Stolen E-Mails
Summary: Third chapter of what I think will be four.
Rating: What was it before? Keep it as is.
Disclaimer: As above.
Author's Notes: Okay, this is the third chapter. I'm sorry it's been taking me so long, but I have had major writer's block when it comes to this story. The floodgates opened about an hour ago, and you're reading the results.
#2: Although this series has been pretty lighthearted so far, the next two chapters will be more serious. I just couldn't see any feasible way to keep the lightheartedness and still explain what the whole secret thing was. Sorry!
Thanks must go to...everyone who's reviewed. Obviously. And a huge thanks to StarryNights, although I didn't use one of your ideas exactly when you told me one of them I had a sudden burst of inspiration. This chapter's for you!
From: toliver364
To: justchasingrainbows
Subject: Angel Grove awaits you
Date: 11/28/2001
You said before that you didn't know my address, so it's 133C Eastside Avenue.
Come visit!
"Don't completely freak out, Kim," she told herself as her battered car pulled into the familiar streets of Angel Grove. "This is a town, not a prison."
Yet still something wasn't right, no matter how long she tried to stay away the town pulled her back and all her memories with it. Good memories that she wanted to remember, and those which kept her awake at night and made her swear she would never return to California.
"Eastside Avenue," she muttered under her breath. "Where is that?"
Two years ago, she wouldn't have needed a map to get around her home town, but so much had needed to be rebuilt after all that had happened that she found herself not recognising a lot of what she had seen so far. "I'm not ringing him, he'll just gloat. I'll just drive around till I find it." In reality, she needed a bit of time to compose herself before coming face to face with her old friend for the first time in so long. She needed to know how to break the news to him, which would be the right words to say.
But how am I supposed to tell him why I abandoned him and this town? she thought desperately. He'll just get angry at me for not telling him, just like Jason did when I finally told him
Jason had only been told because he had realised that something was wrong when he had visited Florida. He obviously hadn't told Tommy, and for that she was grateful, but she wished that he still wasn't so protective. That time of her life was over now, although she still didn't like to talk about it, and she didn't need protecting any more.
I've built a life of my own, Kim reflected as she drove down Main Street. I don't need to rely on those who thought they could manipulate me any more.
And with that thought, all the repressed memories came flooding back.
I never wanted to leave Angel Grove. But when I did, I couldn't come back. I cut all ties with the place.
I couldn't look at the town in the same way after I realised that my gymnastics coach...wanted more from me than the Perfect 10. Once I knew what I had given up, how could I go back and admit that I'd made the wrong decision?
I didn't give up Tommy for him. I gave him up after the coach made his intentions perfectly clear to me one night. It wasn't the head supremo, Gunther, but one of his younger assistants. Even though I told him no, he wouldn't stop...
Kim pulled her mind away from the night that had signified the end of her world with difficulty. And then I left. Just up and walked it out of the place, all the stuff I could carry with me. I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life.
And then she saw the road sign proclaiming that this road was Eastside Avenue. Looks like this is it, Kim she thought.
There was no turning back. And now she had to watch, as once again her world threatened to crumble around her.
*133C Eastside Avenue*
Tommy was bored. And, understandably, missing Kim.
He hadn't heard from her since telling her his address. Either that meant she hadn't picked it up, didn't want to reply, or was on her way back to Angel Grove.
Jason had been slightly strange when Tommy had told him that Kim might be coming back, and that made him think that maybe his old friend knew more about Kim's problems than he had let on in the past four months. But he had kept quiet, and so Tommy was none the wiser.
On a rare day off from teaching, he was lying on his sofa watching some cartoon show because the remote control was on the table which was the other side of the room. He had no plans for that day, although he should really start getting some Christmas shopping done.
Christmas was a time for families, and his was still as splintered as ever. David had made no effort to get in contact with him, and Tommy supposed that he had decided to keep his girlfriend rather than his family.
He could understand that decision. He just didn't like it.
