Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter One Hundred Eleven

The first night was not the most comfortable. As soon as Lorna awoke that very next morning each bone in her back felt as stiff as the damn mattress she had slept on. If it weren't for the light shining directly on her face she would have easily brought the blanket up to cover it. Instead, she was forced to push herself up off the bed despite how much her body wanted to lay there limp. She groaned with each movement she made. Her body felt like a couple of elephants had trampled on top of it throughout the night.

"Up and at em', ladies," a deep voice demanded through the open doorway of their room.

Lorna swallowed uneasily when she looked up and saw the male guard standing between the two sides of the wall where the door usually rested when it was shut. She looked over at the other bed and watched as Maria was just about done folding the blanket neatly over the mattress. Slowly, her head turned back to her own bed and she realized how unkempt hers appeared in comparison.

Apparently the guard noticed that as well as he walked over to Lorna's side of the room and angrily gestured his hand towards her very obviously unmade bed. "Don't just stand around, Morello, get this damn bed fixed and put together. What do ya think this is, huh? You think we have fucking maid service here? No, we don't, so get movin'," he barked, saliva falling out with his words and landing on Lorna's face.

The sensation instantly received an uncomfortable flinch out of her but she quickly shook it away and abided by the demand she was being given. Within seconds she was kneeling on the mattress, trying to pull the cover neatly over top of it but each time she pulled it up under her pillow a new wrinkle showed up and she had to fix it. It took merely five minutes for her to get it the way she felt it should be and when she got back up from where she'd been kneeling, she turned towards the guard just in time to see his disapproving head shake. Eyes quickly darted onto her bed again and her face scrunched up as she noticed there didn't appear to be anything wrong with the blanket or her pillow.

Baffled at the guard's expression, she turned her head once more away from the mattress and looked up at him. "Is there something wrong with the bed? It looks fine to me," she braved up to voice her inquiry, surprising herself. Shoulders puffed out in a shrug while she shifted her eyes between the guard and the bed in question.

However what occurred next certainly hadn't been anything Lorna was expecting. She watched in horror as the guard walked over to the top of her bed where the pillow was and ripped both the pillow and blankets off of it, tossing them harshly to the ground. Her hand covered atop her mouth so that her trembling lips couldn't be seen by neither him nor her roommate.

When he finished he turned back towards Morello and crossed his arms over his chest, a sly smirk displayed upon his face. Hands gestured profusely at the disheveled bed, "You obviously don't know how to make a bed the right way. Get over there and learn how to make it the right way. And hurry the hell up because classes start in ten minutes. If you're late, I'll make sure you're assigned extra grunt work."

The guard left the room but the door remained open.

Lorna swallowed a lump that had uneasily settled at the back of her throat and quickly went to work at making her bed a second time. Tears could be felt at the bottom her eyelids but she forced them to stay put. Regardless what Doctor Washington had said to her yesterday, she refused to allow herself the chance to cry in juvie. The people there didn't give a shit about her or her emotions contrary to what her therapist might or might not have believed or said.

It proved to be a bit of a challenge retaining the tears but she did it. There wasn't any other choice besides forcing them to stay right where they were. Lorna wasn't about to give the other girls in there a reason to automatically dox her. She had no clue how long she was going to have to live in this facility and she sure as fuck didn't want to spend the entire time trying to keep herself out of harms way. Though, with how aggressive the guards seemed to be she might not have a choice but to do exactly that every day.

Ruiz gathered her books and folders from the desk that separated her bed from Morello's. When she had them all contained underneath one of her arms, she turned towards Morello with a sympathetic expression melded on her face. "Don't mind Mr. Dixon as his name implies, he's just a dick to everyone. Even the other guards don't like him. He likes to do that to all the newbies, it's stupid. But we do need to hurry to the class because he ain't kiddin' about giving ya grunt work. Trust me, you don't want that," she informed her and waved a hand to gently but firmly to move Morello along.

Giving a nod, Lorna hurriedly finished remaking the bed and then went over to follow behind Maria out of the room. She hoped to God she didn't run into Annalisa in whatever the hell class they were headed to.

As they entered inside of the classroom door, which appeared just as run down as everything else in that building had, Lorna couldn't help but stare around at her surroundings. All the rooms in the facility were small and cramped. This classroom certainly wasn't an exception to that. This room couldn't have been much larger than the visitation room where she met with Doctor Washington yesterday evening. She subtly shook her head at the observation while continuing to make her way in behind Maria.

Eyes watched as the taller teen sat down in a desk in the middle of the classroom behind another girl. The girl gave an uneasy stare towards Lorna while she timidly passed by, she noticed through the corner of her eye. She swallowed thickly instead of giving into the flinch her body naturally wanted to do. Her stare returned to directly in front of her and she had planned to settle herself in the desk behind her roommate but now upon glancing at it, the chair had already been occupied so she reluctantly continued down the column of desks until she arrived at an empty one.

Sitting down in the chair connected to the metal desk, she felt her eyes widen quite a bit when it wobbled slightly forward. Hands instantly covered over her mouth. Of course she'd pick the desk that was unstable. Which was fitting for her since she knew she was unstable as well. Maybe that was the reason the desk she chose to sit at was wobbly, because her mind was a wobbly fucking mess just like her life now. Everything about her was wobbly, unstable, and a fucking mess.

A sigh came out of her as she tried to settle somewhat in her chair. But just when she felt almost comfortable a finger tap on her shoulder had her body innately jolting upwards. Naturally, she turned around to where she felt the tap come from and was unpleasantly met with Annalisa's icy blue eyes peering directly into her own. The color in her face immediately drained and her body became limp against the seat she sat on. Her life truly could not be more fucked up right now if it tried. Things only continued to get worse the longer the day went on. What the hell was next? Was Annalisa going to shove her in a locker in juvie? Did they even have lockers in there?

Lorna quickly turned back around so she was facing the front of the classroom again. Arms rested on the top of her desk's surface and within seconds she was laying her head right over top of them. The tapping on her shoulder from behind resumed and each time she felt it, she buried her face deeper into her sprawled out arms.

However, sat in the desk behind her, Annalisa didn't take kindly to being ignored. So the next time she brought her fingers across to tap on Lorna's shoulder, she instead moved them towards the back of her head and used her entire hand to violently grab it up off of the table. She held harshly the crown of Lorna's head in her hand firmly turning it until Lorna's face was facing her own. Blue eyes glared darkly into brown ones. "What're ya doing in juvie, Morello? Did ya accidentally step on a bug after school?" The questions were mockingly asked, a smirk instantly melding onto her face.

Moving her head away was not an option with how strong the blonde's grasp was on it. Lorna swallowed a wad of saliva and tried to hold in her emotions as best she could. Teeth dug into the flesh of her tongue; eyes squeezed shut so she wouldn't have to stare any longer at Annalisa's demonic face. Only she would be trapped in juvie with her own school bully. Only she would be sent to juvie for something that wasn't even fucking illegal. Only she would be forced by her foster family to undergo a medical procedure that was to benefit her own abusive father. Life really hadn't mixed well with Lorna Morello. Nothing was going her way. Nothing was even going in the right direction. Her life was a mess and all she could do was sit back and watch the shit show happen. There wasn't a thing she could fucking do to stop it. As if she was a puppet in someone else's control, a puppet to entertain and amuse whoever that someone happened to be.

Fortunately, though, before anything else had the chance to occur between Lorna and Annalisa the teacher came in and shut the door loudly behind her.

With a fierce amount of reluctance, Annalisa released her hands from the crown of Lorna's head and pushed her back into her desk for that last little bit of pleasure. She cleared her throat boisterously and when Lorna timidly turned her face around Annalisa waved a hand at her along with giving a taunting sneer. "We'll continue this conversation later, Morello," the words came out in a rather stern demand as they usually had any time Annalisa spoke to the brunette.

Lorna returned her head to the front of the room once more and subtly shook her head at the order she was given. As if her say didn't matter all. Of course to Annalisa nothing about her mattered other than her suffering and pain. She brought both of her hands up to her face, rubbing them violently over each of her cheeks. A frustrated breath huffed its way out of her mouth. This was like high school but on steroids with teachers who didn't care if the student's succeeded or failed.

Eyes landed on the only adult in the room, who was preparing her desk from the sound of papers crinkling about. Getting a better look at the woman now Lorna nearly choked once she noticed her to be the very same high school counselor she had spent a good portion of the last half of the year meeting with in the guidance office. A slight bout of relief and comfort poured over to realize that very fact. Maybe there was a small bright side in all of this.

Despite the relief, a puzzlement set in and her forehead formed creased lines quite profoundly. What was Mrs. Mendoza doing working here at the delinquent center as a teacher? Her mind grew riddled with queries and anxiety-induced thoughts. Did that mean she was no longer a counselor at the high school? With the restless slumber and lack of coffee Lorna couldn't make sense of any of this. It baffled her to a point where she felt a nauseating wave of anger. But she couldn't act on the anger with all the people in way too close proximity to her.

Tears once again formed at the pit of her eyelids and when she lifted her hands up to her face, she ragefully smashed them against her cheeks letting her nails scrape along the flesh beneath them. Teeth dug into her tongue, she couldn't handle this anymore. It was too much. She wanted the fuck out and wanted the fuck out now.

