Chapter 3: Confessions
As Kimberly's feet hit the hard concrete floor at the bottom of the stairs,
she emediately froze in place. Across the room with his back to her, sat Tommy.
He was sitting at his computer typing noisily on his keyboard, unaware that she
had entered the room. Tommy, thinking the footsteps he had heard were Kira's,
merely continued his research. Unsure what to say, Kim tried unsuccessfully to
find her voice. When the silence remained unbroken, Tommy became concerned.
"Kira is something the matter? You are never this quiet." He
asked, keeping his back turned. Sucking in a deep breath Kimberly finally
managed an intelligible sentence.
"It's not Kira." she said half choking on the words as she said them,
her voice barely over a whisper. When Tommy realized the person behind him
was not Kira, his breath caught and his heart started beating furiously. It had
been a long time, but he knew her voice as well as his own. No amount of time
could make him forget it. Quickly, he pinched his arm to make sure he hadn't
fallen asleep.
"Kimberly!" He said turning around slowly. Standing up, he
stared in utter disbelief at the petite woman in front of him. She had matured over
the years and it only added to her beauty. She was just as beautiful as he
remembered her to be. Her soft caramel brown hair was pulled up into a neat
ponytail that had been lightly curled, and her face was nicely accentuated with
light natural looking make-up. Her purple cotton dress hugged her well-toned
body tightly in all the right places and went well with her slight tan. It was when
he noticed the fear and anxiety in her doe eyes that he felt a needle prick his
heart. She was afraid of him and it pained him to know so. Her posture was tense
and rigid, but straight and neat like that of a well trained gymnast.
"Hi Tommy! Its been a long time." Kim said sullenly, unsure what
else to say to him. She remained stalk still in her place at the bottom of the stairs
afraid that if she moved her nervous legs might give out on her. Looking him over,
the first thing she noticed was that he had cut his hair. His once long chocolate
brown hair was now cropped short and neatly spiked. He was even more muscular
than she remembered, but he still looked like himself; tall dark and handsome.
Even after eleven years, he was still as attractive as ever. Suddenly, Tommy's
surprised expression twisted into a cold angry glare.
"Yes it has, but not because of any choices i've made." he said
bitterly, his words biting into her like a knife. Swallowing the lump that had
formed in her throat she attempted to explain.
"Tommy im sorry! I know you must hate me...but you have to
understand that i never meant to hurt you! Please let me explain?" she pleaded,
daring to step forward a few feet.
"Explain what Kimberly? That you broke my heart? That you took
away the one thing that mattered most to me? Yes, please explain to me
why, why you ripped my heart out like it never really mattered to you?" He
asked her in a heated anger that he had kept bottled since she had sent him the
letter. The letter that had ended not only there long time relationship but
friendship as well. Hearing the raw pain in his voice, Kim felt her heart sink. She
felt three inches tall. She deserved every harsh word he was throwing at her and
she knew it.
"I'm sorry." she repeated, this time very softly. "I lied to you
Tommy, and thats why Im here. You deserve to know the truth, you deserve to
know why I really sent the letter." she continued, her voice cracking with the
over-whelming emotion that she felt.
"Do you mean, this letter?" He asked her as he pulled a very old
looking crumpled up peice of paper out of one of his desk drawers. Seeing the letter
she had once wrote, Kim's felt as if someone had kicked her in the stomach. If he
had kept it all this time, he must have really loved her and she let him go like an
idiot.
"Tommy you have to understand...with mom in Paris and you
in Angel Grove I couldn't focus. Coach Schmitt threatened to quit if i didn't break all
outside ties! He told me he wasn't going to coach me if I wasn't going to take my
training seriously. He reminded me that, that is why he asked me to train in Florida
in the first place, to get away from the distractions. You were fighting Rita and
Zedd's monsters every day. I was worried about you, I was afraid you would get
hurt and I would never know about it being that far from home! What was I
supposed to do!? He was asking me to choose between the two things I loved
more than anything in the world! He was asking me to choose between the dream
I had, had since I was a little girl, and the man I loved! I didn't know what to do!"