His distracted watching of the show which seemed to involve a polka dotted tree chasing after a bright orange rabbit was rudely interrupted by someone ringing the doorbell. Yawning, he peeled himself off the couch and walked into the tiny entrance area. Instinctively looking through the peephole, he had to look again to believe who it was standing there.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" he asked happily, greeting Kim with a hug which she returned.
"I said I'd be around for Christmas, and it's the 20th, so here I am," she said, disentangling herslf and looking around her. "You've got a nice place here, you know."
"Yeah, it's not bad," Tommy replied, "When did you get back?"
"About an hour ago. I dropped my stuff at the hotel and came here to say hi."
"So, what now?" Tommy asked. "Have you spoken to Jason or anything?"
"He knows I'm here, but he said he'd be at work when I arrived." Kim said.
"Oh right. So, do you want to come in?" Tommy asked, still more than a little shell-shocked by her sudden appearance.
"Well, yeah if that's okay. I haven't actually got anywhere else to be apart from the hotel, so.." she shrugged. Tommy gestured for her to follow him, and they walked into the sitting room. She looked at the TV, and said dubiously, "Okay.... someone should tell that tree they're not supposed to speak."
Tommy flicked the television off. "I couldn't find the remote," he said, a little self-conscious.
"And it's your day off, right?" Kim questioned. He nodded, and Kim laughed. "I know that feeling. One time when both Jane and I were out of work neither of us could be bothered to find the remote or get up, so we ended up watching a four hour omnibus of Judge Judy."
"A little more mature than the Cartoon Network though, you have to admit," Tommy said, sitting down on one corner of the sofa, Kim took the other.
"Well yeah, but I won't hold that against you," she said, taking time to look around the room. "You don't have any decorations yet?"
"No, I'm probably going to my parents on the day, so there didn't seem any point in it," Tommy said.
"Who else is going to be there?" Kim said. Catching Tommy's look, she added "Yes, that was my feeble attempt at being subtle. What I really should have said is, Will David and Kat be there?"
"I don't know," Tommy said, running a hand absently through his hair. "I haven't heard a thing from either of them since my last failed attempt."
"Don't you mean your only failed attempt?" Kim said. "Still, I guess you need to give it time. Wait for them both to calm down more and then see where it takes you."
"If they're there at Christmas they can't exactly avoid me," he admitted.
"Got that right," Kim said. There was an awkward pause as both of them struggled to think of safe subjects to talk about. Although they had been anticipating this meeting since e-mails were first exchanged, neither had ever thought of how to bring up subjects that were important to them.
Finally, Tommy chickened out of saying what he wanted to, and said desperately, "So, how is the music thingy going?"
"It's going okay at the moment. So far all we've got is a promise of stock from a friend of Ben's, and money for a site. But we're getting started properly after Christmas is over with."
"I never pictured you as a business entrepreneur," Tommy said.
"No, me either, but it looks as though things are finally starting up now. We were waiting so long for something to happen, and now it has." Kim bit at a hangnail and then inspected her hand. She had no idea where to begin... "Look, I need to say this before...anything else. I should have told you years ago, but I couldn't."
Tommy was quietly looking at her, knowing what was about to come. Knowing that finally he was about to get an explanation for her sudden abhorrence of Angel Grove.
"It has to do with the letter I sent you that time...the one where I told you that I'd found the guy that I was meant to be with." There was a long pause before she said haltingly, "I had found him...but I was letting him go in that letter."
"You mean that there never was another guy," Tommy said, keeping all expression from his voice.
"There wasn't, but it's complicated. Something happened to make me write that letter. Something that made me fear the thought of ever seeing you again." Kim wasn't trying to over-dramatise the event, she just wanted to get the telling over and done with. Still he remained silent, and by this time she had given up looking at him, knowing that if she did so she would lose control. So she focused on her hands instead, as though they held the key to the meaning of life. "Do you remember that I told you there were millions of different coaches at the compound, and some of them were pretty young?"
