Chapter 8

And Now For...

After Liam left, Lauren picked up the office phone. It was Judge Ashby's secretary calling to let them all know that court was adjourned for the day since counselor Morris's witness was having trouble getting to court. Apparently he had some crucial key-witness coming to report on how Mr. Oilridge mistreated them personally. Without that witness Morris would be shit-out-of-luck.

Lauren took the call and relayed the message. Then she said, "welp, guess that's my cue," and moved herself to evacuate the premises.

"Lauren?!" Amy nearly yelled in her confusion. It was upsetting for her to watch her sister be tactless in front of others. After the scene she'd just witnessed, Amy was not about to leave Karma on her own. Something big was obviously going wrong in Karma's life and it was very sad. But Lauren obviously had no qualms about leaving.

"Oh yeah, sorry, want a ride home?" Lauren forgot she had kidnapped her sister. How rude of her.

"No Lauren, I do not want a ride home."

"Oh. Wow. Sorry, lil miss anger! Bye, then. And don't call me to pick you up 'cause that ship has sailed." The elevator opened and Lauren stepped right inside. Amy stood in front of the open door and made a weird gesture that looked mostly like a: I can't fucking believe you are doing this, what the actual hell Lauren Cooper?!

Lauren ignored it though. Instead of caring she pressed the CLOSE button on the door a ridiculous amount of times in a rapid succession to speed up her exit.

The door closed and Amy realized what had just happened.

And then, without much of a break, she realized again where she was and that she was not alone.

The air in the room was nice but Amy felt trapped now by her choices. She stood there, her back to Karma, and tried to focus on the cool air moving over her head through a vent.

"Why didn't you go?" Karma asked. Amy was just standing there and facing the elevator. She had her back to Karma but she was still with her somehow and Karma had no knowledge of why anyone would choose to stay.

Amy froze. It was like in the dinosaur movies when people have that weird instinct to pause in hopes that maybe if they stop moving they will not be seen.

"Amy?" Karma stepped forward with her tired feet and tapped the blond on the shoulder. The silk of Amy's white dressy tank felt smooth on Karma's fingertips.

Amy turned, half to get Karma to stop touching her and half to alleviate any extra stress that Karma could be feeling given everything that Amy had just seen.

"Oh, I dunno," Amy said. "She's crazy, right?" Amy laughed and Karma smiled just a bit.

"I guess," Karma said. "We all are though, right?" She leaned back on one of the office clerk's desks and drew her hands back to take her heels off.

"Oh, here," Amy said, kneeling down before her.

"Oh my God, stop," Karma was instantly embarrassed, she tucked her hair behind her ear and felt momentarily mortified. She'd only known this girl a few days and for those few days she mostly felt anger towards her but here she was in front of her kneeling down to help her off with her shoes.

"It's no big deal," Amy said. She looked up at Karma, Karma's heel in her hand. "Really," she said, a small smile painting Karma's world a whole new shade of lovely.

There was a quiet moment. Karma just watched her.

"I didn't like you much that first day," Karma said, being honest. And with such a small act, she really liked her now. The world could be tricky that way.

"I didn't make it very easy," Amy said, her hair cascading down over her face as she pulled it down to better relax herself and help. She put Karma's foot down and lifted her other foot to relieve her sad boss of her heels. Karma watched her from above and noticed for the first time how exquisitely beautiful Amy was. "It was Lauren, not you," Amy said, looking up at her apologetically. Amy felt so conflicted about this new job and these new people and her station in life and hurting her friends. It was all so much all of a sudden and Karma's sadness just reminded her of all that.

"You're sweet," Karma noticed. There was something stern and hidden behind Amy's face, something deep and hard to pin down. It's not often someone gives themselves to someone else in a manner such as this. Only boys ever did this sort of thing for Karma. And even then it's because they want something and she knew what they wanted. It was power or sex, usually.

What did Amy want? Karma thought to herself with intrigue and definite interest but also a tug and a pang.

"I'm not," Amy said, chastising herself for her odd thoughts about Karma's anger, the ones she had the other night after just meeting her. She smiled queerly, feeling mostly guilty about how upset she had been about this firm and what it had done to her in the past few days, dragging her away from her comfortable place at Ruiz and Ward. Dragging her from Reagan...

"You are," Karma said, pushing it, bending down and putting a finger below Amy's chin to lift it up. For a moment Amy felt herself holding her breath. She tried to keep calm but it was hard. "Why are you even here Amy Raudenfeld?"

Amy stared, searching Karma's eyes while Karma searched hers too. She had no answer really. She didn't know why. Amy didn't have a reason.

Karma breathed Amy in and shut her eyes, she dropped her forehead onto Amy's and Amy almost felt like she could cry in that moment. She felt connected to her someone or just like she owed her something. And she didn't know where that feeling came from or why it was there. Were they sympathy pains? Did she feel blessed just to be touched by her? What was this hold that Karma had?

Karma sighed and brushed her hand down Amy's left cheek. As she stood back up, becoming herself again, she was reminded of the place she had built, the place where she had been left.

"I'm really sick of this place, ya know?" Her chin quivered as the tears came rushing out. Her whole world was crumbing around her but it just looked the same, it all looked just the same.

Exhausted by her own emotions, Amy sat down onto the rug and crossed her ankles in modesty leaning back onto her hands.

"We can leave?" Amy suggested, staring up at her boss. Karma was in the middle of the large floor and holding her head as the tears rushed her.

Amy was so cute, she was just like a child. To Karma it was obvious that Amy couldn't possibly comprehend the intense responsibility Karma had taken onto her shoulders. She couldn't comprehend the number Karma had done on her life in the past few years.

"Right," Karma laughed, sniffling, and gathering herself.

"And what would you like to do?" Karma asked.

"I dunno," Amy played. "Donuts?" She smiled.

"Donuts?" Karma laughed, looking down at her with a smile she only reserved for small children and the truly delightful innocents in her life.

Amy smiled and shrugged. Donuts were always a good idea.

"Why not?" Amy asked.

"Fine," Karma chuckled. "We'll get donuts." The last people to want to take Karma out to get donuts were most definitely her parents and she missed them more than anything now. After everything she missed their closeness the most.

It was ridiculous, such a simple thing. Amy Raudenfeld was a big ol' dork. And now Karma knew.

"Just, I'm gonna change, okay?"

"K," Amy nodded, trying not to feel strange there on her new office floor.

How do you make someone happy when everything in their life has just been going wrong?

Amy wondered and wished she could find an answer. For now she'd just suggest what cheered her up and go from there. She didn't know Karma at all but she knew that she liked it when she touched her, and of course when she could get her to smile too.