He's Forbidden, as am I

A sinister smirk came across Nathan's face as he looked at the two girls with fear in their eyes. He could tell Kim was trying to mask hers as she glared at him with anger, and false bravery as she stood protectively close to his little girl. He knew she was just as afraid of him as Tammy was, and she should be. "I live here." he said dully. Tammy bit back a sarcastic comment knowing it could end badly. "I know that," she spat, "You're suppose to be working."

The smirk faded from Nathan's face. "I had a few cancellations, and came home to get something to eat." Tammy relaxed a little. "You're going back?" she asked easing her grip on Kimmie's hand, but not letting go. Nathan tilted his head a little as a small smile made it's way back out. She was always in a hurry to get rid of him, but he knew she never would. "Yes, I have to go back," he said walking towards the girls, seeing them tense up again, "So don't worry I won't be crashing your little sleepover." he told her before placing a kiss on Tammy's forehead that anyone outside looking in would easily mistaken it as an innocent show of affection between a father and a daughter.

Kimmie watched her face contort in disgust, and she pulled her a little closer to her when he pulled away. "I left a fifty on the counter for pizza, or whatever," Nathan said as he grabbed the container of food he came home for, "I'll be late. Don't forget to lock up before you go to bed." he said before disappearing out the door to the attached garage.

The girls let out breaths, and Tammy finally released Kimmie's hand. "Maybe I should have parked in the garage." she mumbled walking over to the counter, and picking up the fifty. At least then she would have known he was here. "At least he's gone." Kimmie said joining her. She wasn't always as afraid of Nathan as Tammy was, but that all changed when she found out first hand just how dangerous he was. She thought for sure she was going to die that night.

A small smile came out on Tammy's face, "And we have fifty more dollars to add to our stash." she said stuffing the money into her pocket. She grabbed a couple of bottles of water out of the fridge before the two headed up to her room. Kimmie kicked off her shoes, and plopped down onto the bed as Tammy made her way to the closet. She opened the door, and pushed the clothes aside. She knelt down in the corner, and pulled up a few loose floor boards. Well, they weren't really loose until she made them that way.

Tammy pulled out a shoe box, and put the floor boards back before joining Kimmie on the bed. She pulled the fifty out, and opened the box tossing it inside before grabbing the small notebook inside. She added the fifty to the total, and looked at Kimmie with a wide smile. "What's the grand total?" she asked. "78,780." Tammy told her. "Damn." Kimmie let out in a breath. They still had six months to go.

How do two seventeen year old girls, with no jobs, accumulate that much money, you ask? It's not hard when your child molesting, doctor, stepfather gives you three hundred dollars a week for an allowance, not to mention the random twenties, and fifties Tammy gets through out the week for food or whatever. Those usually gave them an extra eighty to one hundred dollars a week to add. She even had her own credit card, that she mostly used to make sure Kimmie had everything she needed, since her pathetic excuse of a mother couldn't or wouldn't. If she had a normal life, Tammy would probably be a spoiled rich kid, but that wasn't the case.

At first she didn't know what to do with the money. She knew he only gave it to her to try to buy her love, make what he was doing seem okay, and she didn't like it. It made her feel like a cheap prostitute, and it was dirty money, so she just started throwing it in a box. Then one night Kimmie saved her life, and gave her a future to live for.

And Queue Flashback:
A steady stream of silent tears ran down Tammy's cheeks as she slipped a noose around her neck. She had the other end tied to the banister of the stairs. She tested it out with a few cinder blocks to make sure it would hold her weight, and not give out on her. The last attempt she made failed. She thought she would have time to bleed out, but he came home early, and saved her life. This should be quicker, if it broke her neck that is. Otherwise she could be looking at fifteen to twenty minutes of strangulation.

With shaking hands, she gripped the railing, and looked down at the floor twenty feet below. She wouldn't even get halfway to it. Tammy took a deep breath, and put her foot up onto the railing. She pushed herself up, and steadied her legs before slowly standing completely up on the rail. She looked back down at the floor, and was about to jump when she heard footsteps run towards her with a familiar voice. "No! Don't do it!"

Startled, Tammy lost her balance, and started to fall forward just before two arms wrapped around her waist, and pulled her back. "Let me go!" she sobbed out as she tried to pull out of Kimmie's grip, and get back to the railing. Tammy reached out for the railing with one hand as she tried to pry Kimmie's arms off with the other, "Please! I can't live like this anymore!" she continued to cry, now trying to reach the rail with both hands. If she could just grab it, she could pull herself out of her embrace.

Kimmie tightened her grip, and pulled her back harder. "No. I won't let you leave me." she said through gritted teeth, planting her feet when Tammy finally reached the rail, and started to pull them both closer to it. The fight was wearing on both of them, but Kimmie's adrenaline was flowing stronger as Tammy's sobs made her weaker. With one last hard tug, she lost her grip on the rail, and both girls fell backwards.

