So my computer is still having issues. It basically nuked itself and so I lost a good portion of my outline for this fic and the entire document that helped me keep track of certain details (such as what professor taught which classes) and what event happened when. Basically I'm going in somewhat blind now. Like I'm relying solely on memory and mine isn't the best. So advanced apologies for any continuity errors, because I lost the documents that helped me prevent those. :/
Guest: I have a plan for this in my mind. Thank you :) I hope that I can keep it on par, all things considered.
gemsofformenos: Thank you, I think it turned out pretty okay for a chapter that had a bit of rushing. "So TyLee is still blaming herself, that she stayed quite. But she is also focusing on doing things right, now, in her opinion." Each of them are kind of dealing with their own brand of guilt. TyLee is trying to keep her optimism up. "What makes crimes like Jet has done so complicated, is the fear and the feeling of shame and guilt, that victims have to deal with." Exactly, it goes far beyond the physical and is often (in some regards) a crime that leaves more than one victim. It really impacts the victim's loved ones too and so there's a lot of guilt to go around."But she has started to realize, that she should focus on her courage, she had shown." Yeah, with TyLee, she's still going to look at the positives and what she has done right. "And Azula was the person, who has helped her to think over her situation again, without knowing, that she had done so." Exactly, perhaps TyLee will let her know that. She's done a lot of wrong things, but she's trying her best to make them right, at least she's starting to. "TyLee wants to renew their friendship. She had also recognozed, that something was wrong with Azula but she hasn't expected that she was so much down." Her gesture didn't go unnoticed though. Now that Azula as realized that she doesn't want to die, she's going to have a few revelations. Unfortunately she did leave another heap of guilt in her wake. "But this time she dared to search contact with Azula again. And Azula is glad for this. It's the kind of support and response both girls need." Indeed, both of them kind of needed that and it is a step in the right direction. They are both going through a lot and it's a turning point for both. "I think she might start to fear, that Mai is also on her way down to the bottom. This may hold up an opportunity to renew the friendship between TyLee, Mai and Azula." Yes, Mai is another matter. TyLee still harbors some resentment there. But I do have a pretty decent plan for that as well.
Katara woke up feeling groggy and weak. She couldn't seem to recall how she had made it into her bed. She was at a party, wasn't she? She was mad at Sokka, she faintly recalled. She tried to sit up, a wave of dizziness overwhelmed her. It occurred to her that she wasn't in her bed at all. Everything was white from the walls to the bedspread to the gown she was wearing.
The gown!
She was in a hospital gown.
She closed her eyes, trying to recollect how she had gotten there. She remembered the party. She remembered the irritation. She remembered calling out to Aang and hanging out with TyLee. But it was all so distant.
She looked around the room for anyone who could help explain things to her. Finding no one, she reached for her phone. She checked her texts, all of them were panicked and desperate. Most of them had been sent to Sokka and Suki and then a few to Aang and one to TyLee.
She lifted a hand to her head, it hurt so badly. She wished that she knew how long she had been out for. Scrolling through the messages a picture began painting itself in her head, growing in clarity with each message. Jet had been following her the whole time and at some point she had begun to feel faint.
The rest was a black spot in her mind.
A black spot she could easily fill.
He had done it, he had gotten her.
She didn't need the memories to push her to tears, the implication was enough. With trembling hands she checked to see if her social media pages had been tampered with, she could see Jet toying with those. But her accounts hadn't been touched. So she looked at her photo collection.
A decision she grew to regret with a great depth.
He had used her camera very generously. It was hard to conceptualize what she was seeing. Hard to believe that she was really seeing pictures of her own body strewn out with her shirt pulled up to reveal her bra and a skirt that was pulled just unsettlingly lower.
He had posed her.
He had taken the time to capture her in many different angles.
She didn't want to know anymore so she set the phone aside and wept. He had done it, he'd gotten her. She was soiled and violated. She gasped out another sob. Why had she gone to that stupid party. She had known that it was a dreadful idea. How could she have let Sokka talk her into it? Why had he tried to do so in the first place?
How could he and Suki have just left her alone when they knew…
She didn't understand and it was destroying her.
He hadn't meant her any harm, but lord did he tarnish his reputation as the smart, role model older brother.
It occurred to her that he wasn't even there.
She needed him so badly and he wasn't even there.
She wanted to send him a text but the thought of unlocking her phone to see herself so exposed…
She couldn't stomach the thought of it, let alone actually doing it. She'd have to ask someone else to go through and delete them. But, until she talked to the police, they'd have to remain on her phone.
