Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here's chapter twenty-nine of "Dark Desire." Tommy's parents make their return in this chapter. A smutty scene involving Jason/Trini will occur very soon. Stay tuned for chapter thirty.
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Chapter 29: Going Along/Bad News
A young man walked down the sidewalk. He was chewing gum. He blew a big bubble in it. He popped it in a loud manner. He got it back into his mouth with his tongue. He shifted his attention toward the other side of the street. He could see Marty and Lillian walking the other way. The duo turned him. They waved to him in which he returned a wave of his own. All three focused their attention on their respective sidewalks.
Marty and Lillian placed their arms around each other before sighing contently. They looked up, seeing two American robins fly around in a playful chase. The robins chirped very joyfully. They went up, down, left, and right before flying in a tight circle. They left and vanished behind a house on the other side of the street. The couple looked at each other, big smiles forming on their faces.
"Talk about some playful American robins," he whispered, his face full of amazement.
"You got that right. I'd love to be an American robin. I see it as the most beautiful of the songbirds," she said.
"I would love to be an American robin with you, honey," Lillian commented with a soft chuckle.
"Great. We should ask Tommy if he wants to become an American robin with us. Then we find a magic lamp and have the genie grant us a wish to turn us into them," Marty said, holding up a finger.
"How cool would it be if we could find a magic lamp?" Lillian squealed very delightfully.
"I wonder where one might be hidden," Marty said in much thoughtfulness.
"I don't know where we could find a magic lamp. Perhaps we could go exploring for one sometime," Lillian suggested.
"We should ask Tommy if he wants to join us on that expedition," Marty said, giving her a small hug.
"I am sure he would love a little adventure," Lillian cheered and pumped a fist.
"After we find that lamp, I get to ask for the wish for all of us to become American robins!" Marty called.
"No, I do," Lillian said with a shake of her head.
"No, I do," Marty responded and blew a raspberry.
"No, I do," Lillian retorted and made a funny noise.
"No, I do," Marty said, curling his hand into a fist and pressing it to her cheek.
"No, I do," Lillian commented with a playful growl.
"No, I do," Marty said, emitting a loud snort.
The couple halted themselves when a chipmunk ran out in front of them. It rushed for a bush. It pawed at the ground in which it revealed a cache of nuts. It pulled out one with a light squeak. It started nibbling on it. Its whiskers and tail twitched constantly. They returned their attention to each other. They resumed their walk while whistling softly. A blue jay walked past them.
"It's not every day a chipmunk runs out in front of you," Marty commented honestly.
"The same goes for a kangaroo," Lillian responded and exhaled sharply. "I remember our honeymoon to Australia. Three dozen kangaroos jumped out in front of our jeep." She spoke gibberish.
"Kangaroos are the most common animals in Australia," Marty said, letting go of her.
"No shit. The locals are allowed to hunt them for food due to their numbers being so high," Lillian pointed out in awe.
He raised his eyebrows and bit his lip. "It is very tricky with all the hopping they do."
She chuckled. "It may be tricky, but hunters find ways to score hits on them."
Marty shrugged with a chuckle. He and his wife saw two blue jays fly overhead. The jays did a tight turn in a circle before going left and right. They went an overhanging branch up ahead. They landed on it, chirps leaving their beaks. They observed the couple passing underneath it.
"We saw mostly red and gray kangaroos during our honeymoon in Australia. We spotted several wallabies. They are such cute marsupials," Marty said sweetly.
"Yep," Lillian responded and chuckled to herself. "Their cute little faces make me want to hug them." She snapped her fingers.
"They make me want to hug them too, but we can't since they're wild animals," Marry pointed out.
"That's true," Lillian said and licked her lips. "We should ask Tommy to come with us on another trip to Australia. I am sure he would love that."
"I can't wait to see him," Marty commented in excitement. "I have no doubt he has enjoyed having the house to himself."
