A/N: I don't own Twilight. Today (or tonight, depending on where you are) the Kim thing comes to a resolution. Here's chapter 63.

Enjoy.

LXIII.

anyone can start again
not through love, but through revenge
through the fire, we're born again
peace by vengeance brings the end

The next morning, neither Kim nor Leah had classes. Kim hadn't been able to sleep, so she'd woken up Leah and offered to drive to breakfast.

When the sky was still pitch black, they sat down at the diner out in the middle of nowhere (technically Port Angeles), the heart of the badlands. The diner where Embry worked, the diner that the girls had busted up, the diner that felt home.

Leah thanked the waitress for pouring their coffee, and then she looked across the booth at Kim. "This is so nice of you," she said.

"I'm super hungry," Kim replied. "I guess it's because I couldn't sleep." That part was true; she had stayed up coming up with a newer, better plan to end the Jared situation. She felt like a villain, but she knew that the moment she began to feel somewhat safe, he'd just come back. She would have to make her move before he even thought about his next one.

"Can't imagine why," Leah said. "You skipped school yesterday."

"How'd you know about that?"

"It's not that hard to notice when you're gone." Her voice was blunt. "So what gives?"

Then Kim let it out all on the table. She told Leah about Jared breaking into their condo, about Jared attacking and threatening her, about the fact that she was an Internet meme at the hands of Quil, about the gun—all of it.

Then she told Leah about the new plan—the better plan.

Leah just stared at her with wide, tired eyes and raised eyebrows. "Damn, Kim," she breathed.

Kim bit her lip. "I sound crazy, don't I?"

"No," Leah said gently. "You sound like you're about to finally fuck all his shit up." Then she smiled devilishly. "I want in."

"Leah, I—"

"This is gonna be so good. Maybe we can get the ski masks and shit again and then—"

"Leah," Kim said urgently. "I need to do this by myself and for myself. If you get involved, things will get more complicated. And really, it's my problem. I can't help the fact that I like women and have a psycho for an ex."

Leah was silent, and then she nodded. "You're right," she agreed. "Are you sure you're gonna be okay?"

"You don't need to protect me or anything," Kim assured her. "I'll be okay."

"I don't have a damn choice," Leah said. "I have to protect you. You're my best friend and if anyone is fucking with you, then they're fucking with me."

Kim gave her a sad smile. "I'll be okay," she repeated. "And likewise—if anyone has an issue with you, they have an issue with me, too."

"Glad to know we're on the same page. But I've gotta ask—why didn't you just call the police when Jared broke into our place?"

"You know this better than anyone, Leah," Kim replied. "When has the Forks Police Department ever cared about native girls?"

Leah was silent.

"And besides," Kim went on. "He's not gonna hurt me and get away with it. I'll hit him back twice as hard, and that's a promise."

"I'm so damn proud of you, you know that?"

Kim grinned. "It's about time."

Kim approached the cabin later that evening. The cabin was between First Beach and the woods, and it was way deep. She waited for Leah to pick up her phone. She parked the car a short walk away, at the edge of the parking lot, and stared out at the blue waves of the Pacific Ocean. She was surprised that it hadn't completely frozen over like everything else.

The phone call went to voicemail (Kim decided Leah was probably on break at Floriano's), and she could feel herself shaking, except she wasn't sure if it was from the cold.

"Hey, Lee," she said. "I'm going in. He's supposed to meet me in a couple minutes. If it all goes well, I'll meet you at Floriano's when you get off work. If not..." She trailed off. "It doesn't matter. I'll see you. Love you."

She hung up, grabbed the handgun from the glove compartment, and braced herself for the cold as she got out of the car.

Despite owning a decent amount of lingerie, the sexiest thing Kim had ever worn prior to now was a sports bra. Clad in a matching black bra and panty set along with a silver silk robe, she felt like super Kim—über Kim. The gun in her right hand made the look. She was freezing, but she had never been scorching with more power or control. She felt fake—fake sexy with a gun that wasn't even loaded—but she felt damn good about it.

