Once upon a time, I told people to submit prompts for a little contest thing that I was stupid enough to host. This is the result of one of them.
It's so weird; I always seem to update at night time, after seven at the least. Does that happen to anyone else?
Inspired by: contest prompt from missme233:'Things are going great between Jack and Kim! Until Kim goes missing... they search and search but no one can find her. Eventually they just give up. After a year they proclaim her dead. They all separate, they have fallen out of contact without Kim. Jerry's good now, he's quiet and never gets himself in trouble. Milton's grades have fallen to F's, and he doesn't care about school, or Julie, anymore. Rudy got fired from the dojo and left the state, Eddie has seemed to switched places with Jerry, causing all sorts of trouble and Jack… Jack is the worst. He doesn't sleep, doesn't eat, doesn't even care. It seems as if all hope is lost... until one day he gets a mysterious call...'
"I'm going to work, okay, Jack?" Mom calls softly from the door. Her voice briefly brings me out of the little reverie that I had been in, and I lift my head from couch to look up at her.
"OK, Mom," I reply, trying (and failing) to manage a small smile. "See you later." I turn my head back to the T.V.
She lingers in the doorway for a second. When she doesn't leave, I look over at her again. "Mom?"
"Oh… OK. Bye." She smiles at me before closing the door behind her.
I sigh. I know she's worried about leaving me alone in the house because of the fact that Kiara is over at a friend's house for the day. They're hosting some science space convention thing. I don't know what exactly it's about. The last thing I remember her talking about is the Kupier belt.
I stare at the TV, not really paying attention to the bus-ful of teenagers getting kidnapped. My thoughts are wandering a lot easier these days. Ever since Kim's disappearance, I'm pretty much just going through the motions of life instead of actually living.
No one knows what happened. One day she's there, and the next she's gone. The police, not sure if she ran away or was murdered or kidnapped or what, proclaimed her dead after a year. In reality, I think they gave up about four months in.
I hate them for that.
The Wasabi Warriors tried to stay together, but in the end we just fell apart without her. Milton seemed to have lost all motivation for doing good in school; his grades dropped, he lost the three scholarships he earned before even acting on them, and he just doesn't seem to care.
Rudy turned to self-medication with alcohol, and Bobby Wasabi took the dojo from him after deeming him "unfit to manage" it. Rudy left the state after that and none of us have seen him since.
Jerry and Eddie seemed to have switched places; while Jerry is a more subdued, quiet version of himself, never getting into trouble and keeping to himself, Eddie had turned into the school trouble-maker who seemed to take pleasure in terrorizing teachers.
I suppose that, out of everyone, I was the worst. For the first four months, I barely ate, I slept in fits, and I'm pretty sure I went through the five stages of grief; denial, check, anger, check, bargaining, check, depression… ok, still working on that one. There's no telling when I'm going to get out of it.
Next week marks the two year anniversary of her disappearance. For a second, I abandon trying to focus on the TV and just let myself grieve. Kim. My amazing girlfriend Kim. Taken from me and others who loved her without so much as a word. It'snotfair. Just as fast as I let the emotions come, I lock them up in a box within me and banish them once again.
My phone rings, belting out the lyrics of Monster by the Imagine Dragons. I'm not sure why exactly I chose that particular ringtone, though I suppose the 'monster' described in the song could be my depression. I pick the device up, frowning. No one really calls me much anymore. People found that there's not really any point when they know I'm most likely to not pick it up. I look at the screen;
Restricted Number
I put it down. There's no point in answering if I don't have the number in my contacts. It rings for a few more seconds before going to voicemail.
Minutes later, Dan Reynolds starts singing again. I pick up the phone for a second time from where I had put it on the couch. Unless it's a different restricted number, it's the same person. I huff in mild annoyance and put it down once more.
"I'm only a man with a candle to guide me," yet again. I glance at it. Same number. I ignore it.
A fourth time.
A fifth.
A sixth.
The seventh time it rings, I put it on silent. But, I keep it close just in case Mom or Kiara or someone else important calls.
The phone buzzes; is this guy (or girl) persistent or what? Frustrated, I grab it from its spot without looking at the screen and angrily tap the place where I know the answer call button is.
"Who are you and why do you keep calling me?!"
"Uh, don't you have my number saved?" I hear Kiara's voice ask confusedly. "And this is the first time I've called you all day." I blink, and look at the screen.
It shows Kiara's picture with her name underneath it.
"Oh… sorry. I thought you were someone else."
"Ok… I just wanted to ask if I left my iPod charger at home."
I glance down at the outlet next to me. "Yeah, you did."
"Oh, ok. Sarah will lend me hers, but I just wanted to make sure I didn't lose mine. So, who is this someone that you thought I was?"
"I'm not—"
BEEP.
"Hold on a second," I say to Kiara. That beep signals a call waiting. I move the phone away from my ear and look at the screen.
Restricted Number
"That's him calling right now… or her… whatever. Do you want me to call you back?"
"No, I'm good."
