Hellcat

Chapter 78

The next morning, I went to my condo to get a shower and a change of clothes. My phone rang just as I stepped out of the shower. Checking the caller ID, I was relieved to see a familiar name. "Hey," I greeted, putting the phone on speaker as I towel-dried myself. "Hey, are you free this afternoon? I really need someone to talk to." I could tell by Karen's voice that she had been crying recently. It was thick and wet like maybe she still was.

"Yeah, of course. What's up?" I asked, concern filling me as I snatched up the phone, taking it into my bedroom before searching for some clothes to wear. "Not over the phone, okay? I just... can you come over to my place soon?" she asked, voice shaking. Tugging on my jeans, I snatched up the phone. "Yeah, of course. I'll be right there," I assured her, keeping my voice gentle. "Thanks," she muttered.

I thought she might hang up, but I saw the line was still going even though she remained silent. "Are you okay? I mean, with what happened... you just – you looked off. After the attack, I mean," she stuttered. I would always admire how she could worry about other people even when she was breaking down. "I'm better now. I'll explain everything when I get there, okay?"

There was a long pause on the other end of the line, and again, I thought she might have hung up. "Okay. Thank you," she added, voice cracking. "Any time," I responded gently. "Listen, I'm leaving right now, okay? I'll be there in half an hour," I assured her. She sniffled in response. "Okay," she muttered. This time, when there was silence, she actually did hang up. Sighing to myself, I finished dressing before snatching up my purse and jacket on the way out the door.

When I arrived at Karen's door, there was a long gap between when I knocked and when the door finally opened. Karen stood on the other side, still wearing her pajamas and with a tissue in her hand. "Hey," she greeted, blue eyes dull with sleep deprivation. "Hey, did you get any sleep?" I asked her as she stepped back from the door. She headed right into the living room, leaving me to close the door behind myself before following her.

"No. How can I sleep after what I did?" she grumbled out before flopping onto the couch, legs curling underneath herself. "Karen," I sighed, sitting down beside her. "What happened at the Bulletin isn't your fault," I tried to tell her. "But if I hadn't threatened –" she started only for me to cut her off. "No, hey, don't do that, okay? I distinctly remember making about ten times more threats than you. Whatever happened – however Fisk found out – it's not your fault. It's not Matt's and it's not mine. Somehow, Fisk found out that we had Jasper Evans. That's not on us."

She thought about this for a moment before shaking her head. "Okay, but I insisted on the Bulletin. I brought him there. And if I hadn't, those people would still be a-alive," she stammered as the tears began to well up in her eyes again. "Hey, don't," I pleaded with her, reaching forward, and wrapping my arms around her shoulders. She let me pull her into my embrace, leaning her head on my shoulder as she began to sob. I kept a gentle hold on her with one hand, using the other to smooth out her messy hair.

"You can't take all the blame, Karen. It's as much my fault as yours. More so. I should've been more prepared," I told her softly. She began to sniffle, shaking her head against my shoulder. "What about Matt? Is he okay?" she asked, forcing herself to think of something besides her own pain. "Yeah, I patched him up. Had to kick his ass a little though," I added as she sat up. A tiny laugh escaped her as she met my gaze, using the tissue to wipe at her eyes.

"Yeah? And how did that go? Last time I saw you two together, you were pretty pissed," she said, reminding me of when we convinced Jasper Evans to help us. "We, uh... we worked out our frustrations," I told her vaguely. From the tiny smile that tugged at the corners of my lips, she could tell I didn't mean with our fists either.