Tommy didn't like where this story was going, but had to say something. "Yeah."
"One of them...was very creepy. I hadn't been used to working with coaches for a long time, but I knew that it wasn't just me who felt that something wasn't right with him. He was always looking, and I'm not saying that because he was mainly a spotting coach. When a bunch of us were anywhere he always seemed to be there."
"What did he do?" Tommy asked, suddenly furious. Kim looked at him, her eyes slowly overfilling with tears.
"I was practising one night, god knows I haven't had much luck with practising after hours, have I?" she said, referring to when Kat had been under a spell and Kim had fallen off the balance beam. "I needed the practise, and he was the only coach, or person come to that, who was around and could spot me without causing disruption to someone else's schedule." She tried to laugh, but it got stuck in her throat. "And then..." At that point, reliving the memories in her brain, she completely broke down for a few minutes. Tommy came closer, but didn't know what to do. "God, it was like one of those crappy made-for-TV movies. As soon as...it was over, I ran. Packed up my stuff and left, never told anyone where I was going."
"You never told anyone there what had happened?" Tommy said disbelivingly, still trying to come to terms with what Kim had been through and why she hadn't told him any of this.
"I did, after about two weeks. I had just walked out with as much stuff as I could fit in my car, didn't tell anyone where I was going. I had to get things clear, to know exactly what to say when I told Coach Schmidt. I knew that there would be a lot of people who wouldn't believe me."
"And did they?"
"Yeah, but only after he admitted to it, and that took him a month." Kim shuddered, remembering the long days and even longer nights that she had been worrying until he had finally broken. "And then of course, Jason arrived in the middle of it. I was making a statement, and one of my friends thought I had told everyone."
"Kim, forgive me for saying this, but..why did you have to break up with me and completely abandon Angel Grove? Surely you trusted me enough to know that I wouldn't leave you, that I would be there for you?" Tommy's initial anger was fading now that he knew they guy wasn't still wandering around, unpunished, but confusion was settling in.
"I doubt you'll ever know what goes through someone's mind when that happens. I lost all faith in everyone. Felt abused, which I had been, but I also felt betrayed by everyone and it's only after the counselling that I know I shouldn't have felt this way."
Finally contact was made, Tommy slid to the other end of the couch and put an arm around Kim, who's emotional state was still teetering on the imbalanced. "Betrayed by whom?"
"Everyone. My parents for letting me go to Florida, Zordon for not checking up on all the ex-Rangers and realising what had happened, my friends at the compound for not practising in the same room as me, and you for letting me go and not being there when I needed you."
The last words were whispered so softly that Tommy could barely hear them, and when he did they caused a crack in his heart. "If you had told me, I would have been there."
"I know," Kim said, still whispering. Somehow it was easier to keep the tremors out of her voice that way. "And I was going to tell you."
His heart sank. "Murianthius?"
"Yeah. After that it just got harder and harder to deal with what I knew you were going to say, or what I feared you would do." Kim finally tore her eyes away from her hands.
"So, why now?" Tommy asked. He knew what he hoped she would say, but so many things had changed that should have stayed the same.
She let out a long sigh. "I guess because I had a better idea that you wouldn't be so angry with me for not telling you now. We've been in contact for three months or whatever, and I knew that you would be better with it than if I had told you completely out of the blue. You knew that something was wrong already."
"I never suspected anything like this, Kim," Tommy said. "I don't know what I thought, but the way you were speaking, typing whatever, I didn't get the impression that it was anything big."
"I guess I learned to put it behind me, which was something that I never honestly saw myself doing," Kim said. "But still, I never wanted to come back to Angel Grove, to face what I could have had until I gave it up for a life that was completely wrong for me."
"And now? You're going back to Seattle in a month or so." Tommy said. "You're still running away in a sense."
Kim pondered for a moment. Was she really running away from the demons that still haunted her, or going to what she knew was a better life?
