Well folks, here it is the final chapter of Living In Your Shadow. I hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as I have loved writing it. This story and its characters feel as if they are apart of me now and it's so sad to finally end the story. I want to thank everyone who has reviewed and voted. You guys rock! Lol. I have to put a little disclaimer in here now. Michelle Branch owns the song It's You. I don't own it. Now, with that done, on with the last chapter.
Chapter Twenty-two
"Jack!" She was shocked to see him there. Anger and hurt flashed in his eyes. Shadow felt the guilt rise up inside of her, like bile.
"Jack, I…I didn't…" She wasn't sure of what to say. Shadow searched his stare, hoping to see some glimmer of emotion there. But there was nothing. His eyes were veiled and expressionless. Shadow had never seen him like this: cold and distant. His eyes didn't stay on her, but instead shifted to glare at Sky. Shadow's own eyes moved to look at the blue Ranger.
Sky stood still beneath the gazes of the tent's occupants. He was a statue, unmoved by the hum that had suddenly filled the tent.
Shadow's hands shook. She clutched them in her skirt, balling her fists around the silk in an attempt to hide her shaking. Her breathing was shaky and she could barely think straight.
I've been caught. It was the only thing that popped into her mind. I've been caught, and now I have to choose.
Jack stepped towards Sky and a hush fell over the crowd that waited in tense silence to see what the red Ranger would do or say. He stood in front of Sky, nearly as close to the blue Ranger as Shadow had previously been.
"I thought I could trust you, Sky." Jack said, his voice harsh and low. Shadow had to strain to hear what he said. The two men didn't look each other in the eye, choosing instead to look directly over each other's shoulders.
Shadow waited, along with every one else, to see what would happen. She was afraid. Afraid that someone would get hurt, afraid that the Power Rangers would be torn apart, and it would all be her fault.
I shouldn't have built relationships. She thought. I should have stayed clear of them both and none of this would have happened.
But it had happened, and now there was nothing she could do to stop the events she had set in motion.
"How long has this been going on?" Jack continued in the same low voice. Sky remained silent. Shadow wanted to shout at him, to hit him and scream at him and make him say something. But Sky only stared straight ahead, his lips in a tight line.
"Answer me, Sky!" Jack's sudden shout caused Shadow to jump. Sky, however, remained unaffected. His gaze slowly shifted down to meet Jack's.
"How long has what been going on?" Shadow didn't know how he could seem so calm. If it were her she would have been a crying mess, balled up on the floor. As it was tears were already starting to prick at her eyes.
"Jack, please." She stepped forward, the tears sliding down her cheeks in gentle streams. She placed a hand on his arm, but he quickly shrugged it off, his gaze never leaving Sky's.
Shadow's eyes moved over the crowd that watched them.
"Jack, can we please do this somewhere else?" She whispered, her eyes not quite able to meet his.
"No." Jack still had yet to look at her. "I want an answer, now." His eyes bored into Sky's, but the other Ranger stood still and silent as stone. Suddenly, Jack's hands shot out and gripped the lapels of Sky's jacket, pulling the blue Ranger towards him.
"I want an answer, Sky."
Though Sky was taller than Jack by nearly a full head, the red Ranger's anger made him stand tall and menacing. Shadow was afraid of him. She had never seen Jack so mad or violent. It was frightening.
"If you want answers so badly," Sky replied coldly, "why don't you ask your girlfriend."
A feeling of betrayal filled Shadow. Why was he turning this on her? She had never asked him to kiss her or to care about her. This was Sky's doing. He was the one who had initiated both kisses, he was the one who made her so confused about her feelings for Jack. How dare he turn it on her.
All eyes fell on Shadow, waiting for her to speak. Jack slowly released Sky and turned to face her, his eyes finally meeting hers. Shadow gulped. She felt as if she were being led to the executioners block.
"Shadow?" Jack's gaze was too much for her to bear. The tears were pouring down her face now, smudging her make-up and leaving trails of eyeliner and mascara running down her cheeks.
"I…" She was at a loss for words. How did she make Jack believe that she had never prompted Sky to kiss her? He would never believe her, no one would. Knowing that she had no way out of the situation, Shadow did the only thing she could do. She ran.