She entered the abandoned cabin through the back door. Even though she knew her ensemble was a little theatrical, she knew it would do Jared in. She'd left home last night to clear her head, and when she'd decided to take a walk, she had somehow found this cabin.

The cabin was a peculiar little place. It used to be a vacation home, but nobody vacationed in La Push, and nobody sure as shit vacationed in La Push in February. It was a shame, honestly—this was the honeymoon suite, accommodated with red linens on the king-sized bed and a year-old box of chocolates on the bedside table. In any normal situation, it would be romantic.

It was a good thing this wasn't a normal situation.

Kim took off her shoes, set her bag aside, and placed the gun understand the bed, the handle sticking out by a centimeter. Then she tucked the digital voice recorder underneath the mattress with the buttons poking out just enough. She was all set.

Her heart raced when she heard a car screech through the gravel of the parking lot. Immediately, every sort of thought ran through her head except for the idea of failure. She wouldn't fail. It merely wasn't an option.

There was a knock on the door, and Kim swung it open to find Jared. She'd seen enough of him in the past few days than she would want to see in a lifetime, but she got over it and quickly brought her lips to his. She pulled him through the door, and he slammed it shut.

He broke away for a moment. "You look really good, babe," he said.

"I just wanted to say sorry," she replied, lying through her teeth. "Sorry for acting like that the other day."

He had a smug grin on his face. "I was waiting for an apology." Then he greedily smacked her ass and then pushed her back onto the bed. He followed, and his weight on top of her was familiar and scary.

As he kissed her like he really loved her, panic ran through her mind. Would she be able to pull this off? Plenty of theories seemed successful but were proven wrong in practice. She didn't want this to be just an idea or a concept.

She wanted this to be the end.

While he was busy feeling her up, she brought her hand to the side of the mattress and clicked the record button on the digital voice recorder.

"Stop," she whispered. "Please."

His breath was hot and his hands were rough. "What was that, babe?"

"Stop," she said louder. "Stop."

"You said you wanted this," he told her.

"No, I didn't," she replied. "Please… just stop."

"Shut the fuck up and take it," he said, kissing at the corner of her mouth and holding her at the throat.

She brought her fist up to sock him in the nose with an audible crunch. "Fucking stop!" she exclaimed.

"Shit, what the fuck is wrong with you?" he asked, pulling away as he held his bleeding nose with his hands.

"I said stop," she said, her voice clear.

"You weren't saying that just now," he said, and then he lunged at her quickly. She was faster. She rolled over and watched him fall face-down on the bed, and then she kicked him hard in the side.

He got up as she was scrambling away and grabbed her by the hair, pulling her back to him. "You crazy bitch," he muttered. "I should have killed you last time."

She spat in his face. "Asshole," she said.

With his grip still in her hair, he smacked her across the face and she slipped on the wooden floor. He lost his balance for a moment, too, and she scrambled along the floor, reaching for the gun underneath the bed. She quickly turned and then kicked him in the balls, waiting for him to back up a little before she got the gun.

"Jesus Christ," he exclaimed, holding his balls. "Crazy bitch."

Then she pointed the gun straight at him, quickly getting back to her feet. "Stay back," she told him.

"Kim, what the fuck?"

"Stay back," she repeated, silently praying to whatever God there was that Jared wouldn't call her bluff.

"Where'd you even get that?" he asked, absolutely bewildered.

"A good friend," she said. "Now back the hell up."

"That's not real," he said. "There's no fuckin' way."

"Want me to prove it?" she asked. "Because I could fuck your shit up right now." She took two steps closer to him.

He backed up towards the door, actually frightened. "Kim," he said slowly. "You don't have to do this."

"You didn't have to break into my condo and attack me," she retorted. "You could have just left me alone all these years, but you didn't. What the hell is your problem?"

"I just wanted to know what made you become a dyke!" Jared yelled. "You pulled this shit out of nowhere, and it's embarrassing. It's a fuckin' embarrassment, Kim."

She closed the space between them and punched him hard in the shoulder with the gun.

"Easy!" he hollered. "You're about to do something really stupid."

