Shattered Chapter 11, an orange is the new black fanfic

A/N:

I think I got too carried away with this chapter as it's my longest one so far. I hope that's okay. =) Anyway, shit's about to get real from this chapter on. You've been warned.

Still just a simple fan fiction writer who does not own any characters from the great series that is Orange Is The New Black.

"I looked out for you the entire time I've known you, Vause. I always had your back. And yet you led me to my end." Fahri's voice sounded so far and yet so fucking close. Alex did not know where it was coming from and she couldn't see where Fahri was. But she knew it was him. She would never mistaken that voice with anyone else.

He kept repeating his words, and Alex wanted nothing but to drown out his voice. But she didn't know how and so she kept hearing them. Over and over again.

"You should've just left me alone. You didn't have to drag me with you. I didn't ask for any of it. But you were selfish enough to keep everything from me and now I'm gone. You don't deserve to be happy, Alex. Not when you're the reason I can no longer feel that way."

Ashley. It was her. She was now speaking the same time as Fahri. And yet Alex could hear every word so clearly. She could hear her pain, her disgust. Ashley blamed her. And she was letting her know that.

Alex was starting to run away now because the voices were making her crazy. She wanted to get away from them as fast as she could but everywhere she went, she could still hear those voices just as clearly. She was starting to get frantic, beads of sweat forming on her forehead, her heart racing, her eyes stinging. She wanted it to stop. But the voices only kept getting louder and louder, as if they were closing in on her.

She then started crying. She didn't want to but she couldn't stop the tears, like she was meant to cry. She could feel her limbs moving but she knew she was still glued to her spot. But then, she suddenly felt warmth wrapped around her, as if someone was hugging her. But she could see no one. She tried moving but she couldn't. Something was holding her, someone was.

"Alex," said another voice, and that's when Alex stopped trying to move. That's when she stopped fighting. Because that voice... it was the voice she'd been wanting to hear for so long now. It was the only voice that could calm her at times like this. It was the voice she'd missed so damn much.

"Mom..." Alex finally found her voice for the first time since she heard Fahri and she didn't even recognize it. It didn't sound like her at all. She sounded child-like, she sounded scared, she sounded weak. "Mom..." Alex was now pleading for her mom to say something again, afraid that Fahri and Ashley's voices were going to drown out her mom's. "Shut up!" Alex now yelled, frustration building inside her as she constantly listened to those other two over and over again. She wanted to hear her mother's voice, she needed to.

"Alex..." Diane's voice was there again, but unlike Fahri and Ashley's, hers got softer Alex could barely hear it. "Alex, I need you..."

Alex felt like everything froze because it was the last thing she thought she'd hear her mom say. She thought she was gonna tell her that everything was okay, that everything was going to get better, just like she always did whenever Alex felt like everything and everyone was conspiring against her. But her mom's voice was begging. And it tore Alex into pieces.

"I need you." Diane.

"I looked out for you the entire time I've known you, Vause. I always had your back. And yet you led me to my end." Fahri.

"I need you." Diane.

"Stop." Alex.

"Stop! Please. I'm sorry. Please stop." Alex.

"It's your fault." And as if their voices weren't torture enough, Alex was now looking into their faces, and she felt her chest tightening.

Fahri was regretful.

Ashley was mad.

And her mom.

Her mom was disappointed.

"No," Alex whispered. They were slowly going farther away from her, but their voices were coming closer. "No... Mom. I didn't mean it. I'm sorry. Please come back. Mom!"

"It was all your fault."

"No... No... NO!" Alex's breathing was heavy as she jolted awake, abruptly sitting up. She could feel beads of sweat trickle down her face as she tried to bring back her breathing to normal. She was panting so hard as if she had been running. Alex realized that she had been crying as she frantically ran her fingers through her hair, the memory of her nightmare suddenly coming back to her.

"Piper..." Alex whispered to herself. It was the first time in weeks that she did not sleep beside her, which probably explained why she had the nightmare again after weeks of not having them anymore. It was frightening how she seemed t be depending on Piper to be able to live her life as normal as she could.

Her first instinct told her to call her girlfriend. She knew that Piper was the only one who could calm her down right now, she was the only person who could make her feel better. But then she also realized that she didn't want to disturb her right now and it would be unfair to wake her when she knew that the blonde had been tired from work. So instead, she decided to call Nicky.