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes trying to hold back the tears that
threatened to spill over. Tommy was silent. Taking a seat in his computer chair
he rested his forehead against his hands and listened.
"I didn't want to, God knows I didn't, but I had to choose. When I
sent the letter, I had hoped you would call or come asking questions but you didn't.
I sent the letter because I wanted you to give me a reason to choose you, but you
didn't!" Kim said sharply, her own bottled pain and anger resurfacing. Opening her
eyes to look at him, the tears she had been holding back spilled down her cheeks.
"When you didn't call, I thought you didn't care so I lost myself in my training.
For awhile I was focused, too focused, but eventually I couldn't distract myself
anymore and I broke down. I realized that I had made a mistake, realized that
gymnastics wasn't as important to me as you were. Gymnastics wasn't going to
make me happy when I become old and grey." Kimberly continued, dropping
gently to her knees, composure now completely discarded. Tommy was shell-
shocked, he knew the letter had broken his heart but he had no idea it had broken
her's in return.
"How was I supposed to know what you wanted Kim? I got a
letter from you saying you didn't love me anymore! What was I supposed to
think!? I did love you Kim. I did want to come looking for you in Florida, but you
were happy with someone else and I wasn't going to ruin that for you." Tommy
said with a heavy sigh, still trying to wrap his brain around everything he had
just heard. He knew when he had read her letter that something wasn't right.
To start with, it wasn't like her to end things in a letter, let alone abruptly with no
real explaination or previous mention. He also found it unusual that she had
referred to him as 'like a brother'. She had always seen him as much more than
that. Thinking about it now, he wasn't sure why he had never questioned her
reasons for sending it before. "When you realized the letter was a mistake, why
didn't you call me or visit Angel Grove to tell me?" he asked her, this time in a
much softer tone than he had used earlier.
"I had planned to! I had planned to tell you when Jason and I
visited Angel Grove, back when you were the red Turbo ranger. Divatox
kidnapped us before I had the chance. After you and the other ranger's rescued
us, i realized you were with Kat and couldn't bring myself to do it. I didn't see
the point. You had moved on." Kim said rubbing vigorously at her eyes trying
to dry them.
"Thats just it Kim...I wasn't happy with Kat. When I saw you
hanging over the lava pit in Malagor's temple, I realized I had never really gotten
over you. It was as if you had never left and never sent the letter. The only
thing I thought about after I saw you, was protecting you. Kat even knew I still
loved you. She saw it in the panic'd expression on my face when we heard that
you and Jason had been captured." Tommy said staringat her with a gentle gaze.
"Why did you choose now to tell me all of this? What made you
change your mind?" he asked warmly, shifting his gaze from where it had been
on the floor in front of him to Kim who was still sitting on the floor a few feet away.
"Kira called me a week ago and asked me to talk to you. She said
you have been bothered by something, and she thought it was me. She is very
convincing, I will give her that." Kim laughed softly, letting a small smile cross
her lips. Tommy felt his heart warm suddenly, but it quickly began to sink as
the smile left her expression.
"I should have figured her, Conner, and Ethan had something
to do with it. I will deal with them later." He said glaring at the stairs.
"Don't be mad at them. This is something that has needed to
happen for a very long time." Kimberly told him, picking herself up off the
floor and regaining a little composure.
"I'm not. Actually I should thank them for doing what I should
have the day I got your letter. I should have pulled you aside while you were still
in Angel Grove, that day after we won the tournament, and asked you about the
letter but I didn't. I wanted to but didn't because I thought you and Jas...It was
stupid...Adam told me after you left that you two were only friends." Tommy
blushed. With a sigh of frustration, he ran a hand back through his hair.
"We've both made mistakes that we can't take back. We can't
change that, but we can forgive each other. I'm sorry Tommy. Im sorry I left you.
I'm sorry I left Angel Grove and the Power Rangers, but i'm not sorry I fell in love
with you! You were the best thing that ever happened to me, I was just too blind
to see it!" Kim said making full eye contact with him for the first time.
