This is probably the longest it took me to update. Sorry about that. My computer is being fixed and I'm currently using my friend Layla's computer. So if your wondering why it takes me so long, you'll know why. Thanks for the reviews and enjoy!
Chapter Nine: That Afternoon (Part Two)
"Palindromes…there words that are reading same backward as forward: a word, phrase, passage, or number that reads the same forward and backward, like Anna and racecar. Get it?" Gohan asked Gwen. The two of them sat at the kitchen table of the Son home with books spread out everywhere. They both sat there for about an hour and it was hard to concentrate with Goten and Trunks right there in the living room watching T.V.
"Gohan, its hard to hear you, can we go upstairs to your room?" In Gohan's mind, a red flag shot up and he turned red. "W-what? Why not stay down here?" Gwen pointed her finger into the living room where the little boys were sitting. They were watching SpongeBob, and every time he laughed Goten and Trunks laughed and turned the T.V. up.
They did this every three minutes.
Gwen just sighed, grabbed her books and walked upstairs. "Gwen, um, look, we can't go up there!" Gohan quickly followed up the steps. He didn't want to go to his room, he felt a bit…shy. Nervous, would be another word. Gohan ran upstairs and was surprised to see Gwendolyn gone. Oh, no! Where did she go now? I was right behind her a second a go! Gohan walked down the long hallway and was surprised to see his father in his bed sleep with his door wide open.
That was Goku for you. Always tired from work and if he wasn't eating he was sleeping. Did she go in there? Gohan turned to look back down the stairs and saw Chichi sitting in the dining area with papers spread out everywhere. She was grading a test she gave her students earlier that day. She didn't look happy and Gohan decided it was best not to disturb her about this.
He turned and ran right into Gwen head first. She winced in pain and backed up holding with a hand placed on her forehead. "Ow! Gohan why did you do that?" He also backed up and stared at her in pain. "Me? You're the one that came up here. Where did you go?" Gwen shushed him and pointed to where Goku was sleeping peacefully at in is room. Gohan narrowed his eyes.
"Look, lets just go somewhere so we don't wake my dad up, okay?"
"I said your room."
"Why my room?"
"Its quiet in there, come on."
Gohan didn't know why he allowed the small girl to drag him down the hallway toward his bedroom. How did she know where his bedroom was? This was surely the first time she was at his house. Gwen pulled Gohan into his bedroom and closed the door behind them. Gohan suddenly felt uncomfortable. He felt very sick and his stomach began to ache.
What was wrong with this girl? Was she crazy? What was she thinking? Gwen pulled Gohan over toward his bed and sat down. "What's with the odd look Gohan? Come on, sit down next to me." That's when a red flag shot up in Gohan's mind. Never in his life did he sit on a bed with a girl, let alone in his own room with one. The only Gohan had in his room was his mom, Chichi. What is she planning on doing?
Gohan shook his head. "Gwen, look…I never actually, um, why don't I sit at my desk?"
"Oh, come on Gohan. I won't bite. Sit here." She padded the bed and he shook his head once again and she sighed. For a shy girl, she sure was persistent. He carefully and quietly walked toward the small girl and sat near the edge of his bed. If his mom saw this, she would be furious. Gwen laughed and moved closer toward Gohan and he backed up a little.
"Gwen, look, I'm EXTREMELY uncomfortable right now, can we please go back downstairs?" She looked at him and said, "Gohan you don't have to worry about a thing. If you think I'm gonna do something that might be weird to you, I just wanted to see if you had any courage. Apparently you don't." She said the last part quickly and quietly and she was lucky enough for him not to hear her.
Gohan just sighed and placed his hands on his pants. He looked up and saw her staring at him with an odd look on her face. "This may seem out of the blue and all, but do you wanna hear a weird story?" That was weird. Why should tell me? Did she trust me or something?
"Oh, um, sure. What is it?"
"Well, have you ever heard of the tragic love story called Tess of the D'Urbervilles?"
"No, what's it about?"
