Chapter 7

Kim forced herself to get up and go to school the following day, despite her battered appearance.  She pulled on a heavy turtleneck sweater to cover her neck and arms.  Bonnie would have a field day with her sense of fashion for wearing winter clothes on a warm spring day, but she didn't care.  After applying nearly a pound of makeup to her face, she was finally satisfied that the bruises weren't as noticeable.   She made her way downstairs and plopped at the kitchen table. 

"Feeling better today, Kimmie?"  Her mom asked.

"Yeah.  I guess so." She muttered, shoving a piece of dry toast in her mouth. 

"You're not fooling anyone with all that make-up.  I can still see your bruises." Jim commented, pointing to her face. 

"SHUT-UP you little brat!  It's none of your business!" She screamed impulsively at the boy, and then was immediately sorry when she noticed her parents staring her down. 

"Kim!  That is no way to talk to your brother! What's gotten into you?" Her dad said sternly.

"Sorry Jim." She apologized, hoping that would be the end of it. Unfortunately, they kept pressing her for information. 

"You haven't been acting like yourself since you came home yesterday.  You've been very moody and distant" Her mom worried. "And where did you get all those bruises?  You've never been beaten up so badly after a mission before.  Then Ron ran out the door crying without even saying goodbye last night.  Why won't you tell us what's going on, Kimmie?"

Kim sighed in frustration at her mother's third degree questioning.  "It's so not the drama, mom. I got the bruises because Shego jumped me from behind and Ron and I had a little fight.  No big." 

"I'm starting have second-thoughts about this whole crime-fighting thing, Kimmie-cub.  I never liked the idea of you running around after those crazy villains.  It's too dangerous and if it's going to start affecting your mental health…" Her dad said fretfully.

"You don't have to worry about that dad, because there won't be anymore missions!"  Tears brimmed in her eyes once again.  "And you won't be seeing Ron around here anymore either!  Now leave me the hell alone!"  She yelled.  She jumped up form the table and ran out the door sobbing, leaving her family to stare at each other with shocked expressions.   

*****

Kim opened her locker to find an urgent message from Wade waiting for her in the printer.  "Monkey Fist is at it again!  Page me!"  She read the words silently.  She switched on the computer and Wade's face appeared on the screen.  "I've been beeping you all morning.  Why is your Kimmunicator turned off?"  He asked.

"Drakken took it." Kim replied. 

"Oh, well I'll whip you up another one.  It'll be waiting at your house after school." 

"Don't bother.  I won't need it anymore."  Kim said solemnly.

"What are you talking about Kim?  How am I supposed to reach you?"  The young boy asked in surprise.

"You won't need to.  I quit, Wade.  Take down the website, there won't be anymore missions." 

"What!  You can't be serious.  Monkey Fist is stirring up trouble again down in the Amazon.  You and Ron have to get there as soon as possible!"  An anxious expression spread across Wade's face. 

"I don't give a damn.  Let someone else deal with it!"  She shouted. 

"What's wrong, Kim?  Why are you acting this way?" 

"I wish everyone would stop asking me that!  I'm tired of being thought of as some kind of hero.  Can't I just have a normal life for once?" 

"How does Ron feel about this?"  Wade asked in disbelief. 

"Ron can drop dead for all I care." She uttered spitefully. "Look, I have to get to first period." 

"What?"  The boy reeled back in shock from her harsh words toward her best friend.  He started to say something else, but Kim switched off the computer, breaking the connection.  She slammed her locker shut and headed to class.

*****

Ron was noticeably absent from first period English.  Kim couldn't help but feel the slightest bit concerned about him not showing up for school.  As much as he despised the place, he always managed to drag himself there each morning.  Class was uneventful and dull without his witty comments and disruptions coming from the back row. 

Kim flopped her head down on the desk and dozed off in the middle of the lecture.  It was so unlike her to sleep during class.  That was Ron's specialty.  Fortunately, since she was such a good student the teacher didn't reprimand her for it.  He probably figured that she was really sick and mercifully left her alone. 

The remainder of the morning flowed in much the same way.  Kim trudged from one class to the next with her head hung low, not even pausing to flirt with Josh Mankey at his locker.  When lunch finally came, she grabbed her tray of disgusting goop and headed to the table where she normally sat with Ron and Monique.  

"Nice outfit...for January."  Bonnie remarked as Kim passed by the 'popular' table. "I don't recall snow being in the forecast today."  This elicited a round of laughter at Kim's expense from the crowd seated next to her. 

"Go to hell, Bonnie."  Kim muttered under her breath and kept walking. 

"Girl, you look rough and what's with the sweater?  Definitely a fashion no-no for this time of year." Monique said as Kim sat down beside her. 

"Thanks.  I can always count on you to cheer me up, Monique."  Kim mumbled sarcastically to the dark-skinned girl. 

"Wow.  You really are depressed today.  What happened?  Did you and Ron have a fight?"

"I guess you could say that." 

"Well give me all the juicy details."  Monique urged.

"I really don't feel like talking about it right now." Kim adverted her eyes and tried to act like she was concentrating on the mush that filled her plate.

"Okay.  Whenever you're ready, I'm here."  Monique decided it best not to press the issue with Kim in her current mood. 