Nicky picked up her phone after Alex's third attempt to call her. "What the fuck, Vause?! It's almost three o'clock in the fucking morning. What the hell are you still doing up?"

Alex could hear the irritation on her best friend's voice but she didn't care. She could still feel herself shaking and she needed everything she was feeling right now to go away. "Wanna go get a drink?" She tried to sound as normal as possible, trying so hard to keep her voice from shaking.

"It's your fault..." Alex could still clearly hear their voices and she held on to her phone so tightly so Nicky's voice could drown those out instead.

"What?" Nicky sounded as if Alex just told her a terrible joke.

"Drinks. It's on me." Alex was talking fast now. She took a handful of her bed sheet, gripping it tightly just so her hand could do something else aside from tremble.

"It's all your fault."

There was silence on the other end of the line and Alex thought she was going to go crazy. "Fuck," Alex whispered, unsuccessfully getting rid of the memory of her dream. "Nicky, please."

"What the hell is happening, Alex?" Nicky sounded worried now. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just really need to get a drink. Right fucking now." Alex swallowed hard to clear the lump that had now formed in her throat. "I can't sleep."

It took Nicky a while before she spoke again, obviously deciding on whether she should go or not. "Alex, I can't. I want to, I swear. But Lorna's here with me, and I can't just leave her."

"Oh."

"Are you sure that everything's okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Alex now got out of bed, searching for her clothes. She needed to get out of here... with Nicky or without. "I'm sorry I woke you up. I gotta go." Alex didn't even bother ending the call as she threw her phone on her bed before hurrying out of the door.

"It's your fault. It's all your fault. You don't deserve to be happy. It's all your fault."

Alex went out of her house, ran towards her car, as those voices kept slowly sucking her breath out of her. She started driving and reached the closest bar from her house in almost five minutes. She drove as fast as she could, her hands gripping the steering wheel so tight it almost felt like the bones in her knuckles were breaking. Her whole body was shaking so badly, feeling as if she was suffocating and that every space was closing in on her.

When she got in, she immediately started drowning herself in alcohol, hoping that she'd immediately lose consciousness and forget everything that had just happened. Alex had never had a nightmare ever since things starting to get better for her and Piper. It was like Piper had served as her dream catcher, shielding her from those terrifying dreams, helping her get peaceful sleeps she's never had in as long as she could remember.

At one point in her life, Alex thought she would never have a normal life again. But Piper came and she was the onewho had made every difference in her life. For the first time in a really long time, Alex allowed herself to be happy. She had finally let someone take care of her, make her feel like she still deserved to be loved. Piper had done what every drunken night failed to do. Piper was able to make her forget.

But now the truth had finally caught up with Alex, reminding her that she didn't deserve to be happy. That she should feel guilty because those people who deserved happiness so much more than her, they were all gone. And it was because of her. Those were what the nightmares were for. They were constant reminders of all the fucked up things she's done, and of all the things she's not allowed to have. But because she was too damn busy being happy, she'd forgotten all of those.

Now, she was reminded of all of it again.And it hurt like fucking crazy.

Only an hour later, Alex was blind drunk. But she still felt everything in every bit of her being. She hoped that the alcohol would numb the pain away, but it felt as if all it ever did was magnify everything. All the pain, and guilt, and regrets that would usually at least get forgotten were all still there, and Alex felt even worse. She was getting more and more agitated and she found it hard to breathe that she started walking hurriedly out of the bar.

When she reached the back of the bar, which was a little surprising since she swore the floor wobbled in every step she took, she held on to one of the railings trying to catch her breath. She suddenly felt anger rising in her chest, like she wanted to break everything she could get a hold of. So she did the closest thing she could and turned around until her right fist was smacked against the wall, and she did it over and over and over until it was bleeding profusely.

But she didn't stop. She wanted to keep going until she could feel the pain in her fist more than the pain in her chest, because that pain, it was eating her alive. And for the first time since she felt it, she was scared. She was so damn terrified that it would finally win against her. Honestly, she would have been okay by that before, but she had Piper now. And she needed to hold on for her. She had to.

When the pain in her fist had not overcome the pain she wanted to get rid of, Alex started crying until she was slumped down against the wall, her bleeding fist ignored and abandoned. Then it hit her. Those times when she was out with Piper and Nicky and Lorna, when they would take fun to the next level, those little pills thatmade everything else disappear, how it made everything better.