"Fuck you," she said. "We're not an item anymore, Jared. This isn't high school, and you may be the same person you were two years ago, but I'm not."

"Congratulations," he replied, his nose still bleeding. "That doesn't make you any less of an embarrassment."

She brought the gun up to his face and hit him with it. "Get over yourself," she told him.

"Or what?" he challenged. "You'll have Daddy sue me?"

"No," she said. "I'll just fucking kill you." Then she socked him with the gun again, and this time, it caught him way off guard. He stumbled away and ended up on the floor.

She pointed the gun down at him. "I was the best thing that ever happened to you," she told him, "and suddenly I'm an embarrassment?"

He had to be seeing stars. He didn't reply.

"You play football for U-Dub," she continued. "You're a popular guy like you've always been. That has nothing to do with me, yet somehow, what I do or who I'm with is a reflection of you and all your achievements."

She grabbed the digital voice recorder from the mattress and held it up. Jared looked up at the red flashing light, and she saw unadulterated fear run through his entire body. She clicked the stop button.

"What the fuck are you so afraid of?" she asked him, her voice soft and sweet.

She lowered the gun and the recorder. Jared just stared up at her with wide eyes and blood all over his face as she turned and went to her bag. She removed her robe, exposing her back to him. She took out a pair of jeans from her bag and brought them up over her lace panties.

"You have two options," she told him as she got dressed. "First, you can be involved in a scandal. It'll be messy. University of Washington quarterback harasses and assaults ex-girlfriend, fueled by homophobia and blatant bigotry. Oh, and you're not white, so you can't get away with it. At least, not easily. Or, as your other option, you can skip town. Stay out of my life. Don't call me or text me ever again. Delete every trace of me from your phone. Forget my name. Do all that, and you can finish up your master's and maybe even get drafted to the Seahawks without anything held against you."

She finished lacing up her boots, and then she zipped up her windbreaker. Then she closed the space between them and squatted down to his level.

"So what do you say?" she asked him.

"I say you're fucking crazy," he replied, "but we had a good ride." He began to slowly get up, and then he made his way to the door.

"Goodbye, Jared," she said, opening the door so he could exit the honeymoon suite. The cold air blew in. "Take care of your nose."

"Bye, Kim," he replied. "You just take care."

Leah found Kim sitting alone in a booth at Floriano's just a short while later, sipping from a glass of water and scanning her eyes across the menu.

"By the looks of it," Leah said, "you're gonna need something a lot stronger than water."

Kim looked up, and she was so happy to see Leah that tears were in her eyes.

"Oh my God, are you okay?" Leah asked.

"I'm great," Kim replied. "I'm exhausted, but I'm great. Sit down, sit down."

Leah sat down across from her at the booth. "How'd it go?"

"Well, I made it. He's coming back, either."

"How do you know?"

Kim gave Leah a sly smile. "I fucked all his shit up."

Leah just laughed. "Good. You ready to go?"

"I was actually just gonna eat something while waiting for you to get off work," Kim replied.

"Oh, I'm off." Leah stood up and untied her apron. "Well, in ten minutes, but it's whatever. Let's get outta here."

Leah went in the back for a moment and then returned. She linked arms with Kim, and then they left the restaurant.

They stood in the tiny space between their cars, and Leah asked, "Where do you wanna go?"

"Let's go eat," Kim suggested. "We can stay in Port Angeles. Oh, and I have to do one more thing."

"And what would that be?"

Kim just smiled, and minutes later, she was still smiling as she entered the one tattoo parlor in town. It was the same place that she had gotten her first tattoo, just after graduation. Back then, she had really thought she was done with Jared. She had been mistaken, and getting rid of him hadn't been easy, but she was overflowing with joy now.

Later that evening, Kim had gotten her third tattoo ever. In tiny, cursive letters just on the outside of her hand and leading up to her pinkie finger, she had gotten three words permanently attached to her, and she loved them with her entire being.

Trust no one.

A/N: Next chapter, we'll return to the Leah, Bella, Jacob, and Paul program.

Thanks as always,

HS