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Chapter Four – Kim, the realization

As Kim awoke the morning after crying herself to sleep in her mothers lap she noticed two things immediately. She was sleeping in a damp pair of sweatpants and a damp sports bra, and she was clutching her pillow tightly to her breast. "Pillow?" she thought, "Why a Pillow? Where's Panda-Roo?"

Now more fully awake, the previous day and night flooded back into her mind. Ron, Zita, The walk back home in the rain from Bueno-Nacho, everything. Kim decided that she would give Ron a few days of silence, at least a few days if not longer. Maybe he was right, a little bit, a tiny bit. She had been holding back from him a little, even now that they were dating she had, in the back of her mind, retained the right to at least look at the other guys that were out there, and they really never did say that they were exclusive or anything she had just assumed that Ron would be hers. She was mad about the missed "Anniversary" but she'd been mad before at some of the dumb things he'd done in the past but could never stay mad at him for long, and if she knew Ron (and she thought she did) he wouldn't be able to survive 2 days of the silent treatment, he always sought her out and begged forgiveness, even when he had really done nothing wrong.

Feeling a little bit better now that she was going to "turn the tables" on Ron she rose from bed and prepared for the day, after a quick shower and changing into jeans and a short green top (at least they were dry) she left her room and was heading downstairs for something to eat when she notice all of the empty spaces on the wall leading downstairs, that was when she remembered about gathering up the photo's and stuff and getting ready to throw them out. She ran back to her room and looked around for the garbage bag but couldn't find it anywhere, in a panic she ran downstairs looking for her mother, then remembered that today was a workday and with the tweebs off at daycare she was alone in the house, Kim went out the back door intending to see if the bag was in the garbage, she just could not remember if she had thrown it out or not, as she rounded the corner of the house she stopped suddenly, where in the heck were the garbage cans? Looking down the driveway she saw the cans sitting empty at the end of the driveway, "Oh No", she thought, it's garbage day, it was all gone. The pictures and scrapbooks were gone! She was turning around to head back toward the house when she remembered Panda-Roo, "Oh my God" she thought, "Panda-Roo was in that bag. She slowly continued back into the house and was about to get a bowl of cereal when the phone rang, betcha that's Ron she thought as she picked up the receiver and said "Hello, Possible residence"

Monique: Hey girl, where have you been, this is about the fifth time I called today, no answer on your line or the house line all day.

Kim: I don't know Mo, I just got up, I didn't hear my phone ring and I can't hear this line from my room, remember its sound proofed so I don't wake anyone if I get a late night call for a mission. What's so important that you just had to speak to me?

Monique: You gotta be kiddin me girl, the whole towns talking about the fight in Bueno-Nacho last night between you and Ron, you didn't really tell him you were through did you?

Kim looked down at the shoeless feet for a moment before answering.

Kim: Yea mo, I did, after blowing me off on our anniversary and missing that mission for no apparent reason I guess when I walked into Bueno-nacho and saw him with Zita I kinda lost it a little and said some things that I shouldn't have.

Monique: Boy girl you are SKD (Some Kinda Dumb in Monique-speak), you better call that boy up right now and talk to him, Felix went looking for him last night but I haven't heard from him yet so I don't know if he found him or not.

Kim: No big Mo, Ron and I have had our little squabbles before, we're always able to either work it out or just ignore it and pretend it never happened.

Monique: LITTLE SQUABBLE, hey girl, if half of what I've been hearing is right that was no "little squabble" that was an all-out rant; you didn't really call him a looser did you?

Kim: Yea, I guess I did, but like I said, No big. I know Ron, he could see I was mad and he'll figure out that I really didn't mean it, then he'll call and apologize to me and I'll forgive him, it'll all be over by tomorrow or the next day, his birthday is in three days, he hasn't celebrated a birthday without me in 13 years, he's not about to start now.

Monique: You better hope your right baby girl, cause if your not, you could just lose that boy forever and I know how you really fell about him, even if you don't.

Kim: Whata ya mean Mo?

Monique: Kimmie, that man is your "Forever and always", it's just not right for anyone to take chances with a forever and always, it's just not right.

Kim: I still think this will blow over pretty quickly Mo, but I'll tell you what, if he hasn't called me by his birthday I'll call him and apologize okay?

Monique: Okay K, but I still think your taking a pretty big chance, I really hope you know what your doing girl.

Kim: Don't worry Mo, when it comes to Ron, I always know what to do, hey I gotta get something to eat, I seem to have forgotten to eat last night and I'm starving. I'll call you later and maybe we can do some power shopping or something okay?

