25. Kennedy
Kennedy
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
"You should try to sleep. You look like you’re on the brink of exhaustion. You're not forcing yourself to remember, Kennedy, are you?" Ernest knows every detail of my story with Hades now. From the beginning, when we met, to as far back as I can recall. I've recounted everything to him.
"I'm not forcing anything, just trying to piece things together. It will help in my defense. Every memory that comes back might be another brick in the wall I'm building to protect myself and my son."
"What else have you remembered?"
"About when I arrived in New York. No, even before that, actually. I was scared of everything, from flying—and we flew first class—to entering a house that, until then, I had only seen in movies."
"Where they lived."
"Yes, the caretaker's house looked like a mansion. They must have really liked Mrs. Vina to let her stay there even though no one else occupied the main residence."
"Or maybe the house was just a small slice of their money. A grain of sand without any significance."
"Perhaps you're right, but even so, they didn't need to keep it. They let Mrs. Vina live there."
He nods in agreement. "Continue."
"I remember that in the first few days, I was happy, but not even a week passed before I started noticing mood swings in Pam. I mean, it's normal to be happy one day and sad the next, but in her case, they were sudden changes, you know? We were watching TV, and she would say something. If I disagreed, she would throw the popcorn bowl on the floor, along with the soda."
"Did she make you clean it up?"
"No, Mrs. Vina never allowed it. She raised her strictly and was always fair. I think that made Pam resentful, because only a few weeks had passed before she was acting different with me. I’d lived with Riny almost my whole life, endured a toxic relationship, so I knew that arrangement at her grandmother's house wouldn't last long."
"You’ve finally stopped calling her Aunt Riny."
"She was never an aunt to me, more like a prison guard. The fact is, my hope was deflating like a helium balloon that doesn't burst, slowly losing its strength. I was the spare wheel, and I knew that the moment Pam said she didn't want me there anymore, her grandmother would have no choice but to send me away."
"Did Hades visit them?"
I furrow my brow, trying to remember. "No. He would call Mrs. Vina to see if we needed anything. I went the first month and a half without seeing him. It only happened when he came on Pam's birthday." When the memory returns, I feel my face heat up with embarrassment.
"I'm sorry, I interrupted your narrative. You were telling me about Pam's change in temperament."
"Yes, she was strange. It's horrible to say that about someone who's dead, but it's the plain truth."
"Spoiled?"
"Yes, but mainly weird. That's what I'm talking about. I mean, the girl had everything: a house, nice clothes, she went to elite schools, and she still complained about life. Soon after her birthday, when she asked Hades to take her to a nightclub, she started complaining incessantly because the other Kostanidou didn't go, that they didn't like her, that nobody loved her."
"My God, I've never even met the girl, and I already can't stand her. No wonder Hades' brothers didn't like her."
"He didn't have much patience with her either," I say when a memory hits me hard.
"What? I thought he adored her."
"Yes, maybe he did, but I think—” My eyes widen.
"Kennedy, what happened?"
"Pam wanted more. It wasn't Hades' protection she desired; she desired him as a man."
"Did she tell you that directly?"
I try to remember. "No, but on the day of her eighteenth birthday party, we had a fight because she said I looked prettier than her and that Hades would only have eyes for me."
"She knew you knew each other?"
"Yes, I ended up telling her, but I didn't mention the kisses we exchanged, of course."
"Of course?"
"It became clear that Pam thought Hades belonged to her. At first, I thought she loved him like a brother, but as I said, I just remembered she wanted him like one desires a man."
"That explains her change in attitude towards you."
"But I hadn't even seen him until her eighteenth birthday!"
"Darling, you're beautiful, and for an insecure woman, having someone like that around is a threat. From what you're telling me, when she invited you to live with them, I think she saw you as some kind of project. Someone she could lift out of poverty and mold. Until then, you were just a young girl she thought would serve as a kind of 'companion,' but as you told me, Vina gave you a makeover, bought you everything, and soon, the Cinderella—and I'm not saying this to belittle you, just for you to understand the context—turned into a princess."
"Yes, for a few weeks I really did feel like a princess, but I soon realized it wouldn't last, and when Mrs. Vina talked about the college I would like to attend, I avoided the subject. I started going out during the day and drawing in Central Park. I intended to sell my art there and start organizing my future."
"And did you succeed?"
I smile. "Yes, I sold a dozen pictures. They gave me a good little sum. The fact is, I increasingly avoided Pam, but on the night of her birthday, I couldn't help but be there."
"You couldn't? Or were you anxious to see Hades again?"
"I was—I won't lie. I think I fell in love with him at first sight, which makes me very stupid."
"Love doesn't come with a warning, Kennedy."
"But if I had realized that the Greek had stolen my heart that first night in New Orleans, I would never have accepted their invitation to go to New York. It was a tragedy waiting to happen."
"Tell me about the party."
"Mrs. Vina told us we looked beautiful."
"She didn't go?"
"No. And when we got there . . . Oh my God!" I almost jump up, trembling and feeling nauseous.
"What? " He looks at the baby monitor, perhaps thinking I'm worried about King.
"It was Pam who introduced me to Ryan Corey III! At my trial, it was stated, as far as I remember, that it was the other way around, but that's a lie!" I run my hand over my face in despair. "She knew him, and they were very close. Pam insisted that I date him, but I'm sure I never did! I didn't sleep with Ryan, Ernest. I was disgusted by him from the start because he was repulsive to me. He tried to kiss me as soon as we were introduced. Then he wanted me to go to the bathroom with him to do cocaine. Jesus!"
"Bastard."
"You know what this means? Everything the defense stated in that trial is a lie. Ryan's connection was with Pam, not with me. Now, I just need to tell this to my lawyers so that the prosecution investigates their connection!"