32. Kennedy
Kennedy
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
When I left that day, over two years ago, thinking I was doing the right thing by turning myself in to the police, believing in justice, and ended up getting hit by a car, King was just a newborn. Thinking back, I realize that my son has grown into an independent little boy. Ernest has told me he likes to do everything on his own: eat, bathe, put on his shoes, and even sleep in his own little bed, or rather, his crib.
For the first three activities, whether he likes it or not, my little tyrant needs help, but for sleeping, he likes to have his space, and even though I leave the baby monitor on, he stays alone in his room.
I've always been a light sleeper. This was amplified over the first month I spent with my son before the coma, and it returned to the same state the moment I was blessed with the chance to live with King again.
Today, particularly, when I lay down, I was exhausted.
I still haven't recovered from the encounter with Hades, from the almost two days I spent with him, and even though he hasn't returned for over forty-eight hours, it's as if the man looms over me.
The stress of forced cohabitation, combined with the partial return of memory, made me fall asleep almost immediately when I finally went to bed today.
However, as soon as I hear voices, maternal instinct kicks in, and I almost knock over the baby monitor reaching for it.
I see my son's steady breathing through it, and my heart gradually calms down.
Then I hear footsteps and I get up. I leave the room and find Ernest standing in the hallway. He looks back towards the living room.
"Ernest?"
He turns to me. Without saying a word, he puts his hand on my shoulder, and I start to get worried.
"Did something happen?"
"Hades is here."
"I thought he might come. From everything I remember about him, he only does what he wants. But why at this hour?"
He gives me a smile that doesn't reach his eyes. "You know I love you like a daughter, dear."
"Yes, I know."
"And that I would never let anyone hurt you or King? Are you sure of that too?"
"I am. You are the person I trust the most in the whole world."
"That being said, I can't help you at the moment, Kennedy. Until today, I thought I'd seen everything. The good and the bad sides of life. Mostly the bad. But I had never encountered a truly torn-apart man."
"Ernest, I don't understand what you're talking about."
"Of course you do, but sometimes our minds refuse to see the truth."
"The truth?"
"I won't interfere in your relationship, nor will I tell you what decision to make, Kennedy."
"We don't have any relationship. The only bond between us is King. Hades Kostanidis is my enemy."
"No, he's not. I'm aware your memory hasn't fully returned and that there are still pieces of the nightmare you went through missing, but there's a repentant, broken man in the living room who will protect you if anything happens to me."
"Why are you saying this?" I ask, feeling a shiver of fear run through me.
"Because I want you to know where to run if something happens to me or?—"
"Please don't finish that sentence."
"I have to, Kennedy."
"Is something wrong with you, Ernest?"
"For many years now."
"My God!"
He hugs me. "It's not like I'm going to die tomorrow, dear, but there's a chance it could happen at any moment. I've had an aneurysm for almost a decade, and it's inoperable."
"Ernest . . .”
"When I found you at just fourteen, this curse was already with me. It may never burst and I may die of old age, but there's a chance . . .”
"I understand. Please, tell me there's something I can do."
"Not about my health, no, but for my peace of mind, there is something you can do."
"Anything, Ernest."
"First, hear my advice: it's better to run towards an honorable enemy than towards a friend with character flaws. The former will keep his word; the latter is morally flexible."
"What does that mean?"
"Pam and Riny aren't the only two bad people you'll ever encounter. There are many like them. Some, like that unfortunate woman who raised you, you can detect just by looking at them, but there are those who hide behind smiles and false kindness. Promise me you'll be vigilant."
I swallow hard. "Are you saying Hades is my honorable enemy?"
"No, I'm telling you that perhaps for a long time, you'll see him that way, but if I'm not around, he's always the one you should run to."
"I don't understand what you mean, but despite feeling a lot of resentment towards Hades, my intuition has already told me that he will protect King at all costs."
"And you too."
"I don't trust him on that. Hades wanted me arrested."
