CHAPTER 3: HOPE FOR THE BEST...
Kim's POV
"Kim...Kim!" I heard someone calling my name, trying to wake me up, but I didn't wanna open my eyes. It got silent. The person probably left. I was wrong! "KIMMMM!" I screamed & jumped up which caused me to fall off the bed. I looked around. I was still in Kate's room. Then a head popped off the side of the bed & was leaning over me. "Good! Your awake!" Kate said.
"One question..." I started. "WHY?!" I yelled.
"WHAT HAPPENED!" A tall, muscular 15 year old boy entered the room. His usual perfect hair was a mess & he looked like he just saw a ghost. But his big brown eyes were still perfect. STOP IT KIM!
"Your sister, thought it'd be a good idea to SCREAM IN MY FACE WHILE I WAS SLEEPING!" I yelled in her face. Jack rolled his eyes & collapsed on Kate's bed, next to me.
"Really Kate! I heard you scream, then I heard Kim scream! I thought something happened. I fell off my bed & stumbled towards the door!" Jack explained. I laughed & Kate just stood there.
"I got bored! So I woke you up! Your welcome!" She joined us on the bed. "So! Kim, you free today?" I shook my head.
"I wish. I gotta run aren's after Karate. Then I think Grace will kill me if I don't show up for pep squad practice." I lied.
"Aww! I wanted to go shopping!" Kate wined. I laughed. We stood up & started walking down the steps.
"Yea! We haven't hung out in a while." I said. I stopped at the door & turned to face Jack & Kate. "I got an idea. Falafel Phil's for lunch tomorrow, all of us. Call the guys & tell them. We'll spend the hole day together!"
"I like the sound of that!" Jack said with a smile.
"So do I! Guess we'll see you later!" Kate said.
"Yep! Bye guys!" I opened the door & started walking.
"Bye Kim!" I heard Kate & Jack shout.
Once I saw they closed their door. I dropped my fake smile & walked up the block. I saw my dad's car in the driveway. GREAT! I slowly unlocked the door & found my dad passed out on the couch. I sighed in relief & ran up the stairs, up to my room. I threw my bag down & rummaged through my closet. I found a long sleeved white shirt with a pink heart on it. I threw it on & grabbed a pair of skinny jeans. I grabbed my black bag & threw in my wallet, phone, keys & my pep squad uniform. Not that I was gonna go, but just in case someone asked.
I put on my pink toms flats & my leather jacket. I walked back downstairs & walked out of my house. I pulled out my phone & was about to text Grace I wasn't gonna be at practice today when I heard my name.
"KIM!" My head shot up from the screen, across the street. There stood a skinny, pale boy with ginger-like hair, carrying a Bobby Wasabi Dojo bag. I smiled & waved. He looked both ways & then ran across he street.
"Hey Milton." I greet. I looked him up & down in shock. He traded in his usual nerdy attire for some jeans with a plain tee & His hair was spiked up, "Wow! Look at you."
"Awful?" He asked. I shook my head.
"No! I like it! You look good."
"Thanks." I nodded. "You headed to the mall?" He asked me.
"Yeah. I'm gonna work out a little & then go to pep squad. You?" I asked.
"On my way to the dojo. Care to join me, my lady?" He gave me his arm. I giggled & took it playfully. The rest of the walk there involved us just talking & joking around with each other.
We stopped about a block away from the mall in front of a very familiar house. We took notice of the once For Sale! sign that now said SOLD! The new family hasn't moved in, but the old one left about 2 months ago. All the memories flooded back from summer. Sitting in his kitchen trying to make sundaes, swimming in his backyard, just relaxing out front on the porch. It seemed like yesterday that we were having the time of our lives.
"I miss Eddie." Milton said, breaking the silence. I turned away from the house & looked at Milton.
"We all do." I said simply. Milton gave me a smirk & I returned it. "Come on, let's get going." I said. He nodded & we kept going.
Eddie's father use to be a cop, he got transferred to Chicago about 2 months ago & they packed up & moved. It was hard to say good bye considering we all made a promise to stick together, no matter what. We lost one of our Wasabi Warriors & now we have to stick together more than ever.
What Hurt most of all was that I knew one day, keeping this secret from them was gonna get too hard & I was gonna have to do the one thing I promised not to do.
Push them away.
I put those thoughts away as we arrived at the dojo. Inside was Jerry, Rudy & Jack. It looked like Jack & Jerry were sparing, but Rudy interrupted.
