Waiting For Superman

Save The Day

“Get up bitch,” a voice said above Kara, waking her up. She looked up and groaned. “Let me sleep,” she whined, her eyes still closed. “Oh yeah, like you slept with that dude?” the voice said harshly.

“What dude?” Kara asked, looking up into Johnny’s furious face. Johnny pulled her to her feet and spun her around to face Glenn. “That dude,” Johnny hissed. “You know, the one sleeping on our couch.”

Kara scrunched up her eyes, walking off towards the bedroom. She had completely forgotten about Glenn, and fear slowly began creeping into her bloodstream when she heard Johnny follow her.

“Who is he?” Johnny demanded, reaching out for her hand. “Just let me bathe Johnny,” she said tiredly. She dug through her cupboard for her clothes but was yanked backwards by Johnny.

“I’m talking to you Kara,” Johnny spat, hitting her across the face. Fear tool over her, and she was instantly awake. “Let me go, Johnny,” she said, trying to make him let go of her. “No you stay right here bitch,” he snarled, punching her in the stomach. “You owe me an explanation.”

“He’s just a colleague Johnny. We went out for drinks last night and he got too drunk so I used his car to drive us home,” Kara pleaded. “Oh so you expect me to believe that crap?” Johnny hissed, slapping her face. “You’re such a liar Kara.”

“It’s true Johnny, you have to believe me,” Kara whimpered as Johnny raised his hand to hit her. “Stay still Kara,” he said menacingly as he yanked her hair, bringing her face close to his.

“You’re such a slut Kara,” Johnny whispered venomously. “Sleeping with your colleague and denying it? What a bitchy thing to do. You probably want another promotion. You make me so sick, I should just dump you right now.”  Kara shook her head and said quietly, “It’s not what you think Johnny. He isn’t my boss. I’m in charge of him.”

Johnny laughed and pushed her to the floor. “You really think I believe you? After lying about what happened with Sharon you want me to believe you?” Johnny said as he kicked her, and Kara whimpered.

Back in the living room, Glenn rolled over on the sofa, nearly falling off the sofa. “Gosh, where am I?” he groaned, sitting up on the sofa and rubbing his eyes. At the back of his mind, he registered the sound of someone whimpering.

Looking up at the dining table, he recognized Kara’s handbag and instantly he knew what the whimpering sound meant. He jumped up and walked towards the sound of Kara whimpering and found himself standing at the door of Kara’s room.

“You’re a freaking liar Kara,” Johnny shouted, kicking her continuously as she tried to escape. “You even gave him my shirt to wear you slut. After you slept with him you, you gave him my shirt?”

Kara shook her head and whispered, “He vomited, so I gave him your shirt to wear while I washed his.” She looked up and spotted Glenn standing at the door and froze. “G-G-Glenn,” she stammered, trying to stand up. “You’re awake.”

Glenn just started at her in shock, taking in the sight of her bruised frame. She had a cut on her cheek and her eye was starting to swell. She was in a sports bra, and he could clearly see the bruises she had been hiding. He blinked, not recognizing the bruised and vulnerable Kara, so used to seeing her powerful and in control.

Johnny turned around slowly and glared at him. “Get out,” Johnny said, pointing at the door. Glenn shook his head and said, “You have stop, now.”

Johnny laughed and said, “She’s my girlfriend. I can do whatever I want with her,” kicking her again in the stomach. Glenn felt sick looking at the pain on Kara’s face and took another step into the room.

“I said to get out,” Johnny hissed. Glenn laughed darkly and said, “I work for the police. And you think you can just ask me to get out? I can bloody arrest you right now Johnny.” He saw Johnny falter and smiled wryly to himself.

Johnny walked past him out of the room, but stopped and turned around saying, “This isn’t over Kara.” With that he stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door shut behind him.

Glenn walked towards Kara, who was still on the floor, tears flowing down her face. He placed a hand gently on her, but she flinched and hissed, “Don’t touch me.” His heart ached for her when he saw that, and instantly he withdrew his hand,

“Kara, it’s gonna be alright,” Glenn said gently reaching for tissue and handing it to her. Kara’s hands were shaking as she reached out and took it from him, wincing as she dabbed the tears away.

“You need medical help Kara,” Glenn said, helping her get to her feet. “I’m fine,” she mumbled, wincing as she stood up. Glenn looked her up and down and said, “Your ankle’s swollen, you have a cut on your cheek and you’re bruised everywhere.”

Kara ignored him and hobbled over to the toilet, opening the cupboard. She grabbed some cotton wool and antiseptic cream and began cleaning her wounds wordlessly. Glenn watched her for a moment before taking the cotton wool from her and doing it instead.

Kara looked at him silently, watching him gently clean the blood away. “Thanks Glenn,” she whispered after a while, dumping the used cotton wool in the rubbish bin.

“Glad to be of assistance,” Glenn said with a small smile, watching her rummage through the cupboard again. “What’re you looking for? Come, let me do it instead,” he asked, gently forcing her to sit back down on the toilet bowl.

“I have some concealer in there. Could you help me grab it?” she asked quietly, rubbing at the bruises on her arm. Glenn nodded and turned back to the cupboard, pulling out bottle after bottle of concealer.

“How long has this been going on?” Glenn asked in horror, looking at the amount of concealer Kara had. There were ten bottles on the counter, and still a few more in the cupboard.

Kara ignored his question and continued rubbing at her arm silently. “Kara?” Glenn asked again, bending down to look her in the eye. “How long has this been going on?” Her lips trembled before she whispered almost inaudibly, “A while now.”

Glenn shook his head slowly and said, “How do you keep hiding them?”

Kara gave him a tight smile and said, “You get used to it after a while.” “But we’ve been sending you undercover,” Glenn said. “You even wore a bikini once. How did you manage to hide it all?” “I just kept going to the toilet and covering it up with more concealer,” Kara said matter-of-factly. “That’s pretty much all I carry in my handbag nowadays.

Glenn sighed and said, “You can’t let this go on Kara.” Kara smiled and said, “I can’t bring myself to leave either. I really love him.” Glenn chuckled to himself and said, “Love really is blind.” Kara laughed quietly.

“Thanks again Glenn,” Kara said quietly. “He’s never been this violent before.” “He shouldn’t be this violent,” Glenn pointed out. “True,” Kara said thoughtfully, staring off into space. “But thanks again.”

“Did I just hear Kara Yeo thank me twice?” Glenn said in mock awe. Kara laughed lightly and punched him in the arm saying, “Oh shut up Glenn.” She put her head down on his shoulder and continued staring off into space.

Suddenly a few things occurred to Glenn. One, he shouldn’t be so concerned about Kara. And secondly, he liked the feeling of her head on his shoulder.