Providence
Part One
Somtimes, Helen's eyes would shoot open in the middle of the night. And she'd go get a drink of cold water and stare out the window, into the still-dark morning. She could hear Thomas and his faint snoring. She could hear the clock ticking in the hall. Sometimes the whoosh of a passing car or the disturbing blow of a horn....little sounds that would keep Helen watching out the window. What was she looking for anyway? For some easy answers to this life she was in....yea right, she would laugh.
Ultimately, Helen was glad she gave up on Larkhall. It was like fighting a war at ever turn and it was driving her almost batty. Not to mention Jim Fenner.
She could only hope that Karen came to her senses and dumped the bastard, especially after getting Helen's sexual harassment report. She hoped he crashed and burned. Even that would be too good for him.
The glass was now empty and sitting on the coffee table. Helen looked at some paper work of hers...then glanced at some of Thomas's work.
They had alot in common. Both obsessed with taking their jobs home. She had found work easy enough, at another prison...more of the same shit, if not a little less stressful then Larkhall was.
The light from an outside street lamp caught on the ring on her hand. Thomas had proposed and Helen accepted. She looked at it as it glittered.
A beautiful ring. He was so nervous, Helen laughed at him...guessing his intentions.
And most of the time she was happy with her decision. Unless she woke up like this, zoning out in the wee hours of the morning, her thoughts drifting to places that they shouldn't.
To Nikki Wade, like always. Helen wondered where Nikki had ended up....and, if to be honest, with who. Back with Trisha? Or someone new?
Sometimes, Helen had the unfathomable urge to find Nikki and see how she was. She didn't even congratulate Nikki on getting freed from prison.
It didn't seem the right thing to do.....Thomas had confronted her with Nikki and Helen explained it the best she could. At first he didn't believe her...but she made him. He had to. Once...just once, Helen thought that the reason she was so adamant for Thomas to believe her was because she was still afraid of having a relationship with Nikki. But that got dismissed.
Helen got Thomas to understand, they dated, he spent most nights here...now we are engaged.
And I still wonder about Nikki. It's okay to think about her, Helen told herself.
Helen ran a finger over the window, collecting the condensation on her hand.
Then she closed her eyes. And she saw Nikki looking back at her, brown eyes so warm and calm....as Helen liked to remember them.
A touch to her shoulders brought her back to reality. Thomas held her from behind.
"Not sleepy anymore?" He asked with a grin. Helen leaned back into him.
"Sorry, just restless...that's all." Helen answered, letting thoughts of Nikki go away again.
Nikki didn't like to admit it but she hated when Trisha went away. They still ran the club and it was still popular. The money was good. Just months ago, they had gone to Greece. That was wonderful...sun, ocean, good food....and lots of carnal activities. Nikki smiled to herself just thinking about it. She wished they were still there...instead of here, packing bags for Trisha's journey. Visiting the parents....Nikki was invited but declined. But being alone,...Nikki didn't like that too much. She sulked and Trisha kissed her, the small peck turning into a real kiss, the two of them falling onto the bed.
"You know, you're not making this easy for me...." Trisha mumbled. Nikki grinned.
"Good then don't go, you know how I hate to have time on my hands. Please?" Nikki begged. Trisha smirked at her.
"You could run the club for a night, Miss Lazybones." Trisha laughed. Nikki sighed and rolled away from her. Too much time on my hands...too much time to get to thinking...to get depressed. Adjusting to normal life after being locked up didn't come easy. In fact, it was the hardest thing Nikki had ever done. She laughed to herself. Well, second hardest...adjusting to prison was harder. And when Trisha was gone, Nikki found herself thinking about it..alot. Thinking about the wasted time and how hard she became, the fear of if she had never gotten out of that place. After those thoughts, Nikki would inevitably think about Helen. How something so wonderous as love could go so wrong....
Nikki looked for her at her appeal. She looked for her at the club afterwards. Nothing. Not a call or letter. What we had, Helen had just forgotten. Nikki had to accept that it was over and done with.
And she had, for the most part. Trisha loved her still, claimed she never really stopped. Nikki understood. The pain was gone now from their break-up.
Why not begin again? Life became normal, slowly but surely. She loved Trisha, loved running the club, loved being free again.
"I'll be back before you know it darling, promise. And don't you mope about okay? Have a good time...not too good though. You better miss me?" Trisha grinned, moving to the door with one suitcase. Nikki joined her with the other suitcase and kissed her, sucking on her bottom lip as she pulled away.
"Remember that while you're gone...that's what you are leaving behind..." Nikki smiled. Trisha winked at her.
"That'll make me hurry back for sure....love you babe!" She said, going down the steps and to the sidewalk.
"Love you too!" Nikki called out. The cab came and took her off. Nikki went back in, shutting the door softly. The flat was so quiet. It was still early, only about five in the morning...Nikki couldn't sleep. The place was too empty now. Too empty and too quiet. She got fully dressed, grabbed her keys and coat, then went out the door.
She could go to the club, open up and do some paperwork. The excitement, Nikki grinned as she got in the car. But it's better than dwelling on things that are the past isn't it?
Thomas was asked by a friend, a chef....and Helen didn't mind at all. She was a tad knackered from work and craved a glass of wine desperately.
"We don't have to go you know? We could just stay in and relax..." Thomas smiled at her, kneeling by the couch and kissing Helen's neck. She smiled.
"I'm fine, really...besides, it'll save us cooking or ordering take-out for a night. Someone else will be making the food."
Thomas raised his mouth to hers, a nice long kiss. Helen grinned at him.
"C'mon, help me up...I'll need to fancy myself up a bit." She said, letting Thomas pull her to the bedroom closet.
Nikki awoke with a start, somehow becoming conscious of someone watching her. Then she realized she was asleep on her desktop, her face shoved into stacks of papers and folders.
"That's the second night you've slept in here...shouldn't you go home?" Angelina asked, hands on hips. Nikki's mouth tasted awful and she dug around for the mouthwash that was kept in the left-hand drawer. For such occasions.
"I'm fine, don't like being home without Trisha." Nikki said before taking a huge swig of peppermint-flavored wash. Angelina smirked.
"God, anyone would think you two were practically joined at the hip already! You need time away...absence makes the heart grow fonder or whatever."
"Leave it Angie." Nikki said with a full mouth, struggling to get to the sink in the office bathroom. Once spit out, she tried to fix her hair some.
"My boyfriend is going to take me to this party thing tonight, one of his mates is having it..you wanna come?" She asked. Nikki shook her head no.
"Trisha told me to look after you Nikki."
Nikki raised her eyebrows. "Did she now? I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself."
"Doesn't look that way to me..." Angelina mumbled. Nikki didn't say a word, just sat back down to papers at her desk.
"Please Nikki, I'm begging. If you are there and it's shit, I can use you as an excuse to leave...come on, pretty please? " Angelina pouted. Nikki sighed heavily. Well, using a desk for a pillow was getting old(and painful to boot) and Nikki didn't want to go home. But was it worth spending an evening with one of her bartenders and her boyfriend? She glanced up at Angelina's pleading face and smiled tiredly.
"Fine I'll go." Nikki answered then shook her head as Angelina place a big kiss on her cheek.
"Great! Oh, and sharpen up a bit yeah? You look like the cat dragged you in." Angie smirked before disappearing out the door.
/who knew at this party that i would walk in and i'd see you i guess now we could just get drunk yeah, and that could be our excuse you could slip and outta nowhere i could be there to catch your fall and we could laugh at ourselves and the writing that's on the wall/
End Of Part One
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