The afternoon meeting was incredibly boring.
Chris and Karen were sitting next to each other, catching each other's gaze out of the corner of their eyes and exhibiting a closeness that even Tom was aware of.
"There was something on the agenda I wanted to talk about." Tom eventually piped up, in order to break the silence that had fallen within the room. "I was thinking that as the kids have started back, we could set up some sort of party."
Chris shrugged. "We'd need a special occasion for that though, surely." In his mind, who would ever think about organising a party for…well…simply nothing special?
"Well, the kids aren't exactly thrilled about starting back for a new term, are they?" He watched the younger male cast his gaze away dismissively. "Give them something to celebrate."
"Something like a late summer party, you mean?" Karen supposed.
"Along those sorts of lines, yeah." Tom felt a wave of relief wash over him at the realisation that someone seemed to agree with his little idea. "I think it'd be quite nice to set that up on a spot on the grounds one clear night."
She turned to Chris steadily. "It does seem like a good idea."
"Ok," he drew in a small sigh, "what sort of date are we looking at?"
After the meeting, Tom stopped him before they parted either way to go to their rooms. "Is there something going on between you and Karen, mate?"
"No, not that I'm aware of." He expected him to notice the closeness they overtly exhibited throughout the meeting. "We're just friends, Tom…very good friends. I thought you knew that."
"Friends don't look at each other the way you two did all through that meeting." He replied. "Look, it doesn't bother me if you're both going out together, but try and keep it more discreet, yeah? You don't want people like Janeece or Grantley finding out."
"There's nothing going on between us." The younger male put forward even more clearly. "Absolutely nothing. We're just very good friends and that's all there is." And with that, he didn't want to say any more and sharply disappeared down the corridor to his room.
After work.
Chris went straight to Karen's room once he was sure everyone had cleared out of the building.
"I thought you were going to show me up." She teased, as he came in and sidled up to her.
"Now would I do something like that?" He snaked his arms around her waist, drawing their bodies together so that he could kiss her.
She closed her eyes, giving in to his playful actions as their lips oscillated and their tongues slid against each other seductively. "Mmm…" She stroked him at the back of his head before withdrawing from him. "I think we should save that till after the takeout, don't you?" She suggested huskily.
"I have to quickly go home first." He explained. "But I will come straight to yours after I've sorted one or two things out."
"Well I can always wait outside and we can go back to mine in my car." She offered. "That's if it was a fleeting visit back to yours…"
"As good as."
Chris went back to his place in his car, whilst Karen drove to his in hers. He quickly went to her before going in. "I won't be long, I promise you."
"I trust you." She smiled softly. "Now get yourself inside."
"Dad," Clara was already dolled up to go, meeting his guilt-ridden gaze as he came in, "don't you wanna get ready to take me out?"
"I'm so sorry, sweetheart." He took on a more weighed down appearance at seeing the amount of effort his little girl had put in to make herself look nice for him. "Something came up and I can't take you out tonight." He noticed her expression turn from excited and happy to a stonier one. "But I can take you out tomorrow night instead, and I promise to you that if anything does come up then…"
"You promised." She noted stonily. "You said you'd take me out tonight and now you're not. Why even leave it this late anyway?"
"I know," he admitted guiltily, "I should've let you know sooner and I feel bad enough for having to let you down like this…I'm really sorry."
"You're going to see…her, aren't you?" She assumed. "So seeing her is more important than going out with me…your own daughter who you haven't seen in eighteen years?"
He took her hands with his. "You've got every reason to be annoyed with me, and I don't blame you for feeling so. But I will promise to take you out tomorrow night. I will not break this promise to you."
He felt awful when he saw tears shimmering behind Clara's piercing blue eyes, and he caressed her over the insides of her wrists with his thumbs. "Be good for me and I'll be back soon, ok? I love you." He planted a soft kiss on her forehead, and left her alone in the flat.
Karen saw Chris come into her car at the front passenger side. "Got things sorted?"
"Yeah…all sorted out now."
They drove off together and went back to her place.
All through the takeout they shared between themselves, she couldn't help but feel a slight sadness come over the young male. "Are you not that hungry?" She was surprised that he'd even lost his appetite. That never usually happened to him and it wasn't a good sign when it did happen.
He drew in a small sigh, deciding to give up tilling the rice with his fork. "I think I should tell you what I wanted to say."
"Sure," she lowered her fork as a sign that she was ready to listen, "talk away."
"I took in a girl a few weeks ago." He explained slowly, noticing her bemused expression. He knew she was probably thinking all sorts. "She's my daughter. I wasn't even aware she existed and she's now eighteen years old."
"Wow." She breathed faintly. "But…surely you were too young to have fathered her. You're not that old yourself."
"I was thirteen when I made my girlfriend at the time pregnant." He went on. "I didn't know anything about it, and it was a casual thing between us. We split up not long after we did that and it was only one day I was driving by after work and I saw this small person huddled up under a bus shelter."
Karen tilted her head in slight concern.
"I couldn't leave her there, and although I didn't know who she was at the time, there was something between us I sensed. It was a very strange feeling, and I can't really describe it, but it was there." He noticed she'd come over rather placid.
"I let her stay the night and she told me everything that confirmed she'd been looking for me and that she was mine. I said she could stay with me, I wasn't going to let my own daughter go back onto the streets."
"No," she softly agreed, "that wouldn't be right."
Chris sat back on the sofa. "That said, she started behaving oddly…falling out with me, developing self-harming thoughts…I didn't know how to control her. I managed to now…sort of, but I took her to a doctor and he told me she's got a form of post-traumatic stress, like what you have." He cast his gaze down onto the lounge floor.
"He wanted me to send her away…I just couldn't bring myself to do that. After all these years of not knowing her, why should I send her somewhere I may not be able to see her for another few years?"
"You can't think negatively like that," she placed a hand on his shoulder, "mental homes can do really incredible things for very ill people. She might not have had to be in there for very long."
"The thing is," he came over more weighed down, "the trauma she was subjected to has run very deep. My ex's partner, or more simply put, her mum's partner, hurt her."
"Hurt her in what way?" She moved her hand to his back, stroking him there softly.
"He beat her…sometimes till she passed out."
Karen slowed the stroking at his back so it became more soothing. "How about I clear this away and then we can go to bed together? Maybe get some sleep…"
"I don't know…" Chris felt like he should really go back to his flat and try to make it up with Clara. He still felt bad for letting her down and he felt far from disposed to consider having sex.
"See how far it goes." She suggested. "We don't have to do anything you don't want. If you don't feel like having any fun, then we won't. But I think once you relax after an hour or so, you'll start to feel better."
He drew in a small sigh, feeling his ribs ache at the anxiety.
"You've just talked through something that'd been wearing you down for some time," she added, "and it's made you tired. I think I should take you to bed so you can have a few minutes to recharge."