Chapter 5: The Truth Comes Out Part 1

Kimberly's POV

"Now that we're all acquainted, Let's go eat!" Tommy said happily.

As everyone shuffled out of the room, I could see that Trini had stayed back to talk to me alone. And as much as I wanted to avoid this conversation, I couldn't help but stay and talk to Tori. I wanted to find out as much as I could about my daughter and her life.

"So, you're Tori Vega?" I asked with a small smile on my face.

Tori nodded, slightly confused by my question. "Yeah… not to be rude, but we just went over that."

I gave a light chuckle and Tori raised an eyebrow at me questioningly. "I saw part of your performance in Uptown, Downtown, and you looked…"

"Like a hideous zombie?" Tori said with a hint of laughter in her voice.

"I wasn't going to use the word hideous, but since you said it first…" I said jokingly with a smirk on my face.

Both of us burst out into fits of laughter and I couldn't help but savor this moment with her. But out of nowhere, her friend Jade came barreling around the corner. "Vega!" Jade shouted.

Tori rolled her eyes playfully at her. "Yes, Jade?"

Jade let out an audible sigh, "I'm hungry and you're still talking."

"I'm in the middle of a conversation? Can't you eat without me?" Tori asked the goth.

Jade rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. "Would I have bothered coming over if that was the case?"

Tori gave Kimberly an apologetic look and sighed. "I'm sorry about her… I'll save you a seat at breakfast, okay?"

I nodded and smiled wide. "Okay, that sounds great!"

As Tori and Jade left, Trini seized her chance and made her way over to me so that we could finally talk. "Kim, before we start eating, do you think we could talk?"

I nodded reluctantly and said, "Sure, what did you want to talk about?"

"How do you really know Tori?" Trini asked me bluntly.

I swallowed the saliva that had pooled into my mouth and tried to play dumb. "What are you talking about? I saw her in that play that she was in, you just heard me tell her that."

Trini gave me a piercing look. "Don't lie to me. I saw how you reacted when she said her name earlier. Now, what is going on?"

I took Trini's hand and pulled her to the end of the room where we could sit down. "It's complicated and I've never told anyone about this."

She could see how wary I was about telling her my secret, so she gave my hands a gentle squeeze of reassurance. "Hey, you can trust me. I promise that whatever you tell me never leaves this room. I won't even tell Jason."

I gave a chuckle at that last part and let out a small sigh. "Do you remember when I broke up with Tommy?"

"Yes, but which time are you referring to?" Trini asked jokingly, as she attempted to get me to smile.

I let out a small laugh and said, "The last time."

Trini nodded and sighed, "The 'Dear John' letter, right?"

I nodded and cleared my throat as I could feel the tears prickling at my eyes. "I broke up with Tommy because I discovered that I was pregnant. At the time, neither of us were ready to give up our lives or our dreams to raise a baby; we weren't ready for that level of responsibility. So, I sent Tommy the letter and gave the baby up for adoption after it was born."

Trini looked distraught. She gently pulled me into a hug and rubbed my back. "I'm so sorry that you had to go through that alone. I really wish you had told me."

I hugged her back tightly and cried a bit on her shoulder. "There were times where I wish that I had told you. But you were still in Switzerland with Jason and Zack, and it would've been selfish of me to ruin your time there."

Trini shook her head instantly and wiped some tears from her face as well. "It would not have been selfish of you at all. You had no one to lean on during your time of need and pregnancy isn't an easy thing to happen to a woman's body. I've been there, remember?"

I nodded and gave her a sheepish smile. "I know. I just… it wasn't all that bad. The morning sickness and birthing process were the worst parts of it all. Tori's parents granted me an open adoption. So, I was able to keep up with some childhood milestones and what not." I paused for a bit and then said, "The only request that I made was that I didn't want to see any videos or pictures."

"Why wouldn't you want photos or videos?" Trini asked in a confused tone.

I chuckled lightly and said, "At the time, I felt like I didn't have any right to see what my daughter looked like. I gave my precious baby girl to strangers because I wanted to be a famous gymnast. I regretted it the moment I handed her over; it was the stupidest choice I've ever made."

Trini shook her head again and spoke in a very firm tone. "Kim, look at me."

I forced myself to look into my best friend's eyes and the level of care and concern in them made my heart clench. "I'm looking at you."

Trini smiled a bit, but her determinedness never wavered. "I know that this decision wasn't easy for you to make. That not being able to see/raise your daughter probably hurt your heart in the worst ways possible and I'm sorry that you had to go through all this alone, but you need to be honest with yourself. At that time in your life, you wouldn't have been able to take care of Tori the way that you wanted to. As you said, you weren't ready to give up your dream of being a gymnast and if you had kept her, your time wouldn't have been divided evenly between her and training. You gave her up to a loving family who raised her into the person she is today, and she seems pretty great. Plus, that gymnast training wasn't for nothing. She literally told you that you were her childhood hero."

As much as I wanted to, I couldn't argue with Trini's logic. She was right, had I kept Tori, I wouldn't have been able to give her all the love, attention, and care that she needed. And I might've even grown to resent her if I had to put my dreams on hold. I wiped the tears that had once again fallen down my face and pulled Trini in for another hug. "Thank you, I needed to hear that." I sniffled a little as I tried to reign in my emotions, but I couldn't stop myself from laughing. "I still can't believe she recognized me. That hasn't happened to me in years. And she is pretty badass, isn't she?"

Trini nodded and smirked. "Um, yeah! She's the first female red ranger ever!"

I nodded and smiled wide at that. "Yeah, she is. I'm so proud of her." I sighed and turned my gaze to the door where just beyond it, Tori was sitting with her friends. "I just can't believe she's here; you know? I've always wondered what she looked like and now I feel like I can't stop looking at her. She's so beautiful, smart, and confident."

"Not unlike yourself." Trini said with a giggle.

I blushed a deep red and gave a light chuckle. "Touché."

A few minutes passed by before Trini broke the silence. "So, since you're both here, are you going to tell her?"

I took a deep breath to center myself and then nodded. "She may hate me after I do, but yes, I want to tell her the truth." I took a little pause to collect my thoughts and then made a split-second decision. "Although, if I'm going to tell Tori, I think Tommy has a right to know first. Do you think you could ask him to come here so I can tell him? She is his daughter after all."

Trini nodded, but I could see her body tense up a bit. "I can do that, but do you mind if I stay in the room as back up? I promise to stand by the door unless you need me."

I thought about it and eventually agreed to her offer. Tommy was never one to be violent, but this was going to be some shocking news and he could react negatively. "Yes please. That would be very kind of you, and could you bring Jason over too."

Trini nodded and gave me one last hug before leaving the room.

I took a deep breath and squared my shoulders, trying to appear more confident. "Here's hoping…"