and Piper locked eyes. Alex shook her head, simmering, she stalked out of the main hall. Piper leapt to her feet and followed. Terrified that her only alibi was about to bail on her.