Kara came out of her annoyingly tiny bathroom two hours later, her dyed, damp curls tucked into the white towel twisted on top of her head. She tied her blue satin bathrobe tightly around her trim waist. The long perfumed soak in the tub had been just what she’d needed, after everything she’d had to put up with that week. It had taken that real estate agent far too long to find the right house, and even longer to persuade the sellers to accept what it had really been worth.

Then there had been Lena.

The girl had always been a problem and had recently decided she was old enough to not have to listen any longer. Fortunately, reining in troublemakers was what Kara Sione excelled at. Walking into the living room, she wasn’t surprised to see Lena passed out on the floor, the pale carpet by her head dotted with brown crumbs, her hand draped limply over a half-dried paper towel. Lena had always had issues with food, especially candy and other sweets. 

She picked up the crinkled Sweet Tooth bag and set it on the coffee table, recalling how easy it had been to add her own little surprise to that donut. She was sure the sedative would keep Lena out for the rest of the night, if not longer.

“Oh, you poor thing,” she smirked, kneeling down to swipe the guidebook from its hiding place. Lena had really thought she’d gotten away with buying it on the sly. With mocking tenderness, she brushed some stray waves of hair from the girl’s forehead, then traced the edge of a small, fading bruise at her temple. Yet another of the reminders she’d chosen to ignore. “When will you figure out that you can’t hide anything from me?”

She nudged Lena’s head aside and grabbed the thin, ratty blanket from the end table cabinet, then shook it out and threw it carelessly over the unconscious teen; no point in letting her get sick. The book went right into the trash with the bag where they both belonged.

She’ll figure it out, eventually. She looked back over her shoulder, her full pink lips curling in a disgusted sneer. If she knows what’s good for her.