Monique: Okay girl, you go feed your skinny little body, but I'm tellin ya right now, the Mo-Mo's getting some bad vibes from this whole thing. Call me later, especially if there's a change okay?

Kim: You got it Mo, But I'm telling you now, everything's gonna work out just fine, Bye.

After Kim hung up the phone she poured herself a bowl of cereal and as she was eating she started thinking about Monique's comment about Ron being her "Forever and Always", she pondered this for the rest of the day as she went about her chores, and was still thinking about it after the laundry and dusting were out of the way, when Anna Possible got home from the hospital Kim was still so deep in thought that she forgot to ask her about the missing garbage bag.

As the days ground slowly by Kim was starting to think that maybe, just maybe, she didn't know Ron as well as she thought, he still hadn't called. It was now the day of Ron's birthday and still no word from him at all, no missions had come up to break up the time so when she woke up that day she decided that if Ron hadn't called by noon she was going to do something she had never done before, she would call and apologize to Ron. But by 10:00 am she gave in and found herself dialing Ron's number, she called his private line and was surprised to hear the "I'm sorry, but the number you have dialed, 555-0987 has been disconnected" message, she stared at the phone for a moment as the message repeated itself then flashed for a dial tone and dialed the Stoppable home line, on the second ring a funny sounding Mr. Stoppable answered the phone.

Mr. Stoppable: Hello,

Kim: Hi Mr. S., its Kim, can I speak to Ron please, his line seems to be having problems.

Mr. S.: Uh..Kim, Ron's not here, he's gone.

Kim: Okay, when are you expecting him back, it's real important that I talk to him.

Mr. S: Kim, we're not expecting him back, I told you he's gone.

Kim could hear Mr. Stoppable's voice crack as if he were trying very hard to control himself, but loosing.

Kim: What do you mean gone, where did he go?

Mr. S: I don't know Kim, he wouldn't tell us, he packed his things last night and told his mother and I that since he was eighteen now it was time for him to be on his own, It couldn't be the money, I hadn't even told him about that yet. He promised to keep in touch, but said he had to go his own way now and Middleton held nothing for him anymore.

Kim: Money? what money?

Mr. S: His Nacho royalty money, after that fiasco when he got that check I decided to take over and invest the remaining money for him, between that and the other royalty checks he's been getting he's worth a considerable fortune now, enough money so he could be anywhere in the world by now.

Kim: Don't worry Mr. S., I'll find him, I'll get him to come back home. I've got to. I'll call you when I have some information Okay, now don't worry, everything's gonna be okay.

As Kim hung up the phone she remembered saying those same words to Monique just the other day, but it wasn't okay was it, thinking this she said to herself "Oh my God, what have I done, how could I have been so cruel and stupid." Kim ran up the stairs to her room frantically looking for her Kimmunicator, thinking to herself, "Wade can find him, then I'll go and beg him to forgive me, I'll get him to come back home, I've got to" She spotted the Kimmunicator on her desk (where it always was) and immediately pushed the button that would connect her to Wade night or day, as Wade's face appeared on the screen she noticed that his eye's were red and he did not have his ever-present soda in his hand, instead he had a tissue and was blowing his nose.

Kim: Wade, listen, Ron's missing and I have to find him, can you get me a fix on his location and then arrange for a ride, It's really important that that I talk to him in person, please?

Wade: Kim, I know Ron's gone, he called me this morning and told me he was moving on, he asked, well, that's not right, he TOLD me to disable the tracking chip that he knew I had planted on him and made me promise that I wouldn't try to find him, he specifically told me that I was not to help you locate him for any reason.

Kim: Come on Wade, that's just a Ronish thing, I've got to find him Wade, I screwed up and made him feel worthless, I've got to explain, I've got to apologize, I know you can find him. Wade it's me asking, Me, Kim.

Wade: Kim, I've known Ron almost as long as I've known you, I consider Ron my friend, and friends don't break promises to friends, I'm sorry Kim, I just can't, I've got to respect Ron's wishes just like I would respect yours. You've got to understand that, and please, please don't ask me to find him for you again.

And with that comment Wade's face disappeared from the screen leaving Kim standing in her room staring at the blank screen on her Kimmunicator, she stood like that for several minutes before dropping the Kimmunicator to the carpeted floor and then collapsing herself, curling herself into a ball, hugging her knees to her chest and whimpering softly to herself "he's gone, he's gone" over and over, and that was how Anna Possible found her several hours later when she returned from work.