September 4, 2004
Angel Grove, CA
After eating lunch and having our talk, I could tell the air between Tommy and I was much better. We ate chocolate cake in the kitchen while talking about the last birthday party we had both been at where Rocky smashed almost an entire cake in Adam's face. In return, Adam nearly broke Rocky's pinky finger. It had been the last gathering before I left for Florida and it was nice to think about a time that didn't have Nick tainted all over it. I was looking forward to making more of those memories now that Nick was out of the picture. I was glad he was in jail and that I'd never have to see him again. I even thought about what the process of getting a divorce would be like with him locked up. There was a lot to figure out now that pretty much my entire world has changed but I had faith that I'd get there.
As I rinsed my plate off in the sink, I heard Tommy's house phone ring. He walked over to the wall and picked it up. "Hello?" He said, cradling the receiver between his shoulder in his ear as he covered the cake back up with foil. "Sure. She's right here. One moment." He took the phone in his hand and held it out to me. I looked at him, confused. "It's the police."
"Oh! Maybe my house is cleared!" I said hopefully. I took the phone from him and brought it to my ear. "This is Kimberly." I said into the speaker.
"Kimberly, it's Detective Branson. How are you feeling today?" Her voice asked in my ear.
"I'm okay. A little sore but that's not too bad I suppose." I replied, setting the plate down in the dish strainer next to the sink. Turning, I leaned against the counter so I was facing Tommy.
"I suppose not. I still say you were extremely lucky you weren't more hurt than you were."
"You and me both. Is there any news on my house?" I asked.
"Unfortunately, no. The team is still there collecting evidence and clearing the scene. It should be good tomorrow afternoon. The good news is that there was only minor damage to the property. We've taken photos of everything in case it needs to be reported to your insurance company. I wish I had better news for you about coming home. Are you going to be able to stay at Tommy's for another night?" She questioned. I glanced at Tommy who nodded, telling me he could hear her.
"I'll be fine here." I said.
"Good. There's actually another reason why I called you. Nick was patched up and released from the hospital into our custody this morning. At his arraignment, he pleaded not guilty." I scoffed.
"Not guilty! There's two witnesses that say otherwise."
"I know. His lawyer is stating that Nick has no memory of the events that occurred last night. He's saying the last thing he remembers is that you were getting out of the car out front. He denies following you there and that you had asked to meet him there to talk about your marriage."
"That's not true! I haven't spoken to him in any way besides him trying to beat my face in almost a week. I've been in hiding to avoid him on purpose. There's no way I would ask him to meet with me just to talk. I knew something like this would happen if he found me. And I was right." I exclaimed.
"I know. This happens sometimes when guys think they can weasel their ways out of this like that. Since he pleaded not guilty, it means that this will all go to trial more than likely."
"Trial?" I whispered. "Like in a courtroom and with a jury?"
"Yes. It'll be a long process but he'll more than likely sit his ass in jail until it starts." She sighed. "But, it means that you will need to testify against him in front of the jury."
"Testify?" I asked, feeling a sweat begin to form on my forehead and in my palms. I gripped the phone tighter, fearful it would slip out of my hand. "You mean tell everyone what he did to me?"
"Yes. I know it can be a scary and daunting thing to ask someone but it will ensure that Nick will never be able to hurt you or your baby again. Once a jury hears about how badly he hurt you, there is no way that they will be able to see him as anything but guilty after that. He's looking at a number of serious charges including assault, sexual battery, attempted murder. That's not even counting the drug charges and the charges for possessing an illegal firearm." I thought about the rape and how hard it had been to tell Tommy. Did she really expect me to sit in a box and tell a room full of complete strangers how my own husband had violated me in the worst way possible a person could? I closed my eyes, shaking my head.
"I don't know if I can do that." I said, opening them back up again. "It's one thing to tell one or two people but to a full audience…" I trailed off. Tommy put a hand on my back and rubbed gently in a supportive way.
"It's okay. I can help you and so will the DA. We can get you to where you are comfortable. There's still plenty of time. We have tactics we use to help prepare witnesses and victims. Our team will make sure you are ready when it's time. These things can take months to almost a year to even see a courtroom. By then, you'll be ready to face him and tell him exactly where to shove it."