"There's this poor family with about six children in it. The oldest of the children is a girl named Tess and she was raised in a very religious family, and despite being poor, she was beautiful. She did not need makeup to show how beautiful she was. She was born with it." She paused and continued speaking. "One day, while outside dancing with friends she meets this guy named Angel. He comes from a very wealthy family, and instead of dancing with her on that day, he dances with another girl."
"Where is this story leading to?"
"Let me finish. She ends up costing the family a lot of money for getting their horse killed, so her mother sends her off to a rich cousin. His name is Alec. His last name is D'Urbervilles while her last name is Durbeyfield so that's how they sorta think they're related. But they are really not. Alec offers for her to stay with him and his rich blind mother, and she agrees as long as her family can receive the money she works for.
"Throughout the entire time she works there, Alec keeps on hitting on her, despite thinking they were cousins. Tess, who is a little naïve, doesn't think too much about it and in the end Alec ends up raping her."
"Raping her? On purpose? That's gross, aren't they cousins? When did this take place?"
"Sorta, something like that. You might call it rape but she allowed him to do it, but she wasn't a whole one hundred and percent on it. It takes place around the eighteenth century. Marrying your cousin was like okay back then."
"Um, yeah. Then what happened?"
"Tess, who was 17 at the time, was so scared and confused that she leaves home immediately. She then gives birth to a son named Sorrow nine months later and he dies after being a few weeks old. Alec, had no idea he fathered the boy because Tess was so angry at him she never spoke to him again."
"Wow."
"So after that, more bad things happen, her father becomes ill and no one can work for any money, so once again, she leaves home to a old barn to work as a milk lady. Where she milks cows with other women, and while she is there, she meets that guy again named Angel. The two began a bond and Tess began opening up to him even though she told herself she would never trust a man again. They began dating and in the end, Angel proposes to her."
She ran a hand through her hair. "You see, Angel's father wanted him to marry a girl that is a true Christian woman and is pure. But Tess isn't ready. Tess feels that she isn't pure anymore because she became intimate before marriage which is a sin. So in order for her to feel happy, she writes a letter telling Angel about her troubled past and he agrees to read it."
"However, Angel never got the letter and the two end up marrying but when Tess asks him about it, he told her they'll tell each other after they're married. Tess in the end tells Angel and he couldn't believe what she done so he ends up leaving her for an entire year and said that if she needs any money, contact his parents. Tess ends up working on a much poorer farm where you only get paid for what you work for, and writes letters everyday to Angel. To her disappointment, he doesn't respond."
Gohan nodded. "She worked on that farm for almost three years until finally going to see her parents-in-law. While there, she encounters Alec again where he tells her that he is a changed man and a priest. Tess doesn't believe him and ends up confessing that he had a son."
"Wow."
"I know. She leaves Alec and returns to work on the farm, sending the little money she makes to her parents. Until Alec shows up trying to convince Tess to marry him. She refuses but that doesn't stop him from coming back everyday. Her young sister, Liza-Lou, comes to Tess and tells her that their father is going to die and Tess ends up leaving without getting paid. Her father dies and their family loses their home and have to live on the streets. That is until Alec shows up again…"
Gwen was interrupted when the door swung open and in walked Trunks and Goten. "Gohan what are you doing up here with Gwen?" Goten asked innocently. Gohan quickly hopped off his bed and stared at his little brother. "Goten! Get out! We're studying!"
"Studying? I thought you said that you were tutoring Gwen." Trunks pointed out and Gohan frowned. "Go away already!" He grabbed a pillow off the floor and threw it at Goten and another one at Trunks. The two easily caught it and began laughing like crazy. "And here I thought you liked Videl! I had no idea you liked Gwen! Ha-ha!" Goten was holding his stomach and was laughing very hard. Trunks had tears in his eyes as he slammed his fist repeatedly against the hardwood floor from laughter.
After awhile, Gwen couldn't help but chuckle at their laughter because Gohan's face was extremely red. "If you guys don't go, I'm gonna tell mom!" Goten's eyes widen with fear as well as Trunks'. They both sat up from the floor and stared at the tall boy in front of them. "You wouldn't dare do that Gohan. Why do you want us to leave so badly?"
