Tamsin was the first one to wake up the next morning, realizing that she had slept on the couch and that Kenzi has slept next to her, all night. She was a bit shocked at how happy this made her. She had noticed how beautiful Kenzi was since she first met the human. It was something about the dark haired, tough shelled beauty that made her so attractive to Tamsin. Of course at first she had figured Kenzi was off limits, being that she was dating Hale and that she was Bo's best friend. She hadn't wanted to come between Kenzi and Hale and she had been scared of upsetting Bo, but had later realized that if you want something enough, nothing can get in your way. She looked over at the beautiful human who had her head lying in the crook of Tamsin's arms. How could Kenzi not think that she was beautiful? Was it because of something that had happened in the cave with Inari? She intended to find out and thought she could probably get Kenzi to open up to her. Especially after she had pretty much bared her own sole to Kenzi the night before. She was starting to feel very protective of the beautiful human, with what she had gone through with her sister, years ago. If Kenzi wanted her help she would give it. If Kenzi didn't want her help, well, she wasn't going to back off. She knew that Kenzi needed someone even if she tried to hide behind her tough and joking personality.
Kenzi woke a few minutes after Tamsin did, feeling very confused about her surroundings. She realized she was lying in someone's arms and didn't have any idea who it could be until she looked over and saw Tamsin.
"Morning, Kenz," Tamsin said, smiling down at the beautiful girl.
"Morning, Tamsin," Kenzi said, as memories from the night before began to come back to her. That was when she remembered that she had kissed Tamsin last night. Why had she kissed Tamsin last night? Then she realized she had wanted to kiss Tamsin. What the heck? Did she actually have feelings for her? A million thoughts seemed to be running through Kenzi's mind as she thought about the reasons for the kiss the night before.
"Are you okay? You look upset," Tamsin asked, realizing that Kenzi was probably remembering the kiss from last night.
"I kissed you last night, right?"
"You sure did. And for the record, I kissed you back. And... I enjoyed it quite a bit," Tamsin said, realizing she didn't care if Kenzi knew that she had liked it.
Kenzi's expression softened and she smiled back at Tamsin.
"Okay, okay, I enjoyed it too. I guess i'm just still a little shocked that I...kissed you. I mean, what does this mean now?"
"It can mean whatever you want it to."
"Just so we are clear, I'm straight, okay? At least I think I am..."
"It's okay, Kenzi. Maybe you just have some feelings that you didn't know you had. A lot of people don't realize that they might be bisexual until they...find that one person who they connect with," Tamsin said, hoping that she wasn't upsetting Kenzi and that she was right about what was really going on.
"You know, I think you might be right, Tamsin. I've never been attracted to women before but...there's just something about you that makes me think that I might...really like you," Kenzi said.
"I like you too, Kenzi. And I hope this means something more but I understand if this isn't what you want to do right now," Tamsin said.
"It is, Tamsin. I think it really is," Kenzi said, smiling up at Tamsin.
Kenzi leaned closer and kissed Tamsin again, realizing she couldn't resist her again. They kissed for several minutes again before Kenzi suddenly realized that she had just stayed the night at Tamsin's. Bo was going to be worried sick about her.
"Oh no, Tamsin, Bo! I didn't tell Bo where I was going last night! She must be worried sick about me since I didn't come home! Where did I leave my phone?" Kenzi said, jumping up off the couch and beginning to search for her bag. She found it and located her phone, pushing the button to make the screen light up. She was a bit shocked when she didn't have any missed calls or texts from Bo.
"Everything okay, Kenzi?"
"Yeah, I think it is...Its just that Bo didn't even call or text me last night. I don't know if she even knows if I was gone," Kenzi said, "Oh wait, I remember her mentioning that she was going to stay the night with Lauren. That must be why."
Kenzi was hoping that she was right because the alternative was that Bo didn't care that she hadn't come home. That she was glad that Kenzi hadn't. Fear that her best friend didn't want her around anymore made her want to disappear.
"Hey, Kenzi, are you sure your okay?" Tamsin said, getting up and placing a soothing hand on Kenzi's shoulder. She saw the look of doubt on Kenzi's face.
"I'm so stupid. Why would I think that Bo would be worried about me? She probably hasn't even noticed I didn't come home or she doesn't care...Why would she?" Kenzi said, unable to stop herself from thinking badly about herself.
"Kenzi, I think your wrong. I have a feeling that Bo would be very upset if she had been home last night and noticed you were gone. She mentioned to me earlier yesterday that she was staying over at Lauren's, so i'm pretty sure that's where she is. Why would you think that she doesn't want you around?"
"I...I don't know. Look, I should probably head home. I have a pretty busy day. Can I call you later?" Kenzi asked.
"Kenz, don't shut me out," Tamsin said, grabbing Kenzi's arm before she could walk away.
"Tamsin, please, just let me go..." Kenzi said, trying to pull away from Tamsin. She didn't want to tell Tamsin anything else right now.
"Not until you tell me what's wrong," Tamsin said, grabbing Kenzi around the waist and pulling her towards her, pinning the human's arms to her chest.
Kenzi looked up into Tamsin's eyes, realizing how much Tamsin cared about her.
"I can't tell you," Kenzi said, looking away from Tamsin's beautiful, caring eyes.