Tommy saw her indecision, and said gently,
"If you weren't running away, why did you stay in Seattle for so long with no realistic prospects? Even now the whole thing isn't set in stone. There's still a chance that you can make things right again." He took her hand, hoping against hope that the double meaning was coming through to her.
Kim wiped her eyes with her free hand. It was becoming clear what her choices were. Either stay in Seattle, with two friends but essentially on her own, trying to follow through a pipe dream that was never really hers. Or not go back, stay here in Angel Grove, and try to get her life back to normal. To regain the love of someone who, during those sleepless nights, she had pictured learning of what had happened and left her. The visions that had eventually convinced her to break it off, to go through the nightmare alone.
"There...could be a chance that I might stay," she said carefully. And a flash of the Kim that Tommy knew shone through as she said "Depends what incentive I'm given."
Tommy laughed. Yes, she was something special all right. To go through a nightmare such as this on her own, and still admirably retain her old character, showed an unbreakable spirit. And that they would have a chance again...it was almost as though his Christmas wish was being granted five days early. "And what exactly am I going to have to do to convince you that you need to be here...with me?"
"Oh, I'm sure that I can think of something," Kim said. "For starters, I am determined to get you on speaking terms with your brother again."
"And how do you plan to do that?" he asked sceptically. Kim grinned, knowing what his reaction would be, and still ecstatically happy about his reaction to her earlier news.
"By being your date for Christmas Dinner. That is, if you'll have me?" She said, eyes dancing. Tommy laughed, and caught her up in his embrace, somewhere she hadn't been for a long time.
"Do you think I was going to let you eat some crappy hotel dinner on Christmas Day?" he asked. "As long as your family don't want you with them, I'd be honoured to have you as my date. Even if it is only to see my mom and dad's face when they realise."
"What about David and Kat?" Kim inquired, twisting in his arms to face him. "I suppose you're not at all interested in what their reaction will be to see me there?"
"David won't have a clue who you are until Kat explains it," Tommy told her. "I know that Kat will be pissed off, so why should I want to wait to see it?"
"I've missed this," Kim said unthinkingly. "I never realised until now how much I missed your sense of humour when I'm with you. It never was the same when we were on opposing ends of a technology super-highway."
"I know," Tommy said. "So, after Christmas, will you give me your answer?"
"What?" Kim practically yelled in his ear, causing him to pull away slightly. "You expect me to make a life-altering decision such as this in five days?"
"Well, if you're not sure-" Tommy backtracked, but was interrupted by Kim's giggle.
"That's okay, because I already know what I'm going to do anyway."
"Tell me then!"
"No!" Kim said, laughing even more. It always feels best to laugh straight after a sad time. It somehow feels as though you're cleansing out the bad things and leaving your soul clear for good things to happen again. "You said you wanted an answer on Christams Day, so that's what you're gonna get."
"Please?" Tommy said beseechingly, giving her an anguished look with his brown, puppy-dog eyes. Kim would almost have given in, if it hadn't been for his last words. "I won't be able to do any Christmas shopping if you don't tell me."
"You haven't done any Christams shopping yet?" Kim said, shocked.
"Nope, not a thing."
"Get your jacket," she ordered, jumping up from the couch. "I always knew you had a problem with being late, but this is bordering on the ridiculous. It's the 20th today, for God's sake! We can take my car."
"Okay, okay," Tommy said. "But on the way back from whichever place we go to we're stopping off at your hotel and collecting your stuff. There's no way you're staying at a hotel for a month. I refuse."
Kim smiled shyly. "Okay, but let's go. We haven't got any time to lose, the place is going to be packed."
"Where are we going to go?" Tommy asked as they walked out of his apartment and towards Kim's car.
"I was thinking the mall."
"I was afraid of that. Is there any chance you've somehow disinherited the ability to shop til you drop?" Tommy pleaded, even though secretly he was glad at the chance to spend time with her.
"Sorry."
To be continued....whenever I get a chance, but my prom is on Thursday so it probably won't be before then.
