Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers...if I did, we'd have season box sets already.
Relationship: T/K, mentions of B/K
Spoilers: Zeo, Turbo movie, DT
AN: Happy St. Patrick's Day!
That said, may I present to you, at long last, Chapter 3. I've been on such a high from finishing the rough draft of my book this week that I plowed through the rough draft of this chapter in two days and got it all smoothed out. Thanks for all the reviews, everybody, they've really been encouraging. :smiles:
Special thanks to Princess Kimberly for beta-reading.
Enjoy! Phone Call
Chapter 3
Kim heard the door slam and allowed herself to collapse into tears. She cried for a long time, sobbing into her pillows. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders, leaving an almost overwhelming sense of relief in its wake.
It was done—she'd finally told Tommy everything. Well, not quite everything—it wasn't like she could come right out and say she was pretty sure she was still in love with him after all these years. She couldn't tell him she was still single and alone because some part of her had been clinging to myriad reunion fantasies.
Later that night, Kim's thoughts took a dark, bitter turn. Curled up in a ball on her bed, clutching a soggy pillow in her arms, she told herself she had been foolish to carry an image of him in her heart all these years. She should have been looking for the right guy to complement her, not comparing them all to Tommy and finding that every single one of them fell short of the mark. She'd been foolish to even hope there was a chance they could get back together. She was even more foolish to think he'd forgive her.
She punched the nearest object—which happened to be her headboard—in frustrated despair and bit her lip at the pain that blossomed in her hand. The real kicker to this entire mess was that spending time with Tommy, however awkward parts of it had been, had reminded her of how wonderful things used to be. She curled tighter into a ball. Why couldn't she move on?
We can never go back, she thought miserably. Those days are gone. We aren't the same people we were then.
Edging towards morning however, when she was calmer, Kim reflected that things had gone better than she had originally expected. She had been berating herself all night, but to be honest, things weren't as hopeless as she had thought.
Tommy hadn't said he hated her. He hadn't said he wished they'd never met. He hadn't even said he never wanted to see her again. It wasn't a lot of comfort, but it was something to be thankful for, and right now, she was taking whatever scraps of comfort she could find.
Tommy didn't remember the drive back to the motel. He barely remembered letting himself in to his room. Everything Kim had said was running through his mind; the words streamed parallel to each other and then collided at dizzying speed.
The thought that she could possibly think he hadn't cared for her anymore cut deeply. More deeply, in truth, than the fact that she had left him for someone else.
He ran a hand over his hair distractedly. After pacing for an hour or two—and no doubt driving the poor soul trying to sleep in the room beneath him up the wall—he had collapsed on the bed. Currently, he was staring up at the ceiling. The air conditioner in the corner was on and the drone of the machine kept the room from being so deathly quiet.
What she had said about wondering what she had done wrong and agonizing over every word resonated deep inside him. He knew exactly how she had felt—he'd felt the same way. How ironic they had both been going though hell for nothing.
I should have called her. I should have found out what was really going on. He'd thought that several times over the past seven years, but now he knew he really should have listened to himself. Perhaps if he had things would have turned out differently.
If you hadn't been so damn insecure, Oliver. It had been insecurity—and fear—more than anything else that had prevented him from fighting for her. He knew that. He'd known it for years.
Tommy lay there for a few more hours, mulling over everything. It saddened him that they could never go back to the way things were. There were so many things he'd do differently. So many things he'd have told her. Maybe then they wouldn't have ended up where they were now—alone and miserable.
Well, ok, he admitted to himself, maybe "miserable" is a bit of a stretch. But still, living alone, with no special person in his life, was not where Tommy had pictured himself at this stage seven years before. Truth be told, he had known since he was eighteen that he wanted to marry Kim. He hadn't told anyone—after all, he knew he'd merely have heard he was too young to know yet—but that had been his intention. They were kindred spirits.
Of course, she would never know the depths of his affections, because he never got the chance to tell her. And it was too late now, wasn't it? Entirely too late.
They'd both made too many mistakes.
Besides, it looked like Kim was happy where she was. And hadn't he wanted the answers so he could get on with his life? Well, here was his chance.