"I was telling him a story." Gwen answered Goten and his eyes began to sparkle. "Can you tell us about it?"
"I dunno. Its not really suitable for children."
"I'm thirteen, I'm not a child. I'm a teenager." Trunks spoke.
"Well that makes you a pre-teen, which makes you still a child."
"Aww, come on! Please tell the story!" The two begged and Gwen turned to Gohan who was shaking his head. "Sure, why not?" The two boys happily jumped up and down and sat down on the floor as Gwen continued to speak.
"Where was I? Oh, yes! Alec showed up and said that all Tess has to do is say yes and her family can have whatever they wanted. Tess on the other hand, did not and kept refusing him. She kept writing letters to Angel and was growing tired of him not responding. She had no idea where he was and he wouldn't write back. For all she knew, he was probably dead somewhere."
"Two questions: Who's Alec? And who's Angel?" Goten interrupted.
"Two guys that are in love with a woman named Tess."
"Yuck! I would never want to like two girls at once, that'll be creepy and weird."
"Don't worry Goten, you'll like girls someday. You are around that age." Gohan said and Goten shivered. "No way, Jose. I don't and won't like girls. What's wrong with liking guys?" Gohan and Gwen didn't answer him and she once again began speaking.
"So she marries Alec and her family ends up getting the things they need, but Tess is very unhappy. She believes that there should be a thing called 'True Love' and that that was what she felt for Angel. Months go by and Angel shows up again wondering where in the world is his wife, and ends up going to see her family. Her sister, Liza-Lou tells him that they moved to some weird town and he goes to visit Tess."
"She is shocked to see him, and its there where he reveals that he was in Brazil and was working as farmer and that he got sick with a disease called Yellow Fever. Back then, people with this often died and he was lucky to be alive right there. Tess explains to him that he was too late and that her life is already screwed up and tells him to leave her alone. Tess then goes upstairs to where Alec is and stabs him to death saying he messed everything up and that he lied to her."
"Tess and Angel then go on the run from the cops where they break into a house and spend two days there. Then she ends up getting arrested for Alec's death and before she leaves, she tells Angel to look out for her family and marry Liza-Lou. Then she is killed for murder and he does exactly what she asks him to do. He marries Liza-Lou and watches over their family while Tess is dead. The End, did you guy like that?"
"No! Why did she have to die? Who wrote this crap?" Trunks shouted and crossed his arms across his chest. "To think this all started because he didn't dance with her on that." Gohan muttered and she nodded. "The author writes a lot of stories that end in such a terrible way. This one was his most popular, forgot what his name was though. If Angel would've danced with Tess that day, then they could've married and instead of going through all that. I guess you could say its sorta like irony."
"Goten, Trunks, Gohan! Come and get your lunch!" Chichi called from the foot of the steps. Gohan and Gwen got up and Trunks began following them when Goten quickly said, "Hey Trunks, shouldn't you're mom come to pick you by now? You usually never stay for lunch." Trunks stopped dead in his tracks for a moment. Goten did have a point. Bulma should be here by now, where could she be?
"Nah, forget it Goten. Mom told me that she had to stay after school for meeting or something just might be running late. If not, Yamcha will come get me."
"You're right. Hey, lets go get my dad up!" Goten exclaimed as he raced out of the room. Trunks stood there for a moment in deep thought. Mom couldn't possibly be with dad…could she? He blinked and then laughed. "If that's true, then I guess you could say I feel sorry Yamcha. But then again, it could be my imagination. Wait up Goten!" He then ran out of Gohan's room and made a right down the hall toward where is best friend was.
Bulma's eyes shot open immediately. She quickly sat up and rubbed her eyes and then looked around the odd room she was in. It was pretty big and it didn't take a rocket scientist to realize that she was in a bedroom. It had a couple of dressers and a walk-in closet, a private balcony and a small bathroom. She looked down to realize she was nude and was in a big king-size bed with black blankets wrapped around her.