"Ok. Bye."
"Bye."
She hangs up, and I answer the other call.
"Who is this?" I ask cautiously.
"What? You're not gonna snap at me?" says a girl's voice.
I was slouching before, but as soon as she starts talking, I sit bolt upright. I know that voice, I'd know it anywhere. But I haven't heard it in so long… I choke on my own words as I try to get something out. "K— oh my God… Kim?"
"What took you so long?" she asks teasingly.
My emotions burst out of the box and wage a war within me, battling for dominance. Anger wins out. I stand up and run a hand through my hair in frustration. "What took me so long?… Kim, I'm not the one that d-disappeared for two years without any trace whatsoever." I furiously wipe away the tears that had started making their way down my face, hating my voice for cracking.
"Jack…" Her voice had takes on a sad note. "Look, I'm sorry about that. There are some things I can't explain right now…"
"Whatever. Are… are you ok? Are you hurt? Where are you?"
"I'm fine… look out the window."
"Window? What?…" I look out the back window, the one that gives a view of the backyard…
…and stop dead.
My phone slides out of my hand, forgotten. I barely hear the dull thump it makes on the carpeted floor.
Kim waves at me sheepishly, tapping something on the phone in her hand before slipping it into her pocket. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but definitely wasn't expecting her to look perfectly fine. It looks like whoever took her actually took care of her.
Didn't see that coming.
"Wow, you've grown up… Well? Ya gonna let me in or what?" she says cheekily.
I feel my legs automatically begin to move, one step at a time, towards the window. I open it and she climbs in.
A whole two years has done her a lot of good. She's filled out a little more (I'm glad to report) and has actually grown an inch or two, but of course I'm still taller than her. Her dark purple t-shirt depicts one blue penguin slapping another one, and reads 'I DIDN'T SLAP YOU, I HIGH-FIVED YOUR FACE'. She wears a pair of jeans that has a black ribbon criss-crossing down the side of one leg. To complete the look, she's wearing her favorite boots.
So that's where those went. I may or may not have been in her room every once in a while after she disappeared, and I may or may not have wrapped myself in some of her clothes and noticed that the leather pair of footwear was missing while I was in her closet…
"Kim…" I whisper, not quite believing she's here. She smiles shyly. After so long…
I reach out a slightly shaky hand to touch her, to know she's tangible, that she's actually here and I'm not dreaming or hallucinating. I cup her face, separating my fingers so that they part around her ear as my hand disappears underneath her long blond curtain of hair. She closes her eyes and leans into my touch slightly, smiling. I feel my eyes widen. I step even closer, so that we're practically nose to nose.
"You're…" I trail off.
"Real? Yep, about as real as you can—"
I lean down and press my lips against hers, halting her flow of words as my hands go down and gently squeeze her hips. After a split second's pause from her surprise, she kisses back, wrapping her arms around my neck.
God, I missed this; being able to kiss her like this, to be ignorant of the world around me as I focus on her and only her. I missed having her next to me and teasing me about my obsession with my hair. I missed holding her back and being to only thing keeping her from attacking some poor guy (read: Jerry) that got her angry. I missed every single thing about her, and now she's here.
"Missed you so much…" I murmur when we part, nuzzling her neck. I can feel her smirk without even looking at her.
"Yes, I tend to have that effect on people," she replies teasingly, walking away from me and going over to sit on the couch. I follow her, still not quite believing she's here as I sit down next to her and grab her hand.
"Do your parents know you're back?" I ask, getting excited as the fact starts to sink in. "They're going to be psyched. Or—"
"Jack."
I stop talking, focusing on her after noticing a change in her previously positive demeanor. Even after two years of her absence, I can still read her body language perfectly.
"I… I can't tell anyone that I'm back. You can't tell anyone that I'm back."
To say I'm shocked would be an understatement. "What?! Why?"
She chews her bottom lip nervously. She slips her hand out of mine and places it in her lap, leaving my palm feeling empty.
"Kim?"
She suddenly leans forward and kisses me, wrapping her arms around my neck. I respond immediately, though I'm more than a little confused.
"Look, Jack," she says quietly. "There are things going on that you won't understand. I can't come back yet. I still have things to do."
"'Things?'" I ask, confused. "What 'things?' Are you—" I stop talking when she removes an arm from my neck and places a finger on my lips.
"There are some really bad people that… want something from me," she says slowly, pausing and thinking through her words carefully.
"Then just call the police," I say softly, concerned for her and not willing to accept the face that she's leaving again.
She shakes her head, sliding her arms off of me. "This is way too big for the police to handle."
"What…?"
"If these people knew I was alive, they'd do anything they could to get me. And they won't hesitate to kill."
"If the police can't do anything, then who the heck can?!" I exclaim, standing up as anger seeps into my voice.
"The people that took me," she says softly, standing up as well and placatingly placing a hand on my cheek. The warmth of the limn seems to suck my fury right out of me, leaving a hollow shell. "They really just want to protect me. And that'll protect you and everyone else, too."