"If you think for one minute I regret falling in love with you
Kimberly Ann Hart...you are wrong! I would relive your letter one million times
over even if I only get to relive the good memories once. I do regret not coming
after you, I regret letting you go, but it's what I thought you wanted!" Tommy
said as he stood up and took a step toward her. Tears began to well up in Kim's
eyes for a second time when Tommy looked at her with a love in his eyes that she
had thought she'd seen for the last time. He still loved her. There was no more
hate or resentment in his dark eyes; only love. Nervously, it was her that took a
step forward this time. Tommy's torn heart calmed a little when he saw that
the fear had gone from her eyes. Her rigid posture was now more relaxed. For a
long time they stared at each other in silence, studying each other's expressions,
trying to read what each other was thinking. Kimberly was the first to break the
silence.
"I should go! I've taken up enough of your time. I will be in town
for a few more days. If you want to talk more, just ask Kira where to find me." she
said softly, all warmth vanishing from her expression. Tommy wanted to tell her
to stay but couldn't seem to find the words. He wanted to hold her in his arms,
kiss her repeatedly, and never let her go, but remained silent as he watched her
climb the stairs and walk away for a second time.
"He just let her leave!? What an idiot! Does he really think she
came all that way just to tell him she is sorry!? Elsa screeched as she watched the
whole confrontation from her hiding spot in the bushes outside of Dr. Oliver's
house. She had seen and heard everything through a small basement window
about a foot away from where she was hiding.
"Uh? ...Elsa!?" Zeltrax laughed quietly from his spot behind her.
"I mean...um...tramp!"Elsa corrected when she realized what she
had just said. Zeltrax only laughed harder. "Oh shut-up! Who asked you
anyways!? Come on, we had better get back before Mesogog starts getting
impatient!" she said as they quickly disappeared behind a near-by building.
Back at the hotel Kimberly lay on her bed crying into her pillow. She
knew she should be happy that he had forgiven her but she wasn't. He had let
her go and didn't try to stop her, even though he still loved her. She had come
to Reefside for nothing. Her chance was gone and it was rebreaking her already
broken heart. "Get a grip Kim. What did you expect? That he was just going to
take you back? You knew this is what would happen! Its time you accepted
that what you and he had is gone."she told herself as she dried her eyes.
Changing into jeans, a tank-top, and tennis shoes she grabbed her jacket and
headed outside to the hotel's garden. Walking among some tulips and daisies,
she let the cool night air soothe her tear-reddened face. Sitting down on the base
of a small fountain, she played idly with a white lilly floating on the surface of the
water. Losing herself in thought, she was startled when she noticed a second
reflection appear on the water.
"Tommy!? How did you find me!?" she asked as he took a seat
beside her.
"Kira told me which hotel you were staying at. When you didn't
answer your room door, I knew exactly where you went. It's been a long time
but you haven't changed much. You always did love your garden." He smiled in
slight amusement as he played with a peice of her hair. "I'm sorry!" he said
shifting his gaze to her red puffy eyes. "I realized five minutes after you left that
I was making the same mistake I made the first time. I love you Kim! With
every fiber of my being. I can't just let you walk away again! My heart is yours,
it always was. I don't care if it has been eleven years...no amount of time will
change how I feel about you!" he continued. Taking her hand he laced their
fingers together.
"I love you too Tommy! I never stopped!" she said as happy
tears started to gather in the corners of her eyes. A smile had spread across her
pretty face that made Tommy smile in return. It was the same smile he saw in
his dreams every night. Gently wiping the moisture from her eyes, he kissed her,
and for the first time in a long time they both felt whole again. Suddenly a loud
all too familiar cackling sounded from some where in the garden ending their
sweet moment.
"Did you miss me you little power brats!?"
To Be Continued...
Ok sorry for the long wait but what did you guys think? I know I left
it on another cliff hanger but thats why you will just have to keep
reading. I admit this chapter was a challenge to write with so many
plots and what not being over-used in other stories. In the next chapter
we will finally get to the part with the other Mighty Morphin Rangers so
be excited I know I am. Thanks for sooooo many of you liking and
reviewing my story so far I hope it stays that way. Remember ideas,
critiques, corrections, and even criticisms are welcome!