"Mm fear," Annalisa's voice whispered from behind. She took her math book off of her desk and threw it to the floor right next to it. Eyes watched Lorna closely, grateful when they immediately noticed how violently her petite body flinched at the sound of her book colliding with the hard cement floor underneath it.

"Damiva," Mrs. Mendoza's voice firmly called out as she turned from the chalkboard she had been writing the days' lesson notes on. Hands curled onto either sides of her hips, eyes giving a stern glare to the young blonde. She shook her head disapprovingly at the teen's decision to throw a book onto the floor. Sometimes she wondered if any of these teenagers were aware of what manners and etiquette were. "Please enlighten me as to why you just threw that very expensive math book on the floor. Do I need to write you up already? Class hasn't even started yet and you're already causin' a ruckus."

The blonde rolled her eyes while picking the book up off the floor and placing it right back where it previously rested on the corner of her desk. "Oh, my bad. I was just tryna greet our new classmate, Mrs. Mendoza. I guess I got slippery hands," she shrugged, a sly smirk on her face as she waggled her eyes in the teacher's direction.

Lorna swallowed a lump and sunk further into her seat so she wasn't noticeable to the other classmates. However, her attempt to make herself unseen hadn't accomplished what she had hoped for. The whole room had their eyes on her—the other teen's, aside from Maria, were giving her menacing look overs while Mrs. Mendoza had to cover her mouth to hold in the blatant shock she experienced first realizing the new student to be Lorna Morello.

Mrs. Mendoza gave a sympathetic glance in Lorna's direction before shifting her eyes onto Annalisa once more. Hands still curled over each of her hips. "You better cool it, Damiva. There will be no toleration of bullying in my classroom of any kind. And if any of ya feel the need to disregard that rule, I'll see to it that you're given cleaning duty of all the bathrooms. Do I make myself clear, ladies?"

Though the entire room was filled with a plethora of echoing groans, all of the girls gave head nods in acknowledgement to Mrs. Mendoza's question. She nodded back and quickly returned to her previous task she was working on on the chalkboard.

A couple of hours later had the teens filing out of the classroom in a not so orderly fashion. Mrs. Mendoza waited until they were all out of there, other than Lorna who remained in her seat, before going over to close the door and then joining Lorna near the desks. She stood beside her, placing a comforting hand onto one of her cheeks. That same hand cautiously lifted Lorna's head so that their eyes were looking in the same general area.

Taking the time to thoroughly look Lorna over Mrs. Mendoza sensed a tightness forming in her chest. Her face scrunched up slightly as she pondered about how Lorna was sitting in front of her right at this particular moment. How she was sitting in front of her at this moment in a juvenile delinquent center with the same girl who bullied her in the high school. The longer she thought about it the more confused she became. Lorna wasn't a trouble maker or a bully like the majority of the girls in this facility were. There was no plausible explanation Mrs. Mendoza could come up with for what Lorna was doing in a facility like this one.

"First, are you okay?" Mrs. Mendoza queried, brushing the tips of her fingers comfortingly along the length of Lorna's cheek.

Shoulders raised up and slumped forward again. A question she wasn't sure she had an answer for. She hadn't felt one way or the other, all she wanted was the fuck out of the fucking place. Everything was going to shit around her and she couldn't gain control. She was out of control and she fucking hated it. Anger was quick to reclaim its hold over her. Lorna slammed a hand down harshly onto the metal surface of the desk and felt the tears finally leave her eyes.

"I'm fine," she muttered distastefully through angrily gritted teeth. She moved both of her hands up to her face, smashing them violently into her cheeks. "I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fucking fine." As if the more she proclaimed it the truer the statement would become. When clearly, she felt the fucking opposite of fine. Death sounded immensely good to her right about fucking now.

Mrs. Mendoza shook her head and encircled her arms gently around Lorna's quivering body. She pulled her in so that Lorna's face naturally fell to rest against her chest. The tightness in her chest intensified and her motherly instincts instantly clicked on. Lorna's body language proved to her the words she spoke were nothing more than a lie. Lorna wasn't even a tad bit fine. She looked on the brink of a breakdown. Mrs. Mendoza was just grateful it was in her classroom that Lorna was about to have it in. At least she could provide her with the comfort and compassion the other adults in this building were lacking.

She placed a hand on the top of Lorna's head and slowly massaged the tips of her fingers into her scalp. "You sure don't look fine. And the fact that ya felt the need to hit your hand onto the desk negates the opinion that you think you're fine. Now tell me how you're really feeling," her voice was kept soft but firm.

"Angry. I'm really fucking angry and I just want the fuck outta this stupid place. I hate it here I hate everything. I hate everyone." The rage was intense, so intense Lorna wanted to claw her eyes right out from their sockets. She wanted to get something sharp and stick it through her fucking skin. She wanted to walk onto a busy street and get mauled to death by a big ass truck.

It was a fierce anger Mrs. Mendoza took a note of when she felt Lorna trying her hardest to escape the embrace. A frown molded to her face as she only secured her arms around the young teen. The massaging of her scalp continued but in a softened manner. "I'd be angry too if I were here. This place is awful. They don't clean it properly, they don't buy new equipment to replace the old worn out shit. It's a dump this place," Mrs. Mendoza agreed, gently stroking her fingers along the baseline of Lorna's scalp. "What happened? Why are you in here, sweetheart?"

"I don't wanna talk about it. I'm sick of talking about it—"

"Lorna, come on, tell me how you got in here. I know for a fact you're a good person and there's no way you could possibly have gotten yourself in trouble with the law."

Lorna forced herself furiously from Mrs. Mendoza's arms and started walking towards the front of the room where the teacher's desk was. Enough was enough. She couldn't handle the fucking rage anymore she needed some fucking release. And clearly, since she wasn't getting released from this shit hole, the only other logical release was finding a sharp object to cut herself with. She didn't even care if Mrs. Mendoza witnessed her do it. She was already at rock bottom, it's not like there was anything lower than that.

When she got close enough, she searched the area precisely until she came across a pair of scissors sitting in a glass jar alongside a bunch of pens and pencils. In a matter of seconds those scissors were being tightly engulfed by her hands and brought up closer to her eyes for a methodical inspection. Just the act of having them in her possession instantly brought a bit of calmness over her. As though holding the scissors meant she had control of her life again. It was in her control what she did with those scissors. She got to decide which part of her body she wanted to stick them through; how much pressure to put; how long she held them there. It was all her choice to make.

Witnessing the entire ordeal, Mrs. Mendoza acted on autopilot. She walked hurriedly up behind Lorna and immediately tried to grab a hold of the scissors. "Lorna, let go of them right now," she sternly ordered her. Eyes peered heatedly across into the teen's brown ones.

Shaking her head profusely Lorna only tightened her grasp on the scissors. No way was she going to allow them out of her hands. This was the only possible way she could get any bit of relief and she wasn't about to let it slip away from her. "I need them, Mrs. Mendoza. Let me have them…please. I need scissors," she desperately pleaded, staring frantically back at the older woman. No matter how fierce Mrs. Mendoza's stare was Lorna wouldn't release her grip from those scissors. That was the only thing she had to help her gain control of her life with she couldn't give in and lose them.

"And what is it you need these scissors for?" Mrs. Mendoza hardened her stare but did not release her grasp from the object either. She didn't need to hear Lorna's response to know exactly why she had the scissors in her hands to begin with.

Biting down on the corner of her mouth, Lorna shifted her eyes away from the all too easily knowing eyes of her high school's counselor. Neither one of them was about to let go of those damn scissors. So much for her plan to get relief. Teeth bit harder onto the inside flesh of her mouth. Why couldn't just one measly thing go right in her fucking life? "It don't matter. Just let me have them, please. Why won't ya just lemme have em', Mrs. Mendoza?" Impatience gradually seeped up and slid from her voice.

Placing one hand onto her hip, Mrs. Mendoza tilted her head to the side and gave a serious stare at the young teen. A stare that told her she wasn't stupid. "It absolutely matters to me, Lorna. Do you think I'm an idiot? I know exactly why ya want those scissors and I'm not letting you have them because of that. Now you let them go right this minute. I mean it, let go," she ordered, the sternness inflecting strongly through each word she spoke.

Lorna shook her head and threw up her free hand in exasperation. "Why do I want the scissors then?"

Compassion shined through Mrs. Mendoza's eyes as she peered into Lorna's. Her other hand was lifted up and soothingly cupped around Lorna's pale cheek. Tips of her fingers slowly stroked around its flesh, slower and slower each time she observed a flash of fury come across Lorna's face. "You tell me, sweetheart. You're very self-destructive, why else would you be looking for scissors? Or was it scissors you had in mind? Maybe just whatever sharp thing you could find, yeah?"

The fact that it sounded like Mrs. Mendoza was speaking exactly what thoughts had run through her mind when she was galloping around the room just a few minutes ago caused the color in Lorna's face to instantly drain away. Why was it so easy for people to read her but she couldn't even figure out one measly thought they might possibly be thinking? Had she just been cursed with an overly predictable behavior pattern?