"Kim…"
"I'm sorry, Jack. I had to beg for Tobias to even let me visit, and even then it's only ten minutes, but I need a little bit more time." She looks away from me as she practically growls the last part, somehow I doubt it's directed at me.
"Tobias?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. Who is this 'Tobias?'
"Yeah. The man that stole me from my room." She rolls her eyes. "He's a jerk that needs to be more empathetic." She huffs, pausing. "Don't give me that brain-damaged no-emotion excuse! He's my boyfriend, and I love him, dammit! If I need to talk to him for five more minutes then I will!"
I blink. She is definitely not talking to me.
She shifts her gaze back to me, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry about that. He can be really annoying." Pause. "No, I'm not taking that back!" Another pause. "Ugh!" She takes out an earpiece that I didn't realize she had in and throws it to the floor, stomping on it and crushing it, before looking back up at me. "Ok. You cannot tell anyone that I was here, alright?"
"Um, ignoring what just happened, do you realize how much we've fallen apart without you? Rudy moved out of the state. Milton's failing all his classes. Jerry's—"
"I know," she says quietly.
"…you …know," I repeat slowly.
"Yeah. I do." She lowers her head a little, and I can see a tear running down her cheek. "It kills me. I come back every so often, just… watching. You guys never know I'm there. I know that Jerry seems to have turned into a different person and Eddie's practically a delinquent know, and that my parents are planning a two year anniversary gathering thing… this is hurting me, too, Jack, to watch you guys suffer."
I grab her forearms gently. "Then do something about it."
She turns out of my grip, her back to me. "Why can't you understand, Jack? I can't." Her hands, which had been hanging limply by her sides, clench into fists. "It would result in all of you being in danger, and I can't do that. These men that are after me have guns and knives that they're not afraid to use. There's this one of them that loves to torture people! I'm not going to risk putting everyone through that."
I close my eyes and sigh. She's still as stubborn and unrelenting as she's always been. "…fine. I just have one question." I don't wait for her to respond before I ask it. "Why did you choose me to talk to?"
She turns around again. "Because you're the one who took my disappearance the hardest."
I feel my eyebrows draw together in confusion. "Really? Not Eddie, who's probably doing something illegal right now, or Milton, who's practically ruined his own future?"
She shakes her head. "They've moved on, Jack. Eddie's decided to change his ways because of an incident last week. Julie somehow got Milton to start caring again, with Jerry's help. Bobby's thinking about getting Rudy to come back. My parents are sad, but they've learned to smile because I was there instead of grieve because I'm gone. They're all improving except for you. You just haven't noticed because you're too busy drowning in your own misery."
Now that I think about it, I do remember Kiara mentioning Milton got a B on the last test they took. That's an improvement, among the various Fs and Ds that he'd been getting before. Jerry's actually tried to start a few conversations with me. Eddie's in class more often… how did I never notice this?
I hear a car honk from outside. I lean to the side a little to see out the window, but I don't see any cars.
"That's Tobias," Kim says, rolling her eyes. "He's probably pretty pissed." She looks up at me again, steeping closer. "Seriously, though." As if we were joking before. "You can't tell anyone about me coming. Absolutely no one."
"Ok…" I respond, defeated and despondent. "Am I ever going to see you again?"
"Hopefully," she says back, smiling sadly. She steps close again and kisses me, this time a lot longer and slower than when she first came in. I wrap my arms around her and hold her tight. This might be the last time I ever see her.
"Do me a favor?" she asks, her warm breath fanning out over my lips when we part for air.
"Hmm?" I say in response.
"Try to get the Wasabi Warriors back together again. You guys are stronger togther."
"How do you expect me to do that?"
"You're Jack Brewer," she says, pulling back a little and smirking. "You can figure it out. It'll be just like when Rudy got that promotion or business or whatever it was."
I gaze at her, at the girl I thought was gone forever. She's still just as beautiful as she was when she disappeared. I've pictured all sorts of horrible scenarios explaining what happened to her, but she's alright. She's safe wherever she is. That was all I really hoped for. And she had risked coming back just to talk to me. Even if she has to leave again for reasons that I can't quite grasp, the least I can do is this one thing for her.
"Sure."
Really bad ending, as usual. Is there a Conclusion Coach (just made that up, yay creativity!) out there that can help or something?
Review, please, even if you didn't like it; just don't flame. That's a no-no.
Until next time,
~BP
10/19/14 Edit:
EB: Rofllmao & crying at the same time. Quite an experience, I assure you. Beautiful story, I love it. You did a great job :)
Thanks! :)
JasmineLeif: If you ever find the Conclusion Coach, please, let me know.
And I really liked this one, excellent job showing Jack's emotions through his point of view :)
I will, and glad you like it. :)
missmee233: I liked it! I had totally forgotten about this but I really liked what you did with it! It's great!
I'm glad you do. :)
UnbreakableWarrior: is pretty sad but you've done a great job :)
Thanks. :)