She curled herself into a ball and sobbed harder.
There was a knock on her door and she heard someone speak. The words never quite computed. She didn't want company that much. But she found it anyways in the form of Aang and Toph.
For a moment she could forget. "Toph!" She threw her arms around the girl. "Where have you been?"
"Well, I can't exactly go to school." Toph muttered. "I guess that's okay though, because Wan High is basically a mental institution disguised as a high school and from what I've heard it's been nothing but a mess."
Toph wormed her way out of the embrace and Katara caught sight of her eyes. They had a foggy film over them.
"What happened?"
"So it was pretty crazy, right? I was in my room and suddenly I see this bright beam of light. Next thing I know, I'm lying on a surgical table and these aliens are looming over me. They told me that they were going to give me night vision. I didn't realize that they meant that I'd only see darkness like it's always night time."
Katara sighed, but she was happy to let the tall tale take her away from a brutal reality.
"Anyways, because aliens do unethical things, I am now blind so I've been in and out of the hospital a lot. It doesn't leave much time for school. Actually, I requested the room next to you."
"Will you be able to see again?"
Toph's face fell some. "They're trying, but they're also starting to suggest some school that work with blind kids. I'm learning to read braille and I might be getting a dog!"
"A dog?"
"I helped her pick him." Aang remarked. "His name is Appa! He's really big and I think that he'd be a good match for Toph."
"I have a feeling that he wasn't describing any of the other dogs very accurately. But I can't see for myself, so I have to take Twinkle Toes' word for it."
"That sounds really exciting Toph! The dog part, I mean. You said you wanted a dog, right?"
Toph nodded, "I guess that's one good thing."
The door opened a second time. Katara expected to see Sokka and Suki standing in the doorway, mirror images of concern. Instead her parents walk in. Her mother's eyes looked as swollen and red as her own. She hugged her tightly. "Oh God." She whispered to no one in particular. "I knew that I shouldn't have let you go to that party! You're brother, he's so irresponsible." She was rubbing her head, looking wholly exhausted. She reminded Katara so much of herself.
"Mom, where is Sokka?"
"Your brother got himself arrested." Hakoda replied. She couldn't assess anything from his tone.
"F-for what?" Katara half-whispered.
"For beating up an underage boy."
"That wasn't a boy, that was a monster." Kya grumbled.
"As far as the law sees, he's an underage boy." Hakoda replied firmly.
And Katara was teary eyed all over again. "This is all my fault."
"Oh no. No, no, don't say that honey." Her mother's arms were around her again, this time even tighter.
"But he was defending me."
"And that's what you're going to tell the police when they take you in for questioning." Hakoda replied.
"I can't! Not today." Katara winced.
"No, not today, they're going to give you some time." Kya replied.
"But the sooner, the better."
.oOo.
Sunday was a dream in comparison to the mishap that was Monday. Sunday she got to see Aang and finally got to hear from Toph-good news no less! They hadn't left her side until their respective families had ushered them home.
Monday showed her no friendly faces. She was faced with a few final tests, mostly concerning what affects the drugs had on her and then she was ushered away for the questioning that had been promised.
The officer, who introduced himself to her as officer Yu-Ron opened up their session with an offering of coffee. To which she shook her head, she wasn't a big fan of the stuff. That had always been Suki's thing. She watched him set the cup aside. "Shall we get right into this then?"
Katara nodded, she supposed that it was better to get things over with. The sooner she did, the sooner she could work to put it out of her mind entirely.
"Your friend, TyLee Boyang, she had given me a video of the incident. Do you have any evidence of your own. The video alone is very sturdy, but every bit helps."
Katara nodded and handed him her phone. "Please delete them after you send them to yourself, I don't want to have to look at them again."
He nodded. "Understandable." He took the phone from her. "Would you mind telling me what you remember of Halloween night?"
"A lot of it is really...fuzzy." Katara replied. "I think he, Jet, drugged me. I saw him watching me throughout the whole party. Everytime I looked he was there. And then one time I looked, and he wasn't. And that scared me. After that I started feeling, I don't know...weird. Or maybe it was a little before that, I really can't remember."
"The hospital did find traces of Rohypnol in your system. That would account for the blackout and the memory loss."
Katara found an ounce of comfort in that Yu-Ron seemed to think things were all adding up. At the very least, her story sounded as real as it was.
