The Trip Ch. 06

"Kim! Eric hasn't tried anything with you has he?"

"What do you mean?" Kim said trying to sound as convincing as possible.

"I mean has he tried to fuck you? I heard from Trish that he has a history of doing shit like that."

The lump in Kim's throat was so big she almost choked.

"No."

"Kim? Has-he-tried-anything-with-you?" Rachael's voice barked an air of authority that was normally powerful enough to bring Kim to tears.

"No-he-has-n't-Ra-chel," Kim replied carefully mocking her sister's stern tone. She hoped like hell she couldn't read the fear behind her words.

Rachel was silent on the other end.

"Rach?" Kim asked pulling her hand down and looking at the display on her cell phone. When she confirmed that it still read "connected" she placed the phone back to her ear.

"Rachael?"

"I'm still here, Kim. I'm just trying to figure out if I believe you or not. I'm not going to have to come up there am I?"

"I'm fine! Eric helped me submit the petition for the restraining order. We've got everything under control over here, trust me." Kim's lips quivered with every word. There was more silence on the other end.

"Kim, I just want to be sure that you ---," Just then, a beeping noise interrupted Rachael mid sentence.

"Rachael?"

"Hold on," Rachael said. "Someone's on the other line."

For the few brief seconds that Rachael was away, Kim was finally able to breathe. She hoped her words were convincing enough to put her sister's concerns to rest, even if they weren't true.

Kim heard the line beep again and immediately sat at attention.

"Kim! I gotta call you back, it's the insurance company. Tell me again everything is alright up there. If you need me to, I'll be there."

"Everything is fine. Go. Talk to your insurance company. I'll call you later, okay?"

"All right. Watch out for Eric, Kim. If what Trish said was true, he may be sneakier than you think."

"Will do," Kim said trying to hide the irony in her tone of voice.

"Keep me updated on what's going on up there -- I'm serious, Kim."

"I will -- bye." Kim clicked the cell phone closed, collapsed on the bed beneath her and sighed. She couldn't get off the phone fast enough.

How had it all come to this? All the lies? To Rachael AND Brian. Things seemed to be spinning ridiculously out of control. She needed to get a handle on things and she needed to do it right NOW.

Her thoughts eventually fell to Ellis. HE was the one responsible for this mess. Kim was convinced that her life would be just fine if she'd never had the misfortune of meeting him in the first place...

Just over six years ago, Kim was attending Cal State University Long Beach majoring in Graphic Design when she met Ellis.

Ellis was a few years older than she and was in his Junior year as a psychology major.

Kim's memories of Ellis were of the twenty-one year old man with short black hair, brown eyes and a chocolaty dark brown skin that made her weak in the knees every time she saw him. Even then, Ellis had been extremely popular with the women on campus but had taken a sudden and undeniable liking to Kimberly Alexis Brown.

Their first year together they had a typical whirlwind romance. Quiet nights on the beach and long semi-studying semi-make out sessions. Ellis had been the perfect gentleman. Always holding doors open for her, flooding her with random gifts and compliments at every opportunity. Every girl on campus was envious -- as they should have been. Everything WAS perfect up to that point. Perfect until that cool October evening in 1999.

Kim and Ellis had been up late studying in his apartment. It was getting late and Kim was getting tired. The night had went well until Kim mistakenly decided to get up to leave.

"Where are you going?" Ellis said not looking up from his book. He could hear Kim shuffling her books and papers around while she fumbled around her chair for her jacket.

"It's almost 1:00 in the morning. I'm going home to bed."

"You can stay here, you know? You usually do."

"I know, I just have to get back to my place tonight. I've got to try to get some laundry done before school tomorrow or I'll have nothing to wear. Plus, I promised my roommate I'd give her a ride to the doctor in the morning."

Ellis stood up, glided over to Kim and grabbed her by the neck. He dug in his fingers painfully blocking off her air supply.

"I SAID, I wanted you to stay here tonight!"

Ellis quickly released her neck as Kim gasped and fell to the floor trying to figure out just what had happened. Ellis grabbed Kim by her hair and lifted her head up to his.

"And I'm not really in the mood to argue with you about it!"

