Note: I think I matched Karen's character pretty well, until the end. But you tell me. Review please.

Olivia dragged the razor blade down her arm, and watched as the cherry liquid dripped onto the tile floor of the bathroom. Red, red, all red. She missed her father extremely, and she knew he wouldn't be getting out of prison anytime soon. She felt alone, abandoned. She had friends at school, but they weren't close. Her ex boyfriend, Kyle, had tried to rape her just last night, but she got away in time. She closed her eyes tightly as the nightmarish memory filled her head.

Just then she heard someone pounding on the door.

"Hurry up! Hurry up! The seven Martinis are makin their way south!" a high pitched voice yelled through the door. Olivia wiped away her tears and sniffled. She wiped her arm and the tile free of blood with a piece of toilet paper, and put it in the garbage can. She pulled down her sweatshirt sleeve, and exited the bathroom, meeting Karen's impatient gaze.

"Wow, I'm just shocked, I didn't know you'd make it out this DECADE." Karen snapped, and pushed passed her into the bathroom.

"Sor-ry" Olivia muttered under her breath, and walked down the hallway. She went downstairs, running her hand along the banister. She was hungry. She looked in the refrigerator, and could find nothing worth eating. She turned around, and glanced at the mini bar. Surely Karen wouldn't miss one drink. Yeah. Right.

She shrugged her shoulders anyhow and made sure Rosario was nowhere in sight. She fished a bottle of whiskey from under the counter, unscrewed the top, and drank straight from the bottle. She had drank many times before, usually at an occasional party, but never something this strong. The amber liquid slid down her throat and burned it, leaving her tongue with a horribly nasty taste. Olivia thought it was terrible until she felt a tingling warmth spread throughout her body. She smiled, and drank on. Once she drained around three quarters of the bottle, her ears were greeted by the sound of tapping heels.

She looked at Karen, perplexed. Karen looked at her fifteen-year-old stepdaughter gripping a bottle of her finest whiskey. She took it quickly from Olivia's hands. "Your wasting the supply!" she shrieked, hastily checking that all other bottles remained untouched.

"God, can't let your precious alcohol go anywhere can you?"

"Oh you just shutup. Aren't you a little bit…young to be drinking anyway?"

"No shit" Olivia muttered under her breath.

"What did you say to me, Missy?"

"Nothing." Olivia groaned.

"You are going straight up to your room, and not coming out until morning, young lady!" Karen shrieked.

"Are you mad at me, or are you mad at the fact you have one bottle less of whiskey?" Olivia growled, knowing fully well that the answer would be the latter.

"The last one" Karen said with a wave of her hand. She grabbed Olivia's wrist, dragging her up the stairs. Olivia winced at merely being touched, for one, Karen's nails scraping her cuts, and her flashbacks of Kyle.

Karen released Olivia's wrist when they got to her room, and slammed the door shut. Karen locked it, and walked back downstairs to get a drink.

"This is just like Cinderella" Olivia thought aloud, "only where the fathers in prison instead of dead, the mothers an immature alcoholic, and Cinderella cuts herself and ran away from her 'prince'."

Olivia flopped face down on her bed, and went to sleep.

Karen awoke with a start. She knew she had to get to Grace's apartment, but something was bothering her. Something about…Olivia? That's when she heard the vomiting sounds coming from the bathroom. She stood up, and passed a frazzled looking Rosario. She quietly slid into the bathroom where Olivia was vomiting, and kneeled down beside her.

When Olivia was leaning her head against the porcelain toilet bowl, Karen whispered in her ear, "boo!"

Olivia screamed aloud and backed up into the tub.

"It's called a hangover." Said Karen triumphantly.

"I know what it is" Olivia snapped, still shaking, "now will you leave me the hell alone?"

"Well excuuuuuse me.." Karen said, and left the bathroom.

"Something bothering you, Kare?" Jack said as she faced him. She was at 'work' but Jack had come over and they were having a girl talk.

"Oh, honey, not really bothering me, nagging at me."

"Saaaame thing" Grace sang. Karen shot her a glare and turned back to Jack.

"Olivia was drinking some of my whiskey last night" Karen said, "it was my last good bottle." She whined.

"Wow" said Grace from the corner, "I didn't think she would take Stan's being in prison that hard."

"What does this have to do with her?"

"Uh, Kare-Bear, she's fifteen."

"So, I started drinking much younger than that."

"I know Karen, but that's you. This is a normal girl." Grace said seriously. Karen pouted.

"Well, I'm not a mother now am I? What am I supposed to do?"

"Reassure her, talk about girl stuff" Grace suggested, "Jack, you know the name of her boyfriend, right? Talk about him."

"I think its Kyle" Jack said, and shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I'm off." Karen groaned.

"To go see Olivia?" Jack asked perkily.

"No. It's time for my afternoon cap."

"Bad joke, Karen. Really." Grace said.

Karen rolled her eyes and walked out the door.