"I'm going to ask a favor of you. You do not have to do this if you don't want to."
Her tummy knotted.
"Are you willing to watch the video handed to me by Ms. Boyang?"
Katara swallowed. "If it will help get Jet locked up, I-I guess I can."
"Very well. If you would like to stop at any time, let me know and you don't have to finish watching it."
Katara clutched the edge of her chair as he began playing the video. The voice that came through was muffled by static and fuzz, she couldn't make out what he was saying but his intentions were clear enough. She watched him climb atop her. She could feel herself growing almost numb. The video played on and she watched him tug her shirt off. Somehow it was like watching a movie, it was too surreal. That couldn't possibly have been her. She swallowed as a tear slipped down her cheek.
"Do you want me to turn it off?"
But the video was almost done, so she let the entire clip roll.
"He got me." She spoke quietly. "He got what he wanted...he…"
"He didn't get as far as you think. If it is any comfort, your brother got to him before he could do anything but take your shirt off."
A weight lifted off of her chest and a lightness settled in. "He didn't...uh...he didn't you know…?"
Yu-Ron smiled reassuringly. "No, not quite. But this is still enough to get the boy locked up for a while."
"What about my brother? He was just trying to help me."
"I am aware." Yu-Ron nodded. "We are building a case for that. Ms. Boyang mentioned that a Mr. Chan Haga was present too and that he did a good number on Mr. Akunin."
It took her a moment to recall that Jet's last name was Akunin. He had always been Jet to her.
"So you can get Sokka out of jail?"
"I can very well try."
.oOo.
She still wasn't up for school the next morning. She wasn't up for seeing Suki at lunch. Suki who didn't even bother visiting her at the hospital. She tried to give a little leeway; the father of her baby was in jail. She had to visit him. But, surely, she could have sent a text.
No, Suki was completely silent.
She knew Suki well enough to gauge that the girl knew that Katara was already mad at her. She knew Suki well enough to know that she was trying to give her some space. But this wasn't a 'give space' kind of situation. This was a confrontation kind of situation. No, it was a situation where she very well would have let Suki's mistake slid, so long as she lent her support.
As well as Suki meant, she was only digging herself in deeper.
As much as she longed for someone to talk to and confide in, she wanted to be angry at Suki. At the perfect person to seek comfort in. But Katara had self-respect. She wasn't crawling back to Suki without an apology for abandoning her twice over when she needed her the most.
It looked like she would be powering through school alone.
Again.
It chilled her through and through as she dizzily packed her supplies. It didn't feel right heading off to school as though it were another normal day. It didn't feel right at all it was jarring and disorienting and she had a feeling her mom would have to listen to her weep the whole way to school.
She knew that, for the first time in their relationship, Kya did not know how to console her.
She didn't know how to console herself.
She wished she could text Toph. She ended up settling on Aang. It was a shame that those two were not in her lunch hour. She wondered if she would be sitting alone and that doubled her rate of tear fall. God, she was an emotional wreck.
She felt like something half-alive dragging herself to class. She heard the late bell and braced herself for a jolly good time with June. But even she seemed to take pity on Katara's soul, letting her pass by without a word. She dropped into her seat.
She refused to look up from her paper, it had been an outrage enough to see Chan sitting in the seat behind her unfilled one while Sokka was in jail. She had looked up only once, to catch sight of a very bedraggled Azula. Her hair obscured much of her face, but Katara could swear that she saw some bruising. She ran her fingers through her own decently messy, and dreadfully unwashed hair, she had to be imagining things.
The bell rang and she hustled out before Chan or Chu-Leng could catch her.
.oOo.
She slid into her usual lunch seat, dreading the moment when Suki would plop down next to her and pretend like nothing was wrong. Just when she was beginning to think that Suki wasn't going to show up, she heard a lunch tray clamor on the table.
Katara made a point of not looking up.
"Hey, Kat." Suki greeted.
Katara put an extra effort into enjoying her lunch meat.
"I'm gonna sit down, okay?"
She dug around in her lunchbox and fished out a star shaped sandwich and a note from her mother. If she read that, then she wouldn't have to think about the girl who sat down next to her.
"Are you doing okay?"
Her mother's note was longer than usual, reminding her that she was brave and strong and that she would get through this one. That the whole family would and that they would come out stronger still. Of course she sprinkled in more mundane commentary about having a nice day at school. She folded the note up and slipped it back into her pocket. Her elbow brushed against Suki. "I wish you stuck this close to me at the party."