Summary: Third chapter of what I think will be four.
Rating: What was it before? Keep it as is.
Disclaimer: As above.
Author's Notes: Okay, this is the third chapter. I'm sorry it's been taking me so long, but I have had major writer's block when it comes to this story. The floodgates opened about an hour ago, and you're reading the results.
#2: Although this series has been pretty lighthearted so far, the next two chapters will be more serious. I just couldn't see any feasible way to keep the lightheartedness and still explain what the whole secret thing was. Sorry!
Thanks must go to...everyone who's reviewed. Obviously. And a huge thanks to StarryNights, although I didn't use one of your ideas exactly when you told me one of them I had a sudden burst of inspiration. This chapter's for you!
From: toliver364
To: justchasingrainbows
Subject: Angel Grove awaits you
Date: 11/28/2001
You said before that you didn't know my address, so it's 133C Eastside Avenue.
Come visit!
"Don't completely freak out, Kim," she told herself as her battered car pulled into the familiar streets of Angel Grove. "This is a town, not a prison."
Yet still something wasn't right, no matter how long she tried to stay away the town pulled her back and all her memories with it. Good memories that she wanted to remember, and those which kept her awake at night and made her swear she would never return to California.
"Eastside Avenue," she muttered under her breath. "Where is that?"
Two years ago, she wouldn't have needed a map to get around her home town, but so much had needed to be rebuilt after all that had happened that she found herself not recognising a lot of what she had seen so far. "I'm not ringing him, he'll just gloat. I'll just drive around till I find it." In reality, she needed a bit of time to compose herself before coming face to face with her old friend for the first time in so long. She needed to know how to break the news to him, which would be the right words to say.
But how am I supposed to tell him why I abandoned him and this town? she thought desperately. He'll just get angry at me for not telling him, just like Jason did when I finally told him
Jason had only been told because he had realised that something was wrong when he had visited Florida. He obviously hadn't told Tommy, and for that she was grateful, but she wished that he still wasn't so protective. That time of her life was over now, although she still didn't like to talk about it, and she didn't need protecting any more.
I've built a life of my own, Kim reflected as she drove down Main Street. I don't need to rely on those who thought they could manipulate me any more.
And with that thought, all the repressed memories came flooding back.
I never wanted to leave Angel Grove. But when I did, I couldn't come back. I cut all ties with the place.
I couldn't look at the town in the same way after I realised that my gymnastics coach...wanted more from me than the Perfect 10. Once I knew what I had given up, how could I go back and admit that I'd made the wrong decision?
I didn't give up Tommy for him. I gave him up after the coach made his intentions perfectly clear to me one night. It wasn't the head supremo, Gunther, but one of his younger assistants. Even though I told him no, he wouldn't stop...
Kim pulled her mind away from the night that had signified the end of her world with difficulty. And then I left. Just up and walked it out of the place, all the stuff I could carry with me. I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life.
And then she saw the road sign proclaiming that this road was Eastside Avenue. Looks like this is it, Kim she thought.
There was no turning back. And now she had to watch, as once again her world threatened to crumble around her.
*133C Eastside Avenue*
Tommy was bored. And, understandably, missing Kim.
He hadn't heard from her since telling her his address. Either that meant she hadn't picked it up, didn't want to reply, or was on her way back to Angel Grove.
Jason had been slightly strange when Tommy had told him that Kim might be coming back, and that made him think that maybe his old friend knew more about Kim's problems than he had let on in the past four months. But he had kept quiet, and so Tommy was none the wiser.
On a rare day off from teaching, he was lying on his sofa watching some cartoon show because the remote control was on the table which was the other side of the room. He had no plans for that day, although he should really start getting some Christmas shopping done.
Christmas was a time for families, and his was still as splintered as ever. David had made no effort to get in contact with him, and Tommy supposed that he had decided to keep his girlfriend rather than his family.
He could understand that decision. He just didn't like it.
