A/N: Hello everyone! Hope you are enjoying. Again, thank you for the reviews! They mean so much to me. I hope this chapter makes up for the smaller ones that came before it. Enjoy!
Chapter Twenty-One
I winced as a bright light shone in my eyes as I felt myself pull out of a heavy sleep. I moved my head, trying to hide it from the sunlight but it seemed to follow me. Blinking, I realized it was from the open windows on the other side of the room. I could see the bright blue sky and brilliant sunlight pouring in from the glass pane as the morning rolled it. Groaning, I pulled myself up so that I was sitting and saw that I wasn't in my bed. Instead, I was on Tommy's couch. A sea of packed boxes was stacked around the room and it reminded me of why I was here. I had been helping him pack last night. The last thing I remembered was sitting on the couch to take a break. I must have fallen asleep. A blanket was even tucked around me, telling me that Tommy had covered me up. I ran my fingers through my hair, getting out the knots the best way I could. Setting my feet down on the floor, I went to stand. Someone let out a small yelp of pain though, causing me to fall back onto the couch.
"That was my finger you stepped on." Tommy mumbled, sitting up from the floor. Looking down, I saw that he had made a little bed on the floor next to the couch. There was a pillow and a thin mat under him, a blanket wrapped around him as well.
"What are you doing down there? Do you have a bed?" I asked. He shrugged, wiping the grogginess from his eyes.
"This was easier than trying to make my way around the boxes." He replied. His eyes glanced up at the clock on the wall and he let out a whistle. "It's almost ten. It's a wonder they haven't sent a search party out for us."
"Jesus. I'm never gonna hear the end of this one." I muttered, standing up. I made sure to not step on him as I walked over to the phone in the kitchen. Picking it up, I saw that it was unplugged from the wall. "Your phone is unplugged." I said, plugging it in.
"Fuck. Explains why Kat didn't call last night." He stood up, picking up his makeshift bed. I dialed Trini's number and it rang twice before she answered.
"Well, look who is finally awake." She said in a flat tone.
"Hi. We lost track of time packing last night and his phone wasn't plugged in. Did you guys leave for the beach yet?" I asked. In the background, I could hear Zach and Rocky talking.
"We're just packing up. I grabbed your bathing suit and a towel. You guys still meeting us there?"
"Yeah. We'll get ready now and drive over." She made a noise and I heard Jason laugh.
"I feel like we might have something to talk about." Trini said. I rolled my eyes, watching Tommy fold the blankets.
"Sure. See you in a bit." I hung up the phone and set it in the cradle. "They are heading now. Trini said to just meet them there."
"Alright. Did you want to take a shower or anything? I believe the towels aren't packed yet." I shook my head.
"I'll be fine." I replied. "We should probably head out though. Don't want to give them any more reasons to talk."
"Ain't that the truth." He tossed the folded blankets and the mat in a box and walked up the hallway. He returned moments later, a white t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans on his legs. He pulled the hair tie from his pony tail and his loose curls hung around his head.
"I like it curly." I said, smiling over at him. He glanced up, the hair tie between his teeth.
"Yeah?" He asked. I nodded.
"It looks more natural. How are you wearing it for the wedding?" He turned, facing towards the kitchen so he could pull it back.
"Kat wants me to straighten it and wear it down." He replied, turning back to face me. He rolled his eyes, walking over to his shoes by the door.
"You don't like it?"
"No. It's just annoying to do and takes forever. I wanted to wear it up since it's going to be hot that day. It doesn't matter though. My hair doesn't matter. Everyone will be looking at the bride, not me."
"True." I replied, smirking at him. I slid my feet into my flipflops before following him out the door. We climbed in his SUV and he pulled out of the parking lot. He drove for a minute before hitting the highway, heading west towards Aiko Beach, a common place where we used to hang out when we were kids. On the way, we listened to more Eminem and other music, talking about things we've done since we broke up. It was like getting to know Tommy all over again, him being the same person he was but with a broader view of life. The old Tommy was optimistic and determined about life. This version was more down to earth and realistic about the world around us. Though it was sad, it was more humbling to see him like this. Inside, I wondered if it was because of me.
Tommy pulled into the parking lot of Aiko Beach, putting the truck in park as he slid into a space. Various cars were lined up here too, including Trini's car. Off into the distance, I saw the beach near the water. The sand ran for half a mile down the coast, people littered here or there as they enjoyed the warm summer day. Climbing out of the vehicle, I glanced to see if I could recognize our group. Zach dancing on the left side of the beach caught my eye and I saw the rest of the group setting up a grill, some blankets and an umbrella. "Found them." I said, turning to Tommy who walked around the truck towards me.
