Chapter 10
After they ate breakfast, they sat around and talked for a little
while. Jason looked at his watch. "I should be getting home, as much as
I hate to say it." he said, getting up and stretching.
"Are you sure? You are welcome to stay here longer, if you would
like." Tommy told him.
Jason shook his head. "Nah, I should be getting home. Besides, we
leave again tomorrow morning, don't we?" he asked.
"Yes we do." Billy replied, following Jason out the door.
"See ya later Tommy." they all said in unison, heading out the
door. "See ya tomorrow." Tommy said.
Jason was dreading what would happen to him when he went home.
"Hey Mom. Something smells good, what is it?" he asked. She smiled.
"It's a surprise, you'll have to wait until dinner to find out." she
told him. "Mom, remember, I'm leaving tomorrow after school." he
reminded her, trying to sneak a bite of what she was making. She
slapped him on the shoulder playfully. "You have to wait, just like the
rest of us. I remember, you've only told me about 10 times in the past
3 days." she told him. He just smiled and walked to his room.
Later that night, Jason was in his room doing his homework when
he heard the front door slam shut. He winced, because he knew his dad
was home. He got up, stretched, and walked out to the kitchen for
dinner. "Hey Dad." he greeted as he sat down. His only reply was a
grunt from the other end of the table. Once they were done, he excused
himself and went back to his room. His dad followed him a few minutes
later. "Jason, we need to talk." came the angry voice of his father.
"Uh, what about Dad?" he asked. "You told Tommy's dad what's been
happening here. I told you not to tell anyone." he said. "I didn't mean
to! I was forced into telling them." Jason said. His father shook his
head. "Nonsense. You can't be forced to do something you don't want to
do." he told him. Jason sighed. "Dad, listen. I didn't do it on
purpose. Every time Tommy brought it up, I told him to just forget
about it. He practically forced me into telling his dad." he explained.
"How long has Tommy known about this?" his dad asked. Jason shrugged.
"I'm not sure. He just found out a couple weeks ago." he lied. "How
long has Tommy known about this?" his father asked again. "2 years."
Jason mumbled. "Does anyone else know?" he asked. Jason shook his head.
"No." he lied again. "Who else knows? You can't lie to me Jason, I know
you've told more people." he said. "Fine. Billy, Kimberly, and Trini
know." Jason mumbled. "Aha! I knew you told more people. That's going
to get you into trouble some day, Jason. You need to learn how to
listen to people." he said. Jason finally lost it. He glared at his
father. "Do whatever you want to me. I could care less anymore. I'm
leaving tomorrow after school, and I'm not going to come back. I'll be
18 in two weeks, so I don't need to come back here when I get back." he
cried. "But you still have to come back here. You can't just leave like
that." his father said. Jason laughed. "Oh, but I can. And I will. Even
if I don't have any place to go, I'll go to Tommy's. His dad told me if
I ever needed to crash there, I could." he said. He knew he shouldn't
have said that. The next thing he knew, his dad grabbed him and whipped
him off the bed. Jason couldn't even move after his dad left the room.
The next morning, Jason was waiting outside the school with
Billy. The two guys were waiting for Tommy and the girls to get to
school. They had arrived almost half an hour early, because they needed
to talk things over. Billy noticed Jason walking very slow, and wincing
every time he took another step. Billy frowned. "It happened again,
didn't it?" he asked. "Forget it Billy." Jason answered, a little more
harshly then he meant to. Billy shrugged. "Fine, whatever. But I'm
concerned about you Jase, we all are." he said. Jason sighed. "I know
Billy. And I'm sorry, but this is making me so mad." he said, as they
stood by the fence, waiting for the other guys. "Jason!" he heard a
voice behind him yell. He turned around to see a dark skinned guy
jogging towards him. Billy turned around slowly when he heard the
voice. "Billy! Jason!" came the voice again. Billy shielded his eyes
from the sun. "Zack?" he asked. The guy came running up to them. "Long
time no see. How you guys doing?" he asked, clapping the fellow rangers
on the back. "We're all doing great Zack. I thought you were living
with your dad now?" Jason said. Zack nodded. "I am. But I wanted to
come back for a visit, see how all my friends were. Where's Kim and
Trini?" he asked. "Coming right up behind you." Billy told him, as the
three guys turned around. "Zack!" Trini yelled, running into his arms.
Kimberly followed behind. "Hey Zack. How have you been?" she asked.
"Excellent. My dad and I are getting along great, I've gotten to know
my two little step-brothers, and my school is great." he said, noticing
the look of pain on Jason's face as he clapped him on the shoulder.