"Hey guys!" We greeted them in unison. They stopped to look at us. They gave us a wave & I went off to change in the locker room. I threw on the sweats in my locker & ran back out. I was about to start hitting a punching dummy when...
"Kim, can I talk to you in my office?" I nodded & followed him to his office. I walked in & sat on the couch.
"What's up?" I asked. He sat on the edge of his desk & started fiddling with his fingers.
"What happened to your face?" He asked me. Inside, I was yelling at myself for being careless & freaking out. Outside, I was playing it cool.
"Oh, I-uh, walked into a door while I was texting." He rolled his eyes & went into his freezer. He grabbed an ice pack & threw it to me. I caught it & put it to my face.
"Looks painful." He said. I nodded & flinched as the cold ice touched my cheek. "If it was something serious, you know you can come to me, right?"
"Yeah! Of course." I smiled. He nodded & walked to the door.
"Keep the ice on that a few more minutes & then come out & continue punching the dummy." I nodded as he exited the office.
I loved Rudy. He was like a second father to me. Except, he was better than my real one. I wish he was my dad. 'Isn't that sad?' I thought. It isn't normal for a 15 year old girl to hate her father & wish for someone else to be her dad. But, I could't help it. He hurt me, yelled at me, & scared me. Me...Kim Crawford...scared. I was never one to be scared of anything. I'll admit to being nervous or frightened, but never walk around living my life in fear.
After a few minutes I decided to go back outside. Jerry & Milton were sparring, Jack was watching from the bench & Rudy was on the sidelines. I joined Jack on the bench & waited for Jerry to pin Milton to the matts.
"Kim, what happened to your face?" I turned to meet Jack's brown eyes staring at my bruised cheek. I opened my mouth to answer & then we heard a thump.
We snapped our heads to the matts & saw Jerry sitting on top of Milton. We clapped our hands & Jerry got up & started dancing. Milton just sat up & stayed on the matts talking to Rudy.
"Well?" My head turned back to Jack & I sighed.
"O yeah! I walked into a door while I was texting." I said. Jack rolled his eyes & laughed.
"Nice going." He said. I rolled my eyes as Jerry made his way over.
"Well what do you expect, Jack. She is a blonde." Jerry said.
Oh tell me he didn't.
I bit my lip & got up slowly. "I'm sorry...what was that Jerry?" I asked. I crossed my arms & Jerry turned to me.
"I said 'What do you expect Jack. She is a blonde.'" He said. Him being to stupid to realize what he just said. Then, realization hit him & he smiled, nervously.
"THAT'S IT!" I yelled. Jerry's eyes widened & he ran. I chased him around the dojo as he did his 'Columbian War Chant'. He was a fast runner, but I eventually caught up to him & tackled him to the ground. I felt someone's hands wrap around my waist & pull me off. I looked up to see Jack holding me back. Milton stepped in between Jack, me & Jerry.
"Jerry...are you ever gonna learn?" Milton asked.
"Learn what?" He asked. We all rolled our eyes & Jerry walked off. Milton went to change & Jack let me go. We exchanged looks before separating to change.
I opened my locker & changed back into my sweater & jeans. I took a look in the mirror, the bruise was still swollen & the make up faded. I pulled the cover up out of my bag & applied it to my face. Once I didn't see any dark mark on my face, I slammed the locker closed & walked out of the room. Once I stepped foot on the matts, I saw Rudy walking into his office, Jerry was on the phone flirting to a girl that will probably get grossed out & never go out with him, Milton was walking out with Julie & Jack was zipping up his bag. I smiled & started walking towards the tall brunette.
"Hey." He looked up & shot me one of his award winning smiles.
"Hey, you headed home?" He asked me. I thought about that for a second. I really had no interest in going to pep squad but if I didn't go, I would have to go home & face Him. The thought of what he was gonna do to me, made me cringe. I felt shivers go down my back & I started thinking of all the ways he could hurt me. I gulped quietly & nodded.
"Yeah, I'm not exactly feeling up to pep squad." He nodded & picked up his bag.
"Cool, I'll walk you home." He said.
Great! Now I have to go home.
"It's okay you don't have to-" I started, but Jack cut me off.
"I want to. Now I can make sure that you don't walk into anything when your texting." He joked. I giggled & rolled my eyes. He chuckled & we walked out of the dojo.
Look at the Bright side, Kim. They bought the 'walking into a door excuse'.
Every time I was around Jack, I forgot all about my issues & let my mind focus on what ever we were doing. Jack was an amazing distracting. He always knew what to say at the right moments. His smile lit up a room & his beautiful brown eyes that always made me melt. Not that I showed any signs of that.
