Disclaimer : I don't own a thing other than the plot and the story, the characters all belong to someone else…unfortunately.
A/N : Thank you one and all for the kind reviews, I really wasn't expecting to get so many, but I'm glad everyone likes the story so far. This chapter will once again be done in Kim's POV and it's set during the car ride to Jason and Trini's home and what happens once they get there. Some things concerning Kim's past will be revealed here…very subtly though (so don't believe exactly everything your reading). As always, R&R. Thanks!
THE POWER RANGERS IN :
THE HARDEST THING I EVER DID
Chapter 3
"I could never tell him the truth…" I whispered quietly and hoped she didn't hear me. The little red car was barreling down the highway passing other motorists like they were sitting still. Indeed, I could never tell him the truth…the shame I felt each morning when I looked at myself in the mirror, the sorrow I felt each night as I thought about what I had let go…the pain I felt for the pain I had caused him…the list could go on and on and I'm the only one to blame for every thing that's on it. Me, no one else, I've caused every bit of heartache I've felt over the last eight years…well, almost all of it.
Trini and Jason sat up front talking, completely unaware of my state of mind, or maybe they were just being respectful of my feelings on not wanting to intrude on it. But could I be blamed for all of it? I wondered as I delved back down into my dark thoughts, I'm not really sure, maybe…maybe not. Would things have turned out differently if I hadn't moved to Florida to train for the Games? Probably. Would I change a thing? I can't even answer that, if I didn't go then I wouldn't have lived the nightmare I've been living for the past eight years. I certainly want to change that but I wouldn't want to loose the experience of the Games, even though I did as badly as I did.
I turned to look out the window and caught Trini's eyes as she looked worriedly back at me from the make-up mirror on the car's sun visor. I focused on the scenery flying past outside of the car and plunged back into my dark thoughts.
That actually wasn't my fault, I had to relearn everything. I was going through extensive therapy at the time of the Games but I refused to back out. I am not a quitter, never have been and never will be. I was relearning everything, from the basics of gymnastics on up. Coach was surprised I did as well as I did. Even he didn't expect me to do very good…
I thought of Tommy the whole entire time. There wasn't a day that he didn't occupy my thoughts, or my dreams.
I just don't know, even after all this time I'm still not really ready to talk about it. The pain, the outrage and despair. I'd seen a psychologist for a while after the accident had occurred, but that didn't help much. She couldn't help me remember the missing pieces of my life. There had been a blow to my head, I can't even remember that…my spinal cord had been pinched and a few of the vertebrae had been fractured. Like the old saying says, when you fall off of the horse you have to get back up and ride or you'll never get on again…I never got back on, actually I never got back up.
The only thing I remember after the accident is the sound of the sirens and the frantic chatter of the passerby's. Then waking up in the hospital and the doctors talking to me and the nurses prodding me with instruments.
*Flashback*
'Don't move,' the doctor had told me just as I woke up. Of coarse I didn't listen and the pain that flew through my body was unbearable, it felt like liquid fire was surging through my veins. I don't even remember if I screamed or not.
'Do you know who you are?' What kind of stupid question was that? I told him my name; he then asked me if I knew where I was. I answered the hospital, duh, logical conclusion there Doc Einstein.
'Do you remember how you got here?' Then the panic struck full force, how did I get here? Why did I feel like I'd just been run over by a semi and why were all of these wires and tubes attached to me? 'What's going on?!' I screamed, I must have passed out since I don't remember anything further after that, other than blinding white-hot pain.
*End Flashback*
The pain began to recede a few weeks later and the doctors told me there was a chance I wouldn't be able to walk due the injuries I had sustained in the accident. My backbone had been fractured, not broken but fractured…anything stressful to jar the muscles in the back could pinch my spinal cord again so that I'd loose control of my legs. I was stubborn and against the advise of the doctor's I went back to training, if I was going to loose the control over my muscles it was going to be on my own terms and not while lying flat on my back. I didn't get back up on the horse but I sure as hell was gonna get back up on that balance beam! Sure, the doctors didn't like that I went back to training but they didn't stand in my way…they signed the release forms for me.
