Aftermath
Chapter Three: New Friendships
Tori reached the skate park, and the music thrumming from her speakers died when she turned off the engine. She got out, and with her arm resting on the door she looked around.
They should be here. Shane said they'd be here. So... where are they? she wondered. She looked around again, and at a far corner of the property she saw a flash of red. There were some overgrown trees blocking her view, but she shut the door to her van and made her way over there.
When she arrived, the blue wind ranger had to stifle her laughter when she took alook at what Shane and Sergio were so busy doing. They're going at it like they're starved for each other. This puts a new meaning to the phrase "tonsil hockey".
Shane was busy kissing Sergio, while Sergio was busy being kissed and trying to strip Shane of his shirt. They parted for a moment and nearly jumped out of their skin when Tori said, "Jeez, I thought you were never coming up for air. Be careful guys, you were going a little overPG-13, and you're still at the skate park."
Shane looked like he wanted to sink into the bench, while Sergio leaned back leisurely and looked satisfied. "Uhhh, sorry Tor, we were just.. um.." Shane stopped, realizing he couldn't explain his way out of it.
Tori sent a teasing smile their way. "I know. You were trying to get through each other's skin, that's all. I mean, the way you were going at it…" Shane was turning an interesting shade of reddish purple, and even Sergio looked a little chagrinned.
"Okay, okay, so we were making out. Do you want to tell me why you interrupted?" Shane asked a little snappishly.
Tori held out her hands palms up in a gesture of peace. "For one thing, you couldn't exactly land where you were headed in broad daylight. I think it's illegal. Second, Hunter's group is having a picnic type deal tomorrow at the park and he was wondering if you guys could come. No pun intended."
Sergio snorted his laughter, before just laughing outright. Shane looked embarrassed and outraged at her comment, but retained his self-control… barely.
Shane decided not to pay attention to Tori's teasing and responded to the invitation. "Sure, we'd love to come. Right Sergio?" He looked at his boyfriend, who was by now licking his lips from their kiss, closing his eyes as if savoring the flavor.
"Oh, sure, I don't see why we couldn't. It sounds like it would be fun," Sergio said, after he was done trying to embarrass Shane some more. He loved to tease him, and Shane knew that, but loved him anyway.
"Okay, so I'll go let Hunter know about you guys coming and you can… gather yourselves," Tori said, not being able to resist teasing them a little more.
Shane took off his overshirt and threw it at her. She ran towards her van laughing, with a large smile on her face the rest of the drive back to Storm Chargers.
Blake met her inside. "What's so funny?" he asked. She shook her head, indicating that she wasn't about to tell him, but he was just glad to see a smile on her face.
"They're going to come," she said, cracking up again and he laughed with her a little until she caught her breath. "No worries. I just caught them in a compromising position."
Blake grinned, because he could just imagine what kind of position she could have found the passionate couple in.
Kelly walked up to Hunter, who was near the two blue rangers and said, "Okay, you guys can leave now. I can close up shop tonight, and there's really nothing else for you to do."
Hunter smiled at her, "Thanks Kel. Cam!" He called to his boyfriend in the back room. "We can leave now."
Cam came out of the room with a soda, and said, "Okay, finally. At least she let you out early."
"Yeah, I know. You want to take a walk on the beach?" Hunter asked. Cam made an affirmative motion and they both left, headed towards the beach.
As they walked, just holding hands and reveling in the other's presence, they saw a form standing in the distance.
Wonder who it is Hunter thought, but was reluctant to break the comfortable silence that enfolded them in an invisible bubble.
When they got close enough, Cam exclaimed, "Shi! I wonder what she's doing here."
Shi was standing there in a translucent scarlet dress, with green trim all around it. A silk scarf bound her hair in a ponytail in scarlet and green swirls.
"She's wearing our colors too," Hunter said in amusement. That's a weird coincidence, he thought, but didn't comment on it further.
Shi instinctively looked up and when she saw them, she backed up a step, but waved to them with a wobbly smile. They could see tear tracks on her face.
"Shi, what happened?" Hunter asked gently. She backed away when he reached out to comfort her, but he knew what she was feeling, and why she was feeling it.
"He came over. My brother came over, so he and Daddy could visit together and spend time together. But it seemed so familiar, like it felt before. I had to get out of there," she said.