We talked, bickered back & forth, joked around. We arrived at my house. I saw the car still in the drive way. I sighed as he walked me all the way to the door. I turned around before I opened it.
"Thank's Jack." I gave him a fake, but believable smile. He put is hands in his Jean pockets & smiled.
"No problem." I opened my door & watched Jack walk down the path to his house. My smile disappeared when I saw him run across the street. I closed the door & turned around. My eyes widened & I gasped. I backed all the into the door & froze.
I wasn't expecting him to be right behind me.
He smiled evilly & then put the bottle to his lips. He chugged a good amount before removing it. He wiped his mouth with his hand & took a deep breathe. His eyes never left mine. He took a step closer & I ran. I knew I couldn't make it upstairs, so I ran to the spare room that was next to the kitchen. I got to the door & just when I opened it, a giant hand slammed it shut. I let out a shaky breathe & shut my eyes. I didn't move. I pressed my body all the way to the door & hoped he'd leave. I opened my eyes & saw that he was removing his hand. He backed up & that's when I turned, leaving my back pressed against the door.
"Where were you?" He yelled. I opened my mouth but he interrupted me. "I left you right there..." He shouted as he pointed to the front door where he last saw me crying on the ground. "I go back & your gone & you come home a hole day later!" He yelled.
He took another huge gulp of the alcohol bottle in his hand before he screamed & threw the bottle at me. The bottle shattered on the wall, very close to my face, spilling some of the alcohol on me. I jumped at the sound of the glass hitting the tile floors. "AFTER ALL I'VE DONE FOR YOU...THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME!" He yelled. My heart was soon beating out of my chest. "YOUR JUST LIKE YOUR MOTHER! MESSING WITH MY HEAD, MAKING ME LOOK LIKE THE BAD GUY! Then again, you are her spitting image. You a piece of trash just like her." Then before I could react, his hand came in contact with my left cheek. "But you know better not to scream or cry." I stood up & ran. "WHERE DO YOU THINK YOUR GOING?" He yelled. I completely ignored him & ran out the front door. I kept running & running.
I stopped to catch my breathe & realized where I was. The beach. I dragged myself over to the boardwalk & hopped over the railings. I collapsed onto the sand & pulled my legs to my chest.
I couldn't take this anymore. I can't keep pretending to be okay & try so hard to be strong.
...
"Kim?" I looked up & dried my cheeks. I was looking up to see a friend. Tall, black hair, 5'7, wearing jeans & a t-shirt with a leather jacket.
"Oh, hey Jerry." I said. He gave me a look before sitting down next to me.
"Are you crying?" He asked me. Thank god this is Jerry. He'll believe anything I tell him. But, I didn't have the heart to lie again. I simply shook my head 'no'.
"Are you okay?" He asked me. I closed my eyes & shook my head again. He moved closer & put a comforting hand on my back. "What happened?" He asked me. I looked up & saw concern in his dark brown eyes. I sniffled & wiped my face again.
"I got into a fight with my dad...about my mom." I said simply. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the full truth. "He was drunk but, He said some really mean things & then told me I was a spitting image of her & I would end up like her."
"As horrible as that is, he was drunk. He probably didn't know he was saying half of that. He didn't mean any of it, Kim. He's your dad he loves you. And You look & sound a lot like your mom."
Jerry was making sense for once. I was surprised. Even though what he was saying wasn't true. My dad doesn't love me & drunk or not, he meant every awful word...
"Don't-" He stopped talking & his eyes widened at me.
"What?" I asked.
"What happened to your face?" He asked. Now my eyes widened. I started panicking.
"I-I told you guys, I walked into a wall." I said, hoping that's what he was talking about.
"Yeah, what about the one on your left cheek?" He asked. SHIT!
"It's nothing." I stood up & ran. I heard Jerry calling after me, but I kept running. I couldn't take my life anymore. I kept running until I reached the park. I climbed the old tree, entering a tree house. It was built a long time ago by some kids. They cleared out & the guys & I found it one day. I came up here all the time. I crawled into a ball & cried.
...
JACK'S POV
It was so beautiful outside. I took the opportunity to get another work out. I threw on black shorts & a grey shirt. I grabbed my headphones & ran out of the door. I went jogging on the beach & then made my way to the park. I ran threw the park twice & then came to a stop. My music shut off. I pulled my phone out of my pocket & realized it died. I threw the headphones & phone back into my pocket & started making my way out. Once I got closer to the end, I decided to take a detour. I went down the path that led you to the deeper part of the park. It was creepier but it was where the tree house was. I still remember the day we found it.
