The two of us - Nichorello

8. It's her

<Nicky's POV>

Caught up in the moment, filled with emotions, I inched closer to her so that our lips almost touched. I felt her warm breath against my skin, just before she stared into my eyes and our lips finally met again.

A tear escaped my eyes as I felt hers tickling below my fingertips and the saltiness of the tears on my tongue. We both knew that this kiss wasn't a symbol for our love or affection. It was a goodbye kiss, the one we should have had five years ago when she left. I felt her slowly pulling away, so I wiped her tears away, looking at her appreciatingly.

"Goodbye, Nicky." 

The light blinded me as she opened the door, but soon I was enclosed by the darkness again. Although I had craved for closure like this for five years, it reminded me of the kisses we used to share.

<flashback>

She giggled as I covered her eyes and led her to the romantic spot I had created. "Ready?" I asked as we reached the destination. I took her excited smile as a yes and let her open her eyes. She immediately gasped at the sight of our romantic picnic place, before inspecting it closely. She cautiously stepped towards the cliff, looking at the river silently making its way through the canyon. The trees around us were decorated with fairy lights, giving our surrounding a magical, yet mysterious glow. She turned around, her eyes filled with love and stepped towards me. I could tell that she was struggling to find the right words to say, which is why she just hugged me. I loved the fact that it meant so much to her that she was speechless.

"I love you so much," she whispered. I leaned away, taking in her face, glowing in the moonlight, before kissing her. She knew that this was my way of telling her 'I love you too'.

<flashback ends>

Energetically  I stood up, trying to avoid the fact that we would never share such a moment again. 

------------------

"Morello, what happened?" Red asked concerned, pulling me out of my thoughts. I looked over, gasping at the sight in front of me. Lorna's face was covered in blood, which was dripping on the floor. Her body was shivering weakly while she tried to hold herself up on the counter. Red immediately got a chair and sat her down, inspecting the injuries carefully. Lorna's eye was swollen, turning into a blueish color. The scratches on her upper lip and the red marks around her neck told exactly what had occurred.

"Honey, what happened?" Red asked worriedly. Lorna just shook her head and stared into the distance, not even crying. The only sounds leaving her mouth were silent sobs whilst the tears were mixing with the thick blood on her cheeks, creating a dark red paste. 

"Lorna, honey you need to tell me who did that to you," Red told her. She refused to tell her, probably afraid that she would get hurt even worse if she told Red.

I turned around as I noticed the tears in my eyes because I hated looking at Lorna when she was hurting. Trying to focus on my breathing I closed my eyes, yet the picture of Lorna in pain was still right in front of me.

"Nicky, get some wet towels," Red ordered. I shook my head, knowing that I needed to do something. Lorna was too weak to survive in this prison.

"No Red, I'll stay with Lorna," I said determinedly. Red frowned for a split second but then rushed away.

I immediately fell onto my knees in front of Lorna and held her hand. Through the tears, I could see her smile a little as my thumb started drawing circles on her skin. Gently I kissed her hand, telling her that everything would turn out fine.

"Tell me," I whispered. Although I knew how hard and intimidating it must be for her to talk about this, I needed to know in order to protect her. "Lorna, please," I begged starting to shed a few tears. She wrapped her arms around me and started to sob into my shoulder, leaving wet marks on my prison uniform.

A few minutes we stayed this way, her delicate hands holding on tightly, saving her from drowning in her ocean of tears. Weirdly, Red still hadn't returned with any sanitary bandages. While Lorna's breathing started to slow down into a regular steady pace, I picked her up and sat her down on the counter. I tied her hair back into a knot, trying to clean the blood from them. She looked at me with her red, swollen eyes, and smiled a little bit.

"You're so strong," I said smiling while I kissed her on the forehead. And just as I was about to turn around, my eyes met the one of Reds. She silently pressed her lips together, showing me how much she adored seeing me this caring and loving. Slowly she tapped out of the room, leaving me alone with Lorna again.

"Here," I handed Lorna a bag filled with ice. She flinched as the coolness met her skin. I held her hand in silence as we waited for the pain to fade away. "Thank you," she mumbled softly.

"You still need to tell me who did this, Lorna."

She sighed deeply, knowing that there was no way I was letting this go. "Crazy Eyes. It was her and Vee."

"Fuck," I groaned, knowing that they were hard to beat. "But please, Nicky, please don't do anything, alright? Please Nicky you'll just make it worse." I nodded in agreement, but in reality, I was already thinking of a plan.

-----------------
"Thanks for leaving me alone with Lorna earlier Ma, I think she needed a friend" I mumbled, hoping she wouldn't find out about my feelings.

She stopped for a split second but then continued to chop the vegetables in front of her. Lorna returned to her bunk in the meantime and was taking a nap from the exhaustion. Although I tried to convince her to see the prison doctor, we both knew that that would only be a waste of time.

Then, as if the thought had just occurred to her, Red said: "It's her isn't it?"