Pulse
Chapter
10
Buzz
Words
September
4th, 2007
Tommy's
House
Reefside,
California
1:30pm
"I can't believe we were so careless. It didn't even occur to me that Kim might get pregnant," Tommy said finally.
He and Jason had just spent a little over an hour talking about Annie and Kim, and how Tommy's life had come to be what it is. Jason shook his head and shrugged. "Ironic, isn't it? All the shit we thought of when we needed to save the world . . . "Jason trailed off absently.
Tommy snickered, knowing full well what Jason meant. He and Kimberly had acted the most irresponsibly that night, than they ever had fighting alien creatures or piloting robotic dinosaurs. The lesson was almost despicable.
But Tommy's admittance that he and his ex-girlfriend had been foolish did not abdicate Tommy's anger toward Kimberly. Had he known, he would have done anything, and given up everything, to help her. Suddenly, a thought came to him. Something he hadn't thought to question before.
"What about the letter?" Tommy asked. Jason looked up from the kitchen table and gave his friend a confused look.
"What do you mean, bro? The, the . . . break up . . . letter?" Jason asked slowly. Tommy sighed and nodded. True, the letter had been a long time ago, and even at Trini's funeral he had forgiven Kimberly for it, assuming it was just one of those things that happened. But now, upon learning that she had given birth to their daughter, and never so much as spoke to her until six years had passed, Tommy now wondered if the letter was true.
"Was the letter real? Did she really meet someone else?" Tommy asked again, a slight hint of desperation coating his tone. Jason watched his friend's face carefully. Jason knew the letter to be false, another "solution" concocted by Trini and Kim to save Tommy more anguish by being kept out of the know.
The situation was already too complicated, and there had already been a multitude of things that Jason had disclosed, already breaking his promise to Kim. Jason silently cursed himself for ever getting this involved.
"I don't know, bro. Kimberly never really mentioned it to me. I only heard about the letter through you," Jason lied.
Tommy nodded his head in defeat. "So, Kim left the competition and stayed with Trini's uncle, and met this new guy?" Tommy asked, not understanding the sequence of events.
Jason shook his head. "There was a lot that I wasn't there for, man. I know that she moved back to Angel Grove right after Annie was born. Trini and I had already started college, and I think Kim was at the community college, I don't know if that guy came with her or what," Jason said, making up elements of his story as he went.
"But she wasn't with him for very long," Tommy said, still trying to piece everything together.
"I got the letter at the end of March, and you said that Kim came back to California in, what? September? And she wasn't with anyone at the funeral, and you said she had never been married . . . " Tommy continued, mapping out the dates in his head.
"Tommy, it's done. Whether or not the letter was true, it's done. What are you going to do now?" Jason said, attempting to get his friend off the subject of the letter before he incriminated himself any further.
Tommy looked up from his imaginary calculations and shook his head. "I don't know, Jase. What am I supposed to do? I have a job, I have my own life . . . I can't just give it all up! I don't how to even talk to Annie. What am I supposed to say? And I'm sure she's terrified of me, the way I acted earlier," Tommy said pathetically.
"I think you'd be surprised, bro," Jason said with a smirk, standing up from his seat to carry his coffee mug over to the sink. "Annie's a smart girl, good genes," he said, patting a supportive hand on Tommy's shoulder as he left the kitchen. Tommy gave a small laugh as he watched Jason cross into the living room.
"Why don't I go check on her and see if she wants to go to lunch? Maybe, give you guys a chance to hang out, talk, ya know?" Jason offered, folding up the random sheets and blankets that had been scattered on the couch.
"Yeah, that sounds good. Umm, I'm going to run out really quick. Make sure you and Annie are ready by 2:30, then we'll go. My treat," Tommy instructed, grabbing his keys and wallet as he placed his mug beside Jason's in the sink.
Jason nodded as he continued to straighten up the living room. "That gives you both about an hour, is that enough time?" Tommy asked as he approached the front door. Jason smiled. "Annie doesn't need much time to get ready, takes after her dad," he said with a grin.
Tommy gave a bittersweet smile and nodded as he shut the door behind him. Once Jason had finished cleaning the downstairs, he made his way up to the guest room where Annie was staying. He lightly tapped the door and heard a muffled "Come in".
Jason opened the door and found Annie on the edge of the bed, fully dressed, and crying. He ran over to the girl and sat beside her.
