AN/ Hi everyone. Wow it's been a long time since I did anything on this story. I had to go back and read the entire thing from the beginning and go through all my old notes to refresh my memory...

But I figured that it was time to update this. I hope you'll enjoy. This one has some good Kick moments :)

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kickin' it

Chapter 8

Telling Her

I placed the dishes in the dishwasher and left the kitchen to go get my karate GI. Kim would be here any minute to pick me up. It was late in the afternoon and the daylight had begun to disappear. Mum and dad were still at work and I would probably have started to feel all anxious from being alone, but knowing that Kim was on her way, so that we could walk to practice together, definitely lightened me up.

Just as I closed the duffel bag after having placed a new clean towel in it, I heard the doorbell. Smiling, I grabbed my bag and went to get the door.

"Hey," I greeted as I opened it and spotted the girl standing on my porch.

"Hi Jack," Kim said and stepped inside. I gave her a confused look when I noticed she hadn't brought her bag with her training outfit.

"Where's your GI?" I wondered.

"Yeah…about that…" She said, avoiding eye contact. "I don't feel like going to the dojo." She almost cringed when she said that as if she was expecting me to get angry or something. Of course I didn't get angry. I could never get angry at her. Although, I got curious to know why she would make that decision. She loved karate just as much as I did.

"Is it because of Philip?" I asked, remembering how he had made her all uncomfortable yesterday. I swore if he's the reason Kim didn't want to go to the dojo, I would personally make sure that he got kicked out…

She looked up at me shaking her head.

"No, he's not the reason."

"Then what is it?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I guess I rather just spend some time with you doing noting in particular." She looked down again as a blush made it to her cheeks. "If that's okay with you…" I smiled and dropped my bag to the floor.

"Of course it's okay with me." I said truthfully. I didn't really mind what we were doing as long as I was allowed to be around her. Besides we hadn't been spending much time alone, just the two of us lately and I was dying to cuddle up in her embrace.

Kim smiled at my respond, relieved that I hadn't started to argue.

I let the pen run across the paper, doodling some mindless circles and lines. Shooting a glance from where I was sitting at the desk, I spotted the annoyed look on Kim's face as she struggled with my Rubik's cube. She was sitting on my bed, her legs stretched out across it as she rested her back against the headboard. I smiled at the sight of her and an urge to be close to her suddenly filled me. We hadn't done much since she came, just the ordinary talk about school and stuff. Things were starting to get kind of boring actually. That was about to change though…

I stood up and made it over to her. She didn't pay any attention to me as I climbed up in bed beside her, fully focused on the puzzle.

I lay down onto my back, placing my head in her lap and looking up at her hands fiddling around with the cube above me. She wasn't anywhere near solving it and I smiled in amusement as her attempts of getting the colours into the right places failed over and over again.

After watching her for a while, I finally reached up and snatched the cube away from her.

"Hey!" She exclaimed and tried to grab it again, but I quickly threw it aside, making sure that it landed far enough so she wouldn't be able to reach it without getting up. I didn't want her to be fiddling around with that anymore. I wanted her to focus on me.

The irritated and slightly frustrated expression on Kim face faded as soon as she looked down at me. I was glancing up at her, trying to look as innocent and – to use Kim's own words- irresistibly adorable as I could.

It seemed to work as her hand found its way to my head, running its fingers through my hair over and over. I closed my eyes, relaxing. I don't think I'll ever get tired of the feeling of her doing that. The tip of her fingers massaged my scalp as a slight, comfortable pull to my hair would come every now and then as they made it through my locks, untangling them from each other.

I felt her placing her warm hand on my chest, just resting it there while continuing to comb my hair. Bringing my hand up, I placed it over hers, rubbing my thumb across her knuckles. I could hear her take a deep breath as if she was about to say something but then stopped herself, hesitating. Frowning slightly, I opened my eyes.

She had a rather serious expression on her face. I'd had the feeling ever since she got here that something was troubling her but it wasn't until I was lying there, looking up at her that I became sure of it.

Reaching up, I moved a strand of hair away from her face and tucked it carefully behind her ear.

"What's on your mind?" I wondered. She sighed deeply at the question, looking away. I knew then that my intuition had been right. "C'mon Kim. I know you didn't just skip practise for no reason. Something is bothering you." Another sigh left her throat and she looked at me.

