Anyone else still emotionally unstable from the newest episode? I'm just going to keep pretending Alex loved Kara right away so I can continue with the storyline I have planned. bUT it did give me ideas for future chapters. Thanks for the great comments! I'm glad you're enjoying this! :)
Kara loathed Sunday nights.
While she looked forward to the Danvers' tradition of having dinner as a family every Sunday night, she was forced to face the incomprehensible English homework she always saved until the very last minute. But between the low humming of the TV, Eliza and Jeremiah laughing in the kitchen, and Alex and Lucy's muffled voices floating through the walls, she could not concentrate. She was in absolute sensory overload and there was nothing that could help stop it.
She tried reading chapter five of The Giver yet again, taking it one word at a time. Her comprehension was not on par with the rest of her classmates. They made fun of her for it because sometimes, she mixed up the words and read sentences out of order and couldn't conjugate verbs correctly.
Kara was gripping the pen in her hand so hard; ink was starting to spill over her fingertips and on to the paper. She groaned in frustration and whipped the book across the room, the violent thud causing Jeremiah to run into the living room. She buried her face into the soft carpet and muffled her screams, kicking her legs against the floor childishly. She didn't care.
"Kara, what's wrong?" Jeremiah asked, trying to conceal his laughter at the sight of Kara throwing a silent tantrum on the floor. Luckily there was no hole in the wall; which meant Kara was making progress controlling her super strength. "Honey?"
"I can't do this!" Kara wailed angrily. She sat herself up and crossed her arms petulantly, staring at the TV in disinterest.
Jeremiah picked up the fallen book. "Maybe you can't do it because the TV's on."
"No," Kara argued weakly. She refused to take the book back from Jeremiah and continued to look at the dark TV now.
"Then why? Why can't you do it?" Jeremiah sat himself down on the far corner of the couch and patted the space next to him. Kara reluctantly complied and plopped down next to him.
"I don't get it," Kara confessed, closing her eyes when Jeremiah wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "I'm never going to get it."
"Well, it is a pretty confusing book. Never liked it myself. Alex nearly got herself suspended because she-"
"It's not that!" Kara felt the tears pricking in her eyes now. "It's everything!" She covered her ears and closed her eyes, letting her head lean against Jeremiah's chest.
Jeremiah reached for Kara's forgotten glasses on the coffee table. "I know you don't like these honey, but you have to wear them."
Almost instantly, the glasses began to calm the excessive noise and calm Kara's senses. She felt more at ease but still reluctant to finish her homework.
"What question are you on?"
Kara just held up the paper helplessly. "One."
"What was the morning ritual for Jonas' family?" Jeremiah read aloud. He noticed Kara shrink under his gaze. "Did you read the chapter?"
"No…"
Jeremiah chuckled. "No wonder why you can't answer these questions."
Kara's body relaxed at the sound of Jeremiah's gruff voice reading the book slowly so she could understand it and scribble in the questions along the way.
"Dinner's ready," Eliza interrupted, a bit apologetically since Kara was curled into her foster father's side and hanging on to every word he said. "Can you go let the girls know?"
"Okay," Kara whispered. "Thank you, Jeremiah." She only had two questions left on the homework sheet. Maybe once Lucy went home, Alex could help her.
"Sure thing, kid."
Kara darted up the stairs two at a time and stopped short at the sound of Lucy and Alex arguing about something. Lucy's voice was higher than normal. It was sharp and gave Kara a headache. She took a breath and pushed open the door cautiously, poking her head through the small crack.
"Dinner's ready," she told the two older girls meekly.
Alex smiled at her sister and motioned for Lucy to get up. It was then Kara noticed Lucy's eyes were red; she had definitely been crying. A lot. "We'll be down in a few minutes, okay?"
Kara nodded and hovered in the doorway, unsure if she should say anything. Lucy had spent the entire weekend with Alex locked in their room. Kara could barely go in to get anything because their conversation was so private. Alex begged and pleaded with Kara not to use her super hearing that was something Kara obeyed because she didn't want to disappoint Alex. It was a pinky promise and Kara took that as something to never, ever break.
"Okay," Kara whispered, her eyes downcast because she felt uncomfortable at the sight of people crying. She never knew what to do or say.
She trudged down the stairs and grabbed her favorite chair next to Eliza, her legs swinging back and forth underneath it as she waited for her spaghetti.