"He's saying he doesn't remember anything?" I asked, recalling her previous statement.
"Correct. He said that he can remember meeting up with you in front of the house but that's about it. The next thing he remembers is waking up in the hospital. Your friends sure did some damage to him too. He has a fractured jaw, a cracked eye socket, five broken ribs, 74 stitches on his forehead and he lost five teeth. Though, I'm sure the meth added to that. His lawyer said something about trying to press charges but we've been instructed to not follow through on that."
"I'm glad." I said. "Did he mention anything at all about what we spoke about at the house?"
"No. He said he doesn't remember a thing. Did you two discuss something important prior to the attack?" In the background, I heard some talking. "I have to let you go. I'll be in touch soon, okay?"
"Alright. Thank you." I hung the phone up and Tommy looked at me. "He says he doesn't remember what happened and apparently, his lawyer wants you and Jason to get jail time for beating him up."
"Right." Tommy scoffed. "That's the worst defense I've ever heard."
"I know but hey, maybe it's true." Hopefully, it's true. I knew I shouldn't have said anything to Nick about Tommy being the biological father. I wanted the satisfaction of seeing it on his face when I said it though. But I knew he'd use it against me. Maybe it was true. Maybe Tommy had beat him so bad that his brain was mush and he had no memory of anything from that night.
"I'm sorry he's fighting back. I thought for sure he would just go with guilty since he was caught in the act. I keep forgetting who we're dealing with exactly I guess." I nodded, setting his phone back in the cradle.
"Nick is never easy." I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "Thank you for letting me stay here again. I could go back over to Aisha's and Rocky's house if you want me to."
"No. It's fine." He said, shaking his head. "Besides, it's kinda a full house over there with Aisha, Rocky, Jason, Trini, and Marci. I think you're better off hanging out here without all of that going on."
"Thanks. I feel bad leaving Marci there." He laughed.
"Don't worry about it. I offered to have her crash here and she shot me down in a heartbeat. I think her, Aisha, and Trini are hitting it off way too well to break them up right now." I smiled, knowing Marci a lot better than anyone. I knew that she wanted no part in being the third wheel between Tommy and me.
"I'm really glad she's getting along so well with everyone. She's such a good kid. I wish her mom cared more about her than she does. I think she meant well by letting her come to live with me but I'm not her mother."
"Well, she's pretty damn lucky to have you anyway." He said, smiling at me. "How about you go take a nap? I have some stuff downstairs I need to check out."
"Actually, could I come with you?" I asked. "I haven't seen the dojo yet." His face lit up.
"You really want to see it?" He questioned.
"Of course!"
Tommy led the way downstairs and to the dojo. He was practically skipping as we walked, him talking a mile a minute about the process he went through to buy the building. Apparently, his uncle had wanted to buy it out for some apartments but there wasn't a setup for it. It would have cost him way too much to get an income from the investment. Tommy, on the other hand, saw it with a great deal of untapped potential. He put the offer in and made the deal. Next, he applied for a loan to start the remodel. He didn't get as much as he wanted so Rocky, Jason, and Billy stepped up to help him get the work done. It took nearly six months to complete and he's not completely done but he's able to run the dojo. Since he sunk so much of his savings into the business, he figured putting in a place to live above it wouldn't be a bad idea to cut out on costs. I didn't blame him there since I'm living rent free in my mother's house.
"Okay. So remember that there's still some finishing touches that need to be completed." He said, opening the front door.
"Tommy, relax!" I laughed. "I'm sure it's great."
"I know. I just...it's my pride and joy. I am proud of it so I want people to understand and appreciate it like I do." It was nice seeing Tommy so passionate about something. I could tell her cared with everything he had about this place.
