𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐒 | | 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐬 [𝐄.𝐌]

New Year's Resolution

A/N
I can't remember if I said which chapter would involve Eddie and Kim somehow reuniting, but I know for sure that it's probably not this one - sorry <3.

Enjoy, My Munson Babies <3.

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KIMBERLY CASSIDY

The year 1993 was going to be no different to 1992 for some people. For me however, the year 1993 was going to be the year I took what I deserved. It was going to be the time where I would snatch my freedom back right into the palm of my hands, and out of Maureen's. I knew that the freedom I was reaching for wasn't going to be remotely similar to what I once had, but anything other than this life was worth fighting for, even if it meant doing what had to be done wasn't morally right.
Maureen had stripped my life away from me like it was nothing. She had stripped away my freedom to make my own choices, my ability to feel happiness and my right to call this life mine. Her punishments and torments had turned my life into an endless cycle of suffering, and I couldn't stand it anymore.
1993 wasn't just going to be any other year for me, it was going to be the year I changed everything. If it meant my freedom or my life, then so be it. No moral boundaries could stand in my way.

"Happy new year, dad." I said down the line to my father, the clock only just stricken 12:01 and my feet already propped up on the coffee table to my small, scattered apartment.

"Happy new year, pumpkin." I could hear the slight tremor in his voice, and it haunted me everytime it rang in my ears.

I sighed softly to myself and put down my glass of wine, pinching the bridge of my nose with my fingers. "You know, dad.." I began, my voice changing to a tone of slight desperation. "I never forced you into this. I never made you go along with this..with my plan." I said as a murmur almost, too scared to snap at him and make him realise that he helped me out of love, not fear.

"I never said you did, pumpkin." My fathers tone of voice changed now to one of solidarity, something I hardly heard from him.

"It feels that way, at least." I mumbled, feeling my heart flutter in my chest as I struggled to find the words to say what I needed to say. I felt a strange sensation in my throat as my tone shifted from frustration to something different. Something I couldn't place my finger on. It was almost like my chest was beginning to well up with an ache of some kind.

"You know I always loved you," he replied, his tone of voice soft and reassuring. "I'll always love you, and I've only ever wanted what's best for you. It's just.." the sound of him kissing his teeth and sighing rang down the line of the call. "..you're not you anymore, pumpkin. You're not the girl who wanted to live her life, take flight and start over anymore. Kimberly, you've changed, and that's not what you promised me for helping you go through with what we did." That same tremor was back on the top of his tongue. "You only seek revenge for what your mother did to you, instead of moving on with the new found freedom I gave to you."

I couldn't tell if he was angry as he spoke or if he was dissatisfied, but either way, my heart felt as if it was strapped to a pack of dynamite and continuously exploding over and over and over.

The silence that followed was painfully loud. I could hear his labored breathing down the phone line, and yet all that filled my ears was the sound of my beating heart.

"Maybe you're right," I said softly after a moment. "Maybe I'm not the same person I promised you I'd be." A sudden urge of tears welled up inside my eyes and I bit my lip to force them back. "But don't you think I've already lived through enough punishment my whole life?. What more do I need to learn?. What else could you possibly expect me to seek?." My throat dried as I struggled to fight back the tears.