She anxiously rested a hand on her neck and aggressively scraped her nails into the skin of it. "So what if I was lookin' for something sharp?" Anger gradually began building once more; nails continued to claw into the back of her neck. "Everything in my life fucking sucks right now and I wanted some damn relief, is that so fucking bad of me? Am I not allowed to make myself feel betta? Am I not allowed to get some fucking release? Why do ya have to care what the fuck I do? Why does anyone fucking care? Oh that's right no one does care. That's why I'm in this stupid fucking delinquent center anyway is because I'm so fucking unlikeable. No family wants to take care of me because I'm a troubled little ungrateful teenager. So sue me for wanting to find a sharp object so I can gain just a teeny little bit of control over my life. Everyone else can make decisions when it comes to my life, why the fuck can't I?"

For several moments, Mrs. Mendoza opened and closed her mouth without any words slipping out. Speechless was a bit of an understatement. She swallowed thickly, trying to find her voice again. Her voice may have been a temporary challenge to find but strength wasn't—she yanked the scissors right from under Lorna's grasp and quickly shoved them in her jacket's pocket so they were no longer in Lorna's line of view tempting her.

With those scissors finally out of the way, she immediately took Lorna into her arms and sat down with her in her desk chair. Many silent moments she allowed to pass by as she just sat there rocking Lorna against her. Hands comfortingly rubbed up and down the length of her spine, hoping to ease even a smidge of the girl's fury away. She shook her head sadly to hear just how broken and distraught the young brunette truly happened to be. It was bound to happen at some point—for a catastrophe to finally occur with how much time and energy Lorna put into covering up her emotions, her feelings. Now she was paying the price for all of that emotional hold back.

When she was able to regain her composure as well as formulate how to respond to Lorna's slight mental break down, Gloria took both of her hands away from Lorna's spine and instead framed them softly around each one of her cheeks. She held Lorna's face up directly in front of her own peering empathetically into her teary brown eyes. "Honey, cutting yourself with a pair of scissors is not gonna make you feel better. It may provide a temporary spurt of relief but that relief isn't gonna last and when it's gone you're just gonna want to cut yourself even more," the words effortlessly made their way out of her while she used the palms of her hands to caress from the tops of Lorna's cheeks down to the bottoms.

Lorna raised her shoulders and waved her own hands frustratingly in the air. That was the entire reason she craved to cut those scissors through her skin. She didn't give a fuck if the relief wasn't going to last; having to cut herself again wasn't a problem to her. She would cut and cut until there was no skin left to cut. Maybe it would even assist in getting rid of all the extra fat sitting throughout her body. That wasn't why she desired to do it but she wouldn't be disappointed to see the fat go with it.

"I don't care."

Gloria frowned and tightened her arms around Lorna's petite frame. Lorna's response was obvious. She was too blinded by the anger to really think about how poorly of decision it would be to start taking a pair of scissors to her skin. Or any type of sharp object for that matter. "I know you don't, Lorna. I wish you did care. You have a lotta behaviors that aren't okay. Behaviors that are hurting you. It makes my heart hurt to see how little you value yourself. Why do you feel the way ya do about yourself, hmm?"

Value herself so little? A thought hadn't even crossed Lorna's mind. There wasn't anything about her worth valuing. If there was maybe half the things she'd endured would have never happened at all. Maybe her father wouldn't have spent so many years abusing her and telling her what an ungrateful piece of shit she was. Maybe uncle George wouldn't have forced himself on her if she'd have had some sort of value. But clearly, because of what so many people had done to her, she was valueless. It was pointless to value herself when her own family didn't. When the child protective system didn't.

How could she value herself when people around her hadn't even? Lorna shook her head and bit down roughly on her lip. Talking wasn't what she needed or wanted to do at this particular moment. She wanted those scissors back so she could get the relief she heavily desired. But there was no way to get them with how Mrs. Mendoza was holding her and guarding the pocket she had placed the scissors in.

"I want the scissors. I don't want to talk about this. I want the scissors and I want to be left alone," she persisted, absolutely refusing to discuss anymore the topic at hand. The past two days were spent talking and if she had to talk another second she was going to physically combust.

"You're not getting the scissors, Lorna. You can want them all day and night but you're just not gonna get them. I do not condone self-harming behavior and I will not ever enable you to do so if I can help it. Now, you can sit here with me and we can stare at the wall until the sun goes down or you can tell me what would even make you consider trying to hurt yourself with a pair of damn scissors."

Frustration came to a boiling point, the entirety of Lorna's body grew intensely fidgety. Those scissors were her only lifeline to gaining back control and now were once again too far from her reach. Angry tears spilled out of her eyes making her fiercely shove her hands up to the flesh underneath them and clawing her nails at it to force the tears away. "I'm unwanted and unlikeable by everyone, so why the fuck should I care if I end up ruining my body with sharp things? People already don't want me, so it don't even matter."

Hearing Lorna's disclosure instantly brought a frown to Gloria's face and a pang to her chest. To know how deeply pained, how traumatized Lorna was from the foster system—her father's abuse—it was a hard thing for Gloria to digest. Her maternal instincts came in strong. If either of her sons were ever somehow put in a situation like that, she wouldn't be able to contain herself from going after the people personally responsible for their agony. The people who only strengthened their self-hatred. Teeth were gritting together the more she allowed her mind to ponder. It was sick to think there were adults capable of abusing and manipulating a sweet girl such as Lorna the way they had done to her. She couldn't fathom how much evil had to be inside of those people to make them want to take part in something so vile to begin with.

No one should have to feel the way Lorna felt about herself. Not an adult nor a child. Especially not a child, Gloria sadly thought with a shake of her head. The fact that Lorna felt so much self-loathing at only fifteen worried Gloria to think how much that would grow as she got older. Unless something was done about it quickly she feared Lorna may never learn to love or care about herself. She sighed, swallowing thickly down a bout of saliva that had formed.

Her arms gave a delicate squeeze to the young brunette's shoulders she had them wrapped around. "I can understand why ya feel that way, Lorna. But I promise you you're not unwanted or unlikeable by the people who truly matter," she patted a hand soothingly against the upper part of Lorna's back while concurrently pulling her a bit closer. Eyes gazed compassionately down into the deeply pained brown ones across from her. "You and your life are too precious for you to even think about harming yourself with scissors or knives or whatever object you find. You've already been caused enough physical and emotional pain by other people, you don't deserve to have it caused by your own self. You didn't deserve to be caused it by other people, either. It makes me just so sick to think about the fact that your own father could do what he did to you. I can't understand how a parent could even consider hurting their child let alone go through with actually doing so. His job was to protect you and keep you safe from predators but instead he was the damn predator. I'm so sorry you've had to live through a situation as horrid as that."

A hand waved up in the air as she went on speaking. "And then, now, for you to be put in a situation where you have to decide whether to give your dad a part a your liver—I can't express enough how enraged I am for you. You don't deserve to be going through any of this. You shouldn't be put through this, you're a child. This is not a responsibility that should ever be put on you—"

Arms immediately crossed over Lorna's chest as she gave a dark look up to Mrs. Mendoza. "I never told ya bout' the liver transplant, how would ya know that? Are you and Dr. Washington talking about me behind my back?" Eyebrows arched up skeptically above her eyes. Anger morphed into betrayal. The idea of anyone talking about her personal life behind her back made her feel vastly uneasy. Made her question if those people were as genuine as they claimed to be.

Gloria noticed the defensive stance immediately upon Lorna's interjection. It was a hard thing for Lorna to grasp around the relationship between she and her therapist. Lorna saw it as a betrayal when really the two only conversed about her as a means to plan the best way to help her through the many tribulations she was facing. But, regardless of that, Mrs. Mendoza could see why Lorna came to a conclusion like that one—with having dealt with all those tribulations, it would cause anyone to become suspicious and skeptical of other people's intentions.

"You did not tell me, you're right on that. Doctor Washington and I discuss your care in a private and professional manner, Lorna. It's not to upset or hurt you; we just are a team who want to find the best way we can help you. To you it may seem like we're breaking your trust but we're not. We're both just here to help you through everything. And sometimes, in cases like yours, it's better to have two people than one," she carefully tried to explain it to her.

However, Lorna shook her head and became a bit more defensive. Was she that much of a nuisance that not even one therapist could help her? She was so fucked up and complex she needed an entire team of them. Being told such wasn't easing away any of the skepticism that was for damn sure. "So basically what ya mean is is that I'm too screwed up for one person to be able to help me? I'm just a case to you and Dr. Washington? A fucked up case at that. I knew she only cared because she's just my therapist. I told her that, too, and she lied to my face. People only care about me if they're getting paid," her voice lowered and her bottom lip slightly tremored. Anger and rage finally dissipated but in their place were a heap of tears ready to spill over.

