Kimberly "Kim" Taylor

Kim Taylor

Kim Taylor, born as **Kimberly Luksa**, is a tertiary character in ***WILD University***. She is the mother of Riley.

## **Backstory**

Kim was born to a pair of crotchety, stuffy parents who married in their mid-teens after knowing each other for a mere 2 weeks; her father, Cash, was a banker and her mother, Audney, a social worker. Kim was constantly dragged to parties every weekend, forced to wear tight, corseted dresses and foot-crushing heels, just so her parents could impress a bunch of snobs they'd never see again.

Later on, she'd figured out, Kim's father was possibly **bipolar**; he was a...*very* hard-to-love man. Cash had many great qualities, from his selflessness, to humbleness, to friendliness, but on his bad days, he was a completely different man. If even the slightest inconvenience happened during his workday, Cash would come home, screaming and yelling at whoever was in his way, then be completely fine ten minutes later, trying to hug and kiss them. This constant back and forth turned Kim into not only a cold, distant person, but also ended up being the roots of her anxiety.

Kim's breaking point was when her father, fuming and enraged, struck her on the side of the head, sending her into the wall. The afternoon after, Kim is set to go on a date with her new, heartthrob boyfriend, Joshua Taylor. Of course, he notices the bruise on her face and coaxes her into telling him what happened. Kim can't help but notice how *gentle* and *soothing* he is...completely the opposite of her father; is this what her life could be like? She was about to open her mouth, when Josh placed a paw on her shoulder and looked deep into her eyes, his turquoise irises full of what she could only describe as pity.

*"Let's get married."*

Kim perked up at this; she could *finally* escape from the hell that was her homelife, and get a kind, loving man out of the deal as well. She tearfully agreed, and the two return to Kim's home to tell her parents the news. As expected, Cash is *furious* and threatens to kill Josh, while Audney simply hovers silently. Seeing as this argument is getting no one nowhere, and Kim wasn't willing to change her mind, Audney steps in, checkbook in hand. She tosses $500,000 at her daughter and future son-in-law and tells them to go. Josh is awestruck at the amount of money they'd just received, but Kim, less than pleased, drags her belongings and boyfriend out to the car. Minus one forced, disastrous Christmas, Kim doesn't see her parents again until one year after Sammy's birth. To her surprise, her parents seem to want to be involved in their grandson's life; Kim shrugs, if it means more money in her pockets when they kick it, so be it. Being able to hand Sammy off to her parents also gave the young couple time to do whatever they wanted. Josh decided to get his high school diploma, and eventually his Bachelor's, taking full advantage of the money from his in-laws. Kim, on the other hand, was much less motivated to go back to school because she'd grown up with money; wealth was forever, she'd thought. Instead, she would meet up and party with her old friends at their colleges. This is when things begin to go south for the Taylors.

Kim begins partying more and more, and in turn, starts experimenting with alcohol and drugs. Sometimes she'll come home at 2-3 am, other times not at all. Josh, on the other hand, found it more and more frustrating running to and from school, just to come home to a crying, fussy baby and a passed out wife. The couple gets into a major fight and it ends with Josh threatening to leave. He gets uncomfortable as Kim's eyes gleam dangerously, something he's never seen from her before. She tells him that he'll never see his son or her money again; he'll be broke and alone, just like before.

Defeated, Josh now thinks up an alternative; if he can't leave, then he'll just have to appeal to her sweeter side, the side he was used to seeing. He eventually comes to the conclusion that maybe, if they have another kid together, that would stop Kim from partying and they could go back to being a functioning family again. The next morning, he gets up and apologizes, telling Kim he loves her and just wants to be a happy family, the same one they'd dreamt of having back in high school; why don't they forget about all this and try for another baby? She tearfully accepts his proposal and they move on, being better parents to Sammy as well. A year later, Riley is born and all is good...until it isn't.

May 1st, 2005, a day that's burned into the Taylor's memories. At this point in time, Sammy is 7 and Riley is 4, both of the brothers are practically inseparable. On that day, they were practicing soccer outside, something they often did and loved, being that both were enrolled in their school's soccer team. Riley is, as expected, a little clumsy with the ball and still trying not to trip over his tail. He suddenly stops and pouts, whining that he's thirsty and wants a juice box. Sammy agrees, telling his little brother to stay put and he'll be right back with the juice. Riley does what he's told for about two seconds before getting bored and kicking the ball across the yard. It doesn't go very far, and Riley runs up to it again and kicks it, this time harder. The ball goes flying into the middle of the road, coming to a stop. Riley bolts into the middle of the road towards his ball, stopping to pick it up.

The next eight seconds were a complete blur; it almost felt fake. Riley barely hears his name being called, turning his head and suddenly seeing a pickup truck five feet in front of him. Before he can even react, he feels a strong force against his back, shoving him to the opposite site of the road. A terrible screeching noise is heard, followed by a sickening crunch. Riley is briefly knocked out, slowly coming to when he feels someone gently shaking him. His eyes slowly open and holding him is a lion named Jengo, his neighbor from across the street. Groaning, Riley turns his head to the right and sees a pool of red; Sammy is laying in the middle of it. Riley struggles and calls out for Sammy, Jengo at first refusing to let him near.