Kimmie landed on her butt with Tammy in her lap. She kept one arm around her to keep her from getting up as she hurriedly took the noose off her neck, and tossed it towards the railing. Tammy didn't fight her, she didn't have any left. Instead she just buried her face in her neck as she let the sobs rake through her. "I can't do it anymore. I can't do it anymore." she repeatedly mumbled between sobs. "You can't leave me," Kimmie said, her voice cracking as her own tears filled her eyes, "I need you." she told her, holding on to her tight as they both sat there, and let the tears flow.

Kimmie's cries quieted first. She wanted to be angry with her for being so selfish trying to just leaving her like that, not even giving her the chance to say goodbye, but she couldn't. It only made her feel selfish, not wanting to let her go. How could she? Tammy was all she had, and she wasn't ready to let go. She couldn't imagine what she was feeling right now, and always thought she had it worse off, but she couldn't just let her go. Kimmie would never tell her, but it hurt in way to know that she wasn't enough to make her stay. That hurt faded when the guilt set in for making her stay in this hell just so she had someone. How could she ask her to stay after how much worse it got? How could she ask her to stay just for her?

Tammy's sobs started to quiet as Kimmie rocked them gently, stroking her hair, trying to help calm her. They soon quieted to sniffles, and Tammy pulled away a little, wiping her cheeks with her sleeves. She didn't say anything as she stood up, and walked to her room, and into the bathroom. Kimmie sat on the hall floor for a moment as she dried her own cheeks. She looked over at the noose still tied to the banister, and decided to leave it. Maybe Nathan would see it, and realize the kind of damage he was doing to her. Of course he was the one that found her the first time, and it didn't seem to change anything at all.

Kimmie stood up, and walked into the bedroom, hearing water running in the bathroom. She sat on the bed waiting for Tammy to come out, trying to figure out some way to convince her to stay. She didn't know how, but she needed her best friend. The bathroom door opened, and she stepped out, drying her face with a towel. She tossed it in the hamper before her eyes met Kimmie's with anger. "Why did you stop me!?" she snapped, "I just want to be free! You of all people should know what that feels like!"

Confusion flashed across Kimmie's face, but was quickly replaced as her own anger started to rise. Was she really mad at her for saving her life? She forgot about what she wanted to do, and soon everything she didn't want to say came out. "How can you be so selfish, and just leave me!?" she snapped back, standing from the bed, "Do you know how much this hurts me? To know that I'm not important enough for you to stay? I don't know what this could possibly be like, but I do know you are the only person I have. The only person that makes me feel like I'm actually worth something, and wanted around," she continued feeling the tears fill her eyes again, "You are the only person that keeps me going, and if you leave, who else do I have to go on for?"

Tammy tried to blink back her own tears forming as for the first time she felt guilty about trying to end her life. She just wanted to escape this. She just wanted to be free of this hell. She didn't know she was the only one keeping Kimmie here. "Am I not important enough to you?" Tammy's heart torn in two with her last question. She was important. The most important person in her life. She was the only person she could talk to, and understand how she was feeling. She was the only person she trusted. How could she even think that she wasn't important to her? "No, no that's not it at all," she told her, "I just....It's so hard to live like this, and it gets harder everyday."

Kimmie let out a sigh, and stepped closer to her before grabbing both her hands, and leading her to the bed so they could sit. She paused for a moment as she gathered her thoughts, so she could say exactly what she wanted, how she wanted. "I can't even begin to understand what this is like," she started as their eyes met, "But I will do everything I can to be there when you need me. Just promise you won't leave me. I don't think I can go on without you." Tammy's eyes started to fill with tears again. "I don't know if I can." she said in kind of a high pitched sob.

Kimmie pulled her into a hug, and let her once again cry on her. She held her tight, fighting back her own tears as she tried to be strong for her friend, but it gets hard seeing her hopeless like this. "Please try," Kimmie whispered, "Try for me." Tammy's cries silenced, and she let out a deep sigh, "I'll try." she promised, holding tighter as if Kimmie was the only thing holding her down. Which right now, she was.

The girls pulled apart, and Kimmie smiled sadly at her as she wiped the tears away. "Thank you." she whispered. Tammy gave her a small nod, and something odd caught Kimmie's eye over her shoulder. "Why do you have a bunch of money on your nightstand?" she asked standing, and walking over to it, "There's three hundred bucks here." she said looking at Tammy a little confused. "It's my allowance." she told her, a small amused smile coming out when shock crossed her face. "You get three hundred bucks a month?" she asked. Kimmie would be happy with fifty, but that was never going to happen.

