Conquering The Darkness

Chapter Twenty-Three

Six months before Nicky's sentence is up, Mr. Caputo informs her that she'll be released in the next few days as a thankful gesture for paying the hefty medical bills that their board couldn't afford. Hearing such news doesn't sit very well with her, though. Getting out means leaving her family and, most importantly, the woman her heart beats for. The woman who needs her. How on Earth is she going to tell her about this? She can't imagine what this will do to her. Who's going to take care of Lorna when she's out? Who will make sure that none of the officer's do anything to hurt her?

She exhales a frustrated breath. As much as she longs to get out of prison, she also knows how vulnerable Lorna is without her and can't bare the thought of leaving her. That's the reason she finds herself sitting in the warden's office, about to beg to say incarcerated. "Mr. Caputo?" Her voice questions while her eyes focus at the computer he's vigorously typing on.

"What do ya want, Nichols?" He looks up from his work, a disgruntled look on his face.

Tracing her finger along the palm of her hand, Nicky sighs. "This is gonna sound weird but, uh, is there anyway I could not be released early?"

The question certainly does strike the warden as strange. Never in all of his career has any inmate asked to be kept in here longer than they were told to be. He holds his hand over the corner of his forehead and stares at her with intensity. "For what reason would you even want to stay in prison? The answer is no, of course. We don't grant longer stays just because ya have a girlfriend in here. The decision has already been made; there's no going back," he answers, shaking his head.

"But Lorna's dependent on me...come on, that woman's been through so much in here—ya can't take me away from her. Better yet, why isn't she the one with early release? That's the least you could do for her after what Mendez—your own officer—did to her, don't ya think?"

Slicking his hair back in, Mr. Caputo lets out a sigh. "Look, I understand your concern for her. But I am not able to make those decisions. She has to stay here for another six months before she can be considered for the possibility of early release. The most I can do to ease your worry is make sure an officer is able to assist her. I'm sorry. The system is fucked up, what else can I say?"

Nicky roughly shakes her head. There's no way she can allow Lorna to be cared for by one of the COs, not when she won't even be here to make sure they don't do anything to harm her. "No, absolutely not. I don't trust any of them with her! That one—Dixon, I think—he fuckin' was about to get in the shower with her when he tried to "help" her; more like he was gonna fuckin' take advantage of her!"

"I'll have a female officer assist her then. There's not much for me to work with, Nichols. You're gonna have to just trust that my word."

Nicky solemnly walks through the dorms to Lorna's cube. She feels her heart flutter a bit when she sees the brunette resting so peacefully in her bunk. Her footsteps are quiet as she carefully makes her way over, trying to silently get in the bed beside her. She gently envelops the petite brunette in her arms and gives a soft kiss to the top of her head.

The feeling of arms around her instantly awakens Lorna in a panic. Her heart races in her chest; she tries to pull away from the person, still not aware that it's her girlfriend. "Don't touch-touch me!" She shakily mumbles.

"Lorna, baby, it's just me," the redhead murmurs tenderly into her ear, softly cupping Lorna's head in her hands and gazing warmly into her frightened eyes. "You're okay, doll. I would never hurt you. Calm down."

Lorna stares up at Nicky and immediately feels a bout of regret. A relieving sigh escapes her. She wraps her arms lovingly around the taller woman's neck, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I'm sorr-sorry, Nicky. I guess sometimes I s-s-still get a bit j-j-jumpy when I don't know who-who's touching me," she assumes.