"There's something I've been wondering…I've been thinking about asking you about it for a while now, but I haven't really wanted to bring it all up…" She paused, still seeming uncertain if she should continue or not. "Although I can't keep from wondering…" She averted her gaze again, looking away. I put my hand under her chin, carefully turning her head back to face me, and gave her a smile.

"Well if I can help you from wondering, then why don't you just ask me now?" I said. "I'm listening."

She inhaled, finally having decided to tell me what's been on her mind for so long.

"You know back in the woods…By Mark's cabin, I mean."

I stiffened, suddenly starting to get worried. Memories of what happened there flashed before my eyes and were as clear as if they'd happened yesterday. Since Kim was right there with me in my bed, the moment we'd shared together in the forest came to my mind. Kim had only been by the cabin for a couple of hours and her memory could therefore only be something from that period of time. A time when I had been in her arms for the majority of it… As strangely as it may sound I felt embarrassed about the way I'd clung to her, crying like a baby and I feared that she'd thought that I'd overreacted and that she'd found that kind of behavior silly and weird. I almost thought so myself in hindsight, but I also knew that at that moment I hadn't been able to help myself.

"Yeah…" I answered hesitantly.

"Mark said some really strange things." She continued, choosing her words carefully. "I don't know if you remember but when I… held you and Mark was lying beside us on the ground, right before the police arrived, he kind of threatened you. He said that if you didn't obey him he would send Alan on you…"

"Yes, I remember…" I said quietly, staring blankly up at the ceiling. Kim's hand had stopped moving and was now just resting against my scalp as she was focusing on our conversation.

"Who's Alan?" She cut right to the case. I shot her a glance; her question hadn't been what I'd expected.

"Oh, Alan…" I started, a shiver going down my spine at the mere thought of him. "He's Mark," I said, receiving a confused look from Kim.

"What do you mean?"

"Mark is mentally disturbed,"

"You've got that right," she agreed, turning her hand that was resting on my chest around, so that she could take a hold of mine that'd been lying on top of hers.

"No, not like that," I said. "…Well like that too, but I mean he is mentally ill. Like he has some kind of a split personality…" Kim watched me with a sudden interest.

"So what you're saying is that Mark and Alan is the same person?"

"Yes," I nodded slightly. "Mark is probably the real person, and he's not that bad…He has a strange apprehension of reality, but I don't think he means anything bad, really… I mean he even apologized to me for what they did and I think that he liked me in some strange way…" I stopped for a brief moment, new flashes of the cabin passing before me. "He never really intended to do anything bad, but Alan…"

I remembered the times when I'd looked into those green eyes in horror the moment they flickered, knowing that I had nothing to await but cruelty. My chest started to feel heavy and I took a deep breath to be able to continue.

"I figured after a while that every time Mark got stressed, like scared or upset he would switch into Alan." I got quiet again, squeezing Kim's hand a little.

"What was he like?" She wondered. "Alan, I mean."

"Cruel," I answered honestly. "He hated me with a passion and he took every opportunity he had to let me know that." She gave me a sympathetic look, noticing how my voice had begun to waver slightly. My head was full of all the awful things that he did to me, reminding me of all the pain and fear I'd gone through and a lump in my throat started to grow as a result of that. "Every bruise and cut I had and still have is thanks to him…" My voice came out quieter and weaker than I'd expected. I looked at Kim, trying to block the memories out and to be objective to the facts that I was telling her. "Alan's the one who tried to shoot you by the way…" I said, trying to sound less affected by my own words than I was.

Kim was quiet, taking it all in. Knowing that I wouldn't be able to get deeper into that night she was almost killed without breaking down, I decided to focus on Mark's mental illness.

"Alan used to say that he was protecting Mark. As when things got too rough on him, Alan would step in and Mark wouldn't have to deal with it. Then there was…"

"What Jack?" Kim urged me to continue after I'd once again stopped mid-sentence.

"Tess…"

"Tess?" Kim frowned. "Isn't she dead?" I nodded.

"I think so…but Mark claimed she wasn't. He used to talk to her all the time and in the beginning I thought she was real, but then I realized that she only lived inside his head…Sometimes he would talk to her, discussing things about me... but she was never really there." I explained. "The creepiest part was when he started to act like her though. He got all childish and…"

Silence filled the room for a moment as we both disappeared in thoughts. Kim had a lot of new information to take in. She'd done some research about the real Tess in order to find me and it didn't take long until she started to put two and two together.