"Where are the girls?"
Kara's eyes widened as Eliza dumped a generous helping of spaghetti on her plate.
"They said they'd be right down." She took a few pieces of garlic bread to stash on the side of her plate and sprinkled a generous helping of Parmesan cheese on her spaghetti. She was still getting used to Earth food and spaghetti was one of the foods she could eat every day if Eliza let her.
Five minutes passed and Kara stared at her food longingly. Alex and Lucy showed no sign of coming downstairs anytime soon. "Can we eat?"
"Let's give them a few more minutes," Eliza said reluctantly.
Jeremiah and Kara groaned in unison. Kara snuck careful bites when Eliza wasn't looking and shoved a whole piece of garlic bread in her mouth. It wasn't as fresh since Alex and Lucy were taking an eternity to come down the stairs.
"They're coming," Kara said ominously. She sat up straighter when she heard the light footsteps coming down the stairs.
Except it was only Alex.
"Can we eat upstairs?" Alex whispered pleadingly.
Kara's head shot up from her plate and she couldn't help but pout. Eliza would say no, right? That was one of her biggest rules; no food anywhere in the house except for the kitchen. Of course, Alex and Kara would break those rules when they were home alone but were both careful not to leave traces of crumbs so they didn't get in trouble.
Eliza sighed. "Is everything okay?"
"Lois. And Mr. Lane," Alex supplied vaguely. "Do you think Lucy can spend the night?"
No! Kara thought angrily to herself. It was a school night! Her Sunday night routine would be thrown completely out of whack. Lucy would ruin everything. After Alex checked her homework, they would watch a Disney movie of Kara's choice. She was really looking forward to watching Toy Story later tonight.
Kara looked between Eliza and Alex, feeling left out because she was not privy to the conversation her foster mom and sister seemed to be having with their eyes. Eliza got up and made two plates, instructing Alex to carefully bring them up the stairs and not to make any messes in the bedroom.
"Not fair," Kara couldn't help but mumble.
Jeremiah chuckled as he sipped his water. "What's not fair?"
"It's just not fair," Kara complained with a mouthful of food.
Eliza and Jeremiah exchanged knowing glances across the table. "Are you jealous, honey?" Eliza asked kindly, reaching over to put her hand over Kara's significantly smaller one. "Do you feel left out?"
Kara concentrated on her plate. "I dunno," she shrugged innocently. She looked up and jutted her bottom lip out, something Alex taught her almost immediately. It almost always worked on Jeremiah. "Lucy has been here all weekend."
"Well, she's Alex's friend," Eliza said softly. "Why don't you have a friend over next weekend?"
Kara couldn't bear the thought of inviting Winn over. He'd drive her absolutely crazy and snoop through her stuff. They'd probably have to play the latest computer game he had been obsessing over and that was something Kara wasn't interested in. She liked seeing him in school; that was more than enough for her.
"It's okay."
But Eliza shook her head. "No, honey. Please. It's your house too! Feel free to invite anyone over next weekend."
"Okay," Kara answered meekly, suddenly finding her food interesting. She twirled her fork throughout the spaghetti and pushed plate aside. "I'm not hungry anymore."
"Come again?" Jeremiah asked, clearly shocked. This was coming from the girl who ate two whole pizzas the previous night.
"I'm not hungry," Kara replied a bit louder. She felt the tears stinging in her eyes and wiped them away. "Can I please be excused?"
"Of course," Eliza said quickly.
Kara wasted no time in darting up the stairs two at a time. She had to slow her pace down a little when she reached the bedroom, letting her hand linger over the brass door handle for a few good seconds. It seemed calm and quiet. Maybe she could sneak in unnoticed. That, however, was thwarted when Lucy pulled the bedroom door open and nearly fell back in surprise.
"Oh!" Lucy gasped, throwing a hand over her heart. "You scared me."
Kara just looked down and made a beeline for her bed, sliding across the covers and burying her face into the soft pillow. She held Lionel in a death grip against her chest, shutting her eyes and purposely ignoring the sound of Alex gently calling out her name in concern.
"Kara?" Alex tried for the fifth time, gently sitting down on the edge of her sister's bed. She waited for Lucy to leave the room to continue. "You okay?"
