Another Day Without You...

Chapter Nine.

Silence finally; The apartment was now quiet and had been for a few hours -  recently filled with cries and screams of frustration and confusion, the constant tapping of writing texts, the notifications whilst receiving, the never ending torture of the voices and thoughts swirling round the now fragile mind of piper, but finally after what seemed like months.. she was asleep.

Her chest rose and fell so softly and slowly - no longer fast and irregular,
Her face was finally relaxed and smooth - no longer scrunched and contorted,
Her mind was free and at peace - no longer racing and imprisoning,
She was finally asleep.

The hours ticked by and her body barely moved she was more than exhausted, everything that had happened has taken it toll on her entire being.

The letter box was the only noise that had broken the silence in hours, the loud clatter and the muffled whistling of the postman echoed round the corridor outside. Piper twitched as the sound bounced around the apartment, waking her out of her sleep.

The Swollen and stinging  sensation of her once piercing bright blue eyes although no longer bright and inviting but more the deep dark depths of the ocean, still beautiful in their way but had sense  of uncertainty, opened slowly.

The women's aching body slowly rose into a sitting position and waited for the room to stop spinning, pulling her hair back and out of her face she tied it up with the hairband  from around her wrist, things were still so confusing and uncertain but at least she was able to get a couple of hours of uninterrupted sleep, escaping reality for a while was bliss.

Dragging her body off the bed and walking towards the bathroom, glancing at the clock on the wall 10am.. Alex floods her mind once again - she needs to talk to her, she needs to hear her voice.

Heading into the bathroom and turning on the shower and slowly undressing once more she opens the glass door and steps inside.
A breathy moan leaves her lips as her body is consumed by the hot water coating her frazzled body, her eyes closed as the water hit her face, droplets fell from her chin - it wasn't tears this time.

____________________________________

The flow of warm, non linear water hit her face and rolled down and off her chin onto the pale body below, indistinct chatter and laughter muffled by the water and creaking pipes filled the shower space.

It was as far away from a relaxing shower as you could get but it was a shower no less.

The shower floor was now coated with a layer of bubbles from the soap and shampoo, a final rinse of her hair and body to rid any stray leftovers she reached and turned the shower off, her attention was brought to the tattoo on her forearm.. 'love is pain' she's sighs..

Grabbing her prison issue towel of the cubicle wall and wrapping it around her body and leaving the stall,  and walking round to the other side of the bathroom she wipes the condensation of the mirror and begins to brush through her long black locks, teasing the occasional knot out, then moving onto her teeth looking into the mirror and watching the toothpaste foam up she can't shake the feeling of something being wrong with piper.. a deep gut feeling that hadn't left her since piper didn't pick up the phone when she called.

Alex was used to being on her own and dealing with her own emotions, she didn't like it by any stretch of the imagination but she was more self sufficient than piper was, Piper was needy and always needing reassurance and hated her own company, so missing her phone call with Alex felt wrong.

The thought of Piper Moving on and finding someone else, falling out of love, or something being wrong circled Alex's mind, She hated the fact she didn't know and was unable to find out until 12 o'clock, that's even if Piper picked up this time.

Clipping her identity badge on her shirt and running her fingers through her hair once more to style it before putting on her glasses Alex let out a deep sigh, she was finally ready.
Alex would normally be working at this time but due to the ongoing building construction outside, work had been cancelled as it was a security risk.. the grounds weren't secure enough to let the prisoners outside so they were basically on lockdown but with phone and tv privileges.

Prisoners trapped in inside is never a good thing, tensions run so high and things can turn volatile in seconds, the rising heat and humidity didn't help either.

The family tried to stay busy playing cards, listening to music, trying to make light of the shitty situation they that surrounded them.
There was an atmosphere and not because of the lockdown but for a number of reasons;

Lorna was exited about leaving the prison but worried and starting her life again with her unborn baby, she didn't fair well on her own let alone with a child to look after and virtually no family, she needed to be comforted by the one person who always made the situation better but didn't feel she could express and talk about it in fear of making nicky upset.

Nicky was so happy for Lorna leaving but couldn't think too much into it as she was going to loose the love of her life again, and their future felt uncertain,
All whilst trying to battle the constant urge to relapse to forget the feelings but not wanting to disappoint her prison family.

Red could sense things were getting tough for nicky and she was anxious about how she would cope, Lorna leaving also contributed to the mixed feelings she was experiencing as she thought of her like a daughter too and she wondered about her on the life she would lead outside with her unborn grandchild.

Alex was also struggling with her past and addiction  as well as her future with piper, Lorna leaving and the toll it will take on nicky.

Everyone could sense the atmosphere and mixed bag of feelings yet no one spoke of it, distraction was the best thing they could do to help each other right now, keeping busy and enjoying the last few moments with each other, after all.. tomorrow everything was going to change.

The meth heads are also lingering round making temptation so much more intense for Alex and nicky, knowing they could get what they need in minuets as it was only a few feet away at all times.

The next couple of days we're going to be difficult for everybody.