-FLASHBACK-
The ice cream felt so good going down my throat. It was probably about 100 degrees out. There was nothing to do. It was too hot to go & work out at the dojo, the beach was holding a private charity event. We sat there, in my backyard trying to figure out what to do. By we I mean Kate, Jerry, Milton, Eddie & Kim.
"This is nuts! Let's go somewhere!" Eddie stated. We all exchanged looks before I opened my mouth.
"Where? It's Seaford?" I said.
"Let's just go to the park." Milton suggested.
"That's actually not a bad idea. It's right here, we could stay in the shade a little. Who knows, we might have fun!" I smiled at Kim's attempt to make the park sound like a good idea.
"I'm down!" Jerry said.
"Then let's go Amigos!" Kate said. We laughed & started walking to the park. It was an interesting walk there. We joked around & just talked.
We reached the park. It was...empty?
"That's weird. This place is usually crowded." Kim said. We looked around & realized it was a ghost town. I turned around & saw Kim, whispering to Milton & Kate something. I shot Eddie a look & he shrugged. We walked over & they stopped talking.
"Whatcha whispering about?" I asked. Kim giggled and stood on her tip-toes & cupped her hands over my ears.
"We wanna ditch Jerry. So when he turns around, we're gonna run." She said. She pulled away & I smiled. I realized Kate just told Eddie, because he had the same look on his face. "You in?" She asked. We both nodded.
"Which way we running?" Eddie asked. Kim pointed to a path, that I've never really seen before. It looked dark & creepy.
We nodded & started backing away. Jerry was facing the opposite way looking at something. We took the opportunity & ran. I heard giggling coming from two girls. One with long blonde hair & one with long brown hair. We heard Jerry following us but we didn't slow down.
We soon became exhausted from laughing & running. We stopped in front of a tree that seemed to catch everyone's attention. It was an old oak tree that looked healthier than the others. The leaves were green & no where close to coming off anytime soon. But that's not what caught our attention.
It was the big tree house at the top. It looked empty. We all exchanged looks & Kim shrugged. She walked up to the tree & started climbing.
"Kim what are you dong?" Eddie asked.
"Checking it out? You guys coming?" We all nodded & waited for Kim to get to the top. She entered the square hole in the floor & we followed her up.
When we were inside, we realized it was bigger then we thought. (A.N- If you've seen High School Musical 3, it's Troy's Treehouse. Sorry for little description, I couldn't figure out how to put it in words. images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSh0Nz_lMQpEbuqoNUISuqN6fQVPb6Co10h oufSzNn3DUj7jz0j)
It was completely empty, like no one was ever here. Except, we knew someone was here because there was different colors painted everywhere. Not like a rainbow thing, but like they couldn't decide what color to paint it. There was an box in the corner & a pirates wheel tied to the wall.
"This is sick, yo." Jerry said.
"I wonder who use to come here." Kate said.
"Guys, look at this." Milton said. We all turned & found Milton & Kim looking in the empty box. Kim pulled out a picture frame & a note. She handed Milton the note, while we crowded next to Kim. The frame had a 2 pictures. The first one was a group of teens, around 12 years old, arms around each other, smiling big. Then the second picture was the same group of teens, just they weren't 12. They were Seniors in High school. They were in graduation robes & caps, arms around each other & smiling.
"To Whomever finds this note, Hello. Your probably wondering who the people in that picture are. That is the class of 2010. The second photo is on our graduation day. We all graduated together from Seaford High. You see 3 very attractive boys & 3 very beautiful girls. We all grew up together. We met in 6th grade and all just clicked. The photo of young kids was our first summer together. We went through middle school & High school together. We managed not to break apart. One day, in 9th grade, we rolled up our sleeves & built this treehouse. It became the place that kept us together. We each shared memories here that will never be forgotten. Some had their first kiss, some got the courage to ask out their crush. You get it...For years, this place became our escape from the world. This place holds a special bond that will NEVER be broken. We wanted another group of kids to have that same bond. So, we are giving permission to call this place yours. Take care of it & make it feel like home. You won't regret it..." Milton stopped reading the paper & turned it over. "Signed Caitlyn Matthews, Alicia Jones, Tyler Wood, Mark Riley, Andrew Coleman, & Natalie Evens. A.K.A: CATMAN."
"They were friends since they were 12 years old." I said.
"Eddie, Milton & I have known each other since we were 10." Jerry stated, turning towards Eddie & Milton.
