Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie - Heather Ray (read me like a book txt) 📗

about the pretty blonde Jason had been seeing both during and after his stint as the Gold Ranger. That piece of evidence did tilt the scales in Jason's favor…why would he invest so much time and attention in Emily if he had any romantic interest in Kim?

Finally, Tommy relented. He heaved a deep breath, and fell backwards onto the cot he was sitting on. Jason stared at his best friend, watching him take deep, contemplative breaths, rubbing his face with his hands.

"So… am I forgiven?" Jason ventured.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Bro."

And then, Jason realized the truth. He didn't even care about the spell! The only reason he couldn't even look at me was Kim?

It was incredible…Tommy could wave away all the hurtful words Jason had uttered, even though there was a deep-seated resentment beneath them all. Tommy found no reason to hold any of it against him. All his frustration, the distance Tommy kept between them after the spell had been broken, had all been because he misunderstood Jason's relationship with Kim?

Then why the hell

did he dump her??

"I'm sorry, Jase," Tommy sighed, staring up at the ceiling, "I…just needed to hear it from you to really believe it."

"What would give you the idea Kim and I were dating?" Jason wondered, truly dumbstruck.

"I saw you hugging her at the Games." The slightly petulant tone proved even Tommy realized that was pretty flimsy evidence.

"You're kidding."

Tommy sat up, and began chewing his lip as he struggled to express himself. "I know it was dumb…but I just didn't get it. I watched the tape of the Games to figure out which guy was her new boyfriend, and you were the only person she got close to during the entire broadcast."

For a fleeting moment, Jason actually considered smacking his best friend upside the head. "What makes you think she's got a new boyfriend? Sheesh, Tom…she's been a train wreck ever since you guys broke up."

Tommy stared at his best friend, brow furrowed in confusion. He could see the accusation lingering in Jason's ebony eyes. "She told me she had a new boyfriend. Why'd you think she broke up with me?"

Both young men stared at each other, puzzling through the tidbits of information that just didn't seem to fit together.

"She…broke up with you?" Jason repeated.

Tommy nodded slowly.

"Seriously?"

That brought a frown to Tommy's face. "Why would I lie about it?"

"When did she break up with you? Over Christmas?"

Tommy took a steadying breath. It still hurt to talk about it- which is why he never did discuss it with his best friend. Or anyone else, for that matter. "No…she sent me a letter." He took another breath, keeping his eyes on Jason's face to measure his reaction. "She wrote that she'd met someone new… someone she'd rather be with."

Jason wouldn't have been more shocked if Tommy had suddenly declared the Earth was flat. He fell upon the cot opposite his best friend, suddenly too overwhelmed to stand on his own power. "Let me get this straight: Kim sent you a Dear John letter?"

Tommy nodded mutely.

"When?"

"I got it right before Valentine's weekend."

Jason buried his face in his palms, slowly picking through his memory of his volatile conversation with Kim before the Pan Globals.

"Dammit, Jason…I didn't give him a reason not to call me. If that bastard truly cared one iota about me, he

would've called me! But guess what? His number never popped up on my Caller ID. Never an apology for missing my birthday, a message just to see how I'm doing… nothing! If he doesn't think I'm worth the effort of picking up the goddamned phone and dialing eleven digits, then to hell with him!"

She was in such pain that night, it was overwhelmingly clear how much she suffered, due to Tommy's neglect.

But she never actually talked to him. He just stopped calling her.

"Why didn't you call her?"

Tommy stared at Jason as if he had suddenly asked the color of the sky. "Jase, she sent me a Dear John letter! What would I say to her…'Please Kim, take me back'

?"

"You could have asked for an explanation."

Tommy chuckled humorlessly. "She gave me an explanation, and believe me…I didn't want too much information of how perfect that Adonis is."

The Red Ranger took a deep breath, calming his frazzled nerves. "If she wanted to talk to me about it, she

would've called me

."

The same reasoning…

Jason realized, squeezing the bridge of his nose. For an absurd moment, he considered pinching himself. This just can't

be happening…

"Jase?"

No doubt Tommy saw the terrible despair that crossed his face. Jason closed his eyes tightly, trying to collect his thoughts and let the bomb drop as gently as possible.

His best friend had the right to hear the other side of the matter.

"Kim told me what happened."

Tommy didn't move. He kept his wide, red-rimmed eyes focused on Jason…eager to get some insight into the most painful moment of his life.

"We talked about it right before the Games," he continued, "It was the first time I'd seen her for months. I noticed she was…different

. Frankly, she was miserable; though she was trying to hide it."