So without thinking of the consequences that would undoubtedly come with it, Alex stood up and started walking to her house, too drunk to even remember that she actually brought her car with her, all the while thinking of that thing she swore to her life she would never use again.

She walked fast, her eyes and limbs almost giving up on her. But she kept going. She needed to get home as quickly as she could because she could feel how she was slowly losing herself to the swirling darkness in her head. She was panicking and she started walking even faster, a number of times crashing into something, and more often almost losing her balance.

Surprisingly, no matter how drunk she was, Alex reached her house in one piece. She then went to get the bag that contained it. She fumbled with the zipper and toppled the bag over until all its contents were lying on her floor, the syringe, the plastic spoon, the lighter, even the non-latex tourniquet.

But she chose to ignore those. Instead, she reached for the small plastic that contained the white powder that suddenly seemed as if it was screaming at her. She held it in her hand so gently, afraid that it would fall out of her grasp. She noticed her hand shaking and she wasn't sure if it was still because of the nightmare she's had or if it was because of the cold that suddenly seemed to be taking over her body as a rush of adrenaline engulfed her.

With her trembling hands, she poured enough amount on the small flat surface she was now holding, fixing it into a thin straight line. She slowly backed up until her back was pressed against the side of her bed, her fingers on her free hand running through her hair. She stared at the thing on her hand, a thousand thoughts running through her mind.

"It's your fault."

There's that voice again. And it's still as loud and clear as before, evidently mocking her.

But she could also remember the disappointed look on her mom's face.

And Piper. What would she think if she found out she let this win over her, that she used because she couldn't take it anymore?

"It's all your fault."

But the heroin was now screaming loudly at her, egging her to just get it over and done with, one inhale and it was all over. One inhale and the pain would all go away.

Alex threw her head back and rested her head on her bed, her fuzzy mind stopping her from thinking clearly. She then closed her eyes, feeling dizzy, and cold, and scared all at the same time. But before she even knew it, she had lost her fight against her drowsiness and had fallen into a deep, dreamless sleep, unaware that the next few days, the battle would even become a lot more challenging and harder to win.

-o-o-o-

Piper was about to go inside Alex's house when she heard someone calling her name. She turned around and she saw Nicky running up to her, out of breath. "Nicky? What happened to you, are you okay?"

"Yeah," answered Nicky, putting her hands on her knees, as she tried to steady her breathing. "Uhm, Alex... Alex is not there."

"What? Where'd she go? She told me last night that she'd come pick me up at home and bring me to work," Piper said, confused. She looked at her watch and saw that it was almost eight o'clock. "Well, obviously that's not happening now."

"Yeah, about that. Something came up. I don't know what, but she had to leave early today and, uhm, deal... with it."

"What came up? Deal with what? Nicky, what's going on?"

"You don't need to worry. Everything's fine. She just really had to leave as soon as she could."

"Why'd she call you instead of me?"

"Hate to break it to you, but I think Vause loves me more than she loves you." Nicky tried to joke, feeling Piper's tension and worry, but Piper just glared at her. "I'm kidding. Didn't peg you as the jealous type, Chapman."

"Nicky, I'm serious. Where's Alex? Why didn't she even leave me a text or something? Is everything okay?" Piper asked anxiously, suddenly worried at Alex.

"There's really nothing to worry about. She just didn't wanna disturb you. She told me to tell you that she's sorry she couldn't pick you up and that she'd come see you later today."

Piper eyed Nicky suspiciously, still finding it hard to believe that nothing was wrong. But then she glanced at her watch and saw that she was almost running late so she had no choice but to believe Nicky for now. She's just gonna have to talk to Alex when she'd see her today.

"Go, you're late. You don't wanna hear Ma's rant this early in the morning, right?"

"Okay," Piper answered sceptically before turning on her feet to start walking towards Red's. "Thanks."

"Yeah, no problem," answered Nicky. She watched Piper leave and when she was sure the blonde wasn't coming back, she hurriedly ran inside Alex's place, her gut telling her that she did the right thing.

Nicky knew what was going on with her best friend. When she came back in town, she's noticed the change in her. She thought that maybe it was because of Diane's death. But then Alex told her the entire story and by then she knew just how fucked up Alex's life had become. She could see how what happened ruined Alex but thankfully, she had Piper. And Nicky could see how big of a help the blonde being in Alex's life was.

