Chapter 6 - falling apart

Piper woke up a couple hours later, her head on Alex's chest. She turned her head to look at the brunette, she looked completely calm as she slept. Piper felt so much closer to Alex since that morning when they'd had sex for the first time, she had never felt so close to another human being. She looked at the time, it was nearly midday and she needed to get to the library, "Alex, time to wake up."

"Not yet," replied Alex, half asleep.

"I need to get to work babe, you can just hang out here if you want." Piper knew Alex was avoiding home, and she couldn't blame her. She knew Alex had to go back eventually, but Piper was happy to have Alex stay with her. At least she knew Alex was safe here. Alex sat up in bed, "I need to go back home, talk to Lucy. And mum."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No that's ok, you need to get to work, I'll be fine. I'll leave you alone tonight, give you a chance to get some more writing done."

"Ok, but don't stay away too long," Piper leaned into Alex and kissed her on the lips before she started getting ready for work. The two left Piper's apartment together, but stopped in their tracks when they saw Lucy in the hallway. "Hey kid, why aren't you at school?"

"Because it's Saturday," Lucy stated without any emotion.

"Oh, yeah." This was the first time in a long time that Alex didn't know what to say to Lucy.

"I'll leave you to it," said Piper as she kissed Alex goodbye, "See you later Lucy." Lucy didn't respond, she just stood there staring at Alex as Piper walked down the stairs. Lucy walked back into the apartment, and Alex followed her. Lucy walked straight into Alex's room, quietly sitting down on her bed. "I've been sleeping in here while you've been gone, I hope that's ok."

"Of course it's ok."

"What happened, why didn't you come home for three days?"

"I just needed some space, some time to think about things."

"About Robbie?"

"Yeah, about Robbie."

"Is everything ok now?"

"Yeah kid, it's fine. We'll work things out. But I won't stay away any more ok, promise."

"Ok. Can I sleep with you tonight?"

"Yeah, definitely."

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Piper's afternoon shift at the library dragged on. She knew she should really focus on writing tonight, but she just couldn't get Alex out of her head. She realised that she really didn't like the idea of Alex staying in the same apartment as Robbie. She hated him, hated the way he played with Alex's emotions and took advantage of her closeness to Lucy. She knew Robbie had been pretty good at hiding this behaviour from Diane, but she still didn't understand what Diane saw in him. She knew she couldn't blame Diane for the situation, but Piper just wished she would see Robbie for who he really was, and what he was doing to Alex. Piper knew that Diane would do anything for her kids, even if she hadn't always been there in the past. This would make it even worse, when the truth eventually came out.

She decided to go see Alex after work, she wouldn't be able to concentrate on writing anyway. She just needed to make sure Alex was ok, that things would be alright in the apartment.

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Piper knocked on the front door, and was happy to see it was Diane who answered. "Hey Piper, how's the library going?"

"Ok, kinda boring actually. Is Alex around?" Diane just smiled and pointed towards the couch. Piper took a few steps closer before she saw the incredibly sweet scene. Alex and Lucy had fallen asleep on the couch, Alex had her arm draped over her little sister, almost in an attempt to stop her from rolling off the small piece of furniture. "They've been like that for an hour, Alex stayed home today and spent some time with Lucy. Lucy missed her a lot in the last few days, can't blame her really. With the hours I used to work, Alex always used to look after Lucy. Alex has probably spent more time with her than I have in the last 5 years." Diane paused for a moment, just looking at her two daughters, "Look, Piper, I'm sorry about what happened."

"It's not your fault Diane, you've always been great. But like I said to you the night it happened, I feel like Alex isn't safe around Robbie, and that scares me."

"Sweetie, I promise it's ok. Look, I know Robbie isn't perfect but he's not a bad person. We've spoken a lot about Alex in the last few days, everything will be ok."

Piper knew it was futile to continue the conversation, so she just smiled at Diane as she walked over to the couch. She smiled as she noticed Lucy tightly holding onto Alex's t-shirt, in the exact same way that Alex had held onto Piper's. "How about a coffee?"

"Sounds good," Piper did genuinely like Diane, it was easy to see that all she wanted to do was make her kids happy.

"So how are things with you and Alex?"

"Really good actually, I'm really happy."