Karen smiled as she walked through the door of her penthouse. She had bought two new pair of shoes. She set the bag down by the door and called for Rosario. As she walked up the stairs, she started to think about what Jack and Grace had said. She sighed heavily. If it was for Stan. She approached Olivia's bedroom door, and knocked on it.

Olivia sat on her bed dejectedly, looking at a magazine. She stared at the pictures, disinterested, and thought about her day at school. Kyle was in almost every one of her classes, so she could feel his eyes on her all day. When she told her friends they 'broke up' they all gave her disapproving looks and continued on with their pointless conversations.

A light knocking sounded on her door. Olivia didn't want to see Karen, but she invited her in anyway. "Hey, hun" Karen said softly, looking at the ground. She walked towards Olivia's bed and sat down on the end of it.

"Uh, I don't really know how to say this, but were you getting boozed up because of where your father is?"

Olivia didn't seem to take this as insensitive, though it was, but, after all, it was coming from Karen. She sensed she was trying. Olivia looked at her painted toenails. "I don't know."

"Okay then, now that that's cleared up." Karen stood, happy with herself. She was about to walk from the room, when she heard Olivia's voice.

"Do you mind if, I mean, can I hug you?" Olivia asked. Ever since she had been attacked, all she needed was a caring touch, even if the person didn't care. Karen looked at her, half-shocked. She smiled a bit and said, "sure hun. Sure."

She opened her arms, and braced herself. Olivia slid next to her, and wrapped her arms around Karen. Karen let her arms rest loosely around Olivia's back, and she patted the girl's spine impatiently. (you know, when your trying to get a hug over with).

Olivia snuggled her face into Karen's shoulder, and smelled a slight bit of alcohol and expensive perfume. But it wasn't bad at all. She was reminded of her mother. That's when she felt Karen patting her back, and she knew she should stop the hug. She pulled away and thanked Karen, laying on her side. As soon as the door closed and she heard Karen's heels clicking down the hallway, she burst into tears. No one wanted her. Karen is probably washing her hands with disinfectant by now Olivia thought bitterly. She wiped away her tears ferociously, and opened her bedside drawer. She removed a pair of scissors for school, rolled up her sleeve, and lowered them to her arm.

Karen sat at her mini bar, staring at the hardwood floor. Rosario was nowhere in site. She had no energy to drink one more martini, a historical event by the way. She couldn't help but notice how frail and thin Olivia had felt. Karen didn't mind hugging in general, but hugging someone she cared about was a highly different matter. There it was. She admitted she cared about Olivia. Oh yes, she hugged Jack, but those were light, friendship hugs. Emotional hugs were what really got to her, made her feel emotion. She slammed her drink down angrily, and left it at the bar. She climbed up the stairs and got to her bedroom, changing into a nightgown and a silk robe. She decided she should check on Olivia.

Karen heard a faint crying as she approached Olivia's bedroom. She opened the door softly. "Olivia!" she gasped, staring at the sight before her. Her stepdaughter was dragging a pair of sharp scissors up her arm, creating a nice red cut. Olivia dropped the scissors and pulled down her sleeve quickly. She wiped away her tears fiercely, but she knew Karen had saw. Karen just stared at her.

Olivia's eyes filled with tears, and she willed them away…..they didn't listen to her. A lump formed in her throat, and soon her cheeks were soaked. She had managed to keep back her sobs, but they started and soon she was flat out bawling. Karen's eyes were large and filled with tears as she watched the site before her, and walked carefully over to Olivia's side. She sat on the bed, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Honey…"

Olivia sat up, shaking uncontrollably. "Dad's not getting out, is he? I should have known. I should have-"

"Oh, baby" Karen said, filled with compassion for her stepdaughter. She wrapped her arms tightly around her. Olivia buried her face in Karen's shoulder and sobbed. Olivia wrapped her arms tightly around Karen's stomach, clinging to her like an infant. "Shhh…..I know….I know sweetie….I know" Karen whispered in comfort. She cried and cried. Karen stroked her hair gently and rubbed her back. Olivia grew tired of crying, and eventually fell asleep in her stepmother's arms. Karen lay down beside her, and Olivia wrapped her arms loosely around Karen's neck.

Karen traced lazy circles on Olivia's back with her fingers. "I'm sorry" she whispered into her ear.

Olivia's eyes flew open. She felt arms wrapped around her, and yesterday evenings events hit her like a bombshell. She took a heavy breath, and looked up at the alarm clock. 4:02. She snuggled further into Karen's shoulder, all the while fearing what her stepmother would say. Karen awoke and didn't know where she was for a moment, then stared down at Olivia affectionately.

"Do you hate me, Karen?" she asked in a small voice.

Karen sat up, a bit shocked. "Because of what you do to yourself?"

Olivia nodded, ashamed.

"No. I don't." Karen bit her lip, "I understand why…your father. I know how you feel." She hugged Olivia, and Olivia started crying again.

"I-I miss h-him s-so much" Olivia sobbed softly.

Karen stroked her hair gently. "I know honey. Me too. Me too."