Trapped

“Kymberlie Ann,” I heard the person calling my name, but I wasn’t ready to leave my dream world just yet, so I did my best to ignore them and remain asleep.

“Come on, Kymmie,” Another voice called out. “Wakey, wakey,”

I just groaned in response, wanting them to go away and let me sleep in peace. For the second time in the past week that I’ve been home, I was actually sleeping peacefully instead of dreaming about TJ and his friends coming to get me back.

When I didn’t respond to their next attempt, my bed started moving, shaking with heavy movements and vibrations that sent me spiraling out of my slumber. Rolling over, I saw Jimmy jumping on my bed with Cheshire grin on his face. Near the doorway, Jenna and Johnny were trying not to laugh as they watched him bounce.

“James Owen Sullivan,” I demanded. “Stop jumping on my bed!”

“Promise you won’t go back to sleep and I will,” He replied childishly.

“I promise,” I grumbled, causing him to laugh as he clambered off my bed. “Now, what did you want?”

“We’re going to take you shopping,” Jenna answered, grinning at me. “Some girls from the diner are gonna meet us at the mall, so they can help.”

“Why?” I mumbled. “They barely know me.”

“You’ve done a lot for us, Kymmie.” She replied. “You’ve switched shifts with us, stayed later, come in earlier, helped us pass out plates, and even cleaned up for us when it wasn’t your mess to clean.”

“Besides, you can’t run around in your old things from high school for forever,” Johnny supplied.

“Here,” Jenna threw a wad of folded up clothes at me. Catching them, I noticed that she gave me a white long sleeve shirt and a pair of blue jeans, along with a white set of lingerie to wear underneath. Not even worried that my pajamas were merely a long t-shirt and my underwear, I climbed out of bed and headed to the bathroom to change. Throwing the clothes on, I brushed my hair and applied the usual makeup to my face. Then, so I wouldn’t be recognized, I popped in my last pair of colored contacts to make my eyes look brown and not green.



If I delve into the depths of my memory, I can probably remember what it’s like to have friends and places to go on the weekends. I can remember what it feels like to find those perfect pair of heels that go with that one dress in my closet that’d never been worn before. I can remember how it feels to relax in a shower fearlessly as I recant the lyrics to the latest song stuck in my head. I could remember a whole lot, if only I just tried, but the truth is; I blocked those memories for a reason.
There was no point in living in the past, no point in holding onto what no longer existed. I can’t tell you how bad it is for a girl in my situation to live in the past. Once you start going back, the past becomes somewhat of a reality, causing you to mix the present with what once was and once that happens, you’re on the fast track to insanity with no way out.

There was this girl I met a couple of times back when I first got with TJ. She was Will Alden’s “girlfriend,” but knowing what I know now, I figure she was only a play thing to him. She was sad and emotionless both times that I met her, and I could never figure out why; until I found out she committed suicide to escape the pain. To this day, Will still finds her death amusing, but it was entirely his fault; he pushed her to the brink of insanity. He caused her to lose sight of reality by seeking comfort in what she once knew. It was her story that kept me strong, that kept me together throughout my own abuse.

Being here at the mall, a place so full of people that I could scream and no-one would hear me, had me feeling out of place and slightly paranoid. I’m sure I’d be feeling even more paranoid if it wasn’t for the fact that Jimmy had my left hand in a vise-like grip and most likely wasn’t going to let go anytime soon. On my other side, Jenna had my right arm hooked through hers, insuring that we wouldn’t get separated; Johnny was on her other side, holding onto her hand like only a sweet and caring boyfriend would do. To any on-lookers, we probably looked like two cute couples having a mighty fine time, but that wasn’t how I was feeling. I wasn’t feeling like belonged with them; no, instead, I felt like the black sheep, the oddball in the group that stuck out like a sore thumb. My heart was screaming, “You belong!” But my mind was asking, “Where’s my part in all of this?”

The God’s honest truth was that, while I didn’t want to believe it, I couldn’t deny that some parts of me had changed, that it was possible I no longer fit in with these people I once called family. I was disconnected from them, at least it felt that way, and that scared me. If I couldn’t feel connected to Jimmy, the guy I once declared to be my soul-mate, how would I feel around the others? To be completely honest, I felt weird around my parents, too; almost as if I was a preteen going through puberty, again. How was I supposed to go back to normal when what I once knew to be normal no longer felt like I belonged in the picture with it?

I tried to smile and act like I was happy being around the three of them, but I knew at least one of them could see through my façade. If I had to choose which one it was, I’d probably guess Jimmy because he’s good at detecting that kind of thing. Still, though, I made no objections or qualms about them dragging me around. Nor did Jimmy act like he knew how I was feeling. He just continued helping Jenna and Johnny drag me around.

Halfway through our “shopping spree,” we were joined by Sasha and Kaysie from the diner. With their help, Jenna was able to drag me around the mall going from store to store to try on different outfits but never buying anything. I couldn’t figure out why we were wasting our time if we weren’t going to buy anything, but I found the answer when I woke up two days later. My practically empty closet was suddenly filled to the brim with clothes of every kind. The note taped to the mirror of my dresser told me that Jimmy and Johnny were to thank for my new wardrobe. All I could do was smile and shake my head. Those two were quite a pair; like two peas in a pod, despite their differences.



“So, who is she?” I questioned peering up at him through the curtain of my dull chestnut locks.

He turned to me with raised eyebrows, a slightly confused look set into his features.

“Don’t think I didn’t notice the wedding band on your finger, Sullivan.” I murmured, washing a plate from the sink. “When did you get hitched? And to whom did you tie the said knot with?”

A grin seemed to take over his face in an instant. “Her name is Leana, formerly a MacFadden until I snatched her up and made her a Sullivan. We got married two years ago in Vegas.” He stopped. “You’d love her, Kymber, you really would.” He told me. “We wanted you there, but no-one knew where to find you. We kind of figured you just didn’t want us to find you. Liv told us how upset you were that we lost contact with you. I’m so sorry, Kymmie.”

I sighed, placing myself into a kitchen chair nearby. “What do you have to be sorry for, Jimbo? It’s my fault.”

“Your fault,” He repeated, exasperatedly. He moved forward until he was kneeling in front of me. “Kymber, it isn’t your fault. People like him feed off of others’ weaknesses. You can’t change the past, but you can change your future, and honey, I’m gonna make sure your future isn’t with that creep. If I could get my hands on him, I’d fucking kill him.”

“If you weren’t married already, James Sullivan, we’d be getting hitched at a drive-thru in Vegas, right now.”

He smiled. “Oh, so now being my soul mate isn’t good enough? I see how it is, you greedy bitch.”

“And that is why I love you,” I chuckled.

“That’s why you better love me!”