Ellis released Kim's hair and let her head fall back to the floor and unceremoniously stepped over her like a pile of garbage waiting to be thrown out.

That night was the first night Kim had ever seen the evil side of Ellis Richards and that night was the first of many that he had ever forced himself upon her -- physically and sexually.

Kim had spent many days and nights thinking about what had happened, what she had done to upset him so and what she could have done to avoid it. She was completely convinced that it was her fault for not completely submitting to his wishes. Besides, he had been unrelentingly sweet, generous and apologetic to her following that night and she gave him the benefit of the doubt that his promises that it would never happen again were sincere. And they were...for a while.

Those torturous years passed like a blur, all of the brutality melding like one giant unbelievable movie she was watching. It didn't appear to be real. There were good times. VERY good times, the times just before they wed and just after. When Ellis was in a VERY good mood he could be the most incredibly polite and giving person in the world. It's just as the years waned on, those times became fewer and farther between. The "good" side of Ellis was becoming more and more scarce and the minute strands of love that still kept Kim by his side were slowly turning into an innate fear and hatred for him. The only thing that kept her around was the knowledge that if she'd have ever tried to leave him, he would undoubtedly kill her. Kim knew this. She also knew her family wasn't safe either. When Ellis was angry, he could become the most dangerous man in the world so it was best for her to try as hard as she could to make sure he wasn't angry. And THAT was becoming increasingly harder by the day. Then the drinking began. Ellis's constant intoxication was quickly hammering in the last nail of their marital coffin. Kim had to leave -- even if it meant that someone had to die in the process.

Kim lay there in her hotel bed thinking about how she had lied to Rachael about her business with Eric Jeffries. Rachael was no fool, she most likely didn't believe a word out of Kim's mouth, but for the time being she had accepted it and even though Kim tried to put it out of her mind, it lingered there threatening to drive her crazy.

She glanced over at the large Manila folder that she received from Eric that afternoon. He had been busy researching her case against Ellis and had provided her with copies of the all of the paperwork from her subsequent abuse reports against him along with various pictures taken by the police staff. Even though it was unlikely, Eric had petitioned to have the case go to trial in San Francisco and planned to use the bulk of his findings as evidence during the trial.

He had asked her to review them so that it was still fresh in her mind. But Kim didn't need to see them right now. She lived it, and she had no need to tear those wounds wide open right now. She'd probably have to relive it all over again at the trial anyway so, for the moment, it could wait.

She had just turned on the television set to clear her mind when there was a knock at the door.

As she walked over to it she yelled out "Who's there?" then closed her left eye to look out the peep hole with her right.

"Brian!" The voice yelled back. Looking out the peep hole she confirmed that it really was him and her heart skipped a beat. He was the one thing she needed right now.

Kim opened the door and Brian walked in holding up a plastic bag with Styrofoam containers and napkins inside.

"I've got Chinese. Hope you like it."

"I do! Come in!" She gushed holding the door open wide allowing him to enter. The smell of orange chicken and egg rolls quickly permeated the room.

He tried to put up a façade to cover the real reason for his visit. He wanted to know if Kim would spill the beans about her little tryst this afternoon without any coaxing from him. He hoped she would volunteer the information at least. If she didn't, it meant she planned on lying to him about it the whole time. And that, more than the act itself, angered him greatly.

As Brian placed the bag on the counter and began pulling out the containers, Kim hip-checked him with a wink and a smile. Brian smiled, not looking up to acknowledge her. His mind was too busy wondering how that evening would turn out.

"How was your day?" Kim said diving into the bag. The intoxicating smell of the egg rolls was more than she could handle.

Brian thought for a minute, searching for the right word.

"Interesting," Brian said finally. He glanced quickly at Kim then back down to the bag as he pulled out a pair of wooden chopsticks connected at the top.

"Care to elaborate?" Kim asked.

"Not really," Brian said softly.

He was holding his Styrofoam container in his hand now, picking at his food with his chopsticks.

"So what did you do today?" Brian asked, not looking up from his food.

"Not much, just ran some errands and did a bit of shopping at the mall."

"Is that all?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Kim said pulling out a plastic fork from inside the bag.

