Endless Roads
Chapter 3 - Keeping Away
Kat's POV
I watched Tommy quietly watching TV as I continued washing dishes in the kitchen. He hadn't said a word this morning and I was starting to get a little curious… worried actually. Last night at Jason's apartment I couldn't help but notice Tommy's eyes on Kimberly the whole time. Kimberly had been talking the whole night about all the opportunities she had in Florida, the great beaches there and the 'awesome new friends' she had made. When Kimberly started talking about the new people she had met, I felt like walking up to her and slapping her. She probably didn't think about how it would affect everybody else by hearing this, especially Tommy. Because one of those 'new people' was probably the loser she left Tommy for. It was obvious that she didn't even care about any of our feelings when she went on bragging about how much nicer it was there in Florida than here. Like as if we were too cheap to move to Florida and she wasn't. I mean give me a break! It was good and all that she went; maybe it would have been better if she stayed. Then she went on talking about leaving gymnastics after three years there in Florida. It was a little disappointing, because that was the whole reason why she left. But like it mattered any way. I knew I wasn't going to like her return, and I already noticed the effects of it on Tommy. All Kimberly was causing was more pain, and I could see it all over his face. I first saw it at the airport as we were leaving, and then at Jason's place when she talked… and talked. Believe me it was the most boring thing ever. To everyone else who was there, they all seemed really interested, but I could care less what she did in Florida. As I said before, it would have been a lot better if she stayed.
Suddenly, my thoughts we interrupted by the ringing of the phone.
"Hey Tommy, could you get that for me." I yelled out.
"Yeah, sure." Tommy replied, getting off the couch as he headed for the phone.
"Hello?"
[Hey bro, what's up?]
"Oh Hey Jason, nothing much. Just watching some TV."
[Cool… any ways, me and Kim are gonna go over to Starbucks for some coffee. I was just wondering if you and Kat want to join us.]
"Oh sure. That sounds great."
[All right, well I guess I'll see you there.] Jason replied.
"Yup. See ya man."
[Bye.] Jason said, and Tommy hung up the phone.
"So what did Jason want?" I asked.
"Oh, he and Kim are going out for some coffee and want us to come." Tommy replied. "We better go get ready, they're leaving right now."
"Whoa, since when were we going out for coffee?"
"Since Jason called…" Tommy mumbled.
"Well who said I wanted to go?" I asked sternly.
"Well do you want to go?"
"No. I don't." I blurted out, which caught Tommy by surprise. He had a puzzled look on his face.
"Is there something wrong, Kat?"
"No. There's nothing wrong. I just don't want to go."
"Why not?"
"Because! Have you taken a look at this place? It's a mess!"
"Well… can't you clean it up later? This is Kim's first day back, we should help her feel more welcome."
"Didn't we just do that last night?" I snapped. Tommy paused.
"Kat, do you not like Kim being back or something. Because I'm starting to feel that you don't." He asked. I blushed, and immediately turned around so that Tommy couldn't see.
"Of course not. I'm happy Kim's back… it's just like old times." I replied, regretting every word I had just said.
"Well good. Any ways, if you don't want to go, we don't have to go."
"No Tommy, you should go." I couldn't believe I had just said that.
"Are you sure? 'Cause I won't if you don't want me to."
"Yeah." I whispered.
"Okay." He replied, and headed towards the bathroom.
When I heard the bathroom door slam shut, I collapsed and supported all my weight against the kitchen counter. I couldn't believe what I just said. Tommy wasn't even sure if he should have gone, and yet I said "Yeah." Now he was going to hang out with Kim today, and the worst part was I wasn't going to be there. I could just see it now; his eyes upon her face, then wandering lower, checking out her muscular figure. It sickened me. And all I could do was blame myself, 'cause I said "Yeah."