My body hurts so much, what did I do? She carefully, but slowly tilted her head to her left and saw jet black hair sticking up from underneath he blankets. Without thinking, Bulma reached her hand out and placed it on the blanket. With a light pull, she slid the cover down to reveal no other than Vegeta. Her ex-husband. How they ended up in bed together, she did not know. She must've been staring at Vegeta for quite some time, because he quickly bolted up from out of his sleep. His eyes were wide for a second but after seeing Bulma, he quickly relaxed.
"W-what time is it?" She managed to ask and Vegeta turned to the clock on the wall. "Six-thirty. I'm going back to sleep." He grabbed the blankets and rolled onto his side as if Bulma wasn't there. She pulled her legs up to her chest as remembering about what happened two hours ago. She and Vegeta were making out for about fifteen minutes, before getting in his car and heading to his house as if they were afraid of getting caught by the afternoon janitor.
It was almost impossible for them to get there, Bulma couldn't take her hands off of Vegeta and they nearly ran off the road twice because of her. Now that Bulma thinks back on that, she couldn't help but think to herself…was that the right choice? Yamcha may have or may have not cheated on her, and before she got a right answer from him, she went and slept with Vegeta.
Was this the right thing to do? Did she make a big mistake? Should she call Yamcha and make sure he picks up to ask him? Was he really cheating on her? Or was this big mistake? These questions raced through her head as she watched Vegeta laying there asleep. "I'm gonna head home…I doubt Yamcha picked Trunks up from Goku's house. He might have to sleep over there." She muttered.
Vegeta, who had his heads closed, said, "Already? And here I thought me and you were gonna go for another round. What a let down." The way he said it sounded a little like sarcasm. Bulma looked at him and frowned. "Oh, Vegeta. Just shut up. I'm trying to think." He sat up and stared at her in an odd way.
"Bulma, now what's the problem? I already solved the first one, I think I can solve the next one."
"Oh, really? Well what was the first problem?"
"You were upset at Yamcha for cheating on you, and you cheated on him with me for revenge."
"Vegeta you stupid idiot, look, what I did, I mean what we did is a mistake. I think Yamcha wasn't cheating on me. I don't think he was out with a girl. Just because some strange woman picked up doesn't mean she was with him."
"Yeah, but still. Why did she have his phone? Where was Yamcha? It might explain why he doesn't come home on time. Bulma I'm not gonna sit here let you lie to yourself. That stupid as mailman lied to you. You deny it now but when he comes forth and tells you, I'm gonna say I told you so."
"Vegeta…I don't believe you. Y-Yamcha doesn't act like this. He's a good honest man who cares about his family. When we first met he was so kind and sweet and he never acted like this. There has to be some other proof. I don't believe it till I see it."
Vegeta just shrugged. "I give up. There's nothing else to say. Are you about to leave?"
"No. Why?"
Vegeta didn't respond. He wrapped his arms around Bulma's waist and kissed her. Bulma jumped but quickly responded and pulled Vegeta closer to deepen the kiss. He pushed her back against the headboard of the bed and began trailing kisses down her neck. Bulma knew why he didn't answer. He just wanted to go for another round. She broke the kiss apart and smirked at him. "If this thing with Yamcha is not real, then me and you, are over. This was just some stupid fling that will never happen again, okay?"
"Are you just gonna sit there and talk?" He responded as he pushed her back harder against the headboard. Annoyed, Bulma shook her head and allowed Vegeta to continue to kiss her again. He placed his hands on her hips and said, "Are you ready?"
"Hey Nicole. Who was that?" Yamcha asked as he walked over and sat back down at the table. He held onto his cup of coffee and handed another one to the brown-haired woman. Nicole raised at brow and hesitated before taking it out of his hands. He looked at her for a full minute before asking again, "Nicole, who was that?" She leaned back in her chair and sighed very loudly.
"Look Yamcha, I was just messing around with your phone, but I didn't mean to dial some weird number."
"You dialed a number? Whose number was it?"
"I don't know. Some weird crazy woman picked up on the other end."
"Crazy woman?"
She nodded and took a sip from her coffee. "She was going on about how she was your-"
Nicole stopped in mid-sentence when her own phone started ringing. Angrily, she rolled her eyes and picked up the nosy device. "WHAT? You called me at a bad time, call me back in about ten minutes." She hung the phone up before giving the other person on the other end a chance to speak. She shoved it into her purse and stared at Yamcha from across the table.