So when she received Alex's call last night, she chose to stay with Lorna instead because maybe Alex was okay and that she just really wanted to have a good time. Even though she knew something was wrong. Even though she knew her best friend more than she knew her own self and that she wouldn't call her in such an ungodly hour if she was fine.

Which was why as soon as she woke up, she decided to go to Alex's place before Piper could reach her, knowing that it would end badly if Alex did something last night that she'd hate for Piper to see. Fortunately, she caught Piper before she even got inside Alex's house.

She slowly went inside, not wanting to scare Alex. When she reached her room, the sight made Nicky's stomach lurch in a terrible way. Alex was slumped down on the floor, her head almost hanging from the bed. And beside her was the all too familiar paraphernalia needed when taking in heroin. Nicky knew. She occasionally used, too. And then there was the rolled up paper and the white powder on Alex's hand. She also noticed the dried up blood in her fist.

She immediately rushed to Alex and checked her pulse, her heart beating so fast, silently praying to a god she knew did not even exist that Alex was just sleeping. When she felt the sign of life, she let out the breath she'd been holding, her shoulder sagging out of relief. Suddenly, she felt anger bubble inside her. "Alex, wake the fuck up!" She nudged Alex, not even in the slightest bit gently. "Wake up!"

Alex started moving, the drugs falling out of her hand unintentionally. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, looking at Nicky with an annoyed look on her face. "What the fuck is your problem?" Alex spat at Nicky, her voice hoarse and thick of sleep.

"What's my problem? Are you fucking kidding me right now? What the fuck is this?!" Nicky couldn't stop the anger that she was now feeling. She didn't know what happened to Alex but she hated it that she was stupid enough to think that drugs would make it all better.

She'd seen Alex when her mom died, and she was terrible. But she's never seen Alex like this, and Nicky hated seeing her this way. Alex was one of the strongest people Nicky knew, from everything that had happened in her life. She was a survivor. But lately, that Alex had been missing and all Nicky could see was the vulnerable and broken Alex she never thought she'd ever meet.

Alex had by now raised her head and looked at whatever Nicky was pointing at. That's when everything that happened last night came to her. And just like that, every single emotion she had been feeling that temporarily went away when she fell asleep was now back. Thankfully, her head was pounding too hard to pay much attention to those emotions. "I didn't use. Calm the fuck down." She rested her head back on the edge of the bed again, closing her eyes in the process.

"Calm down? Alex, if I didn't come here on time, it should've been Piper who would've seen you this way! What do you think she'd feel if she did, huh?"

At the mention of Piper's name, Alex almost jumped up, feeling herself finally fully awaken. "Fuck. Piper. Where is she? What did she say? What did you tell her?"

"Relax," answered Nicky, who had by now calmed down a little, anger mixed with worry still settling on her stomach. "I told her you had to go somewhere. I'm not sure if she believed me but just tell her anything later. Where the hell is your car by the way? And what the fuck happened to your hand?"

"Shit, I need to see her." Alex said frantically, ignoring Nicky's questions. She tried standing, only to feel the room spin until she fell back on her bed. "Fuck!"

"Looking like that? No, I don't think so, genius." Nicky started putting back the things on the floor inside the bag that rested beside them. She then showed it to Alex. "Where do you want me to put this?" Alex extended her arm towards Nicky, silently telling her to hand her the bag. "Alex."

"I'm not gonna use, Nicky. Just... give me." Nicky refused to move for a while, still thinking whether it was the right thing to do to give it back to Alex. "Nicky," Alex glared at her.

Nicky shook her head as she gave Alex the bag. She could see how tightly Alex held on to it and she was suddenly scared that she made the wrong decision handing it back to her. "What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Bullshit, Vause! Do you think I'm stupid?" Nicky sighed and waited for Alex to say something. When she didn't, she decided to use the one person she knew Alex could never say no to. "Tell me what happened or I'll tell Piper to ask you, herself."

And with no other choice left, Alex started telling Nicky what happened.