An audible glup let Katara know that Suki was well aware that she was in deep.
Katara almost caved.
"I didn't mean to…"
"You knew that I needed your help. The only reason I came to that party was to hang out with you and Sokka!" She snapped. "I was wondering why you didn't just want to hang out at home instead. It's harder to sneak away from your friend to have sex when it's just the three of you." So maybe it wasn't the only reason, Aang was a pretty good part of it, but that wouldn't help guilt Suki.
Suki's head dipped. "I know, it was stupid."
"Stupid, yeah. Funny how I got to pay the price for your stupidity this time around." Katara flinched, she didn't know where any of that had come from. She had never been this angry before. Not with a friend. She had never said anything like that to a friend before. She knew that she should apologize.
Instead she let an oppressive awkward silence befall them.
One that filled the entirety of the lunch hour.
.oOo.
Her second day back at school was no charmer either. June still didn't interrogate her for her tardiness, but that didn't alleviate the red that Chan's presence put in her vision. His voice roused her temper more, even if his insults weren't aimed at her.
"That's true, it's a gift that keeps on giving. Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen anyone eat like that! I don't know how you can eat so much at once."
She couldn't say why it bothered her so much to hear him say those words, really, Azula would have laughed if he were saying something like that to her. But still, his laughter drove her nearly mad. Perhaps it was because she could imagine him laughing like that knowing that Sokka was being punished for a crime he had a hand in. Katara lingered in the doorway as he added "There's something wrong with you."
She could see that Azula had murmured something back as she seated herself.
"Careful, you're going to break it!" Chan remarked, earning himself a high five. Azula mumbled something else and the laughter died away. Maybe it was finally occuring to him that he was an awful excuse of a boy. Katara took her own seat, rubbing at eyes that were so red they might as well be bleeding. She really needed to stop crying. But, lord, was it hard not to. Frankly, she just longged to go home.
She glanced at Azula.
Perhaps she should say something. Despite it all, she was beginning to feel awful for her. The stage of Azula so closely resembled her own, she couldn't possibly be doing well. She almost did, but she lost her nerve. She didn't want to risk one more bad thing.
.oOo.
She resigned herself to another lonely lunch. One that would leave her mind wandering. Aang was too much of a teacher's pet to text in class, not that she wasn't right there with him on that, but she really could use the conversation. Toph couldn't text and TyLee had just sent a text asking for luck with another round of questions with Yu-Ron. The poor girl must be exhausted. Katara knew that she was. The in depth interrogation she was subjected to after school yesterday had been an unpleasant surprise. But, apparently, their talk with Jet led them to question her again.
With Suki sitting at the other end of the table the questions repeated in her mind. She couldn't even count on her fingers the number of ways they had phrased the same questions. She had an even slimmer ability to count how many different officers and lawyers she was introduced to. It was so completely overwhelming.
She practically begged the universe to slap her with some sort of distraction.
And a cruel genie the universe was.
"I heard about the party."
"Heard about it?" Katara couldn't keep the spite out of her voice. "You were there."
"I left early…"
Just like that, empathy hit her all over again. She recalled Chan's remarks, she could see it in Azula's posture, that they were getting to her. So she tried to sound less cold. "Right." A complete failure.
"If it's any solace, he tried feeling me up." Katara didn't know how to respond so she just let Azula continue. "I was just laying there."
She found herself twice as empathetic. But at the same time she couldn't help but be a tad jealous. "I wish that, that was all he did to me."
"He didn't actually…?"
"No, TyLee stopped him." She really didn't want to talk about this. Especially not with Azula. The girl who had probably the second biggest hand in spreading around the whore rumors.
She caught Azula nod. "TyLee can fight when it matters."
Katara smirked to herself at the opportunity, Azula had just granted her."Unlike some people." She uttered it just loud enough to coxa a reaction from Suki. She hated the involuntary stab of guilt that came with having said it, so she engages Azula some more. "Why do you care?"
"I don't think that you're a slut."
The confession made her want to weep. Out of joy, relief, or something else, she couldn't quite grasp. But she had to know. She needed an answer to a question that had been on her mind for so long. "Then why did you say it? Over and over again." Really, that one ought to be good."
"I don't know." Azula was speaking much too quietly, it sparked something in Katara. Maybe she should let up a little, the other girl was already having a hard time. But that small voice within reminded her that Azula wouldn't have cared. A year back she probably would have still been harassing her even knowing her predicament. "I guess I'm just a bad person." Azula finished.