Watching from his place beside Cruger, Tommy took in the situation. Cruger moved to step in, but Tommy stopped him with a shake of his head. The three Rangers needed to work things out on their own.
He listened in silence as Shadow pleaded with Jack to step outside. It was understandable that she didn't want people watching the events that were sure to unfold. But Jack was too angry, and that was just as understandable. He wanted to have it out there and then. Sky, however, remained unwavering in his silence. Tommy had to commend the boy on his resolve. Nothing would move Sky. Then it all turned on Shadow, just like Tommy knew it would. He waited for her answer, along with everyone else in the tent. But she said nothing, only fled the tent in tears. Tommy shook his head. He had been hoping that she would handle the situation with grace and dignity, but then again, matters of the heart were rarely ever handled that way.
Laying on her bed, face buried in her pillow, Shadow cried out her confusion, frustration, and hurt. Never in her life had Shadow ever felt so incredibly horrible. The look on Jack's face when he saw her and Sky, Shadow would never forget that look as long as she lived. She was a horrible, evil person who didn't deserve to live.
Tears soaked through her pillow, leaving a large wet spot and make-up stains.
She had to make things right, but how? Neither Jack nor Sky would probably speak to her until she chose. But how do you choose between two men that you love, both in very different ways.
A knock sounded on the door.
"Go away," she cried, barely lifting her face from the pillow. "I just want to be left alone."
"Now if I have learned anything from living with your grandmother, it's that when a woman is crying and says she wants to be left alone, she doesn't really mean it." she glanced up to see Tommy standing over her, a sympathetic smile on his lips.
"I really screwed up this time, didn't I?" She asked, sitting up. Tommy held out a tissue to her, and Shadow took it gratefully. She wiped her eyes and cleaned away the make-up that stained her cheeks.
"I don't know what I'm going to do, Grandpa. How do I choose?" She looked at him, wanting him to solve her problems. She wanted him to hold her and tell her it was alright, like he had done whenever she had fallen off her bike and scraped her knee.
"You have to listen to your heart." He said.
"But how do I-"
"I know it'll be hard," Tommy continued on as if she had never interrupted him. "But that's what you have to do. Trust me, you'll know the right decision to make. I know I did."
"You had to choose between two people?" Shadow had never heard this part of her grandfather's history before.
"Yep," Tommy smiled secretively, "I had a hard choice to make once, too. Either or your grandmother or Katherine."
"Aunt Kat?" Shadow couldn't imagine the woman who had been like a family member to her ever being involved with her grandpa.
"Yeah. And that was probably the hardest decision I ever made. I loved them both, but I loved Kat differently from the way I loved Kim."
"How did you know that Grandma was the right one for you?"
Tommy didn't miss a beat. He didn't pause to think on the question, but answered easily and simply. "You know who is right when you can't stop thinking about them. When you want to always be with that person and you feel safe to be who you are with them. You feel safe telling them your secrets and you know that they will love you despite what those secrets may be."
"How did you get to be so smart, Grandpa?" Shadow asked, a small smile tugging at her lips as she took in the wistful, dreamy expression on her grandfather's face.
"It's your grandmother, she's rubbing off on me." He laughed. Shadow sniffled and hugged him tightly.
"She didn't even try to deny that she liked Sky." Jack furiously paced the floor of Z's room. Z and Bridge sat on the bed in front of him, watching him pace, their eyes moving back and forth as if they were sitting at a tennis match.
"How can Shadow do this? I thought that we had something, but apparently I was wrong." Jack was fuming. "And Sky, he knew that Shadow was off limits, yet he kissed her anyway." He shook his head, his dreadlocks hitting against his face. "I can't believe they would do this, and behind my back."
"Jack, calm down." Z stood and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder.
"Calm down? You want me to calm down?" Jack glared at Z. "You don't know how I feel, Z. You could never know what it's like to have the person that you love go behind your back and make-out with some other guy."
"Technically they weren't really making-out." Bridge said, "It was more like a tender embrace." Both the red and yellow Rangers glared at him.