-o-o-o-

Days passed by and Alex managed to keep what had been happening to her from Piper. She had a lot of questions, especially that first day after Alex's nightmares started happening again but Alex was able to answer them the way Piper wouldn't be worried. She felt guilty, lying to her. But she knew that if she told her, her girlfriend would just worry about her again and Alex didn't want that. This was her shit and she needed to deal with it alone. Things had been going so great between her and Piper and this, whatever's happening to her, would not be good for that.

But the alcohol wasn't enough anymore. Sure, it was able to knock her out every now and then but it was no longer helping with the nightmares. Especially at nights when Alex couldn't drink because she didn't want Piper to be suspicious of what's going on with her. So she would only do it whenever Piper was at work, causing her to spend almost the entirety of a day blind drunk and unconscious in her bed.

Fortunately, Alex would barely have nightmares when she would spend the night with Piper. She's almost asked Piper to just stay with her every night, knowing that she was the only one that could keep Alex from having those terrible dreams. But then again, she knew that Piper also needed some space every now and then. So she decided against it, resorting to other things during those nights that she had to spend alone.

Nicky had been a big help, too. She was always there when Alex needed her best friend to cover for her, especially when it came to Piper. Alex knew Nicky hated doing this, that she hated that she was helping Alex lie to Piper, and that instead of helping Alex deal with her problem the right way, she's helping her run away from it.

But Nicky had no idea that Alex was using, despite her promise to her that she wouldn't. And Alex wanted to keep it that way because if Nicky found out, she was surely going to tell it to Piper. And Alex wasn't ready to deal with that just yet. Nicky was okay when they would all take X just for fun because she had control over it. But she was against Alex's use of heroin when she was using for the sake of running from her problems, which Alex thought was a little hypocrite because she was taking the drugs either way, no matter what the reason really was.

So far, the drugs were becoming so much more help than the alcohol, but Alex was running out of it. So she decided to meet with an old acquaintance she met through the cartel, knowing he would be able to hook her up with so much more.

Alex was too far gone to even think of the consequences. As far as she knew, the drugs weren't controlling her yet, and she wasn't going to be stupid enough to let that happen. So as long as she was still in control, she was going to let herself resort to it, because right now, it was the only escape left for her to take.

-o-o-o-

Piper was just about to head back to the kitchen when she saw her favourite person enter the diner. Her face immediately lit up at the sight of her girlfriend walking up to her.

"Hi," Alex greeted her as she wrapped an arm around Piper's waist before giving her a chaste kiss on her cheek.

"Hi, what are you doing here?" Piper smiled up at Alex, a little surprised at the unannounced visit, as she rubbed her girlfriend's arm up and down. She then pulled Alex inside, towards the tiny locker room, to have a little privacy.

"Do I really need a reason to visit my girlfriend?" Alex had by now wrapped both her arms around Piper's waist, their centers gently pressed together as they stood face to face.

"Oh, come on," Piper brought a hand towards Alex's face, tucking strands of her hair behind her ear. "We both know you don't get that ass up and out of your bed when you don't have a reason to."

"And I do have a reason. I wanted to see you." Alex kissed Piper again, this time on her lips, and a lot less chaste. They stayed like that for a while, enjoying the warmth of each other's embrace and feel of each other's lips.

"And why did you wanna see me when we were just together a few hours ago?" Piper asked again when they managed to untangle themselves from each other.

Alex chuckled. "I can never hide anything from you, can't I?"

Piper gave her a wide smile, slightly shaking her head. "Nope. So?"

"I'm heading out of town. I have to meet an old friend," Alex answered briefly, avoiding to explain further.

"Old friend?" Piper's forehead creased, giving Alex a questioning look. "Do I know this friend?"

Alex smirked, knowing full well that that look Piper just gave her meant jealousy. She noticed Piper's possessiveness of her, just the right amount, and she never thought she would actually enjoy it. "No, you don't know him. And yes, he's a he. He just wants to talk about business." Alex could see worry flash across Piper's face. "It has nothing to do about the cartel, Pipes," Alex immediately elaborated. Piper then looked relieved and guilt quickly settled on Alex's stomach. Because this meeting may not be about the cartel, but that didn't mean it didn't involve drugs.

"When are you gonna be back?" Piper's hold on Alex got tighter, already missing her girlfriend even before she left. She buried her face on Alex's neck, loving the way her smell lingered on Piper's nose, hoping that it would last until she came back.

