Chapter thirty two
Piper strolled into the laundry room, to find Alex alone reading a book. Piper hadn't seen her since she and Nicky bailed on her at lunch. It had been two days.
"So...What's up?"
Alex glanced up from the book without moving her head to look at Piper, she peered at the blonde over her glasses and Piper wished Alex wasn't so damn sexy.
"What's up?" Alex repeated, bemused. She closed her book and sat up.
"Yeah," Piper said with a sided shrug, "what's up?"
Alex seemed uncomfortable. She looked at Piper with an expression that was difficult to read.
"You've been sort of elusive lately..." Piper explained, gingerly sitting beside Alex as though she were approaching a squirrel and doing her best not to spook it. Alex grew tense, "I have?" Alex stood up, putting space between herself and Piper. Piper tried not to seem hurt, maybe Alex didn't know how she was coming across.
Alex was aloof like that sometimes, entirely self-aware and yet not at all. Piper stood up and tugged at Alex's shirt while leaning in close.
"Hey," Piper mumbled softly, giving Alex her best come hither look. Alex scoffed, "Jeez Piper, you oughta work on your pick up style. It's gotten rusty..." She quipped then sat on the counter and turned back to her book.
Piper frowned, she saw through Alex's guise of yet again putting space between them.
"So now you don't want me?" Piper asked, working it out aloud, Alex's eyes flicked to her. "Oh, sorry, I'm getting whiplash here."
Alex smirked as Piper used her line, "well played." Then she threw Piper a casual shrug, "I'm just over ...the laundry room."
Piper walked towards Alex, "just like you're over sitting with me at lunch, and talking to me at night?" She pulled Alex's book out of her hands, "God, Alex, is your book that interesting and that's if this is even the page you're actually on!" She yelled in frustration.
"Okay. What the hell is happening?" Alex asked with raised hands. Piper scoffed, "No, don't you dare be all cool about this and pretend I'm over-reacting. Don't you dare."
Alex sighed, she took off her glasses and looked away for a moment as though she were steeling herself to say what she needed to.
"Look, Pipes... I think we should just... take a small break, from ruining each other's lives."
Piper froze as realisation hit her, "you know. Oh, God. You know..."
Alex's green eyes finally met Piper's apologetic gaze, "Alex I love y—"
"—Like I said, I'm kind of over it."
"For how long?"
"How long?! Are you freakin' kidding me, Piper?"
Piper wished Alex could see how much she hated herself for getting Alex back in here but at the same time Piper was glad she was there.
"You said you were in danger—"
"—And it worked out so well for you to get a fuck buddy in here."
"Alex, I love you."
Alex stepped closer to her, staring her down. "People who love each other, don't ruin one another's lives." She put her glasses back on, "I'm over it."
She headed for the door, leaving Piper standing alone in her wake, her head hanging in shame and dismay.
"Alex, for how long? Not forever, right?"
"Fuck you, Chapman." Alex answered before leaving the room.
Butterflies danced in her stomach, and not the good kind, Piper clutched her stomach and lowered herself to the ground. She thought she had just lost Alex for good.
"Shit..." The broken whisper escaped her lips as it sank in.
"How could you?"
Nicky looked up to find a furious Piper in her doorway, "huh?"
"How...could...you?" Piper repeated, letting every single word punch the air with force. Nicky narrowed her eyes at Piper.
"They weren't mine, I was just takin' care of 'em."
"What?" Piper asked, fuming and lost.
"What?" Nicky replied, even more confused.
"Alex...you told her. You fuckin'..you told her!" Piper exclaimed, "that's not what friends do Nicky."
"Oh, so we're friends now? I didn't realise. Thought I was just incredibly hot comedic relief." Nicky retorted. Piper clenched her jaw as Nicky stood up, "besides, quit your raging, Alex'll get over it. You two are fucked up enough to get over anything when it comes to each other."
Piper stared at her, "Nicky, she wants nothing to do with me!"
"Oh, okay yeah. You're right...I'm the bad guy for telling her the truth, you're the saint who fucked her over...but that doesn't deserve blame does it? Shift the blame to good ol'Nicky...Good work, Chaps."
Piper paused for a moment, then slumped on Nicky's bed.
"I hate you Nicky. I freakin' hate you..." She sulked, Nicky sat on the bed beside her.
"You know, that's exactly where Alex sat when we first..."
Piper leapt to her feet, glaring at Nicky who was enjoying this too much.
"Seriously Nicky? Seriously?!" Nicky grinned, loving that she got under Piper's skin.
"Urg! I hate this place..." As Piper stormed off, Nicky glanced around at the remaining inmates in their respective bunks.
"Nothing to see here folks, Taylor Swift has left the building...and we all knew she was trouble when she walked in...Jesus. That was awful."
She sat on the bed and glanced around, she was itching for it. Starving for it. Even though her last hit was only an hour ago. This was getting bad fast, picking up her boot she pulled out a small packet containing the heroin.
"Just this tiny bit...then I'll quit...or not..." She pondered to herself.
"Boo!" Boo shouted as she burst into Nicky's bunk space.
"Fuck me, Boo, do you mind?!" She asked, feigning offence at the intrusion as she hid the packet in her waistline. Boo eyed her curiously.
"We need to talk...about the...uh.."
"White rabbit?"
"That's right."
"By white rabbit i'm talking about the heroin...just to be clear." Nicky explained, knowing Boo wasn't the brightest of sparks. Boo glared at her, offended.
"Yes. I got that. Thank you, Nichols." Boo cast a nervous glance at Nicky, Nicky frowned.
"What?"
"You've been using haven't you?"
"What?" Nicky exclaimed, lying badly.
"I checked on the stash. There's less. A lot less."
"That's because I was moving it gradually to an even safer place..." Nicky said, lowering her voice to make Boo buy it. Boo studied her.
"What place?"
"Not here." Nicky said, Boo nodded, "meet me in the green house in an hour."
"Got it." Boo replied, enthralled to be a part of something scandalous for once.
Nicky shook her head and smiled wryly at how easily played Boo was. While Boo would wait in the greenhouse, Nicky would move the remaining stash somewhere else.
She was no rookie.