Supernatural Memories

Chapter 2 - Lost

Kara gets up and goes downstairs, still reeling from the horrible nightmare she just had. She grabs a glass of water and sits up for a bit, trying to shake the feeling. After a bit, she hears footsteps behind her. She turns and sees Saline walking into the kitchen.

“Hey momma. We have to stop meeting like this.” Kara says and chuckles lightly.

“Yeah we do.” Saline says quietly.

“Hey, is everything okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just...” Saline pauses, “Carl didn’t come home tonight and I just wish he would call when he doesn’t come home. I worry, you know?”

Kara shivers hearing his name, “well, I’m sure he’s okay.”

“I know.” She drinks down a small glass of water, “I’m gonna try to get some more sleep. You should too.” Saline walks over and kisses Kara’s forehead then walks back toward her bedroom.

Kara sits in silence, letting her thoughts run wild. Carl didn’t come home or even let Saline know what’s going on... She purses her lips and looks towards the front door. Maybe I could go look for him... But she didn’t know where to start. Even if she went to where her nightmare was, she had no idea where that was. They lived in the woods of Northern California so it could be anywhere. She put her face in her hands and took a deep breath.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Kara whipped around and saw Finn standing there. “Yeah, I just had a bad dream.” She looked at him for a minute, and he looked back at her. She almost felt like crying, with the weight of her nightmare, being concerned about Carl, and now seeing Finn before her, just the two of them. He used to be one of her best friends but moreover, he actually was her first “unofficial” boyfriend. He was her first kiss. They never said it, but he was her first love. They had decided before freshman year was over that they were too young and that they should try seeing other people before they let themselves get too serious. Now, three years later, they had both dated other people but Kara never forgot their connection.

“Hey...it’s okay.” Finn came up to her and wrapped her in a hug, making Kara feel a flood of emotion. She let him hold her, feeling his warmth. “I miss you...” Finn whispered.

“What?” Kara’s eyes went wide as she looked up at Finn.

He looked down at her and smiled, “I love your brother, James is one of my very best friends. But you...” he trailed off, looking in her eyes, “you’re the OG.” He smiled big and squeezed her tight.

This made Kara laugh. She hugged him back and let her hands lay flat against him, “I miss you too, Finn.”

He rubbed Kara’s back for a minute, and rested his head on hers. Kara felt warm and safe in his arms. For a second she thought it felt almost romantic. She finally pulled away, “hey, why are you up this early anyway?”

Finn shrugged, “I dunno, I just woke up.” Kara nodded, although she was skeptical about it. She looked over at the clock. By now it was just past four and she definitely wasn’t going back to sleep.

“Hey...since we’re up,” she paused, smiling at Finn, “do you wanna-”

“Watch the sunrise from the roof?” He interrupted, grinning at Kara.

“Yeah. So?” She looked at him expectantly. That was their thing, when they were together they would get on the roof, or meet on the roof, early in the morning and watch the sunrise together.

“Sounds great.” He said, grabbing her hand and pulling her upstairs. They stopped at her room and grabbed some blankets then went to the office, opened the window and climbed out onto the roof. Finn took one of the blankets and laid it down on the roof then grabbed Kara’s hand and helped her down onto the blanket. He sat down next to her and wrapped a blanket over both of them and put his arm around her.

Kara put her head on Finn’s shoulder and they watched the sun starting to rise. She shivered and Finn pulled her closer. She looked up at him and caught him looking at her. She opened her mouth to speak but Finn put his hand on her cheek, and she was speechless. He gently touched her cheek and then moved his hand to the back of her neck. She moved closer to him, gazing into his blue eyes. Then he leaned in and kissed her. It was like he injected fire in her veins. Her eyes closed and her heart raced for him. She deepened the kiss and he pulled her into his lap.

She straddled him as he kissed her with a deep urgency. She wrapped her arms around him and he ran his hands down her back and sides, feeling her body against him. She moaned softly, her body responding to his touch. He laced his fingers through her hair, cradling her head. God, it felt good to kiss him again. Before she knew it, her head was spinning. She leaned him back and laid on top of him, feeling his arousal beneath her.

“Kara...” he whispered, “I really miss you.”

She looked in his eyes, breathless, “I know, Finn. I miss you too.” She put her hands on his head and kissed him deeply again. She relaxed in his arms and let him hold her and they kept kissing as the sun rose, until Kara heard a car coming down the road. Finn grabbed her hand and quickly pulled her over the top of the roof, to the side that you can’t see from the road, and they ducked down. Kara peeked over and saw a black car come down the road and park in front of their house. Suddenly it felt like she had been punched in the stomach.