"As soon as we're done," Alex replied before kissing Piper at the top of her head. "I'm sure it's not gonna take me long." Alex really didn't wanna do this. But the nightmares were getting terrible and she just needed something to calm her nerves, something a lot stronger than alcohol. She assured herself that she was going to be fine, that she'd done this before and that she'd never really gotten out of control. It was somehow helping her with the guilt lying to Piper.

"Okay."

Alex could see hesitation in Piper's eyes. "What's wrong?"

Piper thought twice whether she should ask Alex what had been bothering her for a while now. But she decided to ask anyway because she was worried and she really needed to know. "Al, is everything okay?" she then blurted out and she could see the surprise in Alex's face.

"What? Of course, why would you ask that?"

"Nothing, I just..." Piper then shook her head. "Have you been sleeping lately?"

Alex raised an eyebrow and smirked at Piper. "Babe? Is that your not-so-subtle way of telling me I look like shit?"

Piper chuckled at this but it was immediately replaced by a look of worry. She's noticed a change in Alex these past few days but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. She did noticed how she always seemed so agitated and how she would jump at the slightest unannounced movement around her. "No. I mean, you'll tell me if something's bothering you, right?" She brought a hand towards Alex's face as she gently rubbed her jaw with her thumb.

Alex leaned into Piper's touch. "I will, Piper." She then enveloped both of Piper's hands with her own. "Everything's fine." She smiled and brought Piper's hands to her lips, kissing them gently. "Now, I gotta go. Call me when something comes up, okay? I'll be back as soon as I can." Alex wanted to get out of there as soon as she could, hating herself for having to lie to Piper.

"Okay, take care." Piper kissed Alex gently then pulled away, enough to be able to look her in the eye. "I love you."

Alex smiled and brought back her lips to Piper's. "I love you, too. Bye, babe."

"Let's go, I'll walk you out."

They both went out only to find Nicky flirting with one of the newly-arrived customers. She noticed them come out of the locker room and gave them a shit-eating grin, before walking towards them, completely ignoring the girl she was just talking to.

"What the hell were you two doing? Were you two fucking each other's brains out in there?" Nicky asked, a little too loudly.

Piper turned bright red, hiding behind Alex, as she noticed a number of customers looking at them. "None of your business, Nichols. And shut up, you're embarrassing my girlfriend." Alex answered sharply, rubbing Piper's back.

"You two are gross." Nicky commented as Alex and Piper gave each other a sweet glance.

"We're gross? Who was just flirting with another woman who isn't Lorna Morello?" retorted Alex back with a smirk, earning a laugh from Piper.

Nicky sucked in breath between her teeth, shaking her head because she didn't have anything to throw back at Alex. "Whatever. Weren't you just leaving? Would you just get out?" said Nicky, almost pushing Alex out of the diner.

Alex then left leaving Piper and Nicky alone. "So, what are you doing here?" asked Piper, as she cleaned out a table with Nicky beside her.

"Ma couldn't be here today so she asked me to manage the diner for a bit."

"And you think she'd be happy knowing you're..." Piper looked at her watch, "...almost three hours late?"

"She didn't tell me what time to arrive. Believe me, she'd be thankful that I showed up." Nicky watched Piper as the blonde grabbed the New York Times that the customer had left on the table. "So, where's Vause headed?"

"She said she was meeting a friend, some kind of a business meeting according to her."

Nicky suddenly turned serious, having a slight idea on what this business Alex was talking about. She shook her head when Piper wasn't looking, worry for her best friend settling on her stomach. She actually debated about whether to tell Piper or not, because she knew that Alex would only listen to her. But she also didn't want to be the reason for any arguments between the two so far now, she decided on trusting Alex that she'd eventually figure out what the right thing to do was.

"When is she gonna be back? Did she tell you?" She waited for Piper to answer but the blonde's eyes were too transfixed on the paper which she now held with her other hand, the other one holding the plates she just gathered. "Earth to Chapman?" But she could see that Piper was now shaking, her eyes wide and watery. "Piper?" she brought up her hand to hold Piper on her shoulder, but Nicky almost jumped when Piper dropped the plates she was holding, sending them scattered and broken on their feet. "What the—"

But before Nicky could ask Piper what was going on, Piper was on her feet, running towards the door, too out of her mind to even bother looking back at Nicky who was now yelling her name.

