One Shots (SLOW UPDATES)

Karen x Pete

Pete Rooney couldn't wait until lunchtime came. He was absolutely starving because he had skipped breakfast that morning for basketball practice. The girls needed to practice a lot more this year than ever, so he made them get up earlier every day just to practice. Otherwise, they would not win a single game that year.

The hand on the clock seemed like it was frozen in place. This always happened to him. Whenever he wanted the time to go by quickly, it seemed to slow down, like it was reprimanding him for being impatient. But he was so hungry, and he knew that his wife, Karen had packed his favorite meal: lasagna.

Finally, the bell rang, announcing lunch time. Pete jumped up from his desk and cheered. He took off toward his wife's office, growing more excited the closer he got. He was so thankful that Karen and him worked at Ridgewood High School together because they could eat lunch together every day. 

His knuckles rapped against the hardwood door before opening it up. "You have no idea how hungry I am," he said, stepping into her office. She was the school psychiatrist, so her office was farther away from the main offices to give the kids some space. His brow furrowed when he didn't see Karen sitting at her desk. "Karen? Where'd you go?"

Pete peered around the room. The only light that trickled in was from the window, spilling across her messy desk. Many papers were strewn across the surface of it. That was strange because Karen wasn't a messy person at all. She was the epitome of cleanliness. 

He immediately knew something was wrong. She would've left him a note if she had an appointment or if she had to go pick up one of their children at the elementary school or to check on their littlest child at home with the nanny. However, there weren't any pieces of papers with his name labeled on it. So she didn't go home or to the elementary school. She still had to be here, at Ridgewood High. 

Pete made his way to the front office and offered a smile to the receptionist. "Hello, Mr. Rooney," she said politely. "How may I help you?"

"Have you seen my wife?" he asked. 

"Did you check her office?"

"Yes, I did. She wasn't there."

"That's the only thing I could think of," the receptionist said with a shrug. "I'm sorry I can't help you more than that."

Pete sighed and turned around. He didn't think she was in any of the classrooms. That meant that she had to either be stuck in the bathroom or she was outside. Making sure he had his lanyard with the key to get back in the school, Pete pushed through the front doors and stepped outside. The cool air whirled around him, bringing the scent of cigarette smoke with it.

"Karen? Are you out here?" he asked, following the smell of the smoke. He hoped it wasn't a student smoking because he would have to fill out a lot of paperwork. "Karen?"

A woman sat on the sidewalk under one of the many trees that lined the path. Leaves floated down and landed on the woman, but she didn't seem to care. She had her head pressed into her hands, and a cigarette stuck out from in between two of her fingers. 

"Karen, is that you?" Pete asked softly. Her dark hair spilled over her left shoulder as she lifted her head. "What's the matter?"

He sat down next to her. She pressed her lips to the cigarette and sucked in a deep breath before blowing out smoke. "There are so many kids here with mental issues," she said. Her eyes were trained forward toward the parking. "So many of them come to me crying, saying that I'm the only one they can come to. They say I'm the only one they trust."

Pete wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. She swiped the cigarette across the ground to snuff it out before flicking it into the grass. "Kare-Bear, it's good that you're there for them," he said with a nod. "You can help them through their hardships."

"But what about our kids?" she cried. "What if Liv or Maddie or Joey or Parker can't come talk to us when we hurt their feelings? I want them to be able to talk to us about anything."

"And they will be able to," he said. "Don't worry about them. They have the best mother in the world." She reached into her pocket and drew out another cigarette. "Where did you get those, anyway? I didn't think you smoked."

"I confiscated them from one of my students," she explained with small laugh. "I didn't want to do the paperwork, so I took them for myself."

"Isn't it illegal to smoke on the campus?"

"Does it look like I care?"

Pete laughed and took the cigarette out of her hands. He threw it far away so she wouldn't be able to smoke again. "It's not healthy to smoke, especially with our little ones," he said after her cry of despair. "What if Joey gets his hands on one of these?"

"Fine." Karen sighed and leaned her head against his chest. "Thanks for cooling my fears for our children."

"You're welcome." They shared a quick kiss before Pete said, "Now, let's go eat lunch. I'm starving!"