"Are you ok Jason?" he asked. Trini shook her head. "It's been
happening again, Zack. More than it used to." she told him. Zack
frowned. "You still haven't told anyone about that, Jason? I thought we
told you to almost 3 years ago." he said. Kimberly shrugged. "Zack, did
he listen to us then? No. And he doesn't listen to us anymore now,
either." she said, as Tommy sent her a look. "Zack, I don't think
you've met Tommy." Billy said, changing the subject after noticing how
uncomfortable both of his friends were becoming.
Zack stuck out his hand. "Hey man, I'm Zack Taylor, former black
ranger." he said. Tommy shook his hand. "Tommy Oliver, current green
ranger. Nice to meet you." he said. Zack smiled. "Same." he said, as
Tommy shot a glance to Jason. He touched his friend's shoulder and
guided him over to a corner by the bushes. "Jason, my dad is getting
ready to tell the authorities on your father. I begged him not to, but
he said that something needed to be done about what is happening to
you. Jason, if you don't want my dad to do it, then I suggest you do it
yourself." he said. Jason ran his fingers through his spiked hair and
glared at his friend. "I think your dad needs to stay out of my
personal life and leave it for me to deal with." he said through
clenched teeth. Tommy frowned. "But Jason, that's my point. Can't you
see? You're not doing anything about it, and you should be. My dad is
there for you, he is the one doing all this. If you want him to stay
out of your personal life, then you pick up the phone and call the
social services office and tell them everything that is happening to
you. If you do that, he'll stay out. We all will. But not until then."
he said. Jason sighed. "I can't. Don't you think I've tried numerous
times to call them? I just don't feel right about doing that to him. I
mean, as much as I hate him for what he is doing, he's still my dad and
all." he said. Tommy nodded. "I understand that. He will always be your
dad. But Jason, you're not this little kid who needs to depend on his
dad for everything. Maybe when you were younger, if he did that, I
could understand. But you're going to be 18 in two weeks, and you need
to start learning how to depend on yourself. What your dad is doing to
you isn't healthy for either one of you. He could do real damage to you
Jason, and we need you. Please Jason. Tell someone. If not for
yourself, at least do it for us. We're scared for you Jason, we hate
seeing you like this." he told his friend. Jason nodded. "I promise, as
soon as we get home today, I will." he said, as the bell rang and they
had to go to their classes.
Up Next: The rangers get called to action. A surprise awaits them, something they don't expect.
After they ate breakfast, they sat around and talked for a little
while. Jason looked at his watch. "I should be getting home, as much as
I hate to say it." he said, getting up and stretching.
"Are you sure? You are welcome to stay here longer, if you would
like." Tommy told him.
Jason shook his head. "Nah, I should be getting home. Besides, we
leave again tomorrow morning, don't we?" he asked.
"Yes we do." Billy replied, following Jason out the door.
"See ya later Tommy." they all said in unison, heading out the
door. "See ya tomorrow." Tommy said.
Jason was dreading what would happen to him when he went home.
"Hey Mom. Something smells good, what is it?" he asked. She smiled.
"It's a surprise, you'll have to wait until dinner to find out." she
told him. "Mom, remember, I'm leaving tomorrow after school." he
reminded her, trying to sneak a bite of what she was making. She
slapped him on the shoulder playfully. "You have to wait, just like the
rest of us. I remember, you've only told me about 10 times in the past
3 days." she told him. He just smiled and walked to his room.
Later that night, Jason was in his room doing his homework when
he heard the front door slam shut. He winced, because he knew his dad
was home. He got up, stretched, and walked out to the kitchen for
dinner. "Hey Dad." he greeted as he sat down. His only reply was a
grunt from the other end of the table. Once they were done, he excused
himself and went back to his room. His dad followed him a few minutes
later. "Jason, we need to talk." came the angry voice of his father.
"Uh, what about Dad?" he asked. "You told Tommy's dad what's been
happening here. I told you not to tell anyone." he said. "I didn't mean
to! I was forced into telling them." Jason said. His father shook his
head. "Nonsense. You can't be forced to do something you don't want to
do." he told him. Jason sighed. "Dad, listen. I didn't do it on
purpose. Every time Tommy brought it up, I told him to just forget
about it. He practically forced me into telling his dad." he explained.
"How long has Tommy known about this?" his dad asked. Jason shrugged.
"I'm not sure. He just found out a couple weeks ago." he lied. "How
long has Tommy known about this?" his father asked again. "2 years."
Jason mumbled. "Does anyone else know?" he asked. Jason shook his head.
