The first anniversary of Kimberley and Richard's first meeting was coming up and even though it seemed that neither of them wanted to admit to it, it was clear to everyone else around the two of them that there was definitely going to be a long and happy future ahead, if only she was able to let go of the past and give what she had with Richard a real chance, the chance that it deserved, as her sister put it, but she couldn't do that until she had come clean to Richard about what had really happened to her.
Gabrielle had agreed to clear out of the house for the one night so that Kimberley and Richard wouldn't be disturbed as Kimberley had decided that the time had finally come for her to be as open and honest about what had happened to her in the past as Richard deserved, but what she did not know is how he would react to what she was planning to tell him, so she resolved to get him to promise her that he would not do anything to anyone after the conversation she was planning on having with him when he turned up.
An audible knock at the door pulled Kimberley out of her worst case scenarios trance and she got up to answer it, making sure she had smoothed out her jeans as much as possible, not really caring all that much about the way her shirt would immediately look to someone like Richard. "Kim my darling" Richard whispered as he took her into his arms, wrapping them both securely around her waist, her head instinctively going under his chin as she put her arms around his neck, bringing him close to her, standing in silence like that for just a couple of moments.
"So honey what is it that you wanted to talk to me about" Richard asked as he walked over to the sofa, still holding her hand as he sat on the far left cushion and pulled her down onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist, holding her close to him. "You've often asked just what happened to me in the past that made me as reluctant as I was to consider taking the next relationship step with you" she began as he nodded, kissing her shoulder, "So I'm going to tell you what went on during your absence".
Richard had been gone for a couple of months working on a movie in which he had taken on a part that was substantially smaller than the one he'd had when he was working on the three films for THE HOBBIT, so he didn't know what she'd been doing on the days when she wasn't needed for work out at Heathrow, and this was the first time that he was going to get to hear about what she had been doing and why she seemed a great deal better than what she was when he had left to go to work.
"It was actually all Stella's doing" Kimberley began in reference to one of her closest friends at Heathrow's border protection unit, "She had a close friend who was a psychiatrist so I said I would give it a shot just to see how it went and it turned out pretty well". Going by the look on Richard's face she could tell he was a little puzzled as to why she would feel the need to use the services of a professional, "The main reason why I went to see Stella's friend was so I could finally recover from what had happened".
Keeping his arms wrapped around her waist and his chin on her shoulder, Richard stayed as quiet as possible as Kimberley told him what had happened to her in the final year of high school, although she could clearly see the shock written all over his otherwise handsome face, kissing her shoulder a couple of times in an encouraging manner, "Which is the main reason why I have never been able to tell you Rich just how much I really do love you", and it was at those three significant words that he perked up, whispering that he loved her too.
"It was in the most cliched place of them all; in the back of his Mazda 6 stationwagon after he had managed tot alk me into leaving the end of year senior dance a little earlier than we usually would" she'd began, a slight shake in her voice but knowing that Richard agreed to listen before actually saying anything alleviated her nerves, "There was a place just on the outside of the Barnet city limits where teenage couples went quite frequently so we went on up there and that was when he forced himself on me" she immediately broke down in tears.
"Oh baby" Richard replied as he hugged her to him, her head in the crook of his neck as he ran one of his hands up and down her arm and used the other to hold her head to him as he moved back and forward in an attempt to calm her, which seemed to work after what felt like an eternity. Even though he had promised her he wouldn't seek Bryan or his doorman pal out, it didn't mean that he couldn't feel angry about what they'd both done, especially when he held the end result in his arms.
The anniversary of their first date was coming up in a week and although Richard had never put any kind of pressure on her to take that next step with him, especially now knowing what had gone on to make her the way she was when it came to that subject, Kimberley decided it to be the perfect time to take that next step with him, knowing full well that he would be asking her repeatedly if she was absolutely sure that it was what she wanted because the last thing he wanted was for her to feel she was pressured.
