A/N: Good morning, everyone! I hope you had a fantastic Fourth of July weekend (if you celebrate it!) We enjoyed a nice quiet weekend in the middle of nowhere in Vermont. It was nice to get away and I was able to get sometime to finish a few chapters.

Thank you all for your wonderful reviews! They really make this all worth is. And yes, we all hate Nick haha.


June 15th, 2004

Angel Grove, CA

After breakfast, Jason told me he had to get heading back to the dojo. He asked if I wanted to tag along to see the dojo and his class. I turned him down, knowing that there was a good chance of running into Tommy. I didn't think it was something I could handle after my conversation with Jason. I still didn't know what he had meant by what he had said. Did Tommy think we were more than just two kids in love? I had always been under the impression that he was. He never tried to get back together with me after I broke up with him and he never made any kind of contact while I was in Florida. I had assumed he had grown up and moved on. What if he hadn't? What if he thought we were going to be more than what we were and I had stomped on that?

Jason dropped me off at the curb, telling me that he would be home in a few hours and that Trini would be home shortly. I wished him luck and waved as he drove up the street. Putting my purse over my shoulder, I walked up the front walkway towards the porch. As I climbed up them, the front door opened. I was expecting either Nick or Trini. Instead, I came face to face with a man I had never seen before. He was tall and very skinny, his figure hidden under a pair of saggy jeans, a white wife beater and a dark blue zip up hoodie. The hoodie was up and it covered part of his face. Not enough so that I didn't see the piercing blue eyes that looked at me.

"Oh. I'm sorry." I said, stepping back. "Can I help you with something?" I asked.

"Nah. We cool, babe." He said, giving my body a once over that made me feel uncomfortable. "I was just finding my way out."

"Can I ask what you're doing here then?" I questioned, holding the strap of my purse. He didn't seem like someone that Trini and Jason would have over for a social call, especially since neither of them were home. The man smirked at me, rubbing his hands together before shoving them into the pockets of the hoodie. My skin crawled from the way he looked at me and I didn't appreciate the chuckle that came from him as he licked his bottom lip with his tongue.

"Just seeing a friend." He muttered, pulling the hoodie over his head more and walking passed me. He jogged down the steps and walked over to a little neon green car that was parked along the curb I hadn't noticed before. He shot me a wink and a kissy face before climbing in. Extremely loud bass thumped in the car when he turned it on. His tires squealed as he peeled away. I waited until he was gone before going inside.

"Nick!" I called out, shutting the door behind me. I heard him swear from the kitchen and then some movement. I walked that way, my shoes clicking on the hardwood floors. In the kitchen, I saw that he was standing by the sink with a glass in his hand. His brown hair was a mess on the top of his head and he only wore a pair of basketball shorts, his chest bare. I noticed next to the sink there were a few spoons laying there as well as his toiletry bag. There was also a discarded cereal bowl and a coffee cup he must have left there when he woke up this morning.

"Who was that guy?" I asked.

"What guy?" He replied, giving me a confused look.

"The Eminem fan club president that just walked out the front door." I said flatly, tossing my purse down on the counter. "He looked like he could be a runner up for Slim Shady."

"Oh! That was Peter. He's a guy I met while I was out job hunting today. How'd your interview go?" He set his glass down on the counter and smiled at me, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Fine. I got the job." I answered, eyeing him. "Nick, you can't just invite people you barely know over to Trini and Jason's house. We're guests."

"Kim, relax. Peter helped me land a job! I start work tomorrow." He said, sounding excited. I smiled.

"That's great! Where? What kind of work?"

"Just a small landscaping and contracting place. I guess his Dad owns it or something. I told them about my work in Miami and the guy hired me on the spot. Now, we're both working and we can be out of here in no time. We are one step closer to having just you and me time all the time." Walking over, he wrapped his arms around my waist.

"That is good. His name is Peter? He seemed charming." I replied, grinning up at him. He shrugged.

"He's only of those spoiled wanna-be kids that Daddy buys everything for but he's good company I think. Just a kid who thinks he's a gangsta even though his mommy still makes his bed every day for him. You know the type." Nick glanced at the clock on the wall. "Your interview was pretty long." I nodded.

"Mr. Ridley showed me the whole building and how things work. I have to go back tomorrow and finish my orientation paperwork. I think I'm going to really like it here, Nick. I loved the theater in school and it just felt so great being in that building. It's gorgeous. You'll have to come see it sometime! He said he was willing to take a chance on me and offer me the job. Then Jason and I got breakfast afterwards." His face went from excited to something completely different in a matter of seconds. He let me go and took a step towards the doorway.