"I'm glad sweetie." Diane was really happy that Alex had found someone like Piper. Diane and Alex had always been close, but lately she felt like Alex was pulling away from her. The fighting had slowed down a lot in the last 12 months, but Alex was going out more, and coming home late more. Diane saw so much of herself in Alex at that age, which just worried her more. On top of that, Diane didn't know how to fix the situation between Alex and Robbie, which just seemed to be getting worse. At first, Diane thought it would be good for Alex to have another parental figure in her life. Robbie had been good to Diane, she wouldn't have let him move in if she didn't trust him, but that last fight between the two of them had been on her mind constantly. Diane was soon dragged away from her thoughts when Lucy walked into the kitchen.

"Hey sweetie, you're finally awake. You hungry?"

"Not really, me and Alex ate not long ago."

"Is she still asleep?"

"Yeah, she's really tired today." Piper walked into the lounge room and sat on the floor next to the couch, where Alex was still sleeping. Piper tucked a few strands of hair behind Alex's ear, brushing her cheek.

"It's kinda creepy when you sit there watching me sleep." Alex smirked as she opened her eyes, seeing Piper right next to her.

"Whatever asshole," Piper leaned over to give Alex a quick kiss, "Lucy said you were still asleep."

"I was, until she kicked me about five times before she got up, little hard to sleep through that." Alex sat up to give Diane space to sit down.

"So what are you girls doing tonight?"

"Hmmm, no plans yet, any ideas Pipes?"

"No, but I'm pretty tired after work, so could we just have a quiet one?"

"Yeah!" Lucy practically shouted as she joined them all in the lounge. "We could play board games, or cards?"

"Lucy, they might want some time alone instead of you bossing them around all night," Diane nudged her youngest daughter.

"No, actually that sounds like exactly what I need," and Piper meant it. Her family never just sat around and hung out with each other, they always seemed to go their separate ways, or to different ends of the house. But not here, these three people in front of her were a real family. You could tell they all loved each other, their life wasn't always easy but they made it work. Piper found herself feeling envious of this picture in front of her. She'd spoken more to Diane in the last few weeks than she had to her mother in the last three months. She was sick of getting the third degree from her mother every time they spoke, asking if Piper has a boyfriend, does she have a real job yet, has she found a better place to live. Piper was sick of it, Diane never gave her the third degree. The first thing Diane always asked when she saw Piper was how she was going, how were things with Alex, how was her day. Piper's mother didn't know about Alex yet, Mrs Chapman certainly wouldn't deal well with that revelation.

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"Lucy, you're totally cheating!" Alex mockingly shouted at her sister.

"No I'm not! You just can't count properly."

"I might not be going to college but I can count. You rolled a three, then moved your piece five spaces to avoid going to jail!" Alex smiled at her sister as she threw a handful of popcorn at her. Lucy just poked her tongue out and the game went on. Alex, Piper and Lucy stayed in the apartment playing Monopoly while Robbie took out Diane to dinner. Alex had made them all grilled cheese sandwiches with milkshakes, and had the Pixies playing in the background as they played games for at least a few hours. A new song starts playing and Lucy immediately jumps to her feet, "hey it's my favourite!" Lucy pulls on Alex's arms until she gets up and dances with her. Lucy just holds onto Alex's hand as she runs around in circles, singing along, "Cease to resist, giving my goodbye, drive my car into the ocean." Lucy ends up dragging Alex down to the floor and sits on top of her, both of them can't stop laughing. "Get off you little shit," in between laughing Alex manages to roll Lucy off her stomach before getting to her feet. Piper loves watching them interact, it just makes her more envious of the bond this family shares. It also makes her want to be a part of it.

"Ok kid, time out," Alex sits down next to Piper, leaning into her side.

"I have to ask, what kind of ten year old knows the Pixies?"

"Hey, I had to get her started on the right track early, none of that boy band crap in this house hold." Alex then gets up to check the time. "Ok Luce, it's nearly 9pm, time for you to go to bed."

"No, I'm not ready," here was the attitude Piper was told to look out for. But Piper did find it pretty funny, watching Alex deal with the same defiance she would have dished out herself as a kid.

"I don't really care if you're not ready, go get ready for bed." Lucy just continued to completely ignore Alex, dancing around the lounge room like she was the only person there.