"No, he wanted the person he thought helped kill your ward to pay. Honor isn't a flexible concept, Kennedy. You either have it or you don't. I can count on one hand the number of honorable men I've met in my life, but the Greek man in the living room is one of them. I have no doubt that even if his own brother were the murderer, he wouldn't cover up a crime as heinous as what they did to Pam."
I process what he's saying, and at the same time, I gather not only what I remember of Hades from the past but also his behavior when I was stung by the bee.
He could have let me die. His revenge would have been complete. But even though he considered me an enemy, he saved me. He took care of King when he didn't even know he was his son.
I run both hands over my face, feeling confused. "Why has he come here at this hour?"
"I found him outside, in the rain, looking towards your room and King's."
"But it's almost three in the morning!"
"Yes, and I don't think he intended to wake you up. We've been talking for over an hour."
"We can't trust him," I insist, my mind and heart refusing to yield when, deep down, I know Ernest would never tell me to run into Hades’ arms if he wasn't absolutely certain that King and I would be safe with him.
"I think you two have a lot to talk about, Kennedy."
"Is he staying?"
"I invited him in, not to stay, but I didn't send him away either. You know what I've always admired about you, even when you were a little girl?"
"What?"
"You faced your fears, and I know right now Hades represents your greatest one. Goodnight, dear."
He gives me one last kiss on the cheek before entering his own room.
I walk to the living room on wobbly legs, and when I arrive, I stand still in the dark for a while, watching the outline of the huge body sitting in the middle of the largest sofa we have.
His legs are spread apart, hands resting on them, and he's not wearing a shirt. His head is slumped against the backrest of the couch. I can't see him clearly, but I can see his muscles, and a wave of intense heat runs through my body.
I don't remember how we made King, but Hades probably does.
My memories stop right after Pam's party at the club. Despite almost fighting there, when she woke up the next day, she was all smiles and pledges of eternal friendship. If there is one word to describe Pam Marcotte, it's “exhausting.” The mood swings and her excess in every way—too much joy, too much sadness, too much anger, too much drama—was making me want to keep my distance from her, and I remember that my decision to leave had already been made.
I recall that I had a job interview for work as a draftswoman scheduled for that night, but the memories after that haven’t returned.I don't know what led me to the beach house where I woke up and from which I fled after finding Pam's body.
A powerful voice breaks the silence of the night. "I didn't break into your house, if that's what you're thinking. Ernest let me in."
"I told you the other day that we could arrange for you to visit King. Why did you come now?"
He gets up so quickly, approaching me, that I don't even have time to take a step back. "Did you really think I'd settle for seeing my son once in a while? It wasn't just you who missed the chance to be with him, Kennedy. I didn't even know King existed until a few days ago. I need him to get used to the fact that I'm his father and that I'll be there to protect him. To protect both of you."
I decide to hold on to anger because I don't want to believe his promises. "Give yourself whatever excuse you want. You at least should have suspected the possibility of King existing. I was the one who lost my memory, not you."
"I didn't suspect because I didn't remember sleeping with you."
"What?" I say, feeling hurt, shocked, undeserving, all at once. "What happened between us was so unimportant that you don't even remember . . . Oh, my God!"
Hades
I tried to control the beast inside me. I am a man ruled mainly by action. Standing idly by, waiting for my life to be decided, is not my way of doing things. However, I know I have a long way to go to earn her forgiveness. And I will because Kennedy is mine and it should have been this way from the start. Her place is with me, as my wife, partner, lover, mother of my children, and no matter how long it takes for her to surrender, we will be one forever.
After the conversation with Ernest, I decided to stay and wait to talk to her in the morning. I intended to show her the videos Odin obtained and start to clarify some of our past because we've had too many gaps between us already. As soon as I saw her at the entrance to the living room, I had to hold myself back from going to where she was. I didn't want to startle her, but hearing her say that it meant nothing to me when, from the first second we met, there was only her—it has always been her—breaks my madness.
In an instant, there's an abyss between us. Past and present. The fear, the hurt, and the distrust I perceive in her towards me.
In the next, I have her pinned against my body.
"Release me. You have no right to touch me. I was nothing in your life."
"You're wrong. You are my everything. You have always been the one for me, and you always will be."