"You mean he acted as if he was Tess?" She asked to double check, leaning forward, closer to me. "Like Tess; as in his daughter who had a crush on you?"

I nodded, shooting her a glance. Her eyes widened slightly as she started to realize something.

"Oh my god, Jack! He didn't…?!" It was as if she couldn't place the word in her mouth, and I was glad I didn't need to hear it. I still knew what she meant though "Did he?" Worry filled her voice as she clutched my hand.

"Thank god, no," I answered. She leaned back against the head board again, somewhat relieved. "He kind of flirted with me though and he…He wanted to cuddle." I shuddered at the memory.

"Oh my…" Kim mumbled to herself, shaking her head in thoughts. "I had no idea… It must've been terrible to be held captive by a man like that..."

"It was…" I said truthfully, beginning to feel that lump in my throat clearer again. "I was so scared… I remembered the first time I woke up in the basement. I had no idea where I was. At first I thought that it was Frank or Austin who locked me down there…" I looked at Kim, who had a slightly confused expression on her face as if she wondered why I'd made that conclusion.

"I thought that they were trying to keep me away so that they could get to you…I screamed at the door, threatening them. That was a big mistake…" I disappeared in thoughts again, reliving that moment.

"Why?" Kim asked, pulling me back.

"I mentioned your name and Mark and Alan heard it…I'm sorry," I said, looking into her eyes. She just smiled at me.

"Jack, I've already told you that I got to Mark's house all by myself. It wasn't your fault."

"I know, but… it still feels like it." She cupped my cheek.

"It wasn't your fault, Jack. Just let it go, okay?" I nodded, although I wasn't sure that I would be able to.

"I really thought in the beginning that I would manage to escape all by myself or that someone would come and find me…" I continued. "But as the days passed I started to lose hope. I was starving and lonely and I missed you guy's terribly…" I paused, taking a deep breath. Without having realized it, I had begun to tell her my story. I had postponed it for so long, not having been ready and I was still not sure that I was, but I wanted her to know. I was tired of carrying all this by myself…

"Mark came to visit once the first day, right after I'd woken up. I had no idea he was so dangerous. He seemed a bit weird but otherwise harmless…It wasn't until I tried to leave that he panicked and turned into Alan…" I found myself unable to continue on that so I skipped ahead. "He didn't show up for days after that and even though I was lonely and bored out of my mind, I was doing okay I guess. The second time he came to visit was much worse…That's when I fully realized what a dangerous man he was. He…he threatened to hurt you." I shot Kim another glance. Her face was serious as she concentrated on listening. "I got scared and jumped him. All I could think of was to stop him from getting to you… I fought him, but I wasn't as strong as I used to and I lost…" My eyes had began watering, the feeling of helplessness I'd experienced in the situation coming back to me.

"When he restrained me to that bed I thought that all hope was lost, but then…you came." Kim smiled at me, her thumb gently rubbing my cheek. I tried to return her smile, but didn't really succeed. Focusing on her touch and keeping my breathing under control, I took a moment, giving my heart a break from the emotions battling in there. And when I thought that I was ready I continued.

"You showing up was the best and worst thing that could happen… I've never been so afraid in my life as when he pointed the gun at you…" I whispered as I grabbed Kim's hand within both of mine and held it against my chest, hugging it. Kim's smile began to falter, even though she did everything that she could to maintain it, trying to stay strong for me. She must've been traumatized too by what happened that night. The lump in my throat was really starting to hurt now and it didn't get any better by the tears that had begun to show in the corners of her beautiful eyes.

"He returned to me after having fired that shot and showed me your sweater. There were blood stains on it and I…" I had to stop again. Swallowing hard, a tear finally managed to escape my eye. Kim's fingers quickly found it, wiping it away.

"Mark moved me that night… My time in the cabin was awful." I squeezed Kim's hand for comfort. "I tried to run away… When he drove down to town the next morning, I broke a window and escaped." A faint smile of hope appeared on Kim's lips, even though she already knew that I didn't make it.

"The forest was much bigger than I'd first thought and I got lost in it. It took me hours before I found my way again, and by that time Alan had already noticed that I was gone. He hunted me down pretty quickly… I tried to fight him off, but my hands and feet were cuffed… He punished me for running away."