"Well, that makes sense."

"What?" I asked.

"You get some good news and the first thing you wanna do is run off with Jason for some alone time. Least he bought you something to eat after the two of you fucked." I let out an angry sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. His jealousy act was getting really old at this point. He was worse than a revolving door on this issue. I felt the beginning of a headache forming between my temples, the pounding there.

"Nick, for the last time, I am not sleeping with Jason. I never have and I will never want to. You need to let that go. He's with Trini. They are both my best friends." He laughed, shaking his head.

"Right. The wonder group you've got going here. Good forbid they do anything that isn't perfect. Just friends. Bullshit. You didn't have to go out to eat with him. Your ass should have come straight home after the interview. I should have been the first person you told about the job. God, you're such a fuck up." Turning, he headed towards our room. I followed behind him. He punched the door open, it flying and bouncing off the wall behind it.

"Nick!" I exclaimed, seeing a piece of drywall fly from the impact. "Stop it!"

"Fuck off!" He yelled back, storming over to the dresser. He grabbed a pair of jeans from it and pulled them on over his pants. "Why don't you just run over to that little karate school and fuck all three of the assholes over there for old times sake? I'm sure at one point or another they all have. Is it common for girls around here to let their friends run trains on them? Or is that just a Kimberly special?"

"What are you even talking about?" I asked. "You know that I've only ever been with two people in my entire life! Why do you think that I'm just this giant whore?"

"Why don't you ask Tommy, huh?" He hissed, narrowing his eyes at me as he tossed a shirt on. "Look how long you were in Florida before I was fucking you behind his back."

"It wasn't like that and you know it." I replied. Shaking his head, he ran a hand threw his hair to comb it out.

"Honestly, he's the lucky son of a bitch in this whole equation. I'm the one that got stuck with the biggest slut in the country." I felt tears burn the back of my eyes and I let out a sniffle. "Don't you dare fucking cry. You know that shit pisses me off. Grow the fuck up for once and act like an adult, Kimmy."

"Don't call me that." I said, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand. "Please stop acting like this. I didn't do anything wrong, Nick. I'm sorry if you're upset with me for going out to eat with Jason. I didn't think it was a big deal. I'm sorry."

"Did you sleep with your new boss too?" He asked, sitting on the bed and pulling his sneakers on. "Is that how you got this job you clearly aren't qualified for? Or is that tomorrow's orientation process?"

"Will you stop? I didn't do anything like what you are accusing me of!" Nick stood up, walking towards the door. I stood in front of it, not letting him pass. "You're acting crazy and you're scaring me."

"So what? You gonna have your little boyfriend beat me up then?" He asked, getting extremely close to my face. "You gonna run off and tell him all about how mean your husband is and what an asshole I am? I bet between Jason and Tommy, there might be enough brain cells for them to have a thought. Your friends are fucking worthless, almost as much as you. I can't wait to be out of this fucking house. I can't wait to not have to look at any of them again. Between the assholes thinking they are shit and the two other bitches you hang out with, I've had my fair share of their hospitality to last me a fucking life time. It wouldn't bother me if they all dropped dead tomorrow."

"Don't say stuff like that! They didn't do anything to you!" I exclaimed. "Why are you acting like this? I told you I was sorry. What more do you want from me?"

"Stop being such a skank. I really thought when we moved out here, it was to try to make our lives better. Have a family, remember? Not for you to show your nasty snatch off to any guy in the area you knew in high school."

"I haven't!" I yelled. "You have this idea that every time I leave the house that I'm sleeping with every guy I see and it's not true! I was out getting a job today. A job to help us get on our own feet and to start a family." He scoffed.

"Why even bother? It's not like you can anyway. One job on this planet and you can't even get that fucking right."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I whispered.

"What do you think?" He replied. "Now move."

"No. Tell me what you meant by that."

"Fine! A woman's sole purpose of living is to have kids and you can't even do that. You are so broken that you can't even give me a kid. Maybe I'll go find me someone who can." His comment felt like a knife in my chest and I instantly felt hollow. "Fucking move." I shook my head. He let out an angry noise and grabbed the front of my dress. He pulled me out of the doorway and then shoved me on the ground. I slid, my side colliding with the corner of the bed. I let out a loud gasp and he looked over his shoulder at me. With a glare, he walked out of the room. A couple minutes later, I heard the front door slam shut. Wincing, I pulled myself up to sit on the edge of the bed. Tears streamed down my face and my entire left side ached. I didn't dare look at it in fear of what I would see. I knew it hurt to breathe slightly. I didn't think anything was broken though.