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Half an hour later, Kim, Jason, Tanya and Adam had made their way into the café. Unfortunately, Aisha and Billy had to work that morning and Rocky had to help out his sister move out of his parent's place. A few minutes after the four had entered inside, Tommy arrived. He told them that Kat wasn't feeling well and that she wasn't able to join them. A look of disappointment formed over Jason's face. It had been so long since the whole group did something together, and it did upset him that not everyone was able to make it. However, it didn't bother him too much thought, because at least Kim and Tommy were present. He never mentioned it to anyone, but he was destined to get the two to start talking to each other again. He offered to by everyone something and headed over to the cashier, as the rest took a seat in the lounge area. Kim, regretting that she ever did, brought up the subject about work and school. Something she needed to get back on top of. Adam mentioned how he was still in Law school, studying, while Tanya was in school as well, striving to get her degree in nursing. Tommy went on to explain his long story about his new love, race car driving. He had been working at auto body shop, which totally caught Kim by surprise, because she had always known Tommy for his martial arts abilities. It amazed her how much he had changed over time, and in some way she was shocked.
"Racing… never imagined you doing that for a living." Kim mumbled.
"Yeah, well… my uncle hooked me up one summer. It's really fun."
"I'm sure it is." Kim replied, hiding her disinterest behind a smiled.
"Here's your latte, Tanya." Jason interrupted, coming back with everyone's drinks. "So what are you guys talking about?" He asked. Kim informed him that they were talking about jobs and school. Jason then went on to explain how he got the job to teach at the "Red Dragon Martial Arts Center", where he had gone as a kid. Kim continued listening to their stories, amazed to hear how well everybody's lives were going, compared to hers. Here, they were going to college, achieving goals and getting their dream jobs, while the whole time in Florida, she was just trying to see exactly what she wanted in life. She never realized that when she would come back to Angel Grove, she'd be so out of it. But that didn't mean that Kim didn't try, because she did, and she got help. But no matter how hard she tried, it would always get in the way. It always interfered, causing her to take a step back, every time she tried to go forward. And at times, she felt that all she could do was blame herself for not making the right decision; screwing everything up that she believed in. She took another look at the four that sat around her. The only difference between them and her was that they were happy. She wasn't. Florida took her happiness away from her, making her envy anyone who had a future ahead of them. These thoughts flooded her mind, separating her from everything else. It took a lot of energy out of her to hide these feelings. This was something that not even Jason knew about. Yes, Jason knew her secrets, but he didn't know about how Kim really felt. It was something that Kim decided to keep hidden. Kim had changed, changed in ways where it scared her in a way. And at times it made her hate herself. She had lost the identity that Angel Grove had known her for, her perkiness and her zest. That's what made her hide, that's what made her lie… and she had to live with it. Kim's mind was now in a totally different place. Suddenly, a flashback entered her thoughts, giving her a dark blurry vision of a night back in Florida. She remembered that night, the chaos she had been through. She could remember all the screeching and screaming and the bright lights flashing before her. These painful memories continued, as she remembered lying on the ground not knowing what was going on. A tall, dark man had ran up to her, asking her questions as she lay there. She remembered crying, and that she wasn't alone suffering the pain. Suddenly a hand waved before her eyes, as her name was called out.
"Kim? Hello? Earth to Kim?" Adam said, waving his hand in front of her face. Kim remained staring across the room, not blinking.
"KIM!" Jason yelled out.
"Huh?" She finally snapped out of her thoughts.
"Where the hell were you just now?" Jason asked.
"Um…" Kim mumbled looking a little flushed.
"You okay?" Tommy spoke up. Kim quickly jerked her head up so that her eyes could meet his.
"I-I gotta go to the washroom… excuse me." She blurted out, quickly getting up from her seat. All of them watched as she darted over to the washroom at the back of the store.
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(Author's Note: Yet another short chapter! Sorry. But anyways, please tell me that this made sense, 'cause I've been going through a mid-life crisis right now, and it's hard to write something that makes sense when you're mad. LOL! But THANK YOU SO MUCH for the great reviews you guys. You make me wanna keep going on with this story. THANX A LOT!!! Oh! Also, I made a banner for this story, I'll have it uploaded in the next few days, and then I'll give you the address where you can see it… but until then, KEEP REVIEWING!")