"Did that new guy dump her?" Tommy groused. His tone was heavy…but with what, Jason couldn't quite tell. Was Tommy angry at Kimberly, or at the 'new guy'

for daring to hurt her?

Jason stopped trying to read too deeply into Tommy's reaction, and continued. "She told me that you two had split on bad terms. It was never official, but when you stopped calling her, you made it clear that you didn't care for her anymore."

Tommy's face folded in anger. "What the hell

are you talking about? I didn't stop calling her!"

"You didn't? You just said you got a letter in February, and never spoke to her again."

Tommy's jaw hung in outrage. "Didn't you hear

me? She fell in love with someone

else!! Why would I make a follow-up call?"

"You didn't call her on Thursday, the day you usually called her --"

"Of course not! She --!"

Once again, Jason's glare shut the Red Ranger up.

"She was hurt you didn't call, but figured it was because her birthday was the following day. You never called her then, so she called you."

"Well, she didn't

call me --"

Tommy stopped short, his words dying on his lips when realization dawned on him. "I wasn't home that weekend. I was --"

"Skiing with Kat."

The Red Ranger stared at Jason in surprise. "Who told you that?"

"Kim. She'd called you, and that's what your family told her."

Tommy hesitated. "No one told me she called."

"She didn't ask them to. She said she'd call back. And she did, on Sunday. And you weren't home, were you?"

For a long moment, Tommy was silent, his face twitching in visible agony as he replayed those heartsick days. "I…I had a date with a girl I met skiing. The Machine Empire sent a monster, forcing me to leave her alone. When the fight was over, my date had left…so it was just Kat and me."

"Well, Kim heard the tail end of that. On Friday, she called and found out you were skiing with Kat. On Sunday, she was told you were at dinner with Kat."

"B…but that's not what happened!" Tommy stammered desperately, "I was skiing with Kat and Billy, and on Sunday, I was supposed to have dinner with Heather!"

"Dinner with another woman," Jason clarified, "It doesn't sound like Kim was that far off."

Tommy's eyes narrowed. "Hey…I didn't go against Kim's trust. She

dumped me

! So what if I went on a date?"

"Less than a week later?" Jason challenged.

His frustration mounting, Tommy pounded his fist into the mattress. "Okay, okay! I was on the rebound! Is that what you wanted to hear? I was hurting…and Heather…she reminded me of Kim, and --"

He swallowed the rest of his sentence.

An enduring silence settled, as both young men gathered their thoughts. Then, with a deep sigh, Jason stood up, and sat down beside his best friend. He settled his hand on Tommy's shoulder. "Look, Bro…I didn't mean to come down on you like that. I'm not trying to take sides here, either. You and Kim are more than my friends -- you're family. And it really shocked me to find out that everything ended so badly between you."

Tommy opened his mouth to once again affirm his innocence, but Jason shook his head. "There's no point in arguing 'who did what to who'

. Until we find Kimberly, there's no way to figure out the truth anyway."

Tommy's eyes met Jason's in a grim stare. "Yes there is."

Chapter Fifty-One

Tommy didn't emerge from the barracks until Adam announced their approach over the intercom. The instant the Megazord returned to its underground docking base, the Red Ranger leapt from the vessel. The other Turbo Rangers watched in shock, trying their best to keep up with their distracted leader.

Only Jason lingered behind, his face uncharacteristically drawn.

Without a word of greeting, Tommy marched straight to the teleportation console. Before Alpha could even declare his habitual "Aye yi yi," the Red Ranger was gone.

Tanya quirked an eyebrow, and then turned to Jason. "What did you two talk about?" she demanded.

Adam reached for his girlfriend's hand. "Tanya --"

"Don't even go there," she cut him off, "Tommy's our friend and teammate. We have every right to know what the hell's going on around here."

Jason released a sigh, drawing everyone's attention. "You're…you're right, Tanya. You all need stay in the loop --"

Jason's words were interrupted by a violent flash of crimson energy. The Red Ranger materialized, clasping a crumpled piece of paper in his white glove.

"Alpha, run a scan on this," he ordered.

"Aye yi yi," the robot whispered, his optic sensors scanning the page, "is this…?"

"Compare the handwriting with this," he continued, holding out a postcard with the Eiffel Tower on front. "If the handwriting does match, see if you can find traces of anything suspicious."

Alpha V nodded wordlessly, and followed the orders.

Zordon threw Tommy a puzzled look. "WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO FIND, TOMMY?"

"The truth," he murmured.

The Rangers watched as Tommy drew away from them. Slowly, he pulled his helmet from his head, letting his hair spill down his back.

Katherine did her best to suppress a gasp. She'd never seen him so broken. His once vibrant eyes were bloodshot and misty. His