Fic: For Rent, Kara/Karl. AU, PG-13 for themes/angst, Kara's child abuse is heavy in this one

[lanalucy]

From my ongoing Home Is Where the Heart Is series.

Also on AO3.

Thanks to newnumbertwo for the beta!

Karl knew something was up. He didn’t know what it was, but Kara had gotten really weird. One day she’d shown up at school and though she’d clearly been crying, she refused to talk about it. She started telling him she couldn‘t come over because she had to study, and on the rare occasions she did come over, she wouldn’t let him walk her home anymore.

After a couple of weeks of her sidestepping his questions, he followed her one night when she left. Instead of going to her old house, she ended up at that place on Morton. She went in, and he hung around across the street, waiting to see how long it took her to clean the place. When she went straight to the elevator, her school backpack over her shoulder, and didn’t come back out for the forty-five minutes he waited, he decided to come back the next morning. He made sure to get there an hour before she would normally leave for school, and she was working in the lobby, already dressed for school. An hour and two coffees later, he watched her go to the front desk, where someone handed over her backpack, and she walked out the front door toward school.

On the way out after school, he asked her to come over, and she said she had a study group. He followed her, and again she ended up at the place on Morton, and went straight to the elevator. He didn’t know what else to do but talk to his mom.

“You know how I told you that I started leaving my window unlocked so that Kara could sneak in if her mom locked her out?”

His mom looked over from the stove. “Yeah?”

“I think her mom’s locked her out permanently. I think she’s living at that place on Morton.”

“What!?”

Karl didn’t think his mother had ever looked so angry, so he hurried to explain himself. “She wouldn’t let me walk her home, so I followed her, and that’s where she ended up. When I went back there this morning, she was cleaning the lobby, and she went straight to school from there. Is there a way -”

Antonia put the skillet on a back burner and turned the stove off. “We’ll find out right now.”

He wasn’t sure what she meant, but followed her to the car. She drove to Kara’s old house, where there was a ‘For Rent’ sign in the front yard. His parents had always been pretty open-minded about a lot of things, but he didn’t think he’d ever heard his mother say That motherfrakking bitchbefore. They drove away, and he knew enough to keep silent when his mother didn’t talk.

They got back to their house, and his mother said, “I’ll find out, Karl,” and went to finish making supper.

Two days later, Kara was at his house after school, and two duffle bags were at the foot of the bed in his room.

“Karl? Is that you?”

“Yeah, mom.”

“Pack up some clothes. Kara’s going to be staying with us, and you’re going to spend some time with Kandace.”

“Moooom!”

“Karl.” He knew that look and tone of voice.

“Yes, ma’am.” He shuffled off to his room, looking sideways at Kara on the way. He packed a bag, and over dinner, his mother explained.

“Kara’s mother took off. She’s UA - been gone two weeks. Since Kara’s a minor, she would have been put in foster care, so I pulled some strings to get her placed here. She could share your room, but I’m not that open-minded, and neither is Child Protective. So you’re going to stay with Kandace for a while, Karl. You’ll come here to study after school, and you’ll have supper with us every night, and then Kandace will pick you up. I thought I could get you a bike, and you can ride home once I do, but for now, Kandace will get you.”

Kara looked cowed, and had not said a word to him since he’d gotten home, wasn’t even looking at him. He didn’t know if she was mad because she’d been found out or what. All he could do was echo his earlier words. “Yes, ma’am.”

“All right then. Kara, would you pass the potatoes, please?”

Kara passed them, with a mumbled “Yes, ma’am,” and picked up her fork.
~~~~~~~~~~
Kara didn’t talk during dinner, and when it was over, she got up and started clearing the table without being asked. Antonia watched her and knew that while adjusting to having a caring family system would be difficult for her, she and Karl loved the girl enough to help her through it and still be there for her on the other side of it. She watched the open doorway, waiting to see if Kara would come back, and when she heard the water start running, she silently directed the girls to go to their rooms. She gave Karl a long look, and while it wasn’t exactly a conversation, he nodded and got up to go into the kitchen with Kara.

Antonia sat at the table and unashamedly eavesdropped. She needed to get a feel for how Kara was going to deal with what she’d likely see as a betrayal from Karl. She also had to admit that she was curious how the girl behaved when she wasn’t conscious of parental presence.

There were long moments of silence, eventually broken by her son.

“How’d school go today, Kara? I didn’t see you all day.” Kara was clearly giving Karl the silent treatment, since he continued after a minute or two. “That good, huh?’

“What do you want me to say, Karl? Gods! Today sucked, okay?” Anger and hurt vibrated through every word.

“I’m sorry.”

“You should be. I don’t know how they found out, but I’m sure you had something to do with it.”

“I was worried about you, Kara. You were hardly coming over anymore, and talking about study groups all the time…”

“So I wasn’t paying you enough attention? Is that what it was about? You were afraid I wasn’t going to sleep with you again?”

Antonia wondered if that didn’t have something to do with it. She didn’t doubt Karl’s motives were founded in love, but maybe there’d also been something more base at work.

“What it’s about is I was worried about you. I always worry about you.” Antonia noticed that he neatly sidestepped the sex part of the question.

“I can take care of myself.”

“I know you can, Kara. You have been ever since I’ve known you. But you don’t have to do it all by yourself, for the gods’ sake.”

She heard Kara sniff.

“Frak, Kara. Don’t cry.”

“Not crying.”

Antonia laughed softly to herself.

“C’mere.” She heard the water knob twist off and waited. Karl’s voice was muffled when he continued, and she realized he must be talking into Kara’s hair. “I just wanted you to be safe, Kara. When I found out you were staying at that place, I was afraid something would happen to you. It’s a horrible part of town. I just wanted you to be safe.” He murmured more words that she couldn’t hear, and Antonia could hear Kara crying in earnest now.

She quietly got up from her chair and peeked around the corner into the kitchen. Karl was holding Kara, rubbing her back, and she was holding onto his waist like her life depended on it.

She backed away, satisfied with the start they’d made. If Kara was drowning, there was no better life preserver than her boy. With the Agathons in her corner, Kara couldn’t lose.