"Well, I will need a grand tour then." I said. Inside, we walked into a large room that had floor to ceiling mirrors on two of the walls. The others had white and green matts, matching the green matt that was on the floor. I saw the logo he had on the front window was also on the floor matts; a white tiger tangled around a long and skinny green and silver dragon. I smiled to myself, knowing why he had chosen that. Bright lights were attached to the ceiling, lighting up the room with natural light. Stacks of other matts were in the far corner along with a towel rack and a place to store shoes and personal belongings.
"So, this is the main gym. We can hold two big classes at a time here. This is where most of mine and Rocky's are." He said. He pointed above us. I noticed a metal stairwell that went up to a small platform. "That's so I can hold two classes at a time if I need to."
"Impressive." I said. On the wall where there were no mirrors or matts, he had inspirational posters with his favorite martial artists on them. I spotted a few of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. There was one of Chuck Norris as well, nestled between a mirror and the corner. Tommy loved Chuck Norris and everything the man has ever done. I've seen the complete series of Walker Texas Ranger because of this, something one usually doesn't brag about.
"Thanks." He started walking towards the left part of the room where there was a wide and open hallway. I heard voices coming from this direction and I recognized Jason's as the loudest. I followed behind Tommy, curious to see what was back here. "This is our smaller gym. It's where all of our adult classes are held. I think Jason is doing his late class right now. We work with Angel Grove University and offer a gym credit for a semester of karate lessons. You should see some of the students we get from it." Tommy stopped at the end of the hall and I stopped next to him. I saw a smaller room with the same kind of matt on the floor as the front, minus the logo. The walls were mostly matts in here except for the wall that was behind Jason at the front of the room. He was pacing back and forth in front of the group of people, his arms behind his back as he watched them go through their routine. His gi was bright red with a black belt around his waist. It brought me right back to high school and our times at the youth center when he'd teach classes.
"Again." He called out as his students got to the end of their kata. I spotted a few younger guys in the group, two middle aged women, and to my surprise, an old woman who had to be in her late sixties. All wore the white uniforms with the dojo logo on the back and they moved through the motions. The Karate Grandma was doing the best, honestly. She looked very content as she moved her arms with grace. The younger guys, however, seemed to fumble over the movements as they tried to concentrate.
"She's good." I said softly, leaning towards Tommy so he could hear me. He nodded.
"She's been to every class. Her husband died last year so she decided to go back to school for something to fill her time. She brings us cookies every Friday."
"Oh, well I see why she's a favorite then." I teased.
"Guys, you need to focus." Jason said, stopping in front of the guys who were having trouble. "It's all about finding that inner strength and will power. You need to move it with your arms and keep them steady. Watch." He went through the moves, the guys watching.
"Brings me back to when you and Jason taught self defense at the Youth Center." I said, leaning against the door jam. Tommy nodded.
"I recall you and Trini kicking our asses."
"You told us to instruct. We did just that." I replied, shrugging my shoulders. "Besides, you guys taught me all I knew about karate. I really wished I had stuck with it. Maybe…" I trailed off.
"What?" I shook my head.
"Nothing. I just was going to say that I might have been able to fight off Nick in the beginning then."
"He had a gun, Kim. There's not much you could have done about that."
"I know. It's just that I used to be basically this superhero, saving the world every day. I couldn't even protect myself from one guy. Oh how the mighty have fallen."
"I wouldn't say fallen. You fought back like hell the last time. Even the strongest crane has to land sometime." He said, giving me a small smile. I returned it, understanding his metaphor.
"Hey." Jason said, jogging over to us as he released his class. "How'd things go today?"
"Alright. The detective called me. Nick pleaded not guilty so it'll have to go to trial. He's claiming he doesn't remember anything." I replied. Jason nodded, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Yeah? The police called me today too. All the reports came back on our house."
"What did they say?" Tommy asked.
"They found three sets of prints in the house that don't belong to any of us." He replied.
"Sounds like Nick made some friends." I muttered, shaking my head.
"That's the thing though. They ran them against his. Nick's prints weren't anywhere to be found."
"What? That makes no sense. He had to have been there." I asked, confused.
"That's what I said. They ran them twice though. There wasn't a match." Jason replied.
"What does that mean?" I asked. Jason and Tommy exchanged a worried look.
"It means that it wasn't him."
