What I Thought I Knew

Parents

Friday afternoon Kara went back to her house, her parents now home, and as expected, they cared more about her being presentable for her father's work party, then her suspension.  They were all in the car, in the way to her father's buisness partners house, when Kara interrupts their conversation about a woman they were debating whether or not was dating his partner for his money. "Who's Karina Thomas?"  Having gotten enough sleep finally, she was able to think more clearly, and she watched as her mother's hand clenched slightly tighter on her purse and her father stiffend just a bit but tried to maintain his happy composer.

Her mother laughs, "oh that was the name of your imaginary friend I believe."

"I don't remember having an imaginary friend?" Kara tells her.

Hey father sighs, "are you having those dreams again?" This catches her attention, how could her parents know about her dreams, she doesn't remember telling them. "I think we should tell her, she's old enough to know." He says to her mother, who shakes her head. He then looks back at Her, "Kara, when you were a kid, you were friends with a the sibling of a girl name Karina Thomas, but after she went missing, you guys stopped being friends, and you used to have nightmares about her kidnapping." Her father explains, and it almost seems perfect, a reasonable explanation that she wanted to except. So she did, even though something in the back of her head felt there was something else, she chose to believe her father's explanation instead.

~•~

Kara had been at her father's buisness party for any hour, and her boredom had been increasing by the second. She had been texting Nate the entire time, but then his phone lost signal since him and his cousin are out in the middle of nowhere. Sighing she walks around, looking for an exit, she had already been there long enough for her parents to show off, or at least that's how she felt.  She was just about to make her escape when her mother found her. "Kara, I'd like you to meet Xavier, his parents are Monica and Charles Prescott, your father's been in talk with them about merging buisness'" she explain, presenting her to Xavier Prescott, who smiles at her as if he'd just been given a shiny new toy.

Kara smiles politely, regretting having to shake his hand, not wanting to touch him at all with the way he stairs at her. "Hello," she says glancing at her mother, thinking of excuses to leave.

"Xavier is a freshman this year at Williams university," her mother tells her, referring to the private college located just thirty minutes out of town.

Kara nods, "oh, that's nice, I hear they have a great water polo team there." She knows her mother wants her to make friends with him so that his parents will partner with her father, but she doesn't think her mother's definition of friend and Xavier's are the same thing.

"Well anyways, I'll leave you kids to get to know each other," her mother says, before walking away.

"You don't look sixteen, thirteen, fourteen maybe, but not sixteen," he observes, still smiling at her like a predator.

Feeling uncomfortable by his gaze, Kara replies, "yeah I get that a lot, it's the freckles."

"I still think your hot, even if you do look thirteen," Xavier's skeezy smile gives her the creeps as he steps closer. "So uh-" he starts as he begins to slip his arm around her waist but she steps aside just in time to avoid his arm.

"You know, I think I'm getting a call, so I'm just going to step out side to take this," she waves her obviously silent phone. Quickly making her escape, she takes the elevator down to the lobby of the building. Pulling up the ride share app on her phone and ordering a ride.  Just as the driver is a minute away the elevator opens and her mother walks out.