Things started to get worse from there on and the calls from Tommy became far and few in between. He had much more important things on his mind and I didn't want him to worry about me. I never told him what occurred or about what was happening to me…the less he knew the better. I was hoping that once the letter reached him it wouldn't hurt him as much, hopefully enough distance had been put between us.
I got letters from the others asking what was going on. I fed each of them the same line that I had met someone else. I tried seeming as heartless as possible, like I had truly gotten over him. It was the hardest thing I'd ever had to do but I didn't want him to get hurt in battle on account of me, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if that had happened.
I looked up and out the front windshield, past Jason and Trini. A tractor trailer suddenly swerved over in front of Jase's car, I saw Trini throw her hands up and scream as Jason veered off the road and down into the median. My heart thundering I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed for it to be all over with. I felt the car come to a stand still and slowly opened my eyes to peer ahead at my two best friends.
Trini had her hand pressed against her chest and was breathing unevenly, Jason was just turning toward her asking if she was all right. He got a barely discernable yeah from her then turned around to look at me. I never even heard what he said to me, I was looking out the windshield at the huge rig in front of us. It had jack-knifed right before us with the trailer coming off and overturning into the median, coming to a rest no more than fourteen feet from the front end of our car.
Jason and Trini said something to me, I'm not quite certain what it was but I numbly nodded my head in answer. I was far to involved in my own thoughts at the moment, but I do recall what I think was car doors closing…
The sound of twisting metal and shattering glass echoed in my ears. Brakes squealing…the car stopping…the smell of gas and oil…people talking all at once. Then the sirens. Suddenly someone was knocking on the rear window, I looked up into the face of a police officer. I rolled down the window and smiled up at him, "Are you alright Miss?" he asked. I suddenly realized that both Trini and Jase were no longer in the car with me.
"Um, yeah." I answered and looked wearily around for my friends.
"There up with my partner making a report on the incident. Are you sure you're ok?" he asked again. "We have enough ambulances here, we can have you looked over if you think you may have been hurt."
I looked back up at him, I'd been wearing my seatbelt, there was no chance of me getting hurt. "I'm fine," I said again.
"Ok, if you're sure." he said and looked toward the front of the car. "Here your friends come." he said then walked away.
"You're back with the land of the living," Jason said and gently laughed as he and Trini got back into the car. "Everything's ok and there doesn't seem to be any severe damage so the officers said we can go. If they have any questions about the accident, they said they'll call us at the house." He paused as he started the car up, "You sure you're ok back there Kim? You kind of spaced out on us there for awhile…"
"Was just thinking, that's all." I answered as Jason pulled the car back onto the highway. "I'm fine." It was becoming a habit to lie to my best friends, I'll have to watch out and make sure I don't start to lie to myself, or if I do I'll have to make certain I don't believe it.
"Well, we're almost to the house," Trini started to say. "The gang should be showing up in a few hours, you wanna get a few hours sleep before they get there?" She was worried about the jetlag. Getting some sleep actually sounded pretty good. I nodded my head yeah.
We were on the outskirts of Angel Grove, it was a well-maintained neighborhood and the house that Jason pulled up to was very…I don't really have the words to explain it. It was large, but not overly large for a family consisting of just two people. Probably enough rooms for friends when they decided to drop by on surprise visits or something of the like. It had a three car garage…why they would need the third car port was beyond me…
Two slim flowerbeds ran parallel up each side of the driveway and continued up around the garage and the house. The house was pale yellow with the shutters done in a dark red almost looking black, it actually looked pretty decent together, amazingly.
I noticed for the first time the remote opener for a garage door clipped to Jase's sun visor. He pushed on one of the three buttons on the remote and the first garage door, the one nearest to the house slowly began to draw upwards. Jason pulled the car in and I noticed the little yellow beetle already parked in the garage. "Must be your car, huh Trini?" I asked and smiled mischievously at her.
"Don't you dare bust on my car girl!" She said and glared at me but I could see the smile hidden just below the surface. A glint of white over in the far stall caught my eye and as I got out of the car I wondered over toward the glint. What in the hell? was my last coherent thought before peaceful oblivion claimed me.
Hmmm, and just what did Kim find over in that far stall? Well, tell me what you think of this chapter. I'm loving all the reviews!