The two teens picked over their food in silence for most of the lunch period.  "Can I tell you something, Monique?" Kim finally spoke. "Something really personal, I mean." 

"Sure, we're best friends, aren't we?"  Monique shifted in her seat uneasily, wondering where this was going. 

"No one else knows about this and you better not breath a single word of it…"

"Chill, girl.  You know I'm good for keeping a secret!" 

 "Listen Monique, this isn't something stupid about my newest crush or anything like that.  It's deadly serious."  Kim said nervously.

"Trust me, Kim.  I'm not gonna tell, I promise."

"Its about how I got these bruises…. I…I was raped." Kim quietly confessed.

"WHAT?" Monique cried a little too loudly.  A few people at the next table looked over at them.  "Who did it?  I swear I'll kill him!" She pounded her fist on the table for emphasis. 

"Shhh, keep your voice down." Kim pleaded. 

"Who was it, Kim?" Monique demanded somberly.

Kim sat and fidgeted with her hands for a few seconds before answering.  "It was Ron." She admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.

"No way." Monique said in disbelief.  "Oh my God…. no way." She stood up and began to pace back and forth next to their table in an effort to control her anger.  "You just wait until I get my hands on that pale freak.  I'm gonna rip his balls off and shove 'em down his throat!" 

"Please sit down Monique, you're making a scene!"  Kim glanced around at their audience that had now grown to several tables. 

"I can't help it, Kim.  How could Ron do something like that to you?"  Monique asked, finally taking her seat. 

"It wasn't his fault.  Drakken drugged him.  He doesn't even remember it." Hearing herself speak the words suddenly sent a wave of guilt through Kim.  It wasn't his fault.    The words echoed in her mind as if the realization was dawning on her for the first time.  She should be there for Ron instead of pushing him away.  He was just as much a victim as her. They should be getting through this together; both of them needed the other's friendship right now more than ever before.  He had come to her, begging forgiveness for something beyond his control, and all she did was tell him to leave her alone. 

"…Are you even listening to me?"  Monique waved her hand in front of Kim's blank eyes.  Kim obviously hadn't heard a word she'd said.

Kim snapped out of her trance and focused on Monique again. "Yeah…I was just thinking, sorry." 

"Where is he today anyway?  Too ashamed to face you?" 

"Probably…I feel really bad now, Monique.  I told him I never wanted to see him again." 

"Are you kidding me?  He raped you!  Why would you want to see him again?" Monique asked hatefully

"But it really wasn't his fault.  I'm worried about him."  Kim protested

"So it wasn't his fault, that still doesn't change the hell he put you through.  You're a unique individual, Kim.  That's where you and I are different.  If someone did that to me I would've ripped his head off by now, regardless of the circumstances, and here you sit saying that you're worried about him."

"Yeah, I guess.  Look, I need to go to my locker before Algebra.  Thanks for listening." Kim quickly gathered her books.  She didn't feel like discussing this with Monique any more.  All she wanted to do now was make it through the remainder of the school day so she could go find Ron. 

"Are you gonna be okay, girl?"  Monique asked, genuinely concerned.

"I'll be fine, don't worry.  Catch up with you later." 

"Call me if you need someone to talk to."  Monique offered as Kim rushed off.

*****

Kim carelessly flung the books from her morning classes into her locker.   She observed that the printer was full of more 'urgent' messages from Wade.  They all consisted of him begging her to contact him and wanting to know what happened between she and Ron.  Feeling annoyed, she balled the papers up and shoved them in her pocket, planning to dispose of them on the way to class. 

Kim was just about to close the door when she noticed a folded piece of notebook paper lying in the corner.  "What's this?" She mumbled, not remembering it there this morning.  she picked up the handwritten note, wondering how it got in her locker. The only person that knew her combination was Ron.  Heading to her next class, she opened it up and started to read as she walked.  Suddenly, her books fell from her arms and crashed to the floor.  "NO!" Her shrill cry caused an eerie hush to fall over the crowded hallway.   She spun around on her heels and ran towards the exit as fast as her legs would carry her. 

His words played over and over in her head as she ran.  Although she'd only read them once, every last detail was burned in her mind:  

"Kim,

You're probably wondering why I'm not in school today.  It's just that I didn't want to spend my last day on Earth in that hellhole.  I'm sure you understand.  By the time you read this, I'll be gone.  Even though you hate me right now, I know that you'll still be mad at me for doing this, but I don't deserve to live after what I did to you.  I would never hurt you intentionally—you know that. That's beside the point though.  I still did it and you'll never be able to look at me again without fear in your eyes. 

Really, it's for the best, KP.  Hopefully, in time, you'll be able to see that.   I totally understand your decision of not wanting to be friends anymore, but you're my world.  Without you, I am nothing.  The thought of being alone, along with the internal hell that I'm going through from hurting you, is too much to deal with.  I just can't take it.  You were always the strong one. I'm weak and a coward.  If I had your strength and determination, I would have been able to resist that damn drug somehow.  But I guess it's too late to think about that now. What's done is done.  I would sell my soul to change it, if I could. Tell everyone that I'm sorry for doing this, but it's the only way I can find peace.  One day I hope we can be together again, just like old times.  I'll always love you, Kim.

Love,

Ron

P.S.  I'm leaving Rufus at your house.  The little guy doesn't need to see this.  Please take care of him for me. "