Katara's sighed, how was it that Azula was making it this hard to stay angry with her? Maybe it was simply Katara herself, who was being too forgiving for her own good. Regardless she replied, "you're not a bad person…" She didn't know if she believed her own words, but she supposed that if Azula was taking the time to give her own version of an apology it had to count for something. She sighed again, she supposed that after everything, it would be hard for the other girl to not change.
Before she could address the matter further, Azula diverted the conversation. "I liked your costume, it suited you."
To be honest, it was a refreshing subject, one that led her to think about lighter aspects of her life. "thanks, my mom made if for me." A dash of dread crept in. Her costume was just about as kiddish as her silly mermaid backpack. And the fact that her mother had made it for her?
She waited for the mockery. "Is she a seamstress or something?" The question was innocent enough.
She shook her head, "no, but Gram Gram was. Sewing is just a hobby." If only she had sewn the threads a little tighter. Maybe added some more straps...
Mercifully, Azula cut into her thoughts. "That's one hell of a hobby."
"Yeah! It's fun too, sometimes we do some sewing together." Her gratitude for the interruption comes in the form of a more joyful tone. She hoped that maybe it would comfort Azula some to know that she was cheering Katara up at least a little. "and mom teaches me about different traditional patterns!"
Azula's own expression seemed to turn, something that looked like it could be relief. Maybe acceptance. There was nothing vicious behind it, but something was intangibly unsettling Katara about it. The sudden shift wasn't boarding well with her. But she couldn't say why so instead she carried on the conversation.
"Have you ever done any sewing before?"
Azula shook her head. She was being much too meek. Much too soft-spoken. She considered that Azula could use something to look forward to. "Maybe, if you want, I can show you how. I could use a distraction." She was almost certain that Azula could take her mind away from Jet.
But her reply wasn't as enthusiastic as Katara had anticipated. "Maybe…"
"Uh…yeah…" Katara trailed off. That was kind of a conversation ender. Had the idea really been that unappealing.
"I am going to talk to Teo."
"Oh, yeah, okay." Katara replied. Something needed addressing but she couldn't place it. She was torn between asking Azula if she wanted to bring Teo to her table and asking her just what had compelled her to start a conversation anyways. Had this been something she'd planned for awhile and finally had the guts or the motivation to do so?
She didn't realize that she had actually really hoped for Azula to say yes, until the girl had walk away.
The ominous feeling stuck with her. She chewed her sandwich, this one in the shape of a heart. She had trouble swallowing it, her stomach was doing flip flops. There was something so wrong. She took out her mom's note. 'Be strong today. Lots of love. Make me proud.' It was just the sort of simple thing her mom would say.
She watched Azula walk out of the cafeteria.
Lots of love.
Azula didn't seem to get much of that.
She drummed her fingers on the table nervously. She wanted to follow Azula out, but the thought of hall monitors made her skin crawl. She didn't want to make more trouble for herself.
She clutched her mother's note.
Make me proud.
She stood up.
TyLee had saved her, it was her turn to save someone else. Even if it got her in trouble. Even if Azula wasn't in any danger at all. She supposed she'd rather look like a paranoid fool then…
Then what? What did she think was going to happen?
In the back of her mind she knew exactly what she was fretting.
She checked the bathroom first, it was empty.
Her next thought was to go to the parking lot. She racked her brain for the image of Azula's car. It had been a while since the girl had pulled up to give her a ride. She supposed that she would know that car if she saw it.
She scanned the lot, trying to keep her fear from rising. She couldn't afford to be frantic, lest she overlook the car. At last she spotted it. But she froze up. What if her presence just made things worse. What if Azula didn't want to see her.
The panic was settling it, she didn't know how to handle this one. She heard a ruckus and caught sight of Teo. He came to a stop and locked eyes with her. She pointed to the car and watched him wheel to it. She would let him keep Azula company, that was probably the safest route. Her job was to go back inside and get help.
.oOo.
She watched them load them load Azula into the ambulance. Her body was so pale, she didn't think that Azula had made it. She didn't know anyone living who had skin that shade.
Her arms were achy from trying to keep Azula from hurting herself further during her spasming.
Katara felt so defeated. She let herself become a victim and she had let Azula die. She should have talked to her sooner. She should have let her spite go when she heard Chan making his ridiculous jokes. She wondered it it would have made a difference if she would have told Azula that Chan was wrong. If she would have told her that she was still a pretty girl. The sort Katara envied. But then, who knew how long Azula had been planning this one.
