Vauseman: Litchfield's Finest Love

Chapter Eight: Alex

I woke up before Piper, and everyone else for that matter. It was silent in our dorm: a kind of peaceful environment, besides the fact that it was prison. Piper was snoring softly, and I snuggled closer to her. I knew we had to separate before the COs caught us, or we'd both get shots. But frankly, I didn't care. Getting a shot was worth protecting my girl from her nightmares. I laid there for a little longer, playing with her delicate fingers.
I squinted to see the clock, which read 4:55. Gently shaking Piper, I woke her up.
"Good morning, beautiful," I said, kissing her neck. She yawned and turned around to face me.
"Thank you for holding on to me, Alex," she said. "I'm sorry about last night, I was just so scared. It felt so real. If anything ever happened to you..." her soft voice trailed off.
"Pipes, nothing is going to happen. I'm fine, I'm right here. I always will be." I kissed her lips, and she got up, slowly walking over to her bed. She didn't even bother laying down, because not 10 seconds later, the bright lights flashed on and a CO yelled for us to wake up. We all pulled ourselves out of bed, and I took Piper's hand in mine as we headed for the showers.
At breakfast, Piper was silent as she ate the cafeteria's shitty oatmeal. I felt so bad because there was nothing I could do to make her feel better. Once Morello came over, things lightened up a bit. She always brought joy wherever she went, and I was grateful that she could cheer my girl up, even if I couldn't myself.
We went our separate ways as we headed off to work. I had only folded three uniforms when the alarm system started blaring. "We are now on lock down. Everyone hide immediately, no one enters or leaves! Lay on the ground for safety!"
That's when I heard the gunshots. "Piper!" I screamed. I ran past everyone laying on the ground, and shoved through the door, sprinting down the hallway to electrical. I heard screams in every direction, followed by more gunshots. Bursting through the door, I wildly looked around for Piper. Thankfully, I found her hiding under a table.
"Alex, what are you doing here?! You should be hiding!" she whispered. I kneeled down and sat next to her on the floor.
"I wasn't going to leave you alone. But how the fuck did a gunman get in here? Talk about shitty prison security," I said.
The gunshots ceased, and it went silent. I had never heard such deadly silence. Piper sniffled, and I held her in my lap, rubbing her back.
"It'll be okay, I won't let anything happen to you." Right as I said that, the door opened and in walked Kubra, a gun in his hand. My jaw dropped open, and I covered it to suppress the scream that was building up in my chest.
"Come on out, Vause," he said, smiling an awful smile. "I'm not gonna shoot you, I just want to have a friendly chat."
Piper stood up, getting out from under the table. She had a determined look on her face.
"Don't you fucking dare hurt her. I'll kill you!" she screamed. He started to raise his arm, and I flung myself in front of her. Kubra pulled the trigger, and everything went black.