"Ok, new deal. You go get ready for bed, and I'll take you to the park tomorrow." Lucy looked long and hard at her sister before deciding this was a good deal. Before she went into her room she turned to face Alex, "but remember, you said I could sleep with you tonight."

"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten. I'll be in there later, don't take up the whole bed!" Lucy smiled and went to get ready for bed.

"You know she has you wrapped around her little finger right?"

"Whatever Chapman," Alex rolled her eyes as she pushed Piper down onto the couch as she started kissing her.

"Al, Lucy will be back any minute,"

"Trust me, that kid takes at least 20 minutes to decide what colour pyjamas she should wear."

"Can we at least move into a different room so she won't walk right in on us kissing?" Alex groaned as she pulled Piper off the couch and into kitchen. Alex leaned Piper against the kitchen counter as she continued kissing her, loving the feeling of Piper's hands in her hair. The two were lost in their own little world and didn't notice the front door open. Robbie and Diane walked into the kitchen to see the two kissing, "Pretty sure you can do that in your bedroom Alex," said Diane with a smile. Piper quickly pulled away from Alex, completely embarrassed. "Shit, sorry Diane."

Diane just laughed, "You don't need to apologise Piper." Piper still looked embarrassed, Alex just shrugged her shoulders and turned to make some coffee. Robbie just stood next to Diane with an ice cold look on his face. He was not happy about what he just saw, but he kept his cool in front of Diane.

"Lucy getting ready for bed?"

"Yeah, she should be nearly done," replied Alex while she poured the coffee.

"Great, I'll go say goodnight then," Diane went towards Lucy's bedroom, leaving Alex, Piper and Robbie in the kitchen. Piper's phone started to ring, it was her brother Danny. He worked in the city hospital as an ER doctor. He called her last night to let he know he was driving through to visit their parents and wanted to stop off to see Piper's new place. Alex told her to take the call in her room, coffee and biscuits would be waiting for her when she was done. Robbie just kept standing there, staring at Alex, he slowly walked up behind her as she reached into the cupboard to grab the biscuits she wanted.

"I better not catch you pulling that shit again in this apartment Alex. Do you understand?"

Alex was at the end of a great night, and she was not in the mood to be pushed around, "You know what Robbie, fuck you." She practically spat the words at him, before turning back around to face the cupboard. Robbie grabbed the back of her neck, tight, "I don't think you heard me Alex. Do not pull that shit again."

She could feel his breath on the back of her neck, she knew that tone, she was pushing his buttons on purpose. Alex knew she should just shut up, but she couldn't stop herself from saying more, turning around to face him again before speaking "No, I don't think you heard me. Fuck. You." Alex regretted those words as soon as she said them and saw the change in his face. He grabbed her by the front of her neck this time and squeezed, hard. He pushed her back into the cupboard, one hand still around her neck, the other holding her wrists together. "You always like to do things the hard way." He kept squeezing, but still kept an eye out to make sure he let go before anyone came back into the kitchen. He slowly tightened his grip around her neck and her wrists, Alex tried to fight him off but he was so much stronger than her. Alex couldn't breathe, she started to see a lot of bright dots in front of her, struggling to keep her eyes open. Knowing that he was taking it too far, Robbie let go of Alex's neck and pushed her roughly to the floor. He just stood there, watching her as she desperately tried to suck in air as she lay on the kitchen floor. He leaned down towards her so he could whisper in her ear, "just for that, I might have to start visiting Lucy now as well." Alex felt those words drive through her chest, at that point there was no more hiding anything. She wanted to kill Robbie in that moment and figured she may as well use it to her advantage, push his buttons hard enough to make sure this didn't stay a secret any longer. As Robbie started walking out of the kitchen, Alex reached out and grabbed his leg, pulling as hard as she could. Robbie tripped forward and stared back at her with so much hatred, his expression wasn't rational anymore, but Alex didn't know how else to make sure Diane kicked him out. In Alex's mind, this way she could get him out of the house and maybe into jail so they wouldn't need to deal with him anymore. That was worth any short term pain she suffered.

Robbie stood up quickly and swung his boot towards Alex, catching her in the side of the head. That was it, one quick movement and Alex lost consciousness.

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"Danny it's so great to hear from you!" Piper really missed her older brother, and couldn't wait to see him. He was the only one in the family that knew about Alex, and she was so relieved that he supported her, she could always rely on Danny.

