Chapter Twenty Six

Mendez stifled a yawn as he returned to the C.O. bubble, he had spent the lunch hour cleaning up the chapel. He peered out the window at the inmates, he frowned as he noticed Bennett storming toward the bubble. He looked pissed.
"You ok?" Mendez asked as Bennett burst into the room. Bennett grabbed Mendez by the collar and slammed him into the window. The window let out a thud, all the inmates peered at the C.O bubble.
"Calm down, man!" Mendez shouted, but Bennett punched Mendez hard in the gut. Mendez curled over in pain, but not for long as Bennett grabbed him by his shirt and once again slammed him against the window. Bennett slammed his elbow into Mendez's neck, making his windpipe seize momentarily. Mendez gasped in agony as Bennett pinned him against the window.
"I'm not gonna fight you, you're the father of Daya's baby. I won't lay a finger on you." Mendez said, Bennett's fury turned to devastation within seconds, tears streamed down his cheeks.
"She wants you... you took her from me!" Bennett's face crumpled as he let go of Mendez, "you fucking took her. You of all the men in this god damn world!" Sobs began to splutter from Bennett's lips in bursts, unveiling the agony deep within his heart. Mendez caught his breath as he watched Bennett bury his face in his hands. Sobs rocked Bennett's body. Mendez climbed to his feet and cautiously pulled the tortured C.O into a firm embrace.
"You're a good man, Bennett." Mendez promised it pained him to see such a straight shooter in their normally corrupted prison system, be dealt a tough hand by fate.
"You're a good man."
Bennett shook his head as he cried. Mendez's eyes locked with Daya's through the window to the C.O bubble, she held his gaze. The other inmates continued to stare in shock.

Nicky headed into the cathedral, she studied the place with an utter disdain. Nothing good ever happened to her and thus she had concluded at a young age that there was no God. Perhaps that was selfish of her too... selfish. She repeated the word in her head. Morello had called her feelings for Morello selfish, as if they were somehow childish. If they were childish Nicky wouldn't have taken her back every time. She saw Morello sat on a pew. Nicky groaned inside, they were the most uncomfortable form of seating to ever have existed. It was as if they had been made that way to encourage people to leave church.
"Since when do you pray?"
"Since I need it." Morello replied without looking at her. Nicky sidled up beside her and peered ahead at the cross on the wall.
"If my feelings for you were selfish, I wouldn't have taken you back each time you dropped me like a hot potato."
"You took me back because you wanted me. That's selfish." Morello said with a 'how-dumb-are-you' look.
"Oh..." Nicky paused then nodded, "yeah, that makes sense actually."
Morello rolled her tired eyes, Nicky noticed the way Morello was clutching a tissue, her hands trembled. She was holding it all in.
"I may be selfish...but you're a bitch."
Morello ignored her and stared straight ahead. Nicky felt her own eyes tear up, she tried to keep it together. God, she was so fucking tired of all this shit.
"You know, when you were all 'Whatever you feel for me, can you imagine feeling ten times that for someone else then having them screw you over'?" Morello glanced at Nicky, out of concern. Nicky's voice shook and it made Morello's heart sink.
"The answer is yes, Morello. I don't just love you, I fucking love you. And you kill me every time you bail. Every time. It's like clockwork. So yes, yes I know exactly how you feel and to be honest, I was glad you got hurt the same way I did...but then I was devastated because the idea of you hurting as much as I do each time?" She let out an exasperated and begrudging breath, "It kills me too. Because I know how much it kills, and I don't want that for you. Because I fucking love you. And for that, I fucking hate myself."
Morello watched Nicky in a stunned silence. It was Nicky's turn to peer ahead at the cross on the wall. The two broken women sat in a mournful silence. Nicky slipped her hand into Morello's. Morello gave it a gentle squeeze.

Piper strolled down the hall, she wanted to see Alex. And for the first time in days, it was simply because she felt like it. There was no excuse, Piper didn't even feel the need to fight or bicker anymore. She just wanted to be around her and be near her. Whatever they had, as messed up as it was, it felt right. It just felt right. Everything else, every issue, every insecurity, every single thing just melted away against it, leaving the strong pull between them as it was. Strong, inevitable and unbreakable. Indestructible.
As Piper rounded the corner, her eyes widened at the sight of Leanne holding a pillow over Alex's head. Alex wasn't even struggling. Was Piper too late...?
Piper grabbed Leanne by the hair and pulled her aside, Leanne shrieked and cut Piper's arm with a razor.
"Get AWAY from her!" Piper cried, she grabbed the razor, blade first, and clutched it. Wrestling it ruthlessly from Leanne's hands. Terrified of the rage Piper was in, Leanne released the blade. Piper didn't even care how deep the cut on her palm was, nor did she care that the ground was now covered in her own blood. Instead she glared at Leanne with seething fury.
"Get the FUCK out of here!" She whispered in a cold and threatening manner, "or I WILL kill you."
Leanne stumbled backwards as she hurried to leave, and raced out of the room. The commotion had drawn everyone's attention. Inmates rushed into Alex's room to find Piper standing over Alex's limp body.
"Alex! Alex, please, c'mon... don't die. Don't you leave me..." tears fell from her eyes as she shook Alex by the shoulders, but Alex's body remained still. Mendez raced into the room, and gestured the inmates to back out of the room. He radio'd for assistance then took Alex's pulse. Piper stared at Alex's limp, pale, body in terror. She suddenly felt as though she wasn't really here and this couldn't be happening.
They were meant to be indestructible.
Indestructible...