"Sounds kind of uneventful. Somehow I would think you'd have found more to do than that." Brian finally looked up and caught Kim's eyes with his own.

"Well, I'd call eating Chinese food out of Styrofoam containers with you eventful," Kim said smiling.

Brian's dark green eyes bore into Kim's as though they were searching for the piece of her that would let her trust him enough to be completely honest with him.

He didn't find it.

"So, you're not going to tell me," he whispered.

"Hmm?" She let a long noodle snake its way into her mouth. "Tell you what?"

Brian looked at Kim blankly, his eyes almost pleading with her to tell him on her on accord.

Kim shook her head and chuckled.

"Tell you what, Brian?"

"Nothing," Brian said looking back down at his food.

Brian knew he had no claim on Kim. He didn't even know what the hell it was that they were supposed to be doing. Were they dating, were they just having fun? They'd never actually set any rules, so it made little sense at this point that he should be jealous. Even so, the vein in his neck throbbed relentlessly.

"Oh! I bought you something!" Kim said as her face suddenly lit up as the thought seemed to surprise her as well.

"It's in the bedroom, I'll be right back."

Brian feigned a smile and nodded. He watched as she practically skipped into the other room with excitement, almost knocking her food off the counter in her haste to set it down. Brian tried to be excited, but the thought of another man fucking Kim would not leave his conscience alone.

"I had to guess at your size. I can't believe I've known you for almost a week now and I don't know what size shirt you wear! You'd think as much as I've seen you out of them, I could at least make a somewhat educated guess!" Kim said yelling from the other room.

Kim's words registered in Brian's brain, but he had other things on his mind at the moment. The image of Kim and another man still swam around in his head, but something else had caught his attention. The big yellow folder sitting on the counter with a business card attached that read:

Brian sat his container down and walked over to the folder lying haphazardly on the counter. A sheet of paper peeked from beneath the flap. Brian lifted the cover to get a closer look...

"Brian!? You still there?" Kim asked.

Startled, Brian dropped the cover and looked behind him. Kim was still furiously searching away in various bags for whatever it was she was looking for in the other room.

"Yeah...I'm here! I usually wear an -- extra large." His voice trailed off as he turned back around and quickly pulled the paper from the folder and glanced over the document.

"Dissolution of marriage?" Brian whispered in disbelief. He looked back in the direction of the half-closed bedroom door as though he were looking directly at Kim.

"I found it!" She said excitedly.

Brian smoothly slid the paper back into the folder, but not before removing the paper clipped business card and slipping it into his back pocket. He turned toward her in mock anticipation and did his best to give her the most convincing smile he could.

"I found this t-shirt at one of the shops by the bay." Kim held up against her chest a white shirt with a picture of a California license plate on it that read:

Brian looked at it and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"It seemed fitting," Kim said smiling and placing the shirt over his shoulder. "AAAND -- It's extra large, so it should fit perfectly."

Kim grabbed Brian by his belt loops and hiked up on her tip toes to give him a kiss but was surprised to feel him pull away.

"What's the matter?" Kim said with a confused look on her face. She jokingly blew into her hand and sniffed.

"Do I Offend?" she said laughing.

Brian stared at her, almost mesmerized. Weird things seemed to be unfolding and the amount of deception Kim was hiding was starting to take its toll on his patience. Brian pulled her arms from his body and stepped back to study her. This man who had at one time believed he may be falling in love with her, suddenly realized he didn't know her at all.

"Brian? What's wrong?" Kim looked really worried now.

"I've gotta go," Brian said reaching on the counter for his keys and turning toward the room door.

"Brian!?"

Brian stopped, his head peeking just inside the door as he looked at Kim's confused face.

"I'll call you tomorrow," he said softly, not letting his eyes meet hers as he shut the door behind him.

Kim stood and stared at the closed door in front of her. Her eyes wide and her mouth agape, she knew something was wrong. Brian didn't trust her - and why the hell should he? She had been nothing but deceptive to him since the very first day they met on that plane less than a week ago. Kim had suspected for some time that Brian was leery of the secrecy of her life. But he'd always been respectful of the things she chose not to share with him. He never pressured her. But now -- now it was getting to be too much and his Spidey sense was tingling. This was the first time she really felt him pulling away from her.

