Woke the F*ck Up

25

April 30th, 2018

Kara woke to an empty bed and a pounding head and throbbing body. It took a moment for Kara to think through the cloud in her mind. She remembered walking hand and hand with Lena back to Alex who raised an eyebrow but didn't say a word. Alex drove them back the Gym and Lena didn't let Kara out of her sight. Lena curled up behind Kara and held her tightly, whispering how relieved she was that Kara was safe until Kara fell asleep. Now Lena was gone, nowhere to be found. Kara checked the time, it was almost noon and she should have been in the gym hours ago.

Kara groans and rolls out of bed to see what damage has been done to her body. She goes to the full-length mirror in the bathroom. Half her face is swollen and bruised, both sets of ribs were so purple they were almost black. The only color difference in all the splotching were the cuts on Kara's face that were an angry red. Kara picks up her phone and dialed the number for the front desk.

"Power House Gym. This is Haley, how may I help you?"

"Hey-" Kara clears her throat in an attempt to speak through the hoarseness. "Hey, Haley. It's Kara. I guess you guys have figured out I'm not going to make it in today. I'm sorry, I'm just feeling... a little under the weather."

"Yes Coach K. Adam already came in. Everything is fine. We all hope you feel better." Haley says seriously. It was a weird way to put it but Kara just let it go.

"Thanks, Haley. I'll be in tomorrow."

"Don't worry. Winn already popped in and redid the schedule and called everyone. He said you may be out a couple of days. But um... there was a delivery. Some flowers were sent to you. We have them here at the front desk." That perks Kara up.

"Really? Who from?"

"Umm... doesn't say. The card says 'Let's start over where it began. 3 o'clock. L.'"

Kara laughs softly and now knows where Lena is, or where she will be.

"Thanks, Haley. I'll pick them up later."

"Welcome Coach K. Feel better."

"Bye!"

"Bye!"

Kara hangs up and takes another good look in the mirror and sighs. This was going to take a lot of makeup to cover up. And a lot of time. Kara covers up her bruised and bandaged arm with a plaid button-down and jeans to cover her legs. She can only manage to cover up the worst parts of her face but it still looks very swollen with her left eye only half open. With a sigh, she realizes that she won't be able to put in her contacts and settles for her glasses. Fitting, she guesses, since she has hardly worn them since the first time she met Lena at Noonan's. No need for glasses when she had Winn's vision enhancing contacts. They weren't much but they made seeing far distances a little easier and in an uncertain light.

"Guess that's as good as it's going to get." Kara sighs again before going to her bedside table to grab her well worn favorite paperback book before her wallet, keys, and jacket. She checks her watch, she still had half an hour but she knew Lena would be there already, waiting. Kara smiles at the thought and buts her book in the bike's storage before grabbing her helmet. It's a quick trip but Kara still parks a block away, wanting to sneak in and grab her drink first. Kara can't help the giddy feeling she feels at seeing Lena sitting out front of the Cafe. She is wearing grey joggers (Kara's) and a blue sweatshirt (also Kara's). Her hair is up in a messy bun, exposing her long neck and sharp jar. Her thick black glasses are perched on her nose and she chews on the end of a pen, a bad habit Kara has teased her for as many times as Kara has sat and watched her do it as she works through different lyrics and stanzas of her songs. Lena's back is to Kara but she is turned to prop one foot on the seat, giving Kara a good view of her profile. It's almost Dejavu. Only the first time Kara had seen her was from the inside, from her own table. But as soon as Kara saw her, she gave up her table to a mother and daughter trying to sit in the morning rush. Kara slips in the front door without Lena seeing and gets her coffee fairly quickly. It's not as busy as their first time but still has a bustling afternoon crowd. Kara takes a deep breath and opens the door, book clutched in one hand, coffee in the other.