She looked at Finn and he looked back at her. They quickly climbed back in the window and Kara heard a knock at the front door. She straightened her hair up a bit as she heard Saline walking through the house. As she and Finn threw the blankets back in her room, she glanced at the clock - just after 5 am. She paused at the top of the stairs, trying to listen to the man speaking to Saline. She sat down just out of sight, then Finn whispered “Kara, what’s going on?”

Kara looked over at him and put a finger to her mouth with a gentle “shh”. She could barely hear anything and didn’t recognize the man’s voice.

“...here, see it says ‘I have to meet someone, I should be back before morning.’ Do you have any idea where he may have gone?” The man said.

Saline quietly replied, “I don’t know, Jerry. He doesn’t really talk about work much.”

They’re talking about Carl! Kara thought to herself, trying not to react.

“I’m just worried about him, Saline. Carl wasn’t supposed to be meeting anyone.” He paused, “s**t, I shouldn’t have come here. I have no idea if this was personal or work related. It’s just that he hasn’t come back to the office and I wanted to make sure he was okay.” Kara saw him reach into his coat pocket and pull out a business card. “Give me a call when he comes home and I’ll do the same.”

Saline nodded and sort of waved his card in the air, “of course, thank you.” She closed the door after he left and leaned against it.

Kara leaned back against the wall and took a deep breath, trying to slow her thoughts. Finn looked at her quizzically then grabbed her hands and lifted her to her feet. Quietly, they walked to her room and shut the door. Finn turned to her and c****d his head, “what was that about?” His voice barely over a whisper.

“I don’t know, to be honest.” She considered telling Finn about her dream but after a moment she decided against it. She didn’t want to seem crazy and she couldn’t quite understand what was happening herself. “Carl stays at work sometimes so it’s not unusual for him not to come home, but without knowing the whole story...” she trailed off.

Finn looked at her for a minute and sat down next to her. When he finally spoke he quietly said “do you...do you think he’s having an affair?”

“Finn!” Kara hit his arm and then crossed hers, shaking her head. “Why would you say something like that?”

“It’s just a thought. If he doesn’t come home some nights anyway, maybe he’s having an affair? And this morning he just like, fell asleep or something? I don’t know...” he paused, looking down, “it’s just maybe a better option than him being in some sort of trouble.”

Kara nodded. She thought that could very well be true. Carl and Saline never were the “perfect couple”, and it honestly wouldn’t be the most surprising thing if it turned out he was having an affair. But she couldn’t think about that. She stood up and started pulling out clothes for the day. “I need to start getting ready for school. And I need to go talk to Saline.”

Finn stood up and came to her. She dropped the clothes she gathered on her bed and went to leave her room to go wash her face, but Finn grabbed her hand and pulled her to him. He landed against his chest, inches from his face, “can we talk for a minute?”

She just looked at him for a moment, then said shakily, “t-talk? About what?”

“About what!” He laughed, “Kara...about this morning. We’ve both said we miss each other. And...kissing you...” he paused and put his hand on her cheek, and gently runs his thumb over her lips, “kissing you felt better than I ever remembered. I need more time with you, more kisses...I want you, Kara.”

She stares into his eyes, speechless. All she can do is...look at him. She wanted to scream yes. She would take him back in a heartbeat but there was just so much going on.

“Hey, you don’t need you give me an answer right now. I just can’t wait anymore. I want you. Take some time, think about it.” And with that, he kissed her. A deep, passionate kiss. For a moment, Kara’s breathing slowed and it seemed like time stopped. Then Finn pulled away and smiled warmly at her, then left her room.

Kara sat on her bed and thought for a bit, about everything. Finally she shook it off and got dressed, and got herself ready for the day. Then she headed downstairs. Saline was standing in the kitchen, drinking a cup of coffee and staring out the window. Kara said quietly, “good morning. Is...are you okay?”

Saline turned and nodded, setting down her coffee cup. “I think so...” she half-smiled and added, “Carl didn’t come home and his boss came here this morning. I guess Carl was working late but he left and said he’d be back by morning but he never did come back.” A tear escaped her eye and she quickly wiped it away. “I think I’ve lost him, Kara”

“Wait, what do you mean lost him?” Kara replied, almost too quickly, and she pulled Saline in for a quick, strong hug.

“Well...I don’t think I really should talk to you about it.” She paused and then shook her head, “but you have a right to know. Carl and I have been in a bit of a rough patch...fighting...a lot recently. That’s why he doesn’t come home some nights. I think he’s planning on, or maybe has already, left me.”

Kara’s eyes go wide. Maybe Finn was right! She get terrible about being a little happy that it may just be that, and not the horrible thing that happened in her dream. But instead she hugged Saline again, as the boys came downstairs, and she whispered to Saline “it will be okay, no matter what.”