"I've been friends with Milton since I was 7." Kim said. "& Jerry since I was 12."
"We should do what they did." Eddie said.
"Yeah! We could decorate this place like it's ours, bring some of our things here..." Kate said.
"Call it our own." Kim finished. "I like it."
"So do I!" Milton said.
"Same here!" I agreed.
"I'm down!" Jerry stated.
"I guess we got our selves a tree house!" I said. We all cheered & started laughing.
-END OF FLASHBACK-
I laughed at the memory. Since that day last year, we painted the inside of the treehouse Blue, fixed it up. We gave it a full makeover.
Kate & Kim did most of the decorating. The guys & I did the painting. We each went through our stuff at home & put a couple things in a box. There was something there that represented all of us. The guys, Kim & I hung our basketball jerseys with our nicknames on the back & we got one made for Kate. We had our school bumper sticker & The Bobby Wasabi Dojo sticker on the wall by the entrance. Jerry & I hung a Kung Fu Lightning poster, while Milton had a toy robot on a shelf. We had pictures taped all over the walls, an area rug, we kept lanterns, pillows & blankets in a basket incase we needed an overnight escape. We each kept a pair of sweats in the treehouse & a pair of sneakers & we got an IHome so we could play music.
There was a button on the wall that no one knew what it was for. One day Kim pressed it & the roof opened up, revealing the sky. It was the perfect place. On the outside was like a balcony surrounding the treehouse, gated by some strong rope & small tree trunks. We tied the pirate wheel onto one of the trunks.
When Eddie moved away, we kept his basketball jersey hanging on the wall & he took everything else.
I was snapped out of my thoughts when I was in front of the tree house. I kept walking, then stopped. I heard someone up there. I decided to climb up the ladder & see who it was. When I got to the entrance way, I froze. I saw the blonde haired girl that I cared about so much, sitting on the floor with her legs pulled to her chest & her face buried into her knees. I heard faint sniffles & I was scared to say something.
"Kim." I said softly. Her head shot up & she looked scared. Kim Crawford was never scared. She wiped her cheek & took a deep breathe.
"Hi." She said. I chuckled slightly at her. I sat down next to her on the floor & rubbed her arm gently.
"What's wrong?" I asked. She turned to face me & said nothing. She just looked into my eyes & I looked into hers. Her big brown eyes were pleading for help & screaming in pain. They were wet but she refused to let the tears fall.
"Nothing. I'm fine." I gave her my That's-Bullshit look. She looked down at the ground & changed her position. She folded her legs in a pretzel & turned her body to face me. "I had a fight with my dad."
"About?" I asked.
"I'd rather not say." She said simply. I couldn't watch her hurting like this. I had to know what was going on. I then took the risk & asked the question I've been wanting to answer to.
"Are you okay? You seem really distracted lately." I asked.
"Yea. There's just a lot on my mind. I've been thinking about my mom & I just feel alone."
"Kim, you're never alone. You have me, Kate & the guys." She nodded her head & sniffled again.
"I know, but sometimes...you just need the comfort of your parents, you know?" She said. I nodded my head.
"I get that. But I mean what's going on with you? There's something your not telling me."
"Nothing."
"Kim, you may have gotten better at lying, but I see right through you. I see it in your eyes right now."
"Just let it go!" She yelled. I was caught off guard by her outburst, but I didn't show her. She stood up & started walking away. I jumped up & grabbed her wrist. "Jack! Let me go!"
"Not until you tell me the truth!" I told her.
"I CAN'T OKAY!" She yelled. She stopped fighting against me & I stopped moving. "I can't tell you."
"Is someone threatening you?" I asked.
"Not exactly." She answered.
"What does that mean? Kim, come on, please." She shook her head & ran away.
By the time I got to the bottom, she was out of the park. There was no way I was catching up to her now. I tried calling her, but It went straight to voicemail. I cursed under my breathe & started walking home.
I walked through the door & when I closed it. I leaned up against the door & let the questions spin in my mind. I looked up & Kate laughing in the kitchen with Jerry. She stopped when she saw me. She must've sensed something was wrong. They walked out of the kitchen & Kate grabbed my hand. "Jack, what's wrong?"
"It's Kim..."
A/N: OOOO! I left you with a Cliffhanger!
I wasn't gonna post it today, but I finished my homework early.
I'm also gonna be posting a one shot either later today or tomorrow. Please check it out & let me know If I should do more of those.
I'll post the next chapter sometime towards the end of the week. Expect it either Thursday or Saturday.
Review!