"No." he lied again. "Who else knows? You can't lie to me Jason, I know
you've told more people." he said. "Fine. Billy, Kimberly, and Trini
know." Jason mumbled. "Aha! I knew you told more people. That's going
to get you into trouble some day, Jason. You need to learn how to
listen to people." he said. Jason finally lost it. He glared at his
father. "Do whatever you want to me. I could care less anymore. I'm
leaving tomorrow after school, and I'm not going to come back. I'll be
18 in two weeks, so I don't need to come back here when I get back." he
cried. "But you still have to come back here. You can't just leave like
that." his father said. Jason laughed. "Oh, but I can. And I will. Even
if I don't have any place to go, I'll go to Tommy's. His dad told me if
I ever needed to crash there, I could." he said. He knew he shouldn't
have said that. The next thing he knew, his dad grabbed him and whipped
him off the bed. Jason couldn't even move after his dad left the room.
The next morning, Jason was waiting outside the school with
Billy. The two guys were waiting for Tommy and the girls to get to
school. They had arrived almost half an hour early, because they needed
to talk things over. Billy noticed Jason walking very slow, and wincing
every time he took another step. Billy frowned. "It happened again,
didn't it?" he asked. "Forget it Billy." Jason answered, a little more
harshly then he meant to. Billy shrugged. "Fine, whatever. But I'm
concerned about you Jase, we all are." he said. Jason sighed. "I know
Billy. And I'm sorry, but this is making me so mad." he said, as they
stood by the fence, waiting for the other guys. "Jason!" he heard a
voice behind him yell. He turned around to see a dark skinned guy
jogging towards him. Billy turned around slowly when he heard the
voice. "Billy! Jason!" came the voice again. Billy shielded his eyes
from the sun. "Zack?" he asked. The guy came running up to them. "Long
time no see. How you guys doing?" he asked, clapping the fellow rangers
on the back. "We're all doing great Zack. I thought you were living
with your dad now?" Jason said. Zack nodded. "I am. But I wanted to
come back for a visit, see how all my friends were. Where's Kim and
Trini?" he asked. "Coming right up behind you." Billy told him, as the
three guys turned around. "Zack!" Trini yelled, running into his arms.
Kimberly followed behind. "Hey Zack. How have you been?" she asked.
"Excellent. My dad and I are getting along great, I've gotten to know
my two little step-brothers, and my school is great." he said, noticing
the look of pain on Jason's face as he clapped him on the shoulder.
"Are you ok Jason?" he asked. Trini shook her head. "It's been
happening again, Zack. More than it used to." she told him. Zack
frowned. "You still haven't told anyone about that, Jason? I thought we
told you to almost 3 years ago." he said. Kimberly shrugged. "Zack, did
he listen to us then? No. And he doesn't listen to us anymore now,
either." she said, as Tommy sent her a look. "Zack, I don't think
you've met Tommy." Billy said, changing the subject after noticing how
uncomfortable both of his friends were becoming.
Zack stuck out his hand. "Hey man, I'm Zack Taylor, former black
ranger." he said. Tommy shook his hand. "Tommy Oliver, current green
ranger. Nice to meet you." he said. Zack smiled. "Same." he said, as
Tommy shot a glance to Jason. He touched his friend's shoulder and
guided him over to a corner by the bushes. "Jason, my dad is getting
ready to tell the authorities on your father. I begged him not to, but
he said that something needed to be done about what is happening to
you. Jason, if you don't want my dad to do it, then I suggest you do it
yourself." he said. Jason ran his fingers through his spiked hair and
glared at his friend. "I think your dad needs to stay out of my
personal life and leave it for me to deal with." he said through
clenched teeth. Tommy frowned. "But Jason, that's my point. Can't you
see? You're not doing anything about it, and you should be. My dad is
there for you, he is the one doing all this. If you want him to stay
out of your personal life, then you pick up the phone and call the
social services office and tell them everything that is happening to
you. If you do that, he'll stay out. We all will. But not until then."
he said. Jason sighed. "I can't. Don't you think I've tried numerous
times to call them? I just don't feel right about doing that to him. I
mean, as much as I hate him for what he is doing, he's still my dad and
all." he said. Tommy nodded. "I understand that. He will always be your
dad. But Jason, you're not this little kid who needs to depend on his
dad for everything. Maybe when you were younger, if he did that, I
could understand. But you're going to be 18 in two weeks, and you need
to start learning how to depend on yourself. What your dad is doing to
you isn't healthy for either one of you. He could do real damage to you
Jason, and we need you. Please Jason. Tell someone. If not for
yourself, at least do it for us. We're scared for you Jason, we hate
seeing you like this." he told his friend. Jason nodded. "I promise, as
soon as we get home today, I will." he said, as the bell rang and they
had to go to their classes.
Up Next: The rangers get called to action. A surprise awaits them, something they don't expect.