"That is the biggest load of nonsense, Lorna. Dr. Washington and I both truly care about you and want to help you heal from what you've been through. You're not a case to either one a us, I'm sorry for wording it that way. I didn't intend it to come across as if that's all ya are because you're not. Believe me, honey, if she or I didn't want to help you we'd have insisted you find a better suiting therapist. But that won't happen because we do want to help you. Whether you believe that or not," Gloria did her best to assure the young brunette teenager despite knowing what a mere impossible task that would be. Lorna was one of the most—if not the most—stubborn person she'd ever met and that said a lot. In her little over a decade of being a school counselor as well as juvenile facility educator she had met her fair share of stubborn students, however, none of them were as tightly wound as Lorna constantly appeared to be.

A sigh quietly expelled its way up from Mrs. Mendoza lungs as she softened the features on her face. Her arms released from around Lorna's body and instead she placed a hand on either side of her face, framing it right in front of her own. "You're not some fucked up case or fucked up at all. I'm sorry you've had people in your life who've made ya feel that way, Lorna, but I can assure you none of that is true. You're a sweet girl with a big heart and people who say otherwise are just spiteful," she stroked her thumb along the length of each of her cheeks she had her hands pressing into.

"If I wasn't fucked up I wouldn't be in this stupid place," frustration easily inflected through Lorna's voice.

Why else would Mrs. Figueroa lock her up in a facility such as the one she was trapped in right now? Only fucked up people got themselves in situations like the ones she had gotten into. Only fucked up people were considered burdens on society like she clearly must have been. Those were the only reasons Lorna could think of as to why she was where she was at this particular moment. Nothing else made sense other than those that had just played through her mind.

Shaking her head disagreeably, Mrs. Mendoza used her thumb to stroke a comforting circle around Lorna's cheek. Her heart soared for the girl's obvious pain. The frustration which hadn't gone unnoticed by her whatsoever. There had to be some kind of explanation as to why Lorna had truly been put in this sort of environment. At least she hoped there was because she surely couldn't see Lorna ever doing anything to render herself worthy of being in a juvenile delinquent center.

Had the social services system gotten so corrupted that they were just randomly throwing children without available homes into delinquent centers now? Many thoughts and queries whirled through Gloria's mind while her eyes intently searched over Lorna to try to find any clues. None of which were found due to how hard Lorna was to read. A sigh whistled from her throat. "You aren't fucked up," she gently repeated, giving a slight frown. Air huffed out of her between talking. "What happened that you're in here? Can ya tell me that? You're not a criminal, I can't imagine you doing anything to get yourself in this kinda place."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Yes, you do. It's okay to admit that. You're allowed to talk about things that have hurt or upset you if that's what you want to do, Lorna. You don't have to keep everything inside of you. That's what makes you turn to destructive behaviors is when you refuse to talk about those things," Gloria sternly, albeit gently, pointed out negating Lorna's comment entirely. A comment she knew was only another façade being put up by the girl. A façade that was slowly, yet certainly, killing Lorna.

Lorna shook her head in protest and forced her way out of Mrs. Mendoza's grasp. She backed farther and farther away unsure exactly of where to go. Eyes darted around the room but she didn't situate herself anywhere, only walked away from the desk she and Mrs. Mendoza had been standing behind for the past several minutes.

Gloria observed the whole ordeal and followed behind her. She stopped her from pacing any longer with a hand resting onto her shoulder. Their eyes peered in the same direction and she sighed. "Come on, Lorna, let's sit down and talk about this. Whatever is going on, it's clearly gotten worse and talking through it might help a little. Maybe I can help you out of this situation."

There was no other option than for Lorna to follow Mrs. Mendoza from the sensation of one of her hands being gently taken by hers. The pair settled into a couple of chairs in the back of room separated by a small table. It was a heavily reluctant choice on Lorna's behalf—or rather lack there of choice. She crossed a leg over the one she had dangling off the edge of the seat, barely touching the ground from her short stature.

Eyes peered down at the floor beneath where her foot hardly rested over. In silence she counted how many tiny dots made up the pattern of said floor. But her mental counting didn't last long. She heard Mrs. Mendoza's throat clearing and exhaled a deep breath. Shoulders raised up to the sides of her face. "I spent the night at a friend's house the other day instead of staying at the Chapman's and Mrs. Figueroa said I hadda go here because a that," the words were spoken not much louder than a mere whisper.

It took a couple of minutes for Lorna's response to process through Gloria's mind. The response was hardly comprehendible to her. Showed her that the system truly was that bad in today's society. A system that was supposed to be helping children was now only making things worse for them. There was no sense behind the reasoning for Lorna's being here—Gloria had figured it might have been something to do with the foster situation but this was much more fucked up than what she thought it could have been.

Her eyebrows curved upwards the longer her stare dwindled on Lorna. "Is that the whole story, Lorna? Did anything else happen? I just—I'm in shock the social worker would do something like that. That's just insane and illogical."

Biting down on the tip of her tongue, Lorna turned her head slightly away from the older woman and fixed her eyes on the only window in the room. A small, barred, window which was hard to see out of. It was hard for her to believe the life she led now. In less than a year her life went from mostly normal to a complete and utter mess. The death of her mother was the death of normalcy. Her mother made their family what it was and now their family had been in shambles. Or, rather, more in shambles now than before her passing.

Now, she was stuck in this shit facility because no one else wanted the responsibility of taking care of her. The one person who did was refused such by the court of the state. Lorna raised a hand up and placed it on one of her temples, rubbing it until her fingers were digging into the bone of it. Maybe refused wasn't the proper way to describe it but clearly if that court was taking this long to approve it they hadn't want Franny to be granted guardianship of her. Her dad must have somehow got in contact with them to fuck up her life even more. He couldn't stand the mere thought of Lorna living a happy life. God forbid.

The world just wasn't for Lorna. No matter what she did, regardless of how good it might have been, she would never have the chance to live the same normal life she once had. Everything was stacked against her and she lacked the ability to move past any of it. The hole she'd somehow managed to get herself in was too deep for her to ever fully climb out of it. But, now that almost a year had passed, she had come to accept that fact. This was her life and would be until the day she took her last breath. Whenever that might be.

"Well, before that I stayed a couple nights at my sista's place. And we were having coffee at the hospital cafeteria and Mrs. Figueroa showed up there—I think she was stalkin' me…with that stupid tracking chip the stupid Chapman's put in my shoes. She told me then if I kept not staying at the Chapmans' house she'd throw me in juvie. I didn't listen so I guess I'm the reason why I'm here," shoulders lifted up to her cheeks. Being here still was better than if she had stayed with the Chapman's. Even with being in close proximity of Annalisa, she thought. At least Annalisa wasn't going to cut her open and take out any of her organs like Mrs. Chapman had been about to sign off on for her.

Crossing her arms intriguingly over her chest, Gloria arched both eyebrows as she stared intently at the young brunette. The reason still remained a ludicrous one in her mind. She couldn't imagine it was legal for Mrs. Figueroa to put Lorna in a juvenile delinquent center such as this one just because she hadn't been staying at the Chapman's house. But it did confirm that she was right to believe Lorna hadn't done anything criminally wrong to get herself placed in this facility.

While her stare had remained on Lorna, she observed her behavior rather thoroughly. Watching as she kept her own brown eyes on the window fixed on the wall on the side of the room near the heating and cooling system. "That's no reason for you to be in here, Lorna. I'm so sorry you've been put in this situation unfairly. But, out of curiosity, is there a reason you didn't wanna stay with the Chapman's after Mrs. Figueroa told ya about that bullshit rule?" Eyes stayed on Lorna's face despite not having the gesture returned.

A gob of saliva coated itself over Lorna's tongue. She unnervingly swallowed it down and shifted her foot against the tiled-floor beneath it. Gradually, she turned her head back towards Mrs. Mendoza and peered exasperatingly into her eyes. Ones that stared into hers with a heaping overload of compassion. "Well, Mrs. Figueroa took me away from the hospital and drove me to their stupid house. But Mrs. Chapman was sittin' talkin' about how she was going the next morning to sign consent forms so I'd have to go through with the transplant," was the shortened response she gave to answer Gloria's query. It tried her to have to continuously repeat the story to anyone who chose to interrogate her about it.

Each time Gloria thought things couldn't possibly deteriorate for Lorna she was proven just how vastly wrong she was in such an assumption. It tugged tremendously on her heart to hear how incessantly Lorna's predicament worsened more and more. The girl couldn't seem to ever catch a break and that wasn't fair. No one should have to be dealt a continuous bad hand of cards the way Lorna always appeared to be handed. "Oh, Lorna," she murmured softly, reaching over the table to place a comforting hand onto one of Lorna's she saw sitting restlessly above its surface. "I'm so sorry to hear that. I don't even know what to say. How could Mrs. Chapman even consider making such a decision? You're in no physical condition to be undergoing a procedure as dangerous as that and regardless, you shouldn't have to go through with that anyway. It's not your responsibility to save a person who's fucking spent a lot of your childhood abusing you. The same person who's the reason for all of what's going to fucking begin with."

"Mrs. Chapman said the only good thing I could do is give my liver to my poor, sick, dad. But I think she just wants me to do the transplant so she don't have to have me in her house no more. Cause' my dad would get betta and I'd be sent back home with him," Lorna told her, bowing her head down so her eyes gazed onto the material of the pants covering atop her legs. Air sadly made its way out of her throat. Either she lived in this place or went home to her father. Neither were choices that sounded good to her but the choice was not hers to make. None of them were. She had no say in her own life. Not even over her own damn body, her own fucking organs. She didn't own anything according to Mrs. Figueroa and Mrs. Chapman.