This was it. She knew she had to put an end to this whole mess. She had to fix her fucked up life and spend more time living it than doing damage control. She needed to get the situation with Ellis Richards and Eric Jeffries cleaned up. But most of all, she had to tell Brian the truth -- about everything -- and she hoped all the walls she built up around herself in the process wouldn't come crashing down around her.

****

Brian slammed the gas on his SUV and sped through the streets as quickly as the San Francisco traffic would allow. He knew Kim was hiding something from him, he just needed to find out what and he had a pretty good idea that Kim's perverted tryst with the short, bald man had a hell of a lot to do with it.

Brian snaked his hand into his back pocket and pulled out the business card he'd swiped from the folder in Kim's hotel room. He'd decided that he would take a little trip to see one Mr. Eric Jefferies tomorrow to see if he could find out exactly who he was and why Kim felt the need to hide from him the fact that she was married.

****

Back in LA, Ellis Richards was brewing some secrets of his own. He had been back and forth to both Kim and Rachael's house every night since he got out of jail but somehow Kim still eluded him.

Sitting in a grimy hotel room just on the outskirts of Los Angeles, he decided things would have to get a little more serious if he was going to find Kim before his trial began and the cops started looking for him. He didn't know where Kim was but he knew, sure as hell, who did. Rachel HAD to know where Kim was, there's no way Kim would make any move without her approval. He knew the only way to get to Kim would be to get to Rachael, but that in and of itself was a lot easier said than done. Rachael wasn't exactly an easy target and he knew he'd have to get creative to get to her -- and even if he did -- if he COULD get to Rachael, chances were slim to none that she would give up the location of her sister - willingly.

Ellis sat on his couch with a bottle of Vodka in one hand and his folded up Leatherman serrated knife in the other. He flipped the blade launcher and the sharp edges shone brightly from the naked light bulb above. The light reflected eerily on the black plastic patch covering his left eye. With his one good eye, he stared at it with a zombie-like trance. Without looking away, he sat the bottle of Vodka down on the table in front of him, then sat back in his seat staring the knife over, as though studying it to connect with it -- to understand it better. He ran the thumb of his hand over the smooth, sharp, top edge of the knife and watched the blood trickle from beneath the blade. A chuckle fell from his lips as he watched the blood pave a red path down his arm.

Ellis knew he had to bump things up a notch. He also knew that things were going to get very messy very soon.

****

At home, Rachael and Chloe were having dinner. Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and gravy.

"So, what did the cops say?" Chloe asked placing a hefty spoonful of potatoes to her mouth.

"What could they say? They just took the report and said that they'd call me when the had something." Rachael shook her head. "In other words, they'll be doing absolutely nothing as usual. But what really pisses me off is that the shop said my car won't be ready for a month."

"And what about Kim?"

"Scared as hell. I would be too. I told her she needs to keep herself up North; he can't touch her there. I just hope he doesn't find out where she is."

Rachel didn't feel the need to mention the uneasiness she felt about Kim's story about Eric Jeffries. Kim was a horrible liar and Rachel knew something was wrong and she had already decided she was going to make a surprise visit up to San Francisco to find out exactly what it was.

Chloe looked at her watch.

"Oh, shit! I'm gonna be late," she said standing up from the table. She took one last spoonful of potatoes and walked her plate into the kitchen.

"Class starts at six," she said twisting her long hair into a knot behind her. "If I'm late again, they'll boot me out of there for sure."

Chloe had been taking nursing classes at the local night school. She had already finished the first year and a half and was only six months away from her degree.

"Call me when you get there," Rachael said looking at Chloe with a concerned expression on her face. "It's not safe with him running loose out there."

"I'll be fiiiiine," Chloe said, almost singing and rolling her eyes. "But I'll keep my eyes open," she said smiling.

She bent over her and kissed her lips. Rachael's hand ran up the underside of Chloe's shirt and slipped inside her bra, teasing her nipple.

"Mmmm," Chloe moaned. She broke her kiss from Rachael and smiled at her. "I've got to go," she said pulling her hand from her blouse and heading for the door. "But hold that thought!"