She let out a soft sigh. "I can see him inviting those five teens he mentioned over to the house to spend time with him."
"He has never had many friends, but it doesn't bother him in the least bit," Marty murmured and smacked his lips.
"He wants quality friends like we do," Lillian said with much proudness. "He hates fake friends as much as we do."
"In a large group of friends, it can be difficult to tell who is fake and who isn't," Marty replied truthfully.
"People can hide their dark sides for a very long time. When they are slighted, they reveal them in all their hideous fury," Lillian mumbled, cringing badly.
"Abuse doesn't have to be physical. It can be emotional," Marty said, snorting softly.
"Emotional abuse has been proven to be more damaging than physical abuse. Children often end up with extremely negative self-images," Lillian said, her voice showing hints of anger.
He shuddered in disgust. "How can adults emotionally abuse children and act like it is no big deal?"
"It is a big deal. When children are called horrible names over and over, they begin to believe what they are hearing is true. They may even act them out in order to prove their abusers right," Lillian hissed and clenched her teeth tightly.
"In the old days, it wasn't considered important to meet a child's emotional needs as long as their physical needs were met. Parents realized the former was just as important as the latter was. They began doing everything in their power to fulfill their children's emotional needs. Some went a bit too far. That resulted in clingy children," Marty explained.
"I feel we have fulfilled Tommy's emotional needs as best we can," Lillian whispered in a gentle voice.
"I feel the same way," Marty agreed and gave her a small hug. "He is such a good boy. Of course, I can't help but wonder if he dreams of breaking curfew."
Lillian babbled. "It is likely he does. We dreamed of doing that as teens, but we never did."
Marty and Lillian stopped at a stop sign. They looked both ways before crossing the street. They picked up their pace once they reached the sidewalk.
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Marty and Lillian reached the Oliver residence four minutes later. They stopped in the driveway and let go of each other. They stared at it in great awe. A northern mockingbird sat on the roof above the garage. It watched them very closely. It flapped its wings, airing them out. It folded them against its back with a soft chirp.
"I have to say we picked the perfect house to live in," he said with much warmth.
"No denying that," she agreed. "It might be messy inside right now, but it will look great once we get everything unpacked and put away."
"It was hard moving everything halfway across the country, but it was well worth it," Marty said honestly.
"Imagine if we had waited until the first week of school to start packing up. It would've been much harder for us," Lillian mumbled and rolled her eyes. "It astounds me when people wait until the very last minute to do something."
"I am reminded of all our classmates who had a habit of waiting until the last minute to complete their assignments," Marty said, sighing heavily. "Almost all of them got Ds on their assignments." He shook his head in disbelief. "It was no one's fault but their own."
"It is believed that popular kids always go on to be very successful. That isn't always the case. Many are actually unable to make anything of themselves," Lillian pointed out and bit her lip. "One reason is they went around bullying weak kids."
"They thought they could bully their way through work. Their bosses refused to tolerate their bullying and got rid of them," Marty commented bluntly.
"Right," Lillian said with a nod. "They whined and complained about losing their jobs."
"It was no one's fault but theirs," Marty hissed in fierceness. "Bullies may be popular kids in school, but they eventually fall from grace."
"It is almost impossible for them to regain that grace," Lillian commented and rubbed her nose. "They don't deserve a single bit of it."
"Yeah," Marty murmured while nodding in a sharp manner. "Anyway, let's get inside. We better be quiet because Tommy could be napping."
"He is quite grumpy when someone or something wakes him up," Lillian mumbled while cringing badly.
The couple approached the front door. Lillian got out her keys and searched through them until she found the correct one. She unlocked it, opening it in which its hinges squeaked. She walked in, followed by Marty. She closed it and locked it. They came to the center of the living room. They took their backpacks off their backs and laid them on the floor.