"Same spot as always." He responded as we started heading towards them. I could see Trini and Aisha by a picnic table, setting up bags of chips, bowls of what was probably salad and trays of meat. Behind them, Jason and Billy were getting the grill going. Zach, Rocky and Adam were tossing a football around, their laughter carrying towards us as we neared the group.
"Hey guys!" I called out. The group turned to look at us and I saw the small smirks on Jason and Billy's faces. Trini put a hand on her hip while Aisha raised an eyebrow at me. The other three boys waved, not seeming to care as much as we stopped next to the table.
"Hey. You guys get the packing done?" Jason asked, nodding at Tommy who shrugged.
"For the most part. Kim was a huge help." He said, smiling down at me.
"I tried." I chirped, sitting on the bench of the picnic table. "Thanks for bringing my stuff, Trini." I said, reaching into my beach bag I found under the table. I pulled my bathing suit out and stood back up.
"No problem. I'm going to help Jason get the food going and then hitting the water. You wanna join us?" She asked, giving me a look that told me I had no choice.
"Yeah. Let me change quick." I spotted the bathroom building about thirty years away. Walking towards it, I made my way inside and quickly changed into my bikini. Coming back out, I saw that the beach was filling up with more people. Tommy, Jason and Billy were by the grill, each sporting a beer in their hand. Adam, Rocky and Zach were gone, telling me they were in the water now. Trini and Aisha stood by the table, their suits on and a towel over their shoulders. I grabbed my towel and we walked down the warm sand towards the water. Setting our towels down by the boys, we slowly made our way into the chilly ocean.
"So…" Trini said, gazing out towards the ocean. "What happened?"
"Nothing." I retorted, feeling the wet sand between my toes. "I helped him pack and told him about what happened in Florida."
"You told him about Matt?" Aisha asked. I shook my head.
"No. He asked me though. I just didn't think it was something I'm not ready to talk about yet with him." I bit my lip, focusing on the water.
"What?" Trini asked.
"Nothing." I said quickly.
"Liar." Aisha said, snorting. "What else happened?"
"I almost told him how I felt." I whispered, making sure no one was around who shouldn't hear it.
"Kimberly…" Trini said, stepping closer. "Did you?"
"No. Hence the almost. We were talking, and it felt like it would have been a great moment but…I couldn't bring myself to do it." Sighing, I gazed up at the sky. "It wouldn't have been fair to him or to Kat." Aisha rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "What?"
"It's the whole Kat thing. Believe me. If you knew some of the shit she pulled, you wouldn't feel that bad."
"Like what? You keep saying stuff like that."
"I don't know if Tommy would want you to know." She said, frowning. "Otherwise, I would have told you already. Just take my word on it." I eyed her, wondering what she wasn't telling me. From the look on Trini's face, she knew as well. She was doing her best to avoid making eye contact with me. I went to say something when a splash of water hit me from behind. I let out a yelp from the cold before turning to face the culprit. I found Rocky, Zach and Adam behind us, Zach grinning with an ear to ear grin.
"Oops. My bad." He said, shrugging his shoulders.
"You're dead, Taylor." I exclaimed, narrowing my eyes at him. Pulling my arm back, I slapped the surface of the water. It sprayed him and Aisha who shrieked. Soon, it turned into an all-out splashing fight. Rocky wasn't playing around. He dove under the water and grabbed Aisha by the legs, pulling her under. Adam was more gentle in his attacks, going one on one with Trini who was hitting him with everything she had. I targeted Zach, making sure to hit the mark with each lap of water. He dove under the water, disappearing from sight. I waited for him to come up, holding my arms out to make the biggest splash possible. I was surprised though when I felt something brush my leg. Someone grabbed both of my thighs and I was suddenly hoisted out of the water on Zach's shoulders. "Zach!" I squealed, trying to keep my balance. "Put me down!"
"Okay. If you say so." He called up. He let go, the both of us falling backwards into the water. Totally submerged, I swam back up the surface to find him laughing at me.
"Oh, just you wait. I will get you back." I said, wiping the water out of my eyes. Behind him, I saw Tommy and Billy wading through the water. An unreadable expression was on Tommy's face and I saw his jaw was clenched. Billy smiled at our group, his glasses gone due to the water.
"Hey." Rocky said, grinning at Tommy and Billy. "You guys just missed it. We got the girls all wet."
"What are you? Twelve?" Aisha asked, twisting her braids to get the water out. Her annoyance read all over her face and she glared at her boyfriend. Rocky shrank back, knowing he was in deep trouble.
"Is food ready?" He asked, turning towards shore. He didn't even wait for an answer before high tailing it out of the water. Adam rolled his eyes, following behind him.
"Chicken shit." I heard his mutter as he waded away. Tommy walked towards me, standing in the water a few feet away. It was funny to see that it only went to his waist where it was almost to my chest. I stood up straight, brushing the hair out of my eyes.