Tammy's amused smile got a little wider, "A week." she corrected her, giggling a little when her mouth dropped. "What the hell do you do with it all?" she asked. Tammy's smile disappeared, "Nothing." she said, sighing when Kimmie looked at her even more confused. She slid off her bed, and knelt down next to it before pulling out a shoe box from underneath. She stood from the floor, and sat back down on the bed, flipping the box open after she set it next to her. For a second there, Tammy thought Kimmie's jaw was going to fall off when she seen all the money inside.

Kimmie sat down on the bed, not taking her eyes off the box. "There has to be thousands of dollars in here." she said noticing there were nothing but twenties, fifties, and hundreds. Tammy shrugged, and it was clear she didn't care how much there was. "So," she said laying down on the bed and rolling to her side, "It's dirty money." she whispered closing her dry, tired eyes. She had no use for dirty money.

A frown crossed Kimmie's face as she glanced at Tammy before looking back down at the box. She had never seen so much, and couldn't understand why she would let it just go to waste. Kimmie knew what she meant by dirty money, but why just let it sit here in a box? How much was there anyway? She grabbed a notebook, and a pencil before she started separating the bills. She started to count them, writing down how much there was of each, not believing her eyes when she added it all together.

The bed shifted, and Kimmie looked up to see Tammy had rolled over to her other side, now face her. "What are you doing?" she asked, not opening her eyes. She really wanted to go to sleep. "Do you realize you have just over forty grand here?" Kimmie asked with slight disbelief. Tammy cracked an eye open, and looked at her. "And? I told you its dirty. I don't want anything to do with it," she said, closing her eye, "You can have it if you want." she whispered.

Kimmie looked at her with wide eyes. She could not be serious. There was no way Kimmie could take this. Part of her really wanted to, but she couldn't. She wasn't the one that suffered for it. "Do you know what you could do with this?" she continued to press. Tammy's eyes snapped open, and sat strait up. "I don't care. I don't want it." she said getting annoyed. Kimmie rolled her eyes, "You have to quit looking at it like that." she told her. "How the hell am I suppose to look at it!? He only gives it to me to make himself feel better!" Tammy said growing angry again.

Kimmie closed her eyes, and took a breath to keep calm. "I realize that, but maybe this could be your ticket to a future," she tried to explain watching confusion replace her anger. She didn't fully believe that Tammy would keep her promise, and not try again. Maybe if she gave her a reason to live for herself, maybe she would stay. "Listen, by the time you graduate, you will have more than doubled this. Eighty grand would be a nice start to that catering company you sometimes talk about," Kimmie said, and Tammy started to understand, "Stop looking at it as something bad, and start looking at it as something to live for. He destroyed what's left of your childhood, so make him build your future."

Tammy smiled, and grabbed Kimmie's hand, "Our future," she corrected, "You deserve one too." Kimmie returned her smile, but shook her head. "I want you to do this for you." she told her. "It would be easier to stay for us. I'm afraid I'll give up on myself, but you are important to me, and I can't give up on you." Tammy confessed. Kimmie felt somewhat relieved, and let go of her hand before wrapping her arms around her. "I don't care what we do as long as you're here with me." she whispered. Tammy returned her embrace, "I promise never again. I promise I won't leave you."
And End Flashback...

That was a year and a half ago, and so far Tammy has kept that promise. In fact the thought doesn't even cross her mind anymore. She had too much to live for now. They've worked too hard to get to graduation early. They've planned too much to give up on it now.

Kimmie's head landed in her lap on top of the notebook she was trying to write in. "You are not seriously doing homework right now." she said looking up at her. "Maybe." Tammy grinned down at her. "Come on you made me watch that dumb zombie movie the least you could do is watch this with me." she whined motioning 10 Things I Hate About You playing on the tv before sitting up. "Not without listening you complain the whole time." Tammy said hitting her with her pillow. "Hey. Come on zombies? It's not even possible, sorry it's just too unrealistic."

Tammy chuckled a little, and shook her head. "We'll see if you're singing the same tune when it happens, and you come running to me to keep your ass alive," she said pointing at her with her pencil, "Then we'll see just how dumb those zombie movies were." Kimmie joined her in her chuckles, "Well it's never gonna happen so..." Kimmie stuck her tongue out at her, and Tammy hit her with the pillow again. "Stop it, you're going to mess up my perfect hair." she said mocking Grace as she pretended to fix it with the snootiest look she could make. Tammy couldn't help but laugh knowing exactly who she was impersonating.

She set her notebook and pencil on the nightstand. She could work on her poem for Mr. Haner's class later. Besides she didn't totally dislike the movie on. It may be a chick flick, but Heath Ledger made it was tolerable. Tammy really enjoyed nights like this with Kimmie, watching movies, and having a fun stress free night. It made things a little easier, and there was definitely no way she was leaving now.

Notes

And its done. Wanted it done sooner, but it came out and took longer than planned. At least it's done though :)
Hope it was worth the wait :)