Marty and Lillian looked around the medium-sized room. Its walls were bright blue. It contained a couch, two pine end tables, and a glass coffee table. A TV sat in an entertainment center across from the couch. A VCR was above it. The floor was made of hardwood and was mostly covered by a gray square-shaped rug. Two boxes sat on top of each other next to the first end table. Three boxes were in a row near the second one. They appeared to be impressed.
"It is great he was able to keep this house neat and clean while we were gone," Marty said and smiled.
"When he begins inviting friends over while we are out of the house, it will look a little different," Lillian pointed out truthfully.
"As long as it doesn't explode, I am cool with it," Marty joked and snickered under his breath. "Sara asked Chris about the possibility of the house exploding if she left Brad in charge while she was gone in Adventures in Babysitting."
"That part is a hoot," Lillian answered, breaking into a fit of giggles. "We both know Sara was trying to convince Chris to let her and Brad come along."
"Chris told Sara her parents would die if they found she took her and Brad into the city. Sara said they would die if they found out Chris left her at the house alone with him. Chris asked who would tell them," Marty explained.
"Brad and Sara looked at each other and formed big smirks on their faces. That convinced Chris to let them come with her," Marty said and made a weird noise. "Kids can be so persuasive."
"I could see you making the house explode," Lillian teased.
He blew a raspberry. "That's enough. Let's get our stuff upstairs."
She nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Let's do that."
Marty grabbed his and his wife's backpacks with a light grunt. They headed upstairs while singing nonsense. He went to the second door on the right, which happened to be their room. She headed to the second door on the left that led into Tommy's room. She walked inside, becoming very quiet. She came to the center of the room.
She saw the curtains and blinds were closed. She eyed the bed, seeing the covers were pulled down. She thought that was strange. She knew Tommy always opened the curtains and blinds and made his bed after he woke up. She approached his dresser. She opened the first drawer, finding it was empty. She looked toward the open closet door. She walked to it in which she found his duffel bag and backpack gone. She became quite frantic.
"Honey!" she yelled as she ran out of the room.
"Lillian, what is it?" he said, coming into the hallway. She came to a stop, her body shaking badly. "What's wrong?"
"Tommy's gone!" Lillian said, whimpering loudly. "He's gone!"
"What?" Marty yelled in much shock.
"His stuff is gone!" Lillian said, beginning to cry. "His bag and backpack aren't in the closet!"
"Oh, shit!" Marty blurted out fearfully. His breathing turned into shudders. "Something tells me he was kidnapped."
"Who would want to kidnap our son?" Lillian asked in uncertainty. Suddenly, an idea clicked in her head. "Wait a minute. It is possible one of Rita's minions kidnapped him because she wants to use him as bait to trap the Power Rangers."
"I agree. We shouldn't forget the Green Ranger appeared early last week," Marty responded, holding up a finger.
"That is right," Lillian commented, nodding rapidly. "I don't understand why they would they allow him to pack his clothes."
"I would say they are planning to keep him as a hostage for a while," Marty suggested. "Anyway, we must report this to the police."
"You go do that downstairs," Lillian said, touching his arm and stroking it with her thumb. "I will go look for a picture to show to the police."
"Okay. We should call Joel and let him know what is going on," Marty commented, swallowing.
"Yes," Lillian agreed. "Come on."
Marty rushed downstairs while speaking inaudible words. Lillian went into their room. She approached her side of the queen-sized bed. She looked around the large room. Its walls were light red. It had a pine dresser and hardwood nightstands. A TV sat on top of the dresser. A VCR was next to it. Two open boxes were near the dresser. The floor was covered in green carpet.
Lillian looked down at the nightstand. She opened the bottom drawer, reaching in. She dug through it until she found a picture of Tommy standing in the front yard of their old house in Moore in the middle of it. She pulled it out, looking at it. She thought it was perfect for the police to look at. She hoped they would find him. She prayed Rita didn't have one of her minions kidnap him. If that happened, she knew the Power Rangers would rescue him and bring him home.