A/N: I really hate how many of these author notes I put! Can't seem to help it though...anyways, I didn't post all week b/c I had a really good idea to expand the fighting and make it last longer. Give the story more depth. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to write that idea until today. It's short but pretty good I think. I also wanted to draw out the cliffhanger! As an apology, two posts today! Thank you for all the patience and for all the love Storm Before the Calm is getting. Mucho appreciated.
Kara found her first. Of course, she did. Sam thought she had been doing pretty well. She had switched floors with Tony, who had been practically foaming at the mouth when she offered him the trade. A whole day passed before Kara finally caught her.
It was dumb luck too. Kara's specialty. She caught Sam at the beginning of her shift. Sam had been coming in early to avoid that exact thing but she had missed her usual NC rail and had to catch the next one…20 minutes later. It threw her whole day off and now, Kara was going to throw it off even more. Sam tucked her chin down to avoid eye contact and power walked forward. Hoping against hope that Kara was her usual distracted self and didn't hear her coming.
"Sam!" Kara almost yelped out. Walking just a touch too fast to catch up. She should have known it was stupid to even try for hope.
She kept walking. Not learning her lesson yet and hoping Kara would just leave her alone. Maybe the whole 'I can't see you, you can't see me' mentality would work in this situation.
"Sam, wait! Please."
No waiting. No acknowledging. Sam was a brick wall. She heard nothing. She felt nothing. She was steadfast in her ignoring of the ice pick of hurt that was lodged in her stomach. Sam didn't have feelings to hurt. She didn't need a family. Why would she care that she wasn't really part of hers? She never had been. Stonewall. No feelings.
Three deliveries went on like that. Kara trailing behind, but not trying to pull Sam to a stop, as she went along with her tasks. The pleads coming from Kara tried to melt the ice in her but Sam held on to the cold. It was safe and it meant she wouldn't hurt.
"Sam, please. I'm really sorry. Please talk to me. I just wanna fix it so we can go back to being a family again. I really want that back."
And Sam snapped. The ice melted into a waterfall of hurt and anger. She grabbed Kara's arm, harder than needed and knowing it wouldn't hurt her but hoping the slightest bit that it would, and dragged her off the main part of the 33rd floor.
"You want to talk? Here you go. I don't care what you want back. It's always about what you want. About you. I'm done. You took my family from me. All I can remember is being pushed to the side so they could take care of you. So no. I won't talk to you and you can't fix it and we won't ever go back to being a family because we never were one. Leave. Me. Alone."
Kara stood shocked. Mouth agape and eyes wide, hurt slashing through them. Sam mortared herself back up and walled in the part of her that cared she cut so deep. Turning on her heel, she marched back to her cart with her chin leveled and shoulders straight. Fake it until you make it.
As far as Sam was concerned, she didn't have to fake hating Kara. She did. The part that didn't was mute, blind, and deaf in its encasement.