"I know it's getting late Pipes, but how about I swing by now?"

"Yes! I've been thinking about seeing you ever since you said you'd be driving through. I'm at Alex's place, but just give me a call when you're close."

"So I get to meet the famous Alex! The woman that's stolen my little sister's heart."

"Shut up Danny, I'll see you soon." Piper couldn't stop smiling, she couldn't wait to see her brother and introduce him to Alex. Piper put her phone on charge in Alex's room before walking back to the kitchen. Before she got too far, she stopped in her tracks, she couldn't move and she felt her heart sink. Alex was on the kitchen floor, not moving, Robbie standing over her. He grabbed her by the front of her shirt, shaking her like he was trying to wake her up.

"ALEX!" Piper screamed and ran into the kitchen, dropping to her knees in front of Alex.

"What's all the commotion?" Diane walked out of Lucy's room to see what the screaming was about, all she saw was Piper kneeling on the kitchen floor, it sounded like she was crying. Diane couldn't piece this picture together, but she felt the anxiety sneaking up on her. Before she could say anything more, Robbie was walking towards her.

"It's not my fault Diane."

"What the fuck is going on?" Diane pushed past Robbie, and then she saw the whole picture. Piper kneeling over Alex, who wasn't moving. "What the fuck did you do?" Diane screamed at Robbie, but it's like he wasn't there anymore. He just grabbed his car keys and walked out of the apartment. Diane didn't know what to do, didn't know what just happened. Part of her wanted to run after Robbie to find out what happened, but the other half couldn't walk out of that apartment when her daughter was hurt.

"Diane you need to call an ambulance," said Piper through her tears, holding a dish towel to the side of Alex's head. There was so much blood, Diane couldn't believe this was real. "DIANE!" Piper shouted at her this time, jerking her back into reality. "Here, keep holding this to stop the blood." Diane was struggling to speak, but she kneeled down next to Alex and pressed the towel against her head. Tears started to roll down her face, "Ally, what happened?"

Piper was panicking, she didn't know how to deal with this, so she ran back into Alex's room to grab her phone and call Danny. She was only on the phone with him for a few minutes, but she couldn't stop crying. She explained the situation as best as she could, giving him the address and telling him to hurry. "I'm nearly there Piper, just make sure you keep pressure on the head wound and check her breathing. Remember when I taught you that stuff? I know it's scary but just breathe and wait for me."

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Ten minutes later there was a knock at the door, Piper jumped to her feet and opened it, relieved that Danny was finally here. "Where is she?" Piper led him to the kitchen where Diane was still holding the towel to Alex's head. "Diane my brother's here, he can help." Danny knelt down next to Diane and tried to give her a reassuring smile. Danny took the towel from Diane's hands and moved it to get a better look at the wound. "Ok, Diane you did well here to slow down the bleeding. These types of cuts always bleed a lot, it looks worse than it is, all it needs is a few stitches." He then placed his hands around Alex's neck, which was already starting to bruise. "Pulse is good but you can already see this bruising coming out on her neck. We need to get her to the hospital before it swells anymore." While Danny still had his hands on Alex's neck, she started to groan in pain, trying to roll over, struggling to breathe properly. Danny helped her roll onto her side so she could breathe easier, her face strained with every breath. Danny tried to keep her calm by talking her through it, "Hey Alex, it's ok. I'm Piper's brother, Danny. You're doing really well, I know it hurts at the moment, but you need to try and slow your breathing down so you don't lose consciousness again." Very slowly, Alex managed to slow down her breathing, but her neck and head hurt so much, she just couldn't stay awake anymore. Danny grabbed his car keys and threw them to Piper, "It's time to get her to the hospital, are you ok to drive Piper?"

"Yeah," replied Piper in between tears.

A/N

Hey,

So keen to hear thoughts on this chapter. How was the pacing? What did you think about the introduction of Danny into the story? I felt like Piper was going to be thrown into an intense situation, and would need someone else there for support. I also felt like perhaps it was unrealistic to have Robbie continue to get away with his behaviour, which is why I had him caught out in this chapter.

It has been so hot here all weekend, and it's just gonna get hotter! Which basically means I'm camping out in front of my air conditioner, using it as a good excuse to write J

Cheers.