all's well that ends well (but i'm in a new hell)
“Oh, no, you definitely don’t want to do that,” Kara said, picking up a paper cup and dumping a teabag in it.
The woman next to her looked up, surprise etched onto her pale, drawn face. “Excuse me?” she rasped.
Kara nodded at the coffee pot the woman had picked up and wrinkled her nose. “You’d get better coffee at the 7-Eleven across the street and that’s saying something. I’d stick with tea.”
“Oh. Oh … okay.”
“First time?” Kara asked, glancing sideways at the woman.
She was striking, her medium height made a fraction taller by her heels, the tailored cut of her clothes precise, her makeup perfect and her dark hair long and sleek. In her scrubs and denim jacket, bare-faced and dishevelled, Kara felt positively inadequate. And yet, there was the same hollowed out look to the newcomer's face, a sadness in her green eyes, a weary slump to her shoulders that was recognisable.
“Yes.”
Picking up a glazed donut, Kara took a bite and gave her a strained smile. “I’d say it’s good to have you here but … well, obviously not.”