"Then I guess we're going to be here for awhile, huh?" Tamsin said, not giving in. She knew that Kenzi had expected her to let go but she wasn't going to. She knew how tough Kenzi tried to be, but Tamsin intended to break the wall Kenzi was putting up.
"What are you doing, Tamsin? You can't keep me from leaving," Kenzi said, squirming around to try and get Tamsin to let her go.
"I told you, i'm not letting you go until you tell me what's bothering you."
"Come on Tamsin, just let me go. I don't have time to play your little game of intervention," Kenzi said, getting very irritated with the Valkyrie. The truth was she was afraid to tell Tamsin why she was doing this to herself. She was worried about what people would think of her if they knew that she thought Bo had liked the other Kenzi better. That she didn't think Bo really wanted her around anymore. She also thought they would think she was crazy if they knew that she still heard Inari's voice in her head every time she ate something, and multiple times throughout the day, telling her that she wasn't good enough. Telling her what she should eat/not eat and when, how much she had to exercise, etc. She was afraid that if she didn't listen to Inari's voice that something bad would happen to someone close to her. Such as Bo or Tamsin. Inari had definitely had a powerful hold on Kenzi that hadn't gone away with her death. She had intentionally made Kenzi doubt that she was worthy of anyone's love.
"Well I'm not playing your little tough-girl-who-doesn't-need-anyone's-help-game," Tamsin said, not backing down.
"I don't think you understand, Tamsin, I CAN'T tell you!" Kenzi said, wanting to shout at Tamsin even though she knew that she was only trying to help her. Kenzi didn't think anyone could help her at this point, though.
"Then I guess we're gonna be here awhile. I'm not backing down, Kenz. I know there's a reason why your holding out on me, but I can't let you go. There's a reason why your doing this to yourself and that reason is keeping you from getting better."
Kenzi looked away, not wanting to see the pain and hurt that were probably in Tamsin's eyes at that moment. She wanted so badly to tell Tamsin what was going on but she couldn't, and if she looked in Tamsin's eyes, she was likely going to blurt it out. Tamsin had a strong hold on her and she wasn't sure if she liked it or not.
Half an hour passed and Tamsin continued to hold onto Kenzi despite the fact that the young human kept trying to fight to get out of Tamsin's arms. Finally Tamsin decided to break the silence.
"Kenzi, I think I have to call Bo now and tell her to come over. We aren't getting anywhere here and i'm really worried about what is causing you to do this to yourself. If you won't tell me, maybe you'll tell Bo, your best friend."
"Tamsin, no, she doesn't need to know what's going on. Please? Just let me go so we can both get on with our day. I really need to go workout. I haven't missed a day in several weeks and I can't just not go," Kenzi said, thinking of what Inari's voice would say if she let Tamsin keep her here for an entire day. She would probably tell Kenzi she was fat and lazy, and didn't deserve to feel loved.
"I think she does need to know, Kenz. You've done such a great job of hiding from her these past few weeks, and I think you owe it to her to tell her what your doing. She's your best friend, Kenzi, and I know she really cares about you. She would do anything for you," Tamsin said.
"Your wrong, Tamsin. She doesn't want me anymore. She liked the other Kenzi better. Inari was a better Kenzi that I will ever be. That's what no one understands. Inari was good at what she did. She was so good that Bo didn't even realize it wasn't me for the first few days I was missing. When she finally did, I bet she said to herself, hey, I like this Kenzi better and I think i'll just keep her around. That's why she didn't come for me right away, isn't it?"
"Kenzi, do you think that's why Bo didn't come for you right away? Sweetie, that's not true at all! As soon as she realized it wasn't you she started fighting to find you! She tried everything she could to convince Dyson, Trick, Lauren, myself that Inari wasn't the real Kenzi, but none of us would listen to her at first. It wasn't until I began to suspect something was off with the person I thought was you, that anyone actually believed Bo. She never gave up on you, Kenzi. You are her heart. I heard her say so when we were looking for you," Tamsin said, realizing that Kenzi really thought that Bo had left her to die on her own and that she preferred the other Kenzi. What had Inari done to the poor girl?
"Really? She really fought to find me? That's not what In...That's not what I was told. Tamsin, I had no idea. I knew I shouldn't have listened to the things I was told! I'm so stupid!" Kenzi said, beginning to break down.
"Was it Inari who told you that?" Tamsin asked, quietly, as she held Kenzi close to help comfort her.
"Yes," Kenzi sighed, relieved to finally tell someone, even though she was terrified of what might happen.
Kenzi suddenly felt completely exhausted and her knees went weak on her. She began to fall, but Tamsin was still holding her close and noticed. She picked up the weak human and walked over to the couch with her. She laid her down gently on a pillow and put a blanket over her before kneeling down in front of Kenzi and looked her in the face.
"Kenzi, everything is going to be okay, now. We are going to help you get better. I'm going to go get you something to eat, okay? I was so busy trying to get you to talk to me that I forgot that you haven't eaten anything today. Your body is still very weak. I'll be right back," Tamsin said, then kissed Kenzi on the head before heading to the kitchen. She quietly texted Bo as she walked to the kitchen, telling her that Kenzi was with her and asking her to come over. Kenzi had something she needed to talk to her about.