His distracted watching of the show which seemed to involve a polka dotted tree chasing after a bright orange rabbit was rudely interrupted by someone ringing the doorbell. Yawning, he peeled himself off the couch and walked into the tiny entrance area. Instinctively looking through the peephole, he had to look again to believe who it was standing there.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" he asked happily, greeting Kim with a hug which she returned.
"I said I'd be around for Christmas, and it's the 20th, so here I am," she said, disentangling herslf and looking around her. "You've got a nice place here, you know."
"Yeah, it's not bad," Tommy replied, "When did you get back?"
"About an hour ago. I dropped my stuff at the hotel and came here to say hi."
"So, what now?" Tommy asked. "Have you spoken to Jason or anything?"
"He knows I'm here, but he said he'd be at work when I arrived." Kim said.
"Oh right. So, do you want to come in?" Tommy asked, still more than a little shell-shocked by her sudden appearance.
"Well, yeah if that's okay. I haven't actually got anywhere else to be apart from the hotel, so.." she shrugged. Tommy gestured for her to follow him, and they walked into the sitting room. She looked at the TV, and said dubiously, "Okay.... someone should tell that tree they're not supposed to speak."
Tommy flicked the television off. "I couldn't find the remote," he said, a little self-conscious.
"And it's your day off, right?" Kim questioned. He nodded, and Kim laughed. "I know that feeling. One time when both Jane and I were out of work neither of us could be bothered to find the remote or get up, so we ended up watching a four hour omnibus of Judge Judy."
"A little more mature than the Cartoon Network though, you have to admit," Tommy said, sitting down on one corner of the sofa, Kim took the other.
"Well yeah, but I won't hold that against you," she said, taking time to look around the room. "You don't have any decorations yet?"
"No, I'm probably going to my parents on the day, so there didn't seem any point in it," Tommy said.
"Who else is going to be there?" Kim said. Catching Tommy's look, she added "Yes, that was my feeble attempt at being subtle. What I really should have said is, Will David and Kat be there?"
"I don't know," Tommy said, running a hand absently through his hair. "I haven't heard a thing from either of them since my last failed attempt."
"Don't you mean your only failed attempt?" Kim said. "Still, I guess you need to give it time. Wait for them both to calm down more and then see where it takes you."
"If they're there at Christmas they can't exactly avoid me," he admitted.
"Got that right," Kim said. There was an awkward pause as both of them struggled to think of safe subjects to talk about. Although they had been anticipating this meeting since e-mails were first exchanged, neither had ever thought of how to bring up subjects that were important to them.
Finally, Tommy chickened out of saying what he wanted to, and said desperately, "So, how is the music thingy going?"
"It's going okay at the moment. So far all we've got is a promise of stock from a friend of Ben's, and money for a site. But we're getting started properly after Christmas is over with."
"I never pictured you as a business entrepreneur," Tommy said.
"No, me either, but it looks as though things are finally starting up now. We were waiting so long for something to happen, and now it has." Kim bit at a hangnail and then inspected her hand. She had no idea where to begin... "Look, I need to say this before...anything else. I should have told you years ago, but I couldn't."
Tommy was quietly looking at her, knowing what was about to come. Knowing that finally he was about to get an explanation for her sudden abhorrence of Angel Grove.
"It has to do with the letter I sent you that time...the one where I told you that I'd found the guy that I was meant to be with." There was a long pause before she said haltingly, "I had found him...but I was letting him go in that letter."
"You mean that there never was another guy," Tommy said, keeping all expression from his voice.
"There wasn't, but it's complicated. Something happened to make me write that letter. Something that made me fear the thought of ever seeing you again." Kim wasn't trying to over-dramatise the event, she just wanted to get the telling over and done with. Still he remained silent, and by this time she had given up looking at him, knowing that if she did so she would lose control. So she focused on her hands instead, as though they held the key to the meaning of life. "Do you remember that I told you there were millions of different coaches at the compound, and some of them were pretty young?"