"Having fun?" I asked, smiling at him. He was looking out at the water, his eyes gazing towards the bay.
"I suppose." He muttered, turning his attention to me. "I wonder if the Dragonzord is still there."
"It's gotta be." Trini replied, swimming closer to us. "It hasn't moved since you lost the green Ranger powers."
"Affirmative." Billy chimed in. "Alpha and I designed a cloaking program to disguise it from anyone who might happen to come across it." We all turned to look out over the water. My mind wandered to the last time we had used the Dragonzord in battle. It had always been our strongest weapon when Tommy's powers had been in full capacity. And it was the biggest Zord on its own. When he had spent his time as our enemy, it had been one of our biggest challenges when fighting him. Thankfully, he came to our side before any real damage had been done.
"I miss it sometimes." Aisha sighed, glancing at our group. "Granted, not fighting every day is nice and all but still, I miss the Zords. And being on a team. We did some good work together."
"That we did." Zach replied, smiling. Reaching over, he put a hand on my shoulder and Trini's. "Right from day one, we were a great team."
"We still are." Trini pointed out. "I mean, I see most of you on an almost daily basis still." A few of us chuckled but I saw the hesitation in Billy's eyes. He would be going home in a few days, unsure of when he would be able to return. His eyes lingered on Trini for a moment before he noticed I was looking at him.
"Whose up for a game of Marco Polo?" Zach asked, looking around at the group. There was a collective nod. "I'll be it first." Taking a deep breath, he submerged himself under the water. Everyone spread out, getting away from enough where he wouldn't be able to reach them. Aisha and Trini went the same way as Billy while Tommy and I went separate directions, Zach between us. He popped back up out the water, not opening his eyes. "Marco!" He called.
"Polo." Our collective voices said. He turned, trying to decide which direction to go.
"Marco." He said again.
"Polo." We returned. He stopped, facing my direction. He dove under, heading towards me. I dove to, heading to the right. When I emerged, he was right on my tail, my splashing telling him where I was. I did my best to run the other way, but the water slowed me down. He dove again, this time his arms wrapping around my waist and lifting me out of the water. I shrieked, laughter filling my cries as he tossed me over his shoulder.
"Looks like you're it, Kimmy." He said, tossing me back into the water. I smacked him in his chest, wading towards the middle of the group.
"I think I'm going to see if Jason needs help with the food." Tommy spoke, causing me to look at him. Turning, he waded out of the water and made his way up the beach. I watched him go, confused by him suddenly walking away.
"Come on, Kim!" Aisha called out, gaining my attention. We played a few more rounds of Marco Polo, Billy coming out as the champ for most of it. After a while, we decided to head back to our spot to see if it was time to eat. Jason and Tommy were talking by the grill while Rocky and Adam tossed the football again. As we were walking, Zach nudged me with his shoulder. Turning to look at him, he gave me a small smile.
"How you holding up with this whole wedding thing?" He asked, keeping his voice low. I shrugged.
"I'm okay. Probably because I have you guys keeping tabs on me the whole time." He let out a chuckle, nodding.
"I know. Trini is quite the force to be dealt with. So, you spent the night at his place last night? Did anything happen?"
"We talked about some stuff. That's about it. I almost told him about my feeling."
"That's great!"
"I didn't though." He frowned. "I can't just tell him now. It'll mess everything up for him. I don't want to cause a nuclear meltdown the week of his wedding."
"True. You'll figure it out. In the meantime, don't forget you can talk to any of us about it. And I'm do my best to keep Trini and Jason off your backs."
"Thanks, Zach." I said, putting an arm on his shoulder. We stopped by the site, seeing everyone pile food on their plates. I smiled at Tommy who was watching me from his place by the grill. He returned it, but I saw it didn't really reach his eyes. Grabbing a plate, I filled it with some food. Turning, I sat with everyone else at the picnic table. We talked and joked about the day, enjoying memories that we had from times we spent here before. It was nice, but I still felt like there was something up with Tommy. He didn't speak much or eat a lot, choosing to pick at his food instead with his fork. I kept an eye on him but saw that he didn't really look at me. He spent most of the meal glancing at Zach now and then.
"I'm ready for a swim." Jason said, tossing his empty plate in the garbage at the end of the table. Everyone stood up, moving to clear the garbage and seal the leftover food.
"That sounds good." Tommy replied, shifting his eyes so they landed on me for a moment. Without another word, he turned and headed towards the water with Jason. Rocky, Adam and Aisha followed. Zach and Trini headed off after the group. Sighing, I shoved my plate into the bag.
"Hey." Billy's voice said behind me, reminding me he was still there. "Would you appreciate a walk with me?" He motioned behind us where the trails to the nature path started. "I think we could both us the talk."
"I think you're right about that."