"Annie, what's wrong?" Jason asked, wrapping an arm around her. Annie wiped her face with the back of hand and looked up at her uncle.
"Mom wrote Tommy a letter? She broke up with him? Why?" Annie asked. Jason sighed and rubbed his eyes.
"How long were you listening?" Jason asked her softly. Annie gave him a guilty look and smiled through her tears.
"I heard the whole thing," she said regretfully. Jason nodded carefully and embraced her tighter.
"I hate mom," Annie said as she leaned into Jason's shoulder. Jason laughed slightly, knowing the young girl was merely frustrated and denied a lot of information, not seriously condemning her mother.
"Mom's got a lot of explaining to do, huh?" Jason asked, rubbing Annie's back as he spoke. Annie nodded against his chest and pulled away, staring at him thoughtfully.
"Are we really going to lunch with Tommy?" Annie asked hopefully. Jason nodded and wiped a tear from her face.
"I'd really like that," she added.
"Well, wash your face princess, and I'm going to get changed, okay?" Jason instructed. Annie smiled and hopped off the bed, bounding toward the bathroom.
As Annie shut the bathroom door, Jason descended the stairs once again and made his way to the downstairs bedroom, beginning his search for the box that contained the rest of his wardrobe.
As he was struggling to flatten out a pair of pants that had been carelessly crumpled in their container, his cell phone went off. Jason caught the lump in his throat upon seeing the caller ID.
"Do I answer it?" he asked himself. "Shit."
He tossed the cell phone back onto the bare mattress and finished putting on his clothes. The phone buzzed again, and again.
Jason huffed and glanced over his shoulder, ensuring Annie wouldn't overhear this conversation, and shut the door behind him.
"Hello?" he said innocently, cringing at the sound he was anticipating.
"WHERE THE HELL IS ANNIE?" Kimberly's frantic voice screeched over the receiver. Jason pulled the phone away as Kimberly continued to shout. After a minute of frenzied cries, Jason returned the phone to his ear.
"I miss you too, Lil sis," Jason said sarcastically.
"Cut the bullshit, Jase. Where is Annie? I woke up this morning and she was gone. I called everyone I could think of. I even asked Aisha and Zack to keep an eye out for her in Los Angeles. I should have known," Kimberly said in a low, thick tone.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Jason said cooly. "I KNEW IT!" Kimberly shouted.
"What do you know?" Jason asked over her yelling.
"If you didn't have Annie, you would have asked me where she was! I knew it! Bring my daughter back to me right now! I could have you arrested for kidnaping!" Kimberly threatened.
"Kim, I think Annie needs some time away from you right now. She's really confused and upset. You owe her a lot of explanations," Jason reminded her. Suddenly Kim's aggressive stance softened, realizing what Jason was implying.
"Oh my god, you're there aren't you? You're with him, aren't you?" Kim asked softly. Jason didn't need to affirm Kim's question. His silence was enough.
"Does...does he know? What happened? Has he met Annie?" Kim asked again, her voice cracking as she began to sob quietly.
"Yes, they met. And . . . I told him, Kim. He knows Annie's his daughter," Jason said solemnly.
Jason hung his head as he heard Kimberly cry into the phone. He was utterly torn. He had always been on Kimberly's side, understanding why she had done the things she'd done, even seeing Annie and Tommy both completely turned inside out by those actions. Now was no exception, he still felt compassion for Kimberly, knowing in his heart, she wanted to make everything right.
"What did he say?" Kimberly asked after a moment of silence.
"He's mad, Kim. He's mad and he's hurt," Jason explained.
"Well, did you explain everything to him?" Kimberly begged.
"No! I was hoping you'd do that," he told her.
"Well, if he's mad at me, he's not going to wantto see me, let alone talk to me!" Kimberly cried.
"What did you expect Kim?"
"I don't know what to say to him Jason!"
"Well, figure it out, Kim. I'm done playing messenger. I've already spent enough time lying to him for you!" Jason barked, knowing he was treading on shaky ground.
"Don't you dare reprimand me, Jason! You're already involved! I'm sorry that you were the one who told him, it was my burden and I know that. But nobody made you do it! You chose to tell him!" Kimberly shouted back.
"Kim, he thought I was Annie's dad! You should have seen his face! He looked like he was about to punch me!" Jason insisted.
