A Little Bit of Sunshine

Chapter 13: Kara

"Aww, Lee Bug, what are you doin' on the floor?" My heart broke as I pushed open the front door to find Lena sitting just inside, eyes red rimmed from tears and her navy blue blouse from this morning croaked and rumpled. Even her pencil skirt was skewed, hitched high up her thighs from the way she was curled up against the wall. I could tell she was exhausted, and if the intensity of her cries from the earlier phone call were anything to go by, that had done very little to help.

She only stared up at me, face crumpled in desperation as she weakly reached out to touch my pant leg. I squeezed through into the penthouse and dropped my backpack so I could help Lena up and into my arms. Her face was warm against my neck, sticky from snot and tears.

"It's alright honey. Mommy's got you," I murmured, rubbing circles into her back. She clutched at my shoulders, raising up on her tiptoes with a whine. Taking my best guess at what she was asking for, I looped my arms under her butt and picked her up. She instantly wrapped her legs around my hips and settled in with a sigh. "Did you just want uppies, baby?"

She nodded, pressing her face further into my neck. Her breathing was still rapid but she was slowly calming. I swayed slowly, resting my head against Lena's with my eyes closed. Despite the long day, she smelled of her expensive perfume and lavender. She always smelled wonderful.

I didn't attempt to communicate until Lena had completely calmed, breathing leveled out and her shoulders slumped. Even her arms had slackened to practically hang down at her sides. If it weren't for the subtle flutter of her eyelashes, I would have assumed she fell asleep.

"We need to get you some dindin, okay? Then we'll get you comfy. I'm afraid my sweet girl will fall asleep at the table if we take a bath first."

As expected, no response came other than Lena nudging my neck with her forehead. Just enough pressure to let me know she'd heard me. I couldn't help but smile.

"You wanna watch Bluey while Mommy cooks?" She let out a whine. "What if you use my phone to watch it and then you can stay in here with me?"

I knew enough to recognize she was not going to be comfortable being far away. Even if she could see me from the living room, the distance would be too much. "Let's go get some shorts on real fast and find Donkey. I'm sure he's hungry too. Don't you think Donkey is hungry? I think I can hear his stomach growling from here."

Lena let out a sleepy giggle and shook her head.

"You gotta listen really hard... You hear him?"

She nodded and sat back enough that I could finally check her face. Despite the aftermath of her tears, she had a goofy smile on her face that made her eyes crinkle. God, she's so adorable.

"Well, we can't let him starve!" I used my arms to jump her further up on my hips, which left her giggling. "I think he's gonna want a ham and cheese sandwich. What do you think?"

She bit her lip and nodded again, pushing lightly at my shoulders in a silent request to be put down. I complied and followed her towards the office. She must have snuck in and tucked her stuff away in the desk again after I had left because soon enough, she was pitching down to unlock the drawer.

"Make sure you get your paci baby bug," I said, taking the offered blanket. She did as she was asked and kicked the drawer closed. I had to bite back a laugh at the level of discord in her movements. "Let's go get you some shorts so you can be comfortable while we eat."

After digging through her dresser drawers, I found a pair of black Soffe shorts in a drawer that seemed to only hold workout gear, and helped switch out the tight skirt for the much softer material.