"F-fine," Kara whispered, clearly not fine. She scooted closer to the wall, rejecting Alex's hand as it rubbed across her back.
Alex bit her lip. "You don't sound f-fine," she teased. "Tell me what's wrong."
"I don't have any friends!" It all came out like word vomit. Kara couldn't stop. "I hate it here! I want to go home. I want my old friends! They were just like me!"
"Kara," Alex sighed in sympathy. She lifted her sister up into a sitting position and pulled her in for a hug. "Hey, look at me."
Kara refused. She shook her head frantically and kept her gaze trained on her lap. Lucy was getting closer and closer. "Just leave me alone."
Alex inhaled sharply and rubbed her sister's arm. "Okay then."
"Everything okay?" Lucy asked meekly as she awkwardly lingered in the doorway.
Kara immediately dove under the covers and threw the brightly colored bedspread over her body. She just wanted Lucy to go away.
"I don't know," Alex shrugged. She got off the bed and practically pushed her friend out of the room in one swift motion. "She just needs some space."
Alex shoved another handful of popcorn in her mouth and suppressed the scream rising in her throat over the horrible rom com Lucy forced her to watch. Her best friend spent more than half the movie squealing over the two main characters falling in love and then subtly sobbing when they broke up.
"That was the worst movie ever," Alex declared when the ending credits rolled up the television screen down in the basement.
Lucy blew her nose dramatically with a tissue. "Shut up, Danvers."
Alex laughed and finished the rest of the popcorn. "You feel better?"
"Yeah," Lucy replied after a thoughtful pause. "Thanks." She reached over and squeezed Alex's hand. "Do you think your parents want to adopt me too?"
"I don't know about that," Alex teased. "You're pretty high maintenance."
"Am not!"
"Whatever you say." Alex yawned and leaned forward to shut the TV off, standing up to stretch her arms high in the air. "Ready for bed?"
Lucy nodded and followed Alex up the stairs. All the lights were out in the kitchen and living room, making it harder for the two girls to navigate through the house.
"Just so you know," Alex whispered, using the wall for guidance while climbing up the stairs to second floor. "Kara sometimes gets nightmares. Don't freak out."
Lucy bit her lip. "Like, how bad?"
"Pretty bad," Alex continued softly. "But she hasn't had one in a while. I just wanted to warn you in case she wakes up screaming."
"Okay."
Alex pushed the door to her bedroom open carefully in case Kara was sleeping. Lucy went to use the bathroom and this would give Alex some time to let Kara know Lucy was going to be sleeping in the room with them. Surprisingly, Kara was wide-awake in bed, scanning over The Giver with a purpose.
"Hi," Alex greeted with a small smile. "I thought you'd be asleep."
Kara adjusted her glasses and shrugged. "I was waiting for you," she admitted shyly, closing the book and throwing it on the small table beside her. "Eliza said Lucy was staying in our room."
"Will you be okay? She can sleep in my bed and I'll sleep with you."
Kara hesitated. "O-okay."
"It's going to be fine," Alex promised. "Did you brush your teeth?"
"Yep."
Alex changed into her pajamas and brushed past Lucy to use the bathroom herself. Kara shrank back under the covers and adjusted her glasses nervously. It was becoming a habit she could not break.
"Hope you don't mind me staying," Lucy said carefully. She knew Kara was not very fond of her. "I promise you won't even know I'm here."
Kara wanted to laugh but instead, she nodded. "Alex's bed isn't that comfortable."
"I've been telling her that for years!" Lucy laughed. "It's too…firm."
"Yeah," Kara whispered in agreement. She fiddled with Lionel's tail and finally let her eyes meet Lucy's. "I'm…I'm sorry you were sad before. What happened?"
Lucy looked at the innocence in Kara's eyes and frowned. "My big sister Lois…she's not really the nicest person."
"Oh." Kara looked away again, uncomfortable with the steady eye contact. "I'm sorry."
"I'm used to it," Lucy replied as she climbed under Alex's covers. "But you're pretty lucky, huh? Alex loves you so much."
"I bet Lois loves you too," Kara said politely. "Maybe she doesn't know how to show it."
Alex reappeared, having heard the whole conversation between her sister and best friend. It only made her want to protect Kara even more. She double checked the alarm and made a little whimper when it was set for seven am sharp.
"Night, Danvers Squared," Lucy said brightly, her smile disappearing when both sisters looked at her in disbelief. "What?"
