Page 104 of Keeping Kara

“Flashbacks?”

“Yes. That’s what happened the night I moved in here, when I first got to Norfolk.”

“Do you think you see him out of the corner of your eye, only to turn and there’s no one there?”

“Uh-huh.”

“How do you get them to stop?” she whispered.

“Time,” Kara said without hesitation. “And leaning on those who love you. Like me. And the rest of the girls. Talking about what happened…to me, to a psychologist, or someone else you trust and know would understand. And maybe take some kickboxing classes and kicking the shit out of one of those bags that hangs from the ceiling, pretending it’s his face or balls.”

That earned her a small huff of a laugh. Then Jen sobered. “I shouldn’t have called you. I shouldn’t have done what he ordered me to do.”

“If you hadn’t, you’d definitely be dead. You did what you had to do in order to survive, and I hold no ill will toward you for it.” Kara took a chance and ran her hand over the top of Jen’s bald head. “This? It’s nothing compared to what you’ve lived through, Jen. And none of us care. I’m actually jealous that you can be a redhead one day, then have an adorable black bob the next. And think of the cool cosplays you can pull off way better than anyone else because you’re bald.”

“Like who?”

Kara racked her brain to think of good examples. “Um…Sigourney Weaver in Alien. Demi Moore in GI Jane. And wasn’t there a whole group of bald women in Dune? The eighties version, not the more recent one. Oh! And remember the list of names that everyone was looking for was actually tattooed on the back of that one chick’s head, in one of the Rush Hour movies?”

“You have the worst taste in movies, girlfriend,” Jen said with a laugh.

“Probably. Oh, wait, two more…the main villain in that new one with Wolverine, and the best one yet, Nebula from the Guardians of the Galaxy.”

“Okay, okay, I get your point.”

“I’m going to go back to the beginning of this convo and say once more…thank you, Jen. For being the kind of friend who does what she needs to in order to help someone else. Who didn’t give up. I’ve been in your shoes, and it’s not a comfortable place to be. Feeling duped. Stupid. Used. But all that is on him. Not us. So what if we fell for his lies? That doesn’t make us bad people or unlovable. It just means we had the shitty luck to cross paths with a user and abuser. A killer. And if anything, I should be asking for your forgiveness. If not for me, you wouldn’t have met Nolan Colins.”

Jen’s arms tightened around Kara, then she sat up. “It would suck if we didn’t know each other.”

“Yeah.”

“I stink. I need to shower. And you’re right, Fred probably needs to pee.”

The black lab’s tail began to wag at hearing his name.

“You want to come over for dinner?” Kara was pressing her luck, but she figured she didn’t have anything to lose.

“You know what? Yes.”

“Yay!”

“I’m going to try, Kara…but I can’t promise that things will go back to exactly how they were,” Jen warned.

“Everything we experience changes us. It’s a part of life,” she told her.

“And no matchmaking. If Roman has something going on that makes him reluctant to be with me, like his ex, it is what it is. Okay?”

“Of course,” Kara agreed. She really, really, really wanted Edge and Jen to work out, but she wouldn’t meddle…much. Now that Jen was making an effort to get back to her life, she wouldn’t do anything to derail that. But she had a feeling she wouldn’t have to do a damn thing…Edge would take care of making sure Jen knew he was interested, all on his own.

Jen still had a long way to go. One cuddle session and heart-to-heart wasn’t going to slay all her demons, but it was a start.

The two women climbed out of bed, and Kara couldn’t resist giving her friend one last long hug. “Love you.”

“Love you too.”

“I’m gonna go clean your pigsty of a kitchen while you shower.”

Jen wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, sorry.”