Hunter and Cam both looked perplexed. "I thought you said that your parents knew about what he did to you…?" Hunter said.
She smiled softly. "I know. Mama protects me as best she can. Daddy has a disease of the brain called dementia, so he wants to see his first born, his only son. He loves him. I love my Daddy, so I try not to complain too much about it; I don't want to hurt him."
Hunter reached out slowly, and Shi stood stiffly straight as he put his arms around her, and just held her without moving.
"It feels wrong for him to be there," she whispered. "It feels so wrong. That's my house, not his anymore. He lives with his grandparents up the state, with his fiancée. They don't come often, but I wish they wouldn't come at all." She had more tears running down her cheeks, and she relaxed more into Hunter's embrace.
"I can't imagine how that must feel, being torn between pleasing your father and feeling safe, and right. But at least you came out here. Where do you live anyway?" he asked.
"Right over there," she pointed to a nice sized house about a mile away. It was painted a light blue and was a two story house.
"That's not too far from our house. We live about a block over that way," he pointed past her house. "If you need a place to stay for awhile, we have a guest bedroom you're welcome to."
Shi pulled away gently and looked at him with thanks in her eyes. "I thank you, Hunter. I'll consider it. I'm sure my mother will let me though."
Cam went around to her other side to pull her into an embrace, and Hunter hugged her again too. She felt a little stifled, but tried to relax, knowing she was safe. She wasn't expecting the voice that fell upon her ears.
"So, you have two boyfriends? What, do they fuck you at the same time, or one at a time while the other watches?" Daniel asked sardonically.
Shi shrank away from all of them, and said, "Daniel, leave me alone. You can't do this anymore, you can't make me feel bad about myself. They're my friends from my incest survival group."
"Oooh, I understand. You didn't by chance tell them how many times you came to me for sex, did you?" Shi blushed in shame. "Or how many times you begged me to get you off? Did they know that?" he asked cruelly.
"Yes! They know," Shi sobbed out. "Mama knows too. The only reason Daddy didn't kill you was because of the dementia. You always hated me, but you always got everything you wanted. What did I ever do to deserve what you did?"
"You were there. That's what you did. You existed, and you loved me. That's why," he said it so tenderly that she backed away in fear. She was more afraid of that look than the blank look he so often had. "I have to go. Liz is waiting for me, and we have a long drive ahead of us. Bye, sis. And remember that you'll never escape me." He sent her a bright, fake smile. "After all, we're family."
He walked away with a swing in his step and Shi fell to her knees in the sand, sobbing into her hands and wishing that her brother would disappear from her life. He'd just set her back in her healing, and she didn't know if she could ever forgive him for what he did.
"He's a son of a bitch, and my offer to come home with us still stands. You're old enough to come and go as you please right?" Hunter asked, controlled rage in his voice.
"Yeah, I just turned 18 last month. But I want to ask my mother. She and I are so close. She'll be worried about me," Shi responded, shaking. "It was so hard to take what he just said. Even harder because most of it was true. I did go to him."him."
"You were a little girl, Shi. He shouldn't have done anything even if you did go to him. At least you're woman enough to admit you did something. He's proud of it, and that makes him a psychopath. I could bet he kicked small puppies."
"He did. And he crushed rats' heads with a hammer and cut off frogs' legs with a pocket knife," she commented morosely. "But Mama and Daddy don't know about that. I didn't tell them. I thought it would hurt them more."
"They should know what kind of monster he is, Shi," Cam said quietly. "Then maybe they wouldn't be so quick to have him over."
Shi shook her head. "I know you're right… it's just so hard to think about it, let alone talk about it. But you know, Hunter. You know what it's like. I think I'll talk to my parents. I'll talk to you tomorrow at the picnic and tell you how things go. Okay?"
Hunter hugged her again, and this time she returned it. "Okay. We'll see you tomorrow. I hope everything goes well."
Shi stayed where she was at as she watched the two rangers walk away. They're so lucky they have each other. I wish I had that. Maybe someday I will she thought as she watched the sun set.
Okay, that's it for this chapter. I hope you liked. MAJOR thanks to Ragemoon for helping me through this chapter! Please review, and tell me what you thought of this installment. Blessed be minna-chan, Chero