The two sat at a Diner not far down the road from where he worked. So this kinda made him nervous. "Just forget it. Nicole can you please give me back what I gave you? I really need it."
"Why?"
"I need it. I was wrong to let you hold onto it for me."
"And? I'm your girlfriend."
"No, you're not. Nicole me and you broke up years ago-"
"So why did you call me up then? You said you want it."
"No, that's not the it I'm talking about. Nicole stop lying to yourself. Just give it to me now. I need to hurry up and pick up my girlfriend's son-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You didn't say that girl had a kid. You do realize that the kid won't respect you. He might be afraid you're trying to take over the position of his real dad and all."
"I know. He already doesn't like me. But that doesn't matter. He'll come around to the fact that I'm not going anywhere."
"And how are you planning on doing that?"
"With the thing I came to get from you." He said as he held out his hand in front of her as if expecting her to get the message. She stared at him and then dug into her purse to pull out a leather small box. She looked at it before sliding it across the table to her former boyfriend.
Yamcha nodded and picked up the small item before putting it in his pocket. "Thank you Nicole. Hopefully this will be the last time I'll ever have to call you for anything. I hope you have a great life and goodbye." He stood up and turned to the door before hearing Nicole say, "Hope you do too Yamcha. Make that girl happy and take great care of the kid too." He nodded once again and opened up the door. "Sure. Also, you never did tell me who you called."
She blinked before picking up her coffee and getting up from the table to join him. The two walked out of the Diner and she walked over to her Hummer. Before opening up the car door she turned to him. "Some girl that said she was your girlfriend and crap like that. I dunno. I hung up before really answering, why?"
Yamcha's eyes widen with fear. "Wait, what? You didn't answer her?"
"No why should I?" She climbed into her car and slammed the door. Nicole slide the window down and saw the confused look on his face. "She sounded crazy…was that the girl you were talking about? If it was then I had no idea. I thought it was some random chick like your cousin or something."
"You didn't say anything to her?"
"No I did Yamcha. I lied and said that I was your girlfriend, and maybe she thought I was telling the truth. She sounded nervous. Was she your cousin?" Yamcha ran a hand through his hair and messed it up. "Nicole! Why did you do that? I think that was Bulma! Now she might think I'm with some woman!"
"Well, duh, you are with a woman. You're with me. She probably might not think that much about it. I gotta head back to work, bye." She rolled her window up and backed up from the parking lot. She gave him a final wave before turning left and then vanishing in heavy traffic, completely oblivious to the way Yamcha was looking.
Nicole basically screwed his relationship up with Bulma. Or was she telling the truth? Maybe it wasn't really Bulma that she accidentally called. Maybe it was big misunderstanding. Or was it? He sighed and leaned against his car door before he suddenly thought. Should I call Bulma and see where she is? Maybe she is still at that meeting and that she never even knew about Nicole. It was risky, but he had to find out.
Yamcha quickly dialed Bulma's number and was surprised to find it go straight to voicemail. Her phone was off? Why? Should he leave a voicemail? Or did she have it off for a reason? "She probably still is in that meeting, which means I'm gonna have to go pick Trunks up. Great, just what I need."
He dialed about three more times and Bulma still didn't pick up. Usually when her phone is off Bulma picks up after a couple of rings but no. She didn't. Yamcha was now worried. Should he head to the school? No, that was out of the question. What if she really is busy and he goes there and embarrasses her? His next best option to do was go pick Trunks up and wait for Bulma to get home later that night to talk to her. It was the only way.
The one thing he feared the most was that it was Bulma that she actually called and that she thought he was having an affair. Bulma was known to do crazy things when angry. Just like the way she was when she first divorced Vegeta. Always swearing at her close friends and turning very violent. The one thing he didn't get about her was that Bulma and Vegeta both filed for divorce, so why was she the one angry? Did she really want it to end between them? Did she really wanted to see if things will get any better between them, but feared Vegeta didn't? What was really wrong with Bulma?
