"Talk first," Sam said.
"Carey called the police on me," Karen said.
"Carey? Who is that?" Sam asked, feigning ignorance.
Karen was quiet. How was she to describe Carey? The father of her child? Her ex? Her boyfriend?
"The guy you fought with," she answered instead.
"That's unfortunate. Are you at the police station now?"
"No. Can I meet you sometime today? After work?" Karen asked, and Sam told her that he was held up but that he could spare ten minutes at most for her.
Jean, her new boss, was a very understanding person. She had tried her very best to make Karen comfortable in her new work environment, which was generally too good compared to her previous work area.
Karen had expected her meeting with Sam to be rejuvenating, but she left there drained all the more.
"I don't like the guy," Sam had said, referring to Carey.
"I can't believe he would stoop to that level. I don't understand how he found out where I stay, though," Karen said.
"I don't know either. Honestly, Karen, you have been good company, but we can't continue like this," Sam said.
"I know what happened was awful, but I really love you and need you by my side."
"I can't protect you, especially when you're on the wrong side of guys like Carey. He is dangerous," Sam said.
Karen felt numb. Someone other than Carol was warning her about Carey.
She should have heeded their warning, but she thought that Sam was talking out of spite and Carol was talking out of ignorance.
"He is just annoyed that I won't let him see his son," Karen defended Carey.
"Whatever. I want out. I don't want to get involved in your issues," Sam said.
"Are you for real? I thought we had something stronger than this, and you are just going to run away because we have our first challenge?" Karen asked in hurt.
"I'm going to run away because he has reminded me that it's time to go. We weren't to get this far in the first place," Sam reminded her.
"If not for him, would we be together?" she asked hopefully.
"It's time to move on, Karen."
"What was it all about? Did you just want to get in my pants? This whole time, I meant nothing to you. Is that what you're saying? What about the fates or destinies you were talking about earlier?" Karen asked. Tears were flowing freely down her cheeks, and she thought that maybe, Sam would be a bit compassionate like she had thought he was.
"We were enjoying ourselves, and it's time to move past that. I hope you manage to deal with him," Sam said, getting up to leave.
Karen remained there, for how long she couldn't know, but even as she left for her house, she felt as though she was in a dream.
She pinched herself hard to wake up, but she wasn't even sleeping.
Sam was no more, he had left her.
~
Arnold had gotten to work and started googling about renowned therapists. He made calls, and three hours into the day, he had a list of four therapists whom he suspected could possibly help.
He called the first one on his list, but the lady wasn't based in Atlanta anymore, so he called another.
The second one charged exorbitantly per session, and Arnold wondered where they would get such amounts. He called the last two and decided to try either of them.
With his list on hand, he went to Mercy's office, but she wasn't in.
'She must have gone to check on the children. I will come back later,' he told himself as he walked back towards his office but midway, he thought of also going to check on the kids.
The kids mostly played in groups according to their ages, but ever since she became sick, Carina avoided playing with her fellows.
She sat in a corner and watched them play. She would sit alone during meals and wouldn't answer questions during their class lessons.
"Hey. Where is Carina today?" Arnold asked the nurse present after looking around and not seeing her.
"She was sited there minutes ago," the nurse answered, pointing towards where she had last seen Carina, but she wasn't there.
As if burnt by a sharp sensation, she stood up quickly and looked for Carina in the groups of kids, but she wasn't there.
"She might have gone to her room. I will check. I will be back in a minute," the nurse said as she excused herself.
It didn't take long for the nurse to be back with the news that Carina wasn't in her room either.
Arnold rushed to ring the emergency bell, and immediately, all the children and staff assembled towards their emergency meetup point.