Chapter 9

A Moment of Peace

Amy waited in the office, feeling somehow at home. She found a sweater in a nearby drawer and used it to prop her head up as she laid completely down onto her back and stared up at the ceiling just waiting for Karma to come back.

The office was so empty. They hadn't even turned on the lights and Amy liked that. Still, light crept in from the large windows that lined half of the walls. Amy wondered where Karma had gone and if she was really as quiet as she seemed. Her mind went to different places. She thought about the case and how weird it had been sitting in. But mostly she thought about Karma and how much she wished she knew, how surprisingly void of information she was all of a sudden. She wished she could go back in time and pay extra attention to all those conversations Reagan and Oliver had. She wished she could take a break and just research Karma's life. It was strange, and she knew that, but there was no stopping her desire to know all the things that she didn't know now that she'd seen this girl in life and noticed things that others somehow failed to see.

Amy's thoughts wandered, and then she heard a noise, a small defeated sigh. Karma was back and ready to take on an Amy day for the first time in her life. She walked out of her office before looking down at her outfit in the open and feeling stupid for not keeping more around her like Shane and Liam both did. She'd ordered a few basics from Forever21 and they were just sitting in a package in her office for what seemed like forever, just because she'd been TOO BUSY to remember to take them home.

"What's wrong?" Amy asked, sitting up.

"This is stupid," Karma said. "I look stupid."

"What? No." Amy said, getting up quickly and staring. "You look great, really." Karma was wearing one of those simple fabric dresses that just seemed plain to her now that she could afford the best of the best. It was basic and simple. She had spandex shorts under her dress and the shorts ran a bit longer than the hem on her dress. She felt childish all of a sudden, like she'd gone back to a time in her life she'd completely forgotten about.

To Amy, she just looked cute though, her same ol' self, seeming sweet.

"Really?" Karma asked.

"Yeah, really," Amy pushed. She liked Karma dressed down. In truth, Amy flashed back to one of her classmates in college. At the time she didn't understand her feeling for her, but seeing Karma now dressed like her it all made a whole lot of sense.

"You okay?" Karma asked. Amy had gone somewhere else. She was just staring off into space with a strange expression on her face that Karma couldn't place.

"Yeah," Amy sighed. "You just reminded me of someone," she confessed.

"I did?" Karma smiled, coming closer.

"Yeah," Amy sighed, wanting the subject changed. "Come on, I'm starving," Amy motioned her hand toward the elevator, then, without thinking, she took Karma's hand in her own and pulled her gently towards the doors. It wasn't until she had Karma's hand in her comfortable grip that Amy realized what she had done.

"Whoa," Amy said, letting go of her instantly. "Sorry, I never do that."

Karma was blushing now. "It's fine," Karma said, rubbing her hands on her thighs at the absence of Amy's hand. It was weird, sometimes Karma could swear that people were actually scared to touch her. And here Amy was so unafraid that she took liberties. Amy was so very different from most of the people Karma was used to meeting in an average day.

"I really, I don't know why I did that," Amy confessed shakily. She felt absurd and wanted to vanish.

"Amy, really, I liked it," Karma said, wanting her to feel calm.

"You." Wait. "Oh," Amy realized. She liked it, Amy thought. And that is what Krma had said.

Beside herself, Amy felt strong again and smiled up towards the ceiling watching as the elevator climbed near and the numbers lit up in succession.

Karma watched for a reaction and when she noticed how happy Amy was she smiled too. Defiantly, and like a child would do, Karma took Amy's hand into her own and held it there tight.

The elevator dinged and Amy laughed. "You're so weird," Amy said.

"Yeah well, I don't care," Karma teased, walking into the lift and pulling Amy in after her.

The whole ride down Karma refused to let go of Amy's hand and neither of them could stop themselves from smiling. It was nice to have someone for a change, a person to like who, at the very least, liked you back. Amy breathed in deep and let out a contented sigh. Karma kept her eyes forward knowing that to look could complicate things. For now she just focused on the soft hand in hers and the body beside her.

For whatever reason, on this random day, two girls alone in an elevator were back to feeling like they were only 15.