He once tried to get her to 'open' up to him about the marriage and he got the same respond she gave to everyone.
"Me and Vegeta are through. We both got fed up with each other and we decided to end it there and then. There's nothing else to say about that 'mirage' of a marriage. I think I was high when I said, "I do." He's a jerk and always will be one."
She said as she grabbed a pillow from the couch and crossed her arms across her chest. Yamcha walked over and sat next to her and placed a arm around her. She looked really hurt for him to ask such a thing. Tears were swelling up in her eyes and she didn't look at him when she answered.
"Bulma, first of all, you don't do any drugs. Second, the therapist said it isn't healthy for you to keep your emotions bottled up inside, its best for you to TALK about them. So please, just talk to me about it. So you can get through this, okay?" She shrugged her shoulders.
"I'm sorry Yamcha. But…this isn't something I can talk to you about. If I end up speaking a word to you about it…I might…snap. Unless you feel like having to grab a knife out of my hand to prevent me from killing you and Trunks, be my guest. I'm sorry."
Yamcha stared down at Bulma. Her face looking very pallid and her eyes very wide. The tone she used sounded serious. Was she serious? She looked serious. Yamcha shifted over a bit before responding. "O-Kay, why not tell me something that happened during your marriage with Vegeta? Was there something he did that made you angry at him in the first place?"
"You know, there was something that Vegeta use to do that got on my nerves."
"What?"
"He would leave every morning without telling me he loved me. That was something that mad me mad."
"Anything else?"
"No."
"Can you please tell me WHY you and Vegeta divorced? If you both filed for it, then WHY are you still angry?"
"WHY is it your business? Its in the past, and no matter what you can't change that. So its time we move forward and stop talking about this."
"Bulma please talk to me on this. I can't move forward until YOU move forward. I'm afraid I might make the same mistake Vegeta did and-"
"What? Think we might break up too? Yamcha trust me, what Vegeta did you will NEVER do to me. So lets just leave this conversation at that. Can't you tell its already painful to talk about this now than it already is? Please Yamcha don't force me to say anymore." The tears began spilling out of her eyes and she started to shake uncontrollably. That's when Yamcha panicked.
He quickly wrapped his arms around her as she cried into his shoulder, wetting up his shirt in the process. He didn't care. He just wanted her to stop crying. Through sobs he could've sworn he heard Bulma say, "It's all…my fault…all mine…We would still be…together…if I didn't-" She then continued to sob and shaking her head as if that'll stop her from crying.
It didn't work and she cried for nearly two hours before falling asleep in his arms. Because of that experience, Yamcha never brought it up again, and that was nearly a year ago when that happened.
Now, as he stood there in almost a daze. He decided it was best for him to just go pick up Trunks and knew to expect the worst from Bulma when she got home that evening. He opened up the door to his car and drove off.
Bulma lifted up her arms and pushed Vegeta off of her. He quickly looked at her in an odd way. "Now what's the matter?" She didn't answer as she grabbed her jeans off the ground and pulled out her cell phone. "I know I'm not crazy. But I think my phone is vibrating." She looked at it and read: Three Missed Calls. "Who is calling me?"
"Bulma I'm either gonna finish this with, or without you." She raised a brow at that. "Yeah, right. Stop being so impatient." She looked back at her phone and was surprised to see Yamcha's number. "Great, why is that jerk calling me now? He probably wants to call to break up with me, well he has another coming.!" She tossed her phone on the floor and looked at the man next to her. "Proceed."
A/N: How was that? Was it good? So in the end, Vegeta was right! What will happen to this couple? Will Bulma and Yamcha break up or will they stay together? How is Trunks gonna get home? All of these questions will be answered when you review! Thanks again for reading this!
Me: Wow! Layla wave to all the friendly people out there that reviewed for me!
Layla: *Waves and stares at monitor* Who exactly am I waving to? I don't see anyone
Me: *Nervous laugh* Layla just wave that way they know you care
Layla: I don't know anybody. But I'll still wave *Waves again*
Me: Great! You're awesome BFF!
Layla: Yeah, I know! *Hugs me*
Both: Read and Review!