"You're not exactly helping here, Bridge." Z said.
"What are you even doing in here anyway?" Jack barked.
"Hey," Z pushed Jack, "that's no way to talk to him. And he's here because I asked him to come with me. So be nice."
Jack slumped down onto Syd's bed and buried his face in his hands.
"I'm sorry." He mumbled. "Things are just so screwed up right now."
Z sat beside him, placing a comforting arm around his shoulders.
"It'll be alright." She said soothingly, "Shadow just needs to clear her head. But you have to remember, Jack. You and Sky have placed this decision on her and she might need some time."
"What decision?" Jack looked at her. "We never said for her to make a decision."
"Yes you did, maybe not with words, but everyone knows that both you and Sky want Shadow and that it's up to her to make the choice. This is a lot of pressure for her. She's going to need her space." Z said.
Jack sighed. Space. He could do that. He could give Shadow the space she needed. At least, he hoped he could. He stood.
"Thanks, Z." He said as he walked towards the door.
"Where are you going?" She asked suspiciously.
"For a walk," he replied with a tight laugh, "I need to clear my head."
"Alright." Z smiled comfortingly.
The door slid shut behind him and Z sighed.
"Boy am I glad that that's not me." Bridge said, moving to sit beside Z.
"It's going to be really hard on him if Shadow chooses Sky." Z said quietly, staring at the door. "I've never seen him care for somebody like he does for her."
"Kinda makes you think, doesn't it?" Z was shocked to hear the seriousness in Bridge's voice. And even more shocked to find his hand wrapping around hers. She looked down at their entwined fingers.
"Yeah, it does." She whispered, her eyes fixated on their hands. Even though he wore gloves, Z could still feel the heat radiating from his palm. She looked up at him. Bridge had never looked so serious before. Slowly, he closed the gap between them. Z's breath was stuck in her throat as his lips slowly brushed against hers. Her eyes closed, and she gave herself over to the kiss.
"You know, you have a habit of kissing Shadow when you shouldn't." Syd cocked her head as she looked up at Sky.
"Shut up." He muttered, letting himself fall onto the couch.
The rec room was deserted that late at night, leaving it the perfect place for Sky to sort his thoughts. But Syd had followed him from the tent, not allowing him time, nor silence, in which to think.
"I'm just saying, you really should try and time things better." Syd sat opposite him.
"Why are you here?" Sky was frustrated and angry, a deadly combination.
"Because I think that you need some serious help."
"Has anyone told you how annoying you are?" Sky closed his eyes and leaned his head against the back of the couch.
"If you don't want my help, fine." He could hear Syd's footsteps on the floor as she made her way towards the door. They stopped.
"You want to know something, Sky." She said, her voice traveling from the other end of the room. "I think you're being stupid. You keep kissing Shadow and yet you never tell her how you honestly feel."
Sky opened his eyes and glanced at Syd, but she was already flouncing out of the room in a cloud of pink.
Days passed. Tommy left, the Ranger's fought Grumm's minions, and still Shadow had yet to make a decision. Both Sky and Jack had given her time and space, letting her make her choice in peace. They fought beside her, but generally avoided her when ever they weren't training or fighting. Bridge and Z's relationship began to grow, and seeing them together always made Shadow think. She wanted what they had: an easy friendship and a loving relationship all in one. It made her think more on what it was that she wanted from a boyfriend. And, after nearly a month, Shadow came to a decision.
Rummaging through her CDs, Shadow emerged triumphantly with the one she wanted. She traced the edges of the disk, a small smile on her lips. She had written this song awhile ago. It had been the first one that she ever laid a track of, and she was quite proud of it. This was the perfect song to tell him how she felt.
Shadow sat on her bed with a notebook in her lap. Pen poised above the blank page, she thought for a second about what she wanted to write. Two letters needed to be written, one of love and one of rejection. Words had always come easily to Shadow whenever she wrote a song, but these were not songs that she was writing now. These were letters that would forever change the lives of two men that she cared deeply about.
Drawing in a deep breath, she began to write.