She looked at her mother's note. "I tried, mom. I really, really tried."
She wasn't much up for physical contact, but she thought that Teo could use a hug. He was much closer to Azula, this was probably tearing him apart. Principal Roku, ever so stern, broke up the embrace and motioned them back to class.
For awhile they lingered in the hall and she vented to him about Sokka, about her case, and about how everything was just such a general mess."This school is such a disaster." As Teo had noted.
"It was never like this at my old school."
She wished that she had begun talking to him earlier on. "I wish I never met Jet." She concluded.
"Tell me about it." He replied, making her yearn even more for a time machine.
.oOo.
The rest of the day dragged by agonizingly slow. She thought about what she was going to tell her mother. Honesetly, she was at her wits end. How much misery could cling to and surround one person. She didn't know what she had done to deserve this. Save for making one mistake, one simple mistake. Save for being too trusting.
She shut her locker and looked to the one next to hers. Azula's locker was a mess of printouts and what looked like soda. She picked up one of the sheets and cringed. An Usha trademark that reminded her of Halloween all over again.
She is filled with regret all over again for not trying to help Azula sooner. For letting her spite get the best of her. She groaned to herself, maybe she ought to learn from this one. She whipped out her phone and asked Suki if she wanted to drop by her house in an hour or so.
"Are you okay, Katara?"
Katara jumped. When she turned around to see TyLee she replied. "I…too much is happening at once." Her voice was growing all weak.
"What's going on?"
It was hard for her to choke the words out. But finally she got the there. "She killed herself, Ty." And her tears flow, unchecked. It settled in, in full that she could have saved Azula but didn't because she choose to harbor anger instead. It was just the kind of thing her mother didn't like her to do.
"Who?"
"Azula."
"How do you know!?" TyLee cries.
"Teo and I found her." She answered miserably. "I…she talked to me before…" She should have seen it sooner. She really should have. Azula had made it pretty plan a number of times. At the very least, her distress had been obvious.
"She talked to me too." TyLee replied softly. She too had some tears to shed. "I was going to drive home with her today…" Her hiccuping matched Katara's own. "Is she really gone?"
Katara wrapped her arms around her. "I'm not sure." She paused, she really hoped that she was wrong. "It sounded like it, but I don't know. They wouldn't tell me anything." She really didn't understand why they were keeping her in the dark. She was one of the people who had found Azula!
As if things couldn't be any more miserable, TyLee noted, "I was going to drive home with her, Katara. We were going to go to my house and I was going to show her my new hamster and we were going to catch up…" Apparently, Katara wasn't the only one with a heap of 'if only's'. "We were going to be friends again…"
She somehow knew the feeling, she thought that she might have been ready to give Azula a chance.
.oOo.
Suki was snoring on the sofa close to her. On a normal day, sleepovers weren't allowed on school days. But her mother didn't put up a fight when Suki asked if they could have the extra time to talk things over. Kya had agreed, under the guise that Katara could use the company.
If she were being honest, even with the hours of chatter and discussion, Suki still didn't give her a satisfactory answer as to why she thought it was a good idea to have her alone time with Sokka. Eventually Katara resigned to accepting, "okay, it was a horrible idea, I was just tipsy and horny."
A horrible excuse, but at least it was an honest answer.
She was still furious but she didn't want to leave Suki entirely alone to deal with her pregnancy concerns and the guilt.
Afterall, guilt was eating Katara alive, she wouldn't ever willfully impose that on someone else. So Suki slept on the sofa in her living room and she took the floor. A bowl of spilled popcorn littered the room for her mom to fuss over.
The baby had Suki sound asleep and she was ready to turn the TV on to drown out mental images of her in only a bra and Azula on a stretcher. She feared that the two events would merge into one horrible scene courtesy of a nightmare, so she refused to sleep.
Her phone sounded. Instinctively she feared the buzz. She reminded herself that Jet was either in the hospital with no phone or in a cell. She picked it up, hoping for maybe Aang. Or better yet a message from Sokka telling her that they had decided to let him go after all.
She had received neither. But she supposed that the message she did recieve was a blessing in its own way. It was a simple, albeit, awkward thank you.
Katara looked at the clock. She wouldn't be sleeping easy. She hadn't expected anything of the sort, but she conversed with Azula for a good portion of the night.