Just after dawn, Tommy sat up and reached for the phone. He'd had all night to think about it and he knew what he was going to say. He nodded to himself. After he called her, he was going to go back to Reefside. That was where he belonged now.
Kimberly was deep in an exhausted sleep when the phone rang, but her answering machine faithfully recorded every word. When she awoke later that day and dragged herself out of bed, eternally grateful it was Saturday, and bemoaning her puffy, tear-swollen eyes, she headed straight for the phone.
Her sleep-addled mind kept pointing out that Trini would know what to do—Trini always knew what to do—and therefore she was the best person to call. She'd gotten half-way though dialing the number before she remembered that Trini was dead. Kim nearly dissolved into tears again but they tapered off when she realized she had a message.
She hit the play button on the answering machine and leaned against the wall, chewing on her thumb. Tommy's voice filled the quiet room and a fresh wave of pain assaulted her. Tommy was too much of a gentleman to tell her exactly what he thought of her, but she wasn't looking forward to hearing what he could say. After all, he'd had all night to think about it, and frankly…Kim felt on some levels she deserved it.
"Kim," he said with an audible sigh, "I want you to know that I do forgive you. I'm sorry too. I should have called, should have tried to figure out what was going on. I let you down and I hurt you. I'm sorry for that." He paused. "It was great to see you again—you look like you're doing fine." He paused again, aware that time was running out. "I'm going back to Reefside. I got the answers I needed. Here's hoping we can both move on with our lives. Take care, Kim." The answering machine beeped once, signifying the end of the message, and went silent.
Numbly, Kim collapsed at the table and buried her head in her hands. That was that. It was all over. He'd forgiven her and he'd even apologized for his part in the whole mess. She didn't have to fear seeing him again--not that it was likely she'd ever see him again. She should be happy now, right?
The brunette glanced into her future and saw the days stretch out before her, each one pretty much the same as the rest. No new people, no chance for romance or love, just long, empty, lonely days that blended into each other. She'd gotten to live her dreams—she'd won gold at the Pan Globals, silver at the Olympics, and was now a successful fashion designer, but more and more these days she was having a hard time believe it had been worth everything she'd lost.
With trembling fingers, she reached for the phone and dialed Aisha's number. Aisha was the one who had opened up this can of worms; she could help deal with emotional fallout.
When Tommy got home, he buried himself in his lab, trying to forget the whole thing. They were worlds apart now. She didn't need him…and he…didn't need her. The only thing that mattered now was making sure he was the best science teacher the kids of the senior class at Reefside High had ever had. And if Mesogog had survived and ever reared his ugly head again, Tommy would be ready for him. One way or another.
Yeah, right, Oliver. Just keep telling yourself that. Face it—you're no closer to getting over her than you ever were.
Over the next few weeks, Kim's mind kept replaying her evening with Tommy. The fight was pushed to the back of her mind in favor of the enjoyable—if somewhat tense—meal they'd shared. It hadn't quite been as comfortable as it used to be, but spending time with him had lost none of its charm.
She'd spent several hours on the phone with Aisha that Saturday, and while the former yellow ranger had been encouraging, there had only been so much Kim could confide in her. She couldn't even put into words the nebulous thoughts and emotions still running rampant inside her.
Aisha still thought Kim had a chance. She pointed out that obviously a part of Tommy still cared.
Kim was doubtful of that, but her friend's words took root in her mind. She finally came to the conclusion that she at least wanted to be friends with him. They'd been good friends once—even if they had been sweethearts too—and it was entirely possible that their moving on with their lives could include being on speaking terms again.
She'd have to take things slowly, but that was all right. The older she got, the faster time flew. A card here and there, perhaps a short phone call on special occasions, and maybe they could get to know each other again. A tiny flicker of hope began to burn inside her.
Suddenly the days ahead of her didn't seem so lonely anymore.
Well, what'd you think? There's just one chapter left now. The epilogue should wrap everything up quite nicely--I promised y'all a happy ending and you're going to get it.
Don't forget to review. They stir creative juices. :smiles:
Cheers!