"Piper!" Nicky tried to run after her but Piper was too fast and she couldn't leave the diner unattended. She ran back inside to tell Tricia to be in charge for a while but when she went back out, Piper was already out of her sight. "Shit!" Nicky ran her fingers through her hair, unsure what just happened. She then went back inside the diner again, thankful that Piper left the paper lying on the table. And then she saw it, the thing that surely made Piper scramble out of the diner.

It was the obituary. And the name "Carol Chapman" written on it.

And before Nicky even realized what she was doing, she was holding her phone, dialling Alex's number.

SHOUTOUTS:

ManveerlovesVauseman, Aww, I'm really happy that the previous chapter made you laugh! Thank you for a very detailed review, I live for these kinds of review. It really means a lot to me, so thank you again for taking the time to leave one. Have a great day, my dear! =)

Guest (one of my favourite fics), It means so much to me that you said that because I know how many great fan fictions are out there! So thank you! =)

SeriouslyAwesome, And omg I'm also seriously in love with your review! I'm glad that you thought it was hilarious. I barely make people laugh because it's easier to break people's hearts haha, I'm kidding. I'm not sure about the TayLaur fics, though. But I'm not closing my doors on that. Maybe in the future, when I'm done with Shattered. Thank you for your review! =)

Mamazingvauseman, And mamazing review! Love you to bits! Thank you very much for that. =)

piccolover22, Awww, thank you so much, I'm blushing! And you're also great! =)

orange621, It was too rushed I really think I would've made it better. But I'm really happy that you still loved it! And you're welcome about the shout out, it's the least I can do because you are too awesome! =)

sherlynn813, Thank you very much! And don't you worry my dear friend, I will keep the story coming. =)

vausegasm, Okay, you know what, you, my friend, is now officially one of my favourite people in the world. Yes, the world. You know how big that place is. Haha! I don't even know how to reply to your review anymore so can I just give you one big hug and lots of kisses? XOXOXOXOOXXOXOXOX please don't hate me because of this chapter, though. And you have to get yourself ready for the next ones because I don't think you're still gonna love me for those. *wink wink* Thank you!

WB79, Thank you so much! I'm not sure but are you on Wattpad, too? If that's where you read HLWILY then yeah, it's the same story. I posted it there first. Haha. That was a wonderful review! Thanks again and also thanks for following, you're awesome! =)

izzielg, Wow, you're good! Drama is indeed coming, oh actually I think it has come? Haha. Here it is, enjoy! =)

awkwardlynormal13, Thank you! I'm glad you still think it's one of sweetest despite it not being one of the best chapters. I really agree with that haha. And yeah! The "Will you be my girlfriend" scene in season three is also one of my favourites that's why I couldn't pass up the opportunity to use it here. I'm glad you didn't think I ruined it. Thank you for that review. It meant a lot. =)

FFChik, I'm glad you thought that about the "my Alex" part. It's one of my favourites haha. And also happy that you enjoyed the previous chapter. Thank you, you're wonderful! =)

moanzs, It really makes me happy that you're getting the way I want this story to be taken. Thank you, your review inspired me to write faster. So here's the new chapter and I hope you like it! =)

sara lance, I could not agree more with your first sentence! Yeah, I thought I really needed to make up for the previous chapters, thank goodness I was able to do so according to you. Haha. You really are the sweetest thing, thank you! =)

SheriLovey, Aww, no. You're amazing! I'm happy that you loved the "my Alex" part, I kinda liked it, too. Haha! Yep, Nicky and Piper getting along is one of the most important parts of this story, I believe. Thank you again for that review, it made me so happy. =)

huggerguest, I'm glad you liked the flashback! Yes, I live for fluffy Vauseman, too. And about Nicky and Piper, sorry I didn't write their night out in detail. I'll try to do that in future chapters, but no promises, though. Sorry! And thank you for your review! =)

elliellie1, Thank you! I'm glad you like Piper and Nicky's friendship here even though it hasn't been explored that much. I'll try to do that in future chapters, though. Thanks again and have an awesome day. =)

sweetlikevanillais, Aww, I'm glad you did! Thank you very much =)

schillingarmy, Thank you! But no, I did not double update. I don't know what happened but maybe you didn't notice the chapter 9 update? Haha. Aww, that sucks. I'm just about to start school again, too. Good luck to us. Have a great school year! =)