I looked away as another tear left my eye and I stared to realize that I wouldn't be able to hold it together much longer. Kim gently wiped it away again, her eyes filled with worry and concern.

"What did he do?" she whispered, looking intensely at me while bracing herself. I just swallowed, not answering her, because I knew that if I did; I would totally lose it. "Jack?" There was a lot more worry in her voice as she cupped my face and turned my head slightly so that I couldn't avoid, but looking at her. "Tell me. What did he do?"

I took a shaking breath.

"He beat me up, until I didn't dare to put up a fight anymore." My voice was wavering, but I somehow managed to continue to speak. "He hit me across the back with a chain, which he then used to tie me to the back of his car. I was forced to walk the entire way back to the cabin while he drove. When we were almost there, he speeded up, making sure that I would fall. I thought that he was trying to kill me. I…"

Turning my head, I buried my face in Kim's tummy while wrapping my arm around her waist. Squeezing her I let the tears fall. Kim put her arms protectively around me, her hand rubbing my back soothingly. At first she just waited as I cried silently, soaking her sweater. But after a few minutes she leaned forward and hugged me. Placing her forehead against my head she said softly;

"It's okay Jack. It's okay…"

At last it seemed like the last tear had left my eyes and I stopped sobbing. Kim leaned back and as I turned my face to look at her she gave me a smile and started to wipe all the lingering tears away from my cheeks. She watched me for a moment, her smile fading and her eyebrows furrowed, looking serious.

Continuing to just stroke my face gently, she asked carefully;

"Have you told anyone else about this? I mean about Allan and Tess and what they did…"

I shook my head 'no'.

"Not even the police?"

"No…" I answered. "You're the only one…"

Kim sighed, giving me another concerned look.

"Why haven't you told anyone?"

I looked away, not answering her.

"Jack, this is important. The police have to know about this. Why didn't you tell them?" she pressed her hand against my cheek urging me to turn and look at her.

"Why?"

"Because I was afraid that something like this would happen." I blurted out harsher than I'd intended, gesturing towards my face. "I can hardly keep it together just thinking about what happened, let alone talk about it…It's just...so hard." I whimpered the last part and hid my face in Kim's tummy again.

It was getting late and it was time for Kim to leave. I stood, leaning against the wall as I watched her put on her shoes. Although I still felt a bit strange after having cried so hard earlier, the heavy weight on my chest had lifted. It felt good to have vented and I knew that Kim wouldn't tell anyone about it if I didn't want her to. And she wouldn't make fun of me crying nor would she change the way she thought of me. That's why she was the only one that I could tell everything to.

From the kitchen I could hear mum emptying the dishwasher. My parents had returned about an hour ago. I'd been done crying when they did, and they had found me and Kim on the couch, watching TV. To them it must've seemed like any other time that Kim and I were together, which was good.

I didn't want them to know more than necessary about what happened at Mark's.

Kim tied the last knot on her shoe lazes and stood up straight, giving me a smile.

"Hey, Kim..." I said, causing her to stall. "I was wondering if you could come over after school tomorrow? Mum is working late and I'll..."

"Oh..." Kim's smile disappeared. "I have some things to do..."

A knot instantly formed in my stomach and I quickly wrapped my arms around it, hugging myself as if I could prevent it from growing. I let my gaze fall to the floor, trying to hide the disappointment that was showing through my eyes.

But Kim knew me so well she could read me like an open book and she swiftly stepped closer to me.

"Hey, Jack," she said softly, the backside of her fingers caressing my cheek. I looked up, meeting her eyes. "It's just a few things that I promised Grace to do. It won't take too long and I'll be here as soon as I can."

"It's okay. You don't have to if you have other things to do. It was just a thought..." I shrugged, trying to act as if it didn't matter.

"Nice try, Jack. But you won't get rid of me that easily. I'll come over tomorrow as soon as I can." she reassured. "And I'll do it because I want to."

I smiled, knowing that it was true.

Kim giggled a little before she put her hand at the back of my neck, pulling me down slightly.

Standing up on her toes, she pressed her lips against mine, giving me a kiss that I returned.

"See you tomorrow, Jack."

That was it.

Please don't forget to review. At least to tell me that someone is reading this. Cause if there are no one who really cares. I might not continue, but focus on other stories...

Thanks for reading

MJ