"Oh hell no. There's no way you're going back to live with a person who thinks it's okay to fucking put his evil hands on you. And you sure as hell shouldn't be forced to undergo any kind of operation like the one Mrs. Chapman's trying to force on you. What is going on in this damn world? What is going on in this damn city? Has everyone lost their fucking minds?"

Lorna threw her hands up, lines creasing on her forehead as she looked directly into Mrs. Mendoza's eyes. "Then I guess I'll be here until I'm an adult because Mrs. Figueroa told me I can't leave unless some other dumb foster family takes me in but that won't happen because who the fuck would want to take me in? No one. Especially not after she tells them how troubled and fucked up I am," the words shrieked out of her trembling lips. She didn't even try to hide the trembling of her lips like she normally would—it required too much energy to do so. Energy she didn't have enough of at that particular moment.

A snuffle was momentarily sucked in through Mrs. Mendoza's nose. For a second she felt her heart constrict with pain for Lorna and how she happened to feel so low of herself. How the system had screwed her over so bad Lorna thought she was forever unlovable, undesired. It was maddening to her maternal heart. Maddening to her maternal mind, maternal bones. Every maternal part of her. Shaking her head in disdain was the one thing she could do to retain the anger from fully displaying itself.

Her hand which had been cupped around one of Lorna's cheeks she released from it and instead grabbed a hold of one of Lorna's. She squeezed it tenderly in her own, wishing the gesture had the ability to erase even a smidge of Lorna's self-hatred. But that was merely impossible to do. Lorna needed a lot of therapy to help her work through that, she knew. Therapy and to be surrounded by people who wholeheartedly cared about her were what would do the most for Lorna. Were the two things that she needed more than anything else.

"You need to stop calling yourself fucked up, you are not even close to being that. And none a that shit ya just said is true at all. You're a very loveable, likeable, girl. You have a big heart that your actions and words without fail show people. The people who think you're the opposite of anything I just said are only ignorant, lost, souls. Their hearts are not kind and gentle like the one you have, honey. You're better off without people like that but that doesn't make you an unwanted child because you're not unwanted. I'd love to take you in, Lorna. I know what ya want is to be home with your sista but until she can get that guardianship approved, how would ya feel about coming to stay with me?"

It took a couple of seconds for Lorna's brain to process what was just offered to her by the older woman. The tears that had been threatening to spill out for the past twenty minutes finally did so without giving Lorna a chance to stop them. She could hardly believe the words. Couldn't understand what reason Mrs. Mendoza would have to want to take her in. But she didn't have the energy to try and understand at that point in time. All she could do was lean across the table and throw her arms graciously around the Hispanic woman's neck. Tears incessantly fell from her eyes and soaked into the cotton of the shirt where she was lightly pressing her face into.

Without any hesitation, Gloria encircled her own arms once more around Lorna's petite frame pulling her closer to her. The feeling of Lorna's tears seeping through her shirt's cotton material easily encouraged her eyes to form their own stream of tears. She placed one of her hands on the teen's back, comfortingly rubbing it up and down the length of it. The bond she had formed with Lorna since the beginning of the year made it rather effortless for her to come to the decision of becoming a foster parent. She couldn't bare the thought of innocent children such as Lorna being bounced around from one uncaring family to the next. It took only a matter of weeks for her to finally receive an acceptance letter of her the application she sent in. And now, completely unplanned, having Lorna show up in this facility she happened to work in, it felt like fate to her. Fate she was supposed to become a foster parent so she could provide Lorna with a temporary loving home while she waited for her older sister's guardianship to get approved.

"I-I uh I mean I'd like that a lot, Mrs. Mendoza," Lorna regained the ability to speak though fumbled slightly over her words. Tears hadn't yet ceased from falling along her cheeks.

Sniffles took turns escaping through her windpipe. And she meant what she said; if she couldn't be with her sister the next person she'd feel safe with having as her guardian was her high school counselor. There was a sincerity about her that more often than not left her with an intense wave of comfort. Mrs. Mendoza's energy occasionally made her think of her mother. The same kindness and compassion was shared between the two of them. That was how Lorna saw it, anyway. "But, uh, but you don't—you don't have to do that. I can't believe you'd even make such an offer. Aren't the kids ya got grown already? Why would ya want a teenager like me around for?"

"Hey," Gloria gently muttered, embracing the frantic teen more securely against her. "Shh, shh," she soothed while rubbing Lorna's back delicately with the hand she still had resting on it. "Yes my boys are grown but that doesn't mean I can't take you in. You're a sweetheart, you deserve to have a loving home to come to each day after school. I can provide you with that. I want to provide you with that, honey. Plus, it would be nice to have you there with me—with my boys in college, it's been kinda lonely in my house. So, I think it'd be good for both of us."

Wiping her face with the sleeve of her arm Lorna waited for the sniffling to ease up before attempting to respond. Only a few minutes had passed when she had, for the most part, regained her composure. Her arms still held around Mrs. Mendoza's neck but she lifted her head to be able to properly peer up into her eyes. "I don't, erm, I don't know what to say. I'm speechless, Mrs. Mendoza. But like in a good way. A real good way and I can't really explain how much I appreciate the offer. I mean did ya, um, did ya just now decide to do this? I wouldn't be able to make that kinda choice that quick but I'm also real bad at making choices anyway," she said, shrugging her shoulders simultaneously.

Keeping the embrace close and secure Gloria gave a slight smile. She took her hand which had been stroking along Lorna's spine and replaced it on the crown of her head, letting her fingers soothingly rake through her thick strands of brown waves. The decision was pondered over for quite a while after their first few counseling sessions in the school but was finalized today once she'd learn of how poorly Lorna's situation had gotten. She couldn't leave there today, in good conscience, knowing an innocent young girl was paying the price for other people's crimes. Lorna deserved and needed a stable home and Gloria knew full well she had the means to provide her with exactly that.

The decision wasn't hard to make once she'd thought of all the pros and cons. The pros certainly outweighed the very miniscule cons. It was, honestly, not even a choice that she needed to have a second or third thought over. She wanted to give Lorna what Mr. Morello and the Chapmans failed to. An environment full of love, compassion, and empathy. "I've been thinking about becoming a foster parent for a while now, Lorna, and I sent in an application about a month ago. Talking with you and hearing about your situation it just made me think. And I want to be there for children like you so that encouraged me to look into fostering. My application was accepted a couple a days ago and then today, I see you here and hear what you're dealing with now…there's no way I couldn't offer to take you in. You know, it's fate that this happened. I think it is anyway. What about you, sweetie? Do ya believe in fate?"

Lorna gave a small nod. Fate was something she remembered her mom talking about quite often in her younger years. And she knew her mother to be a highly bright and wise woman so if fate was something Mrs. Morello believed in Lorna believed it had to be real. Thinking of her mother caused both a sigh to escape her as well as a faint smile to shape on her face. "Yeah, I think I do. My mom always said things happened for a reason and how fate was a real thing so I believe it is, too," she shared the thought out loud, returning Mrs. Mendoza's stare.

"Well, then, it's settled," Gloria softly declared while giving a final squeeze to Lorna. She gently released the embrace and stood up so she could make her way to her desk. Hands clasped together as she got situated in the chair behind her desk, she looked onto its surface and rummaged through the papers which were sprawled out across it. "I'll call up the agency and let them know I'd like to be your foster parent. Okay? And while that's getting taken care of, you'll have to go on back out and do whatever job they assign you. But I promise by the end of the day I'll be bringing you home with me. So don't stress yourself out too much. And if any of the girls or guards give ya a hard time, you just come right back here. I don't want anyone giving ya any grief. Understood, honey?"

Another nod was given to acknowledge Mrs. Mendoza's comment. The smile on Lorna's face remained though faltered a smidge when it was told to her she'd have to rejoin the rest of the delinquents. She huffed out a breath but tried to focus her mind on the bright side. At least it would only be for today that she would have to put up with all that. Just needed to get through this one day and then she'd be going to a place where she was actually wanted and cared about. She could manage one day, it wasn't even a full twenty-four hours—merely half that or less.

The coffee shop was rather empty when Nicky solitarily entered inside of it after finishing a mundane day of school. An entire day of school without Lorna there by her side. Another full day without having seen her cherub face at all. She felt quite solemn making her way down to the sales counter alone. One of Lorna's favorite places to go with her and she wasn't even there to do so. It wasn't right or fair. Lorna should have been there waiting in the line beside her. She should have been back living under her older sister's roof like the two had planned instead of now being trapped inside a damn juvenile facility.

Nothing ever appeared to be fair or right in Lorna's life and that fact alone was enough to boil Nicky's rage right back to the surface. She swallowed tightly, mentally forcing the bubbling rage away. The rage wouldn't change anything. Wouldn't undo what was done and wouldn't magically make Lorna appear there with her now. She exhaled a deep breath and gradually returned her focus outside of her mind when she noticed she had made it to the front of the line.