Alex rolled her eyes and motioned for Kara to scoot over. The younger girl peeled off her glasses and placed them on the windowsill next to the bed. She felt Alex slide in beside her, their bodies melding together almost instantly.
It was the best night's sleep Kara had in over a month.
"Alice! Oh, Alice!"
Alex stopped short and whipped around to see Cat traipsing toward her. She was not in the mood to deal with her antics, especially since she was late yet again picking Kara up at school since the girl refused to take the bus again.
"What?" Alex spit out in annoyance.
"Tone," Cat gasped in mock offense. "When are we getting together to work on this lab report? Surely you don't expect me to do all the work."
"Well since you didn't do the lab with me we have different answers," Alex snapped, taking a breath to calm herself.
"I think my results are far more accurate," Cat said snootily. "We can just use my data."
"Fine. You can come over later."
Cat went to say something but stopped when a young girl in glasses came charging toward them. Instinctively, she reached out and placed her hand on Alex's shoulder to warn her. Instantly, Kara threw herself around her sister's waist and almost knocked her to the ground in front of most of the high school.
"Alex, where were you?!"
"You know this child?"
"She's my sister," Alex explained sharply. She tried pulling Kara's arms away from her waist but it was damn near impossible "Kara, too tight."
"I want to go home!"
Cat rolled her eyes at the girl's dramatics. "So, are we meeting tonight?"
"Take me home! Now! I want to go home!"
"Kara, please," Alex begged. "One second." She looked at Cat almost helplessly and felt herself paling as Kara's grip tightened. "Come to my house tonight, okay?"
"An address would be helpful."
Alex exhaled loudly when Kara finally let go. "It's the same place I've always lived."
"Which is?"
"Alex!" Kara shook Alex's body to get her attention. "Alex, now! I want to go home!"
"135 Bolton Road," Alex managed to spit out before Kara began dragging her away. She didn't bother to see if Cat heard right or not. When they were finally away from the other students, Alex stopped and pulled Kara back. "What is wrong with you? What is so important that you have to get home right away?"
Kara's bottom lip quivered as she shook her head. "I didn't mean to!"
"Didn't mean to…" Alex trailed off in concern. "What happened?"
"It was an accident," Kara hiccupped, burying her face into Alex's chest. "I promise it was an accident!"
"Kara, what did you do?"
Alex practically carried Kara home. The younger girl refused to answer her question and when they finally got through the front door, Jeremiah and Eliza were waiting for them on the couch.
"What is going on?" Alex finally asked, annoyed she was left in the dark. Her parents clearly knew something she didn't.
"It's nothing, honey," Eliza said reassuringly. She glanced down at Kara and patted the spot next to her. "Kara, sweetie. Come here. Come tell us what happened."
"No!" Kara shrieked. "It wasn't my fault! I didn't do anything wrong!" She zoomed up the stairs and slammed the bedroom door shut.
Alex was torn between rushing up the stairs after her sister or turning to her parents for answers. She chose the latter, shrinking under her father's intense gaze when he gestured for her to sit down across from them.
"What?"
Jeremiah sighed. "Did you know about this?"
"Know about what?" Alex practically screamed. "I don't know anything!"
Jeremiah and Eliza exchanged worried glances. "Kara broke someone's nose today after school. You were supposed to be there, Alex!"
"W-what? So it's my fault? I had to meet with my lab partner for something!"
"Some boy was tormenting her…I don't know the whole story," Jeremiah cut in before his wife could attack Alex some more. "It's not your fault, honey. Trust me."
Alex crossed her arms and sunk further into her chair.
"Alex, we've gone over this. You need to be there for Kara."
"I am!" Alex whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "I've been there every night for her while you two are busy at 'work'!"
"And we're grateful for that," Jeremiah began but was cut off by Eliza.
"You know important this project is to us."
"Kara is not my daughter!" Alex protested, louder than she anticipated. "You're the ones who adopted her. Not me! I have a life too! Or do I have to give that up so everything I do can revolve around Kara?"
"Honey-"
Alex stood up and stormed toward the door. "I don't want to hear it." She threw the door open and slammed it shut behind her.
As she rushed down the driveway she quickly looked back, her heart breaking a bit as she saw Kara's reflection in their bedroom window.
She had heard everything.