Tommy didn't like where this story was going, but had to say something. "Yeah."
"One of them...was very creepy. I hadn't been used to working with coaches for a long time, but I knew that it wasn't just me who felt that something wasn't right with him. He was always looking, and I'm not saying that because he was mainly a spotting coach. When a bunch of us were anywhere he always seemed to be there."
"What did he do?" Tommy asked, suddenly furious. Kim looked at him, her eyes slowly overfilling with tears.
"I was practising one night, god knows I haven't had much luck with practising after hours, have I?" she said, referring to when Kat had been under a spell and Kim had fallen off the balance beam. "I needed the practise, and he was the only coach, or person come to that, who was around and could spot me without causing disruption to someone else's schedule." She tried to laugh, but it got stuck in her throat. "And then..." At that point, reliving the memories in her brain, she completely broke down for a few minutes. Tommy came closer, but didn't know what to do. "God, it was like one of those crappy made-for-TV movies. As soon as...it was over, I ran. Packed up my stuff and left, never told anyone where I was going."
"You never told anyone there what had happened?" Tommy said disbelivingly, still trying to come to terms with what Kim had been through and why she hadn't told him any of this.
"I did, after about two weeks. I had just walked out with as much stuff as I could fit in my car, didn't tell anyone where I was going. I had to get things clear, to know exactly what to say when I told Coach Schmidt. I knew that there would be a lot of people who wouldn't believe me."
"And did they?"
"Yeah, but only after he admitted to it, and that took him a month." Kim shuddered, remembering the long days and even longer nights that she had been worrying until he had finally broken. "And then of course, Jason arrived in the middle of it. I was making a statement, and one of my friends thought I had told everyone."
"Kim, forgive me for saying this, but..why did you have to break up with me and completely abandon Angel Grove? Surely you trusted me enough to know that I wouldn't leave you, that I would be there for you?" Tommy's initial anger was fading now that he knew they guy wasn't still wandering around, unpunished, but confusion was settling in.
"I doubt you'll ever know what goes through someone's mind when that happens. I lost all faith in everyone. Felt abused, which I had been, but I also felt betrayed by everyone and it's only after the counselling that I know I shouldn't have felt this way."
Finally contact was made, Tommy slid to the other end of the couch and put an arm around Kim, who's emotional state was still teetering on the imbalanced. "Betrayed by whom?"
"Everyone. My parents for letting me go to Florida, Zordon for not checking up on all the ex-Rangers and realising what had happened, my friends at the compound for not practising in the same room as me, and you for letting me go and not being there when I needed you."
The last words were whispered so softly that Tommy could barely hear them, and when he did they caused a crack in his heart. "If you had told me, I would have been there."
"I know," Kim said, still whispering. Somehow it was easier to keep the tremors out of her voice that way. "And I was going to tell you."
His heart sank. "Murianthius?"
"Yeah. After that it just got harder and harder to deal with what I knew you were going to say, or what I feared you would do." Kim finally tore her eyes away from her hands.
"So, why now?" Tommy asked. He knew what he hoped she would say, but so many things had changed that should have stayed the same.
She let out a long sigh. "I guess because I had a better idea that you wouldn't be so angry with me for not telling you now. We've been in contact for three months or whatever, and I knew that you would be better with it than if I had told you completely out of the blue. You knew that something was wrong already."
"I never suspected anything like this, Kim," Tommy said. "I don't know what I thought, but the way you were speaking, typing whatever, I didn't get the impression that it was anything big."
"I guess I learned to put it behind me, which was something that I never honestly saw myself doing," Kim said. "But still, I never wanted to come back to Angel Grove, to face what I could have had until I gave it up for a life that was completely wrong for me."
"And now? You're going back to Seattle in a month or so." Tommy said. "You're still running away in a sense."
Kim pondered for a moment. Was she really running away from the demons that still haunted her, or going to what she knew was a better life?
