EPILOGUE: IN LOVE'S ARMS

DISCLAIMER

Last chapter. Still ain't mine. As usual, everyone but Pauline belongs to Haim Saban and Fox Kids.

A day later, Tommy paced by the lake. Where was Kimberly? He had asked her to meet him here so that they could talk.

"Come on, Kim. Please show up," he muttered.

"Aw, did you miss me?" Tommy whirled around at the slightly sarcastic question.

"Kim," he said happily.

"You said you wanted to talk, so talk," she stated. He sighed.

"Kim, I wasn't being fair to you. I was wrapped up in my own pain. I, uh---I never really---accepted what happened to me. I just kind of---ignored it," he told her.

"I'm...not quite sure I understand," she admitted.

"After I told my social worker what Tressa had done to me and I had gone through the whole trial proceedure, I just pretended it never happened. My parents had been told about it and suggested that I go to counseling, but I refused," Tommy told her.

"Why?" Kimberly asked.

"Because I just wanted to forget about it---about her. It was like---if I didn't think about it, it wasn't real. It had never happened," Tommy answered.

"Why was it so important for you to pretend that it had never happened?" Kimberly wondered.

"Because I---I---" Tommy hesitated.

"Tommy?" Kimberly prodded.

"Because it made me feel weak! And I didn't like feeling that way!" Tommy burst out.

"Oh, Tommy. You're one of the strongest people I know," Kimberly said, putting a hand on his wrist.

"But that's not how I felt when I was with her! Kim, she had these powers, and---" again, Tommy's voice trailed.

"What would she do?" Kimberly asked.

"There were times when I would try to fight her off and she---would---" Tommy stopped.

"Tommy?" Kimberly prodded.

"She would immobilize me," Tommy confessed in a whisper.

"What?" Kimberly asked.

"She would make it so that I couldn't move. After that happened a few times, I forced myself to go along with it, pretend that I liked it," Tommy continued.

"Well, she's gone now, and you'll never be hurt like that again," Kimberly said. She placed a hand on his cheek. He pulled her into a hug and like he had that day about a year ago, he buried his face into her shoulder.

THE END

AUTHOR'S NOTE

If you or anyone you know is being sexually abused, call 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).