Kimberly snickered. "I don't know how to make this right," she said, lowering her voice.
"He wants to talk to you Kim," Jason told her.
"Did he say that?" Kimberly asked, knowing full well that if Tommy was as mad as Jason claimed, there'd be no amount of talking that could assuage him.
"Well, no . . . not exactly. But he needs to, and so do you. I promised you that I would help you with Annie, if you promised to set things straight," Jason said.
"I know. I want to make things right, I really do. I just don't even know where to begin, Jase. I've messed up. I really, messed up . . . " Kimberly said, her sobs beginning again.
The front door slammed shut, signifying Tommy's return. Jason pulled his ear away from his phone to hear Tommy's distant voice, calling his name.
"Kim, I hate to do this, but I gotta go," he said in a rush. Kimberly sniffled and answered his request.
"What about Annie? Is she all right? Does she hate me?" Kimberly asked quickly.
"No, Kim. Annie doesn't hate you," he said, snickering at the earlier comment Annie had made about her mother.
"She's freaked out, and confused. There's a lot of that going around. Listen, let me talk to Tommy and I'll get back to you, okay?" Jason asked, panicking as Tommy's voice drew closer and closer to the bedroom door.
"Okay. Please tell Annie that I love her and I'm sorry. I'm going to fix everything, I promise.Tell Tommy . . . well, anyway, I'll let you go. Bye," she said.
And before he was able to return a good bye, Kimberly hung up, just as Tommy knocked on the door.
"Bro, you in there?" Tommy's voice called from the other side. Jason reached for the knob and turned, pushing the door open with his free hand.
"Hey, Annie still in her room?" Tommy asked, standing in the doorway to a slightly flustered Jason.
"You okay?" Tommy asked. Jason gave him a guilty smile and shrugged.
"Yeah, I'm just . . . mad that I can't find any clothes that aren't wrinkled," Jason covered quickly, receiving a knowing laugh from Tommy.
"Eh, you learn to deal with it," Tommy said casually, unaware of his friend's anxious energy.
"Umm, I have a surprise for Annie. Do you think she'll mind?" Tommy asked as Jason led them out of the room and into the hall.
"You didn't have to do that, bro," Jason told him, placing a tender hand on his shoulder.
"I wanted to. She mentioned her birthday was yesterday, and you said that she didn't really get the chance to celebrate, so I thought I'd . . . make up for lost time," Tommy said sheepishly.
Jason gave Tommy a sympathetic smile and patted his shoulder before calling up for Annie. After a moment, the young girl emerged from the bedroom and onto the landing. Tommy felt a pang in his heart as she descended the stairs.
The young girl, recently turned twelve years old, was a perfect split of both her parents. Her long, thick chocolate hair, her matching eyes, and golden skin . . . there was no mistaking whom this child belonged to. And if her looks weren't enough, it seemed that the predisposed predilection for wearing certain colors, also ran in the family. Annie caught her father's apprehensive gaze and returned it with a nervous smile of her own. He followed her movement as she landed in front of him, taking note of the outfit the girl had chosen to wear.
Where had he seen that before? A vest and matching skirt, of pink and white plaid. He lowered his head and noticed a pair of ratty, green converse. Tommy smiled and lifted his head to face the girl once again.
"You look very nice," he told her shyly. Annie blushed and gave him a sad smile.
"Thanks, Tommy. You do too," she returned. Jason gave a small chuckle as he watched the awkward but endearing exchange of a father and daughter who hadn't the slightest idea of how to interact. His heart went out to both of them. Especially Tommy's. The conflicting emotions that Annie drew up, and the painful reminder of twelve years lost, were not unnoticed by Jason. He silently promised himself, right at that moment, he would help reunite this family, as best as he knew how.
"Come on folks, let's eat," Jason said suddenly, breaking the silence.
Tommy motioned for Annie to lead the way out the door. As Tommy watched Jason playfully tickle the young girl, in an effort to race her to the car, he sighed heavily. And he was sure he felt the place in his heart, which he had spent many years mending after Kimberly broke up with him, rip once again.
AN: So, we hear a bit from Kimberly. What will happen next? How and when will Kimberly and Tommy talk? Tommy and Annie are attempting to bond, over bizarre circumstances. How will Jason be able to help them? Find out next time! Please Read and Review!