Tommy saw her indecision, and said gently,
"If you weren't running away, why did you stay in Seattle for so long with no realistic prospects? Even now the whole thing isn't set in stone. There's still a chance that you can make things right again." He took her hand, hoping against hope that the double meaning was coming through to her.
Kim wiped her eyes with her free hand. It was becoming clear what her choices were. Either stay in Seattle, with two friends but essentially on her own, trying to follow through a pipe dream that was never really hers. Or not go back, stay here in Angel Grove, and try to get her life back to normal. To regain the love of someone who, during those sleepless nights, she had pictured learning of what had happened and left her. The visions that had eventually convinced her to break it off, to go through the nightmare alone.
"There...could be a chance that I might stay," she said carefully. And a flash of the Kim that Tommy knew shone through as she said "Depends what incentive I'm given."
Tommy laughed. Yes, she was something special all right. To go through a nightmare such as this on her own, and still admirably retain her old character, showed an unbreakable spirit. And that they would have a chance again...it was almost as though his Christmas wish was being granted five days early. "And what exactly am I going to have to do to convince you that you need to be here...with me?"
"Oh, I'm sure that I can think of something," Kim said. "For starters, I am determined to get you on speaking terms with your brother again."
"And how do you plan to do that?" he asked sceptically. Kim grinned, knowing what his reaction would be, and still ecstatically happy about his reaction to her earlier news.
"By being your date for Christmas Dinner. That is, if you'll have me?" She said, eyes dancing. Tommy laughed, and caught her up in his embrace, somewhere she hadn't been for a long time.
"Do you think I was going to let you eat some crappy hotel dinner on Christmas Day?" he asked. "As long as your family don't want you with them, I'd be honoured to have you as my date. Even if it is only to see my mom and dad's face when they realise."
"What about David and Kat?" Kim inquired, twisting in his arms to face him. "I suppose you're not at all interested in what their reaction will be to see me there?"
"David won't have a clue who you are until Kat explains it," Tommy told her. "I know that Kat will be pissed off, so why should I want to wait to see it?"
"I've missed this," Kim said unthinkingly. "I never realised until now how much I missed your sense of humour when I'm with you. It never was the same when we were on opposing ends of a technology super-highway."
"I know," Tommy said. "So, after Christmas, will you give me your answer?"
"What?" Kim practically yelled in his ear, causing him to pull away slightly. "You expect me to make a life-altering decision such as this in five days?"
"Well, if you're not sure-" Tommy backtracked, but was interrupted by Kim's giggle.
"That's okay, because I already know what I'm going to do anyway."
"Tell me then!"
"No!" Kim said, laughing even more. It always feels best to laugh straight after a sad time. It somehow feels as though you're cleansing out the bad things and leaving your soul clear for good things to happen again. "You said you wanted an answer on Christams Day, so that's what you're gonna get."
"Please?" Tommy said beseechingly, giving her an anguished look with his brown, puppy-dog eyes. Kim would almost have given in, if it hadn't been for his last words. "I won't be able to do any Christmas shopping if you don't tell me."
"You haven't done any Christams shopping yet?" Kim said, shocked.
"Nope, not a thing."
"Get your jacket," she ordered, jumping up from the couch. "I always knew you had a problem with being late, but this is bordering on the ridiculous. It's the 20th today, for God's sake! We can take my car."
"Okay, okay," Tommy said. "But on the way back from whichever place we go to we're stopping off at your hotel and collecting your stuff. There's no way you're staying at a hotel for a month. I refuse."
Kim smiled shyly. "Okay, but let's go. We haven't got any time to lose, the place is going to be packed."
"Where are we going to go?" Tommy asked as they walked out of his apartment and towards Kim's car.
"I was thinking the mall."
"I was afraid of that. Is there any chance you've somehow disinherited the ability to shop til you drop?" Tommy pleaded, even though secretly he was glad at the chance to spend time with her.
"Sorry."
To be continued....whenever I get a chance, but my prom is on Thursday so it probably won't be before then.