He walked into his room and was startled to find a package on his bed. Picking up the manila envelope, he opened it curiously. Inside were a CD and a letter. He picked up the CD and placed it into the stereo that was housed in the wall. The gentle strumming of a guitar wafted through the room. The music dipped and swirled around him. This was from Shadow, he knew it was. His guess was proved correct when her voice joined the music.
If tomorrow never comes
I would just want one thing
I would sell it to the stars and the sun
I would write it for the world to see
And it's you
The light changes when you're in the room
Oh it's you
Oh it's you
If tomorrow never comes
I would want just one wish
To kiss your quiet mouth
and trace the steps with my finger tips
And it's you
The light changes when you're in the room
Oh it's you
Oh it's you
Listening to the words, he couldn't help but smile. Did this song mean what he think it meant? Quickly, he opened the letter and read it. His smile brightened and he raced out of the room, the letter falling lightly to the floor.
Shadow waited nervously, chewing on the pad of her thumb as she paced beneath the large oak tree that she had come to think of as her own. She kept glancing up at Headquarters, hoping beyond hope that he would show.
There, coming towards her, there he was. Shadow released the breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding. He stopped in front of her and silence engulfed them. Shadow wasn't sure what to say or whether to say anything at all.
"Did you really mean it?" He asked, breaking the silence. Shadow met his eyes and nodded.
"Yeah," she said, "I meant every word." He smiled so brightly that Shadow thought she'd be blinded. His arms came around her, wrapping her in the tightest hug she had ever felt. His grip loosened.
"I love you, Shadow." His words brushed against her ear, sending shivers down her spine. She pulled away, startled by his confession. In all the time that she had known him, he had never told her how he felt.
A happy tear trailed down her cheek. He wiped it away with his thumb.
"I love you too, Sky." She whispered. She lifted her face to his, this time asking for the kisses that he had once simply taken. Sky gladly complied.
Jack walked into his dorm, the letter that sat on his pillow instantly catching his attention. He opened it, almost certain of what it was. Shadow's neat handwriting stared back at him.
Jack,
I know that we have been through a lot together. We have shared so much and have become very close. But I have to be true to my heart. Please understand that I never meant to hurt you. I never wanted this to happen, but it has and you and Sky both put it upon me to decide. I truly am sorry, Jack, but I have to choose Sky.
It wasn't an easy decision, believe me. But when it boils down to it, Sky has been there for me during a very difficult time. I don't want to burden you with what that trying time was about, it's in the past and no longer a part of who I am now.
Just know, Jack, that you will never be far from my heart. You were a wonderful boyfriend who gave me everything I could need. You'll make a wonderful husband one day for some special girl. But I'm not that girl. I'm not able to give you everything that you need or want. I do love you, Jack, just not in the way that you wanted me to. You deserve more than I could ever give you.
Shadow
Sighing, Jack sat down on his bed. He couldn't say he was surprised. Even he had seen the connection that Shadow and Sky had, though neither wanted to admit that it was there. He had seen it, but he had ignored it, thinking that Shadow would stay with him. But he had been wrong. Shadow had finally realized that it was Sky she loved and she had chosen him. Jack wasn't about to say that it didn't hurt, but he knew that she had done what was best for all three of them.
She had been right about her not being able to give him everything he needed. He had always felt that she was pulling away from him whenever he wanted to get closer.
Jack heard the door to his dorm open and looked up. Syd stood there.
"I thought you might want a friend right now." She smiled down at him.
"How'd you know?" Jack smiled weakly.
"I saw Shadow and Sky." Syd didn't have to say anything more. Jack could picture quite well what they were doing.
Syd sat beside him and placed an arm around him.
"Looks like we're the only two single Rangers now." She tried to laugh it off, but Jack could sense that there was something hidden within Syd's statement. He hugged her tightly.
"You'll find someone, Syd. Someone who sees how special you are."
We'll both find someone like that, someday, he thought to himself.
Jack couldn't help but smile at their situation. Syd had come to comfort him, but here he was, offering her comfort.
It'll be okay, Jack thought, one day I'll find that girl that Shadow was talking about. And when I do, I'm going to be the luckiest man alive.
THE END