Seeing Alex's standing on the other side of the counter brought a small bit of comfort to her. A smile melded onto her face as she made eye contact with her best friend. "A plain black coffee, please," she told her though she knew she didn't even have to. Alex was aware of her order like the back of her own hand.

Nodding her acknowledgement Alex returned her friend's smile and quickly went to fix her a disposable cup of the plain black coffee she had ordered.

As she waited for her coffee, Nicky caught a glimpse of a familiar lengthy brunette peering out through the doorway just to the right of the sales counter and visibly flinched. That damn Shani girl again, she immediately realized. She forgot Shani had unfortunately been offered a barista position at this specific coffee shop. She darted her eyes as far away from the girl as possible but not before witnessing an eye wink being given in her general direction. The gesture only added to her discomfort.

Not before long Alex came back to the counter and kindly reached over it to hand Nicky her coffee. "Here ya go, kid. How're ya holdin' up, huh? You look like it's been a rough day…Probably been missin' Lorna a lot, yeah?" Concern etched onto her face while peering right ahead into the younger girl's solemn brown eyes.

Listening in on the conversation being shared between her coworker and the redhead who she couldn't keep her eyes off of, Shani quirked her eyebrows in interest and returned out from the breakroom she'd been hiding in. A smirk curved onto her face as she walked up right behind Alex and peered intently across at Nicky. "Your girlfriend broke up with you?" She asked, eyelashes batting outwards. "Hm, well, that's too bad. She seemed like she had a couple of screws loose anyway so she did ya a favor."

Alex facepalmed herself and shook her head disapprovingly at her coworker. Blue eyes quickly shifted onto Nicky and when she easily picked up on the reddening of her cheeks, she reached a hand across to comfortingly cover over one of hers with.

The comment instantly caused all of Nicky's anger to resurface in a matter of microseconds. She was mid sip when she heard it, taken by surprise, and the coffee sputtered right out of her mouth. What came out landed on Shani's hands that were touching the top of the counter and if she hadn't been so infuriated she would have grinned from how much she thought the girl was served right. But she didn't grin, not even in the slightest.

Arms folded in over her chest while her eyes glared darkly into the taller teen's. "Not that it's any a your business but no, you're wrong. Lorna is my girlfriend. My sweet, angel, of a girlfriend who's going through hell right now and if I ever hear ya talk shit about her again, I'll make your face unrecognizable. Is that fucking understood?"

Alex watched the interaction with a knot in her gut. She knew Nicky wasn't playing around. Anyone who badmouthed Lorna wouldn't be taken lightly by Nicky.

"Gee, maybe you have some screws loose too. You'd have to to defend a girl like your girlfriend," Shani snickered.

Not giving Nicky a chance to respond back, Alex took it upon herself to intervene. She turned to glare at her coworker. That comment rendered her a former coworker, she bitterly thought. "You can turn in your apron and nametag. We don't allow employees here to act unprofessional and insult our customers. You need to leave. Now," her voice sternly demanded.

Throwing her apron to the floor along with her nametag, Shani stomped her way from behind the counter but before she made it to the front entrance of the building she stopped right at Nicky's side. She leaned her head closer until her lips merely touched against the rim of one of Nicky's ears, "I'm not through with you or your mental little girlfriend. Just keep that in mind." However, she didn't give any time for the shorter teen to say anything in response as she frisked her way to the door and exited out of the building.

"Come on, kid, come back with me to the breakroom for a minute. I'll leave the service bell out in case any other customers come in," Alex told her while waving a hand for Nicky to follow her through the same archway where they had both previously witnessed Shani come out of.

Reluctantly, Nicky abided by her friend's request and followed behind her into the employees' only room despite not being one herself. Her teeth clattered tightly together, anger still fuming underneath her veins. The nerve that Shani girl had to name-call Lorna. Her Lorna. Her sweet, precious, Lorna. Nicky was just glad that even though she didn't have a chance to seek revenge on her, at least the coffee she choked on came out and ruined Shani's clothing. That appeared to be the only saving grace in the matter.

They each took a seat at the one and only table in there, Alex reaching across it to take one of Nicky's hands gently in her own. She could easily sense the intensifying fury oozing from her face. "I'm sorry about that, Nicky. That was real fucked up a her. I knew that girl was trouble and shoulda never been hired to work here in the first place. Are you okay? Anything I can do for ya?" She ran her thumb delicately from one side of Nicky's knuckles gradually over to the other.

Nicky sipped her coffee and shook her head. "Don't worry about it, Vause. It's not your fault. Shani's the least of my problems right now," she waved her hand and huffed out an exasperated breath. That hadn't negated the fact she still had the yearning to deck her in the face a couple of times but she had bigger fish in the sea which required her attention. "Right now I'm more concerned about how the fuck to get Lorna outta juvie. You got any ideas?" Eyes shifted onto the blue ones of Alex's, an inquisitiveness seeping through her own.

"Well, we just gotta wait and see what information Poussey found out. She said she was looking into it, yeah? Give her a little time, kid, it's been barely a day. I know you're antsy to have Lorna back but we gotta be patient."

A sigh escaped the redhead. God Alex just had to be the rational one in all of this. She quirked an eyebrow, however, when she heard how Alex addressed Lorna's therapist as Poussey instead of Dr. Poussey. Interest instantly was piqued. "Poussey, huh? Not even Dr.?"

The query made it hard for Alex to resist her lips from curving into a slight smile. One of her hands gestured in the air, "Well, we mighta exchanged numbers after you left the room." She felt a chuckle threatening to whistle through her throat and used her hand to stifle it by covering it against her mouth.

Nicky narrowed her eyes further onto her best friend. She took a decent sip of her coffee and then set the cup onto the table's surface in front of her. "You mean like exchanged numbers so that the two a ya can play softball together?" Eyebrows waggled above her eyes, arms crossed over her chest but a light-hearted smirk melded upon her face. When she witnessed the other's head nod the smirk intensified. Hands clapped together. That certainly wasn't anything she was expecting to happen.

"Hey, she ain't my therapist," Alex pointed out while holding up a hand for emphasis. Nicky chuckled, she saw, and so she allowed herself to finally chuckle as well. "Besides she's only a few years older than me and I find her attractive. Figured it wouldn't hurt to dabble my way into dating again with her. Ya know? I've made her a fair amount a coffees at the hospital so we're not total strangers."

Lips morphed into a more genuine smile. Nicky reached across the table and rested a hand on Alex's shoulder, giving it a friendly pat. "Good for you, Vause. Dr. Poussey is pretty hot so I can't blame ya there," she admitted, one of her eyes threw a playful wink the older girl's way. A finger was held up right after, however, and she gave it a faint wiggle. "Of course she's not quite as hot as my girlfriend but she's definitely up there. And you're not half bad either, Al. Any woman would be lucky to date you."

Shaking her head with a second chuckle, Alex motioned both hands in the air. "Gee, thanks Nicky. I'm glad I'm not half bad so what, I'm half good?" But she placed her hand over Nicky's hand that had still been laying on her shoulder and gave a gentle stroke over each of her knuckles to show she was only teasing her.

"Aw, Vause, ya know I meant that in a good way—hey, clearly Dr. Poussey finds ya just as attractive as you find her. Huh? Hell, I think if you two end up together you'd make one fine as fuck couple…don't you?" Nicky winked with a warm smile. Fingers softly stroked into the blade of Alex's shoulder they remained atop of.

Taking her glasses momentarily off from her face Alex folded the ear pieces over and held one side to her mouth while gazing dramatically up at the ceiling. She nodded and the pair erupted into a banter of laughter. "Yeah, I think we would be a real attractive couple Poussey and me. But you're fast tracking, Nicky, she and I haven't even gone on a date yet," Alex pointed out with a hand gesture. Of course she, too, had spent a fair amount of time fantasizing what it might be like to possibly be in a relationship with Poussey ever since the pair had exchanged contact information the previous afternoon.

Nicky nodded and laughed. It was nice to have a little distraction from her current life situation the thought popped in her mind as she sat there having a light-hearted conversation with her best friend. Laughing felt good and also eased away a good portion of the anger. Just sitting there with Alex was enough to make some of the anger dissipate. Alex always had that affect on her ever since the two had become friends. She had a constant rationality about her that naturally brought a calmness anywhere she went.

Eyes averted onto her cup of coffee and automatically she cupped a hand around it, gently lifting it from the table. She hugged her lips around the rim of the paper lid and sucked down so that the liquid came swirling into her mouth. Once she was pleased with the volume of coffee she had swallowed, she set the cup back down and refocused on Alex. "Well, first she's gotta help me get Lorna outta juvie then you and Dr. Poussey can plan your date. I just don't want her to get distracted by your attractiveness and forget about my sweet girlfriend, ya know?"

"I get it, kid. Hopefully she'll find a way to get her out of there soon. Poor Lorna. She's such a sweetheart, I can't imagine how she's holding up in juvie. Ya think she's doing okay in there, Nicky?"