"Kim?" A hushed voice said in the doorway behind me. Turning, I saw that Trini was standing there. She was still holding her purse and her car keys, concern in her eyes. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I replied, nodding. I smiled and wiped the tears away from my eyes. "It was just a silly fight."

"Does he really think you're sleeping with Jason?" She asked, stepping into the room and setting her things on the floor next to the door. I shook my head.

"He just gets like this sometimes. With the stress of moving and everything, I just think it's getting to him. That's all. It won't last forever. He got a job today so he will have something to keep him busy besides sitting around here, thinking that I'm doing everything his insecure thoughts make him believe." Behind her, I saw that there was a chunk of drywall missing where the door had bounced off the wall. The door knob must have gone through the wall. I gasped, guilt filling my chest. Trini turned to see what I was looking at. "Oh, Trini. I'm sorry. I'll pay to fix it and have him do it."

"It's fine, Kim." She said, sitting next to me on the bed. "It's a quick fix." She grabbed my hand with hers. "Did he hurt you?" I shook my head quickly.

"No. He just yelled at me and left." I lied, looking down at the floor. "What did you hear?"

"Just that you're a whore and he wants us all to drop dead." I whimpered, covering my face with my hands.

"Trini, I'm so sorry. I swear to you he's not normally like this! I don't know what's gotten into him but he's just so mean lately and I don't know what to do about it. I know he doesn't want you guys to die. I don't know what is going on in his head." I sobbed, my body shaking with them. It hurt each time I breathed in but I didn't make any noise to show it.

"Shh." She said, wrapping an arm around me and sliding closer. "I know. I'm a big girl. I can handle a childish outburst from a guy. I am with Jason after all." She rubbed my back as the sobs calmed.

"I never would have stayed here if I had known this was how he'd repay you." I gestured behind me at the door.

"Like I said it's a quick fix. I mean, if he keeps doing it, we will have words. And god help the boy if he does anything to my kitchen. But listen, if you don't want him to come back here, you tell me. I have no issue telling him he needs to go somewhere else." I glanced over my shoulder at her.

"Do you not want us here anymore?" I whispered.

"Of course not! You are always welcome in our home. I just want you to feel safe while you're here. If that means not having him here, I can make that happen." I bit my lip, turning away from her.

"No. It was just a misunderstanding. He'll calm down and be back to apologize. I think things will be better once I get the keys to my place. Then he will have room to do whatever without bugging you guys." I smiled at her.

"Are you sure?" I nodded. "Alright. How'd the interview go?"

"Good. I got the job."

"Congrats! I knew you would. They would have been crazy not to hire you."

"Thanks for your help. Mr. Ridley is such a nice man. I think I'm really going to like it there."

"I'm glad." Trini stood up, grabbing her things. "I gotta work on a few things and then I'll start some dinner if you wanna help."

"Sure." She turned to walk away. "Hey, Trini?" I called. She stopped, looking back at me. "Could you do me a favor and not tell Jason about what happened?"

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Things between him and Nick are tense enough. I don't want it to get worse. Could you just not tell him about this?" She hesitated and I saw it in her eyes. "I know it's a lot of you but I just need to work on my marriage without things exploding over dinner."

"You're right about that. Jason is clearly not Nick's biggest fan either. I'm going to guess he told you this morning. Alright. I won't say anything. But Kim, if you ever need to talk about it, I'm here. And if you ever change your mind, I don't mind being a one woman eviction crew. I wouldn't even need Jason to help me kick his ass." I laughed, nodding.

"Thanks, Trini."

"Any time." She grinned at me, winking before walking out of the room. Standing up, I walked into the bathroom and shut the door. Turning, I walked over to the mirror. Shedding my blazer, I grabbed the bottom of my skirt and pulled up my dress until I could see my torso. On the left side of my body right where my ribs were, I saw a large red mark that was already starting to turn purple. I gently touched it with my fingers and pain rippled through me. Wincing, I felt the breath leave me as I nearly doubled over. I let go of my dress and looked into the mirror. A tear slipped down my cheek as I gazed into my reflection.

"What's wrong with you?" I whispered.