Nicky raised her shoulders up in a shrug. Eyes sunk in slightly while her mouth curved down into a frown. Lorna was a sweet girl with a very naïve way of thinking; juvie was certainly no place for her. She had been in there once, a few years prior, for a week and nothing about juvie was sweet or innocent. Lorna wouldn't do well in there for long. Hell, the one week she had spent in there was dreadful and Nicky liked to think of herself as pretty resilient but even a short stay in juvie showed her weaknesses.

If it had the ability to mentally bring Nicky down she couldn't even begin to imagine what juvie was doing to Lorna's already frail mind. Air sadly huffed out of her. "I have no clue, Vause. But I just hope to God Dr. Poussey can get her out of there as fast as possible. Lorna's too nice for fucking juvie. Way too nice. I wouldn't trust any a the other girls in there anywhere near her. Especially because those girls are actual criminals unlike Lorna. Lorna's probably so scared and alone and thinking about that shit makes my chest hurt. When Lorna finally does get outta there the first thing I'm doing is holding her for an entire day. Cause' I'm sure ain't no one in that place is showin' her any kind of compassion," Nicky loudly declared while peering directly ahead of her at a random spot on the wall behind Alex. She bit down on the side of her mouth and drew in a sharp breath. She hoped to the entire universe that Doctor Washington was able to come up with a way to get Lorna out of there as quickly as was possible.

The drive from the juvenile facility to Mrs. Mendoza's house passed by in under a half-hour. Lorna still hadn't fully processed the day's events as she sat in the passenger seat with her right cheek resting on the rim of the car window. When the vehicle came to a stop in a driveway full of gravel Lorna finally shifted her eyes off of the window and over onto Mrs. Mendoza—or, now, rather her new foster mother. She felt air catch itself in her throat at the realization. Mrs. Mendoza wasn't just her school counselor anymore but also her temporary guardian.

Sensing a pair of eyes on her, Gloria turned her head to stare back at the culprit. Immediately she noticed the glassy look in Lorna's eyes and reached across the center console to take a delicate hold of one of Lorna's hands in her own. With a tenderness, she brushed a thumb from one knuckle all the way down the line to the last one. "I know it's been an overwhelming day for ya, honey. It's okay to cry if ya need to," she gently assured her while continuing the soothing motion around Lorna's hand.

With her free hand held up Lorna used it to wipe at the flesh below each of her two teary eyes. A sniffle escaped from her windpipe. She gave a nod to Mrs. Mendoza along with a tiny bit of a smile. "I just—I'm real grateful that you, that you chose to take me in. I don't know how I can ever repay ya for this, Mrs. Mendoza. What, what can I do? Please is there anything ya want me to do to—"

"Sweetie, you don't have to do anything to repay me for this. I want you to have a safe and stable home—you deserve to have that. You don't have to do anything to earn that," Gloria quickly interjected when she heard where the conversation was headed. She released her hand from Lorna's and chose to frame it around one of her cheeks instead. Holding it tenderly in her hand so she could carefully move Lorna's face until their eyes were staring right into one another's. "You're wanted here, Lorna, and there's nothing you have to do to earn such a thing. Okay?"

Lorna timidly nodded and Gloria gave a warm pat to her cheek. "Good. Now let's get inside and we'll get your stuff all set up in your room. And then when that's done, you can watch me make those empanadas I told you about. Does that sound good to you, Lorna?"

Her room…her room? Eyebrows arched strangely up above her eyes. The revelation instantly had tears come gushing along her cheeks again. She swallowed thickly and lifted her hand up to touch over the one resting on her cheek. "Y-you mean I-I uh I get my own room? Like a guestroom that I can stay in?" Surprise inflected itself through her voice. Maybe Mrs. Chapman was a breed of her own. Mrs. Mendoza was the complete opposite of Mrs. Chapman; there wasn't a fake bone in her body. She was like her mother only Spanish instead of Italian.

The shock in Lorna's voice made Gloria's face scrunch up identically to how Lorna's was only a few minutes earlier. A nod was given as well as a gentle caress of the cheek her hand had been pressed into still. "Of course you get your own bedroom. It's not a guestroom anymore, Lorna, it'll be your room and you can make it however ya want. Why are you so surprised over this? Did the Chapmans not allow you a space of your own, honey?" Curiosity etched onto her face.

"I had a room to stay in but Mrs. Chapman didn't call it my room or nothin'. She just called it the guestroom they were allowing me to stay in. I knew she didn't like me but that made me feel like she was embarrassed to have me there. I don't know—I'm just glad I don't ever have to go back," Lorna muttered, averting her eyes out onto the windshield.

Gloria shook her head in disdain. She was beginning to really despise this Mrs. Chapman. It was obvious to her that the woman sure didn't have a maternal bone in her body. Or if she had she had a funny way of showing it. Attention rapidly dissipated off of Mrs. Chapman and focused back onto Lorna. "I'm so sorry she made you feel that way. You're not an embarrassment at all. The hell's wrong with this Mrs. Chapman? Well, don't even worry about her for another second. You're here with me now, sweetie, and you'll have your own bedroom that is yours. I'm more than happy to have you in my house. Now, come on, let's get out of this car and inside. I'll help you get settled in your room and then show ya around the house."

"Wow, Mrs. Mendoza, that's a lotta work to make those empanadas," Lorna stated after watching the older woman finally place the tray of freshly prepared pastry-wrapped meat and vegetables into the oven.

Gloria chuckled softly, closing the lid back up and setting the timer on the stove top. When she was finished she rejoined Lorna at the island which separated one part of her kitchen from the other. "They do take up quite a bit of time but I promise you that time is so worth it once they're all baked and smellin' up the house. Mm, I'm makin' my own mouth water just talking about it," she said with another chuckle. Hands clasped together and her eyes peered onto Lorna, who was busy nervously tracing her fingers along the countertop's granite pattern. "It'll be about an hour until they're done. I'm sure you want to reach out to Nicky and let her know you're out of that place, yeah? You can invite her over if ya want. I bet you miss her like crazy. You two are real close, it's sweet."

Lorna nodded her head enthusiastically, a smile quickly shaping its way onto her face. There wasn't anything more she craved to do than to call Nicky and hear her voice, have her over and share the biggest hug in the world with her. "Thanks so much, Mrs. Mendoza. Ya have no clue how much I've missed her. And it's not even been two days. Is that crazy?"

Getting up from the stool she'd been sat on, Gloria shook her head with a warm smile. "No, honey, that's not crazy. That's just love. You two may be pretty damn young but the love you and Nicky share—that's not a love that you come across often. To me, anyway, it's obvious you and her have been together in previous lives. Not everyone believes in reincarnation but I certainly do and somethin' just tells me you and Nicky have spent other lifetimes with each other," she honestly admitted while going over to her purse—which had been hanging up on the wall right near the archway leading into the room—and rummaged through until she felt a phone come in contact with her hand.

The phone securely held in her hand, Gloria walked back over to Lorna and gave it to her. Her smile hadn't faltered in the slightest. "Go on up and relax for a bit in your room, call Nicky and invite her over. I can tell you're itchin' to see her."

Resting stomach-side down on the mattress of her temporary bed, Lorna laid her arms out in front of her while using her thumb to scroll through her phone to look for Nicky's phone number. Lips naturally pursed into a smile when she came across her name and pressed her thumb on the call button. Though it had barely been more than two days since the two had seen or talked to one another, it felt a lot closer to a decade having passed by. Butterflies instantly settled in her gut as she listened through the dial tone of the ringing.

It took only two rings for the line to pick up. Lorna's smile doubled in size and the butterflies grew slightly more intense. "Nicky, angel?" Her voice warmly greeted into the receiver, finger tips caressing softly along the edge of the phone's plastic exterior.

On the other end, Nicky's heart flipped inside of her chest and a warmth rushed through her entire body. She could hardly believe her ears. It was really her girlfriend's angelic voice greeting her on the other side of the phone. Her hand rested securely on her chest to keep her heart from flipping its way right out. "Lorna, baby…sweetheart, is that really you?" The words lovingly slipped out of her mouth.

Lorna swore she felt her heart momentarily stop upon listening to Nicky talk through the speaker of her phone which was pressed tightly up against her ear. Her head nodded ecstatically but then she realized Nicky couldn't see that and had to calm herself enough to verbally respond through the receiver. "It's really me, hon. I, uh, I—Mrs. Mendoza, she applied to be a foster parent and…and she offered to take me in. I don't—it's been a day, Nicky. I'm at her house now and I'm real overwhelmed but it's good. It's good, so good and I was just… do ya wanna come over?"

"Yes, babe, I wanna come over. Ya don't even needa ask," Nicky rapidly answered, relief washing over to know Lorna was no longer stuck in that godforsaken delinquent center. Her top lip sucked in beneath her lower one. She could easily hear the tears in Lorna's voice as she spoke. "Mrs. Mendoza offered to be your foster parent, kid?" Her heart soared and she waited until Lorna whimpered a small yes before continuing on with her words. "That was real kind of her. I'm so happy for you, doll. Mrs. Mendoza is a very nice and compassionate person, living with her will be so good for you. You have been passed around from one bad home to the next for too long. Thank the fuckin' Lord you're with Mrs. Mendoza now. You deserve to be somewhere where you're properly taken care of and made to feel safe. I know it's overwhelming for you, baby, but you'll adjust. I promise. And I'll be over in a few minutes. Just lemme know the address yeah?"

Lorna smiled through her tears. Life had miraculously turned around for her in such a short time span she could hardly come to terms with it. That could only mean a tsunami was brewing right around the corner. But, for now, she wasn't going to pay any mind to that. She wanted to enjoy the happy for as temporary as it might be. "Yeah, it's seven hundred one Berry Lane."

"Thanks, kid. I'll be there in just a bit. I love you."

Nicky reluctantly clicked off the call but retrieved her handbag from where it rested at her feet and slung it around shoulder. Before she went to exit out of the front door of the coffee shop, she went back up to the sales counter where Franny had just settled behind to start her shift and tapped her fingers loudly against the Formica. "Hey, Franny, I just talked to Lorna and she's staying with our school counselor, Mrs. Mendoza. I'm about to head over there but wanted to let ya know so ya don't worry too much anymore," she informed her girlfriend's older sister.

A relieving smile formed on Franny's face. She turned away from the machine she was cleaning and gave a gracious stare over towards Nicky. "Thank you, Nicky. That'll be good for her until I can get guardianship of her…if I even do. Give her a hug for me, will ya please? Tell her I'll give her a call when I get off work, please."

"I will for sure, I'll hug her enough for everyone. See ya," Nicky assured her and waved at her while turning to finally leave the building.

Still resting on the bed in her new room, Lorna peered out the window which was only a few feet away from it. The sun had long made its descent into the horizon and now in its place was a fully lit moon. No clouds were in the sky making it rather effortless for her to see the many stars lighting up right alongside the moon. A serene sense of calm flooded through her veins. She felt her lips naturally glide their way into a smile while she became momentarily mesmerized by the view outside of her bedroom's window.

Being completely enthralled in said view, she neglected to notice the sound of footsteps cautiously approaching outside of the room as well as the knob to the door jiggling about until it was pushed open. She hadn't even realized anyone else's presence until the mattress sunk beside where she was sitting and a pair of arms secured themselves around her body. And that was exactly when the tsunami made its crashing entrance.

Lorna instinctively jumped up after the touch, eyes peering widely ahead while her mouth gaped open from the screams incessantly escaping her. She felt possessed the way she was screaming and her body thrashing. As though someone had pressed a button on her that was making her act out in this way. Her eyes still had yet to see who the culprit of the touch was but her mind told her it was Annalisa. Made her believe she was back in juvie and Annalisa had somehow managed to weasel her way into the cell she had been sharing with Maria.

"Hey, hey there," Nicky softly whispered, quickly standing up behind Lorna and holding out a gentle hand. She kept her distance to not startle the girl any further but made a gesture with her hand letting her know she was right there for her. It took a minute before Lorna finally noticed her and fixed her eyes on her and the second she had, Nicky affectionately returned the stare. "Hey there, sweetheart. I didn't mean to scare you. I'm so sorry, kid. You'd think I'd know by now not to sneak up on ya like that but I just really missed holding you. Are you okay?"

The screaming had finally ceased along with the body thrashing but left behind were a barrel of tears. Lorna swallowed hard and bowed her head slightly. "I don't know why I'm like that, hon. I'm sorry—"

"No, Lorna, don't apologize for something you can't control. It's my fault for not telling you I was here and just randomly throwing my arms around ya," Nicky firmly interrupted.

"Throw your arms around me now, please. I-I need you, honey," Lorna pleaded, lips tremoring to stop a whimper from escaping through them. She timidly inched herself closer to Nicky and within a matter of seconds felt her body being engulfed in those familiar strong arms of hers. Easily, without mental argument, Lorna relaxed against Nicky and let her head press into Nicky's soothingly beating chest. She snaked both of her arms around Nicky's shoulders and moved them closer together.

Having complied with her girlfriend's heartrending request, Nicky carefully walked them backwards until she landed on the mattress of the bed with Lorna naturally falling along with her, still pressed into her chest from the secure hold of her arms around her waist. Lips stroked delicately, tenderly, over the top of Lorna's head. Now that she had them situated on the bed, she kept one arm wrapped against Lorna's waist and moved her other one up to cradle around the back of her head. "I got ya, baby. I got ya. I know the past two days have been real hard on ya and scary but you're okay now. I have you and I'm not leaving. Everything's gonna be okay," she murmured, snuggling Lorna closer and closer. Pressing her front tightly into Lorna's front. The pressure bringing both of them some much needed comfort.

Nothing made her feel more secure, more loved, more wanted, than lying right there in Nicky's strong, warm and affectionate arms. One of the few pair of arms that never harmed her. Arms that only showed her love, safety, empathy. Tears fell from her eyes like waterfalls; she turned her head a bit so that just one of her cheeks was pressing into Nicky's chest. The position gave her the ability to look up into Nicky's eyes. "I was—I was in juvie, hon and-and Annalisa was there. I thought you were her when, when uh when you first came in here. I got distracted by the window and-and I thought I was back in that place and that she—that she-she…Annalisa got in my cell and was gonna, was gonna shank me."

Nicky gently turned on her side, inadvertently causing Lorna to do the same, and she lovingly framed a hand around Lorna's cheek. Her thumb pressed warmly into its flesh and slowly glided up and down along the length of it. "Aww, my baby," she whispered, scooting closer to Lorna's body and gradually letting their fronts find their way back together. "No more Annalisa. She's not here. You're not in that awful place anymore and you don't have to ever worry about being there again. You don't ever have to worry about seeing Annalisa again either, doll. I'm gonna get my classes switched so I have the same as you, okay? That way I'll be with you all day at school and can keep you safe from her. You've been dealing with way too much all alone for way way too long, Lorna. I can't believe how long you've been bullied by that bitch and how long you've kept that to yourself. You've been scared of her in secret for almost a whole year, baby…I want to make sure ya know from now on there can't be any secrets like that. I mean it. You can't do that to yourself anymore. You're barely surviving. All this secrecy and silent suffering, doll, all that's done is caused you to take it out on yourself. It has to stop now, today. You understand me?"

A response was merely impossible for Lorna to come up with right away. Tears hadn't stopped falling and her mouth wouldn't cease from trembling. She nodded her head despite the fact that she wasn't entirely keen on the idea of not retaining her inner pain from Nicky. "I, uh, I-I don't know if I—if I want to stop, Nicky. I-I don't know how to not hate myself." The words fumbled shakily out of her.

Nicky swallowed uneasily, chewing slightly on the side of her mouth to keep a sob from forcing is way out of it. Her arms, however, tightened around Lorna and pulled her closer until Lorna's face was smashed securely into her chest once more. She reached one hand up and let the fingertips of it softly massage into Lorna's scalp. "It's okay, kid, that's okay. I know you feel like ya don't wanna stop but I think you're just afraid of stopping because you're kinda addicted to hurting yourself. Ya don't wanna give up something you been doin' for god-only-knows how long. But that's why ya go to therapy and you'll keep going. Dr. Poussey will help you through this, doll. I'll help ya through this and so will your sister, your brother, Alex, Red and Mrs. Mendoza. Ya have a lotta people who want to help and see ya get better," she pointed out, leaning her face closer so her lips naturally brushed over the flesh of Lorna's forehead.

"It don't seem possible, hon," Lorna mumbled, nuzzling her face right back into the crook of Nicky's neck.

Pressing her chin tenderly on the top of the brunette's head, Nicky sighed and inhaled a breath. Fingers remained massaging through Lorna's scalp hoping to soothe away as much of her distress as was possible. "It is possible. I promise. But it's gonna take a lot of time and effort. It won't be easy at all but I'll be right here with you, okay? I'll be here to give you support and love and cuddles. Whatever you need to help you heal you just let me know, babe. I'll do anything for you. Anything. You just gotta talk to me, sweetheart."

Lorna felt her heart bursting through her chest. She drew in her bottom lip and felt a couple of sniffles whistle their way out of her. It would never make sense to her how she could be worthy of having a person like Nicky in her life, however, she couldn't resist from loving Nicky with every last fiber of her being. Couldn't express enough how grateful she was to have Nicky with her. She would never deem herself worthy of that but she also didn't see the point in fighting it. Maybe this was just her fate. Being with Nicky for the rest of her life despite whether she felt deserving or not of that. Fate was fate and there wasn't any fighting it.

"I love you so much, Nicky. I'll never deserve you but, but I'm real glad I have ya. I don't wanna ever go back to a life without ya," she softly admitted, letting her lips press against the nape of Nicky's neck.

Shaking her head in disagreement, Nicky gently lifted Lorna's head up again and inched her face closer until their foreheads innately pressed into one another's. She nuzzled the tip of her nose affectionately against the tip of Lorna's. "I love you so fucking much, too, Lorna. I wish you didn't feel so undeserving of me and my love. Because you are the one person on this planet, this universe, who is completely—wholeheartedly—deserving of every single ounce of my love. You are an angel, a real angel. And you are so worthy, so fucking worthy of love—of affection, of being protected and taken care of. And I swear on my life I'm gonna make sure you know how worthy you are of all of that for as long as we both live. I vow to undo all the evil that was done to you, baby, no matter how long it takes."