Chapter Thirty-Three
Reed
It was a difficult day for me. I woke up that day knowing that it was Kennedy’s last day with us. She’d asked me to stay and enjoy the pancakes with them that morning, and I’m not sure if that had helped or hindered my feelings toward the day. It felt almost like a slap in the face. As if she was saying, enjoy this breakfast with me because it will be the last time that you ever experience it ever again. I knew she didn’t do it maliciously, though. Kennedy didn’t have a malicious bone in her body, and I was sure that this was just as difficult for her as it was for me.
I couldn’t concentrate at work that day. I just found myself going through the motions. Thankfully, I’d done this job for such a long time that I sometimes didn’t have to think much at all. I just had to switch to ‘doctor’ mode, and I was fine. But every time I found myself alone, I’d switched right back into ‘sad’ mode. Warren had noticed and kept coming in to see if I was okay, which was nice of him. But every time I saw him, I’d feel sad about what was going on.
“What are you going to do next week without Kennedy?” he asked. It was the end of the day, and we were both sitting in my office winding down. “Did you find someone to replace her?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Are you still holding out for her? Hoping she’ll stay? Be honest.”
I sighed heavily. “I guess I am. I can’t help myself. I want her to stay more than anything in the world. Do you think she’s really going to go?”
“Ooh, you’re asking the wrong guy. What did she say this morning? Did you see her?”
“I saw her. We actually had breakfast together, which was a little bit strange. It was nice and not-nice at the same time, if you know what I mean. She told me that she was going to talk to Trinity today. So, I guess it really is happening. I don’t know what I’m going to do next week. Thankfully, Trinity is at school again, so maybe I can just take her and get her to stay in aftercare while I figure something out. But it’s not ideal.”
“I’m sorry man. Hey, maybe she’s changed her mind.”
I wasn’t so sure. Kennedy seemed pretty sure that morning about what she was going to do. “Yeah, maybe,” I said.
“Good luck. If you need help with anything, just let me know.”
“Sure, I’ll do that,” I said, although we both knew that there was nothing that could really be done.
I stood up. It was time to go home. I decided that I wouldn’t work late that day. If Kennedy had told Trinity then I was sure that Trinity was going to need me now. And I didn’t want to make Kennedy work late on her last day. If she didn’t want to work for me anymore then there was simply nothing I could do about it. I was going to have to figure something out myself. I shut down my computer and slowly headed home. That was the slowest I’d ever driven home before, the feeling of dread coming over me the closer I got to the house.
I parked the car, got out, and headed toward the house, but then frowned when I saw that the front door was wide open. It wasn’t like Kennedy to do that. The door was not only always closed when I got home, but it was locked. We lived in a relatively safe area, but we had both discussed the importance of a locked door for Trinity’s sake. I walked inside nervously and called out her name. There was no answer. But I had seen Kennedy’s car outside so she couldn’t have gone too far.
“Trinity? Kennedy? Hello?” I called out. Nothing.
I ran upstairs and found Trinity’s room empty too. She’d clearly been there because her duvet was ruffled as if she’d been lying in it. Her school bag was also lying on the floor.
“Trinity!” I called out again but got no reply.
I checked my bedroom but it was empty, and so was the spare room and the bathroom. I ran back downstairs and then gasped when I saw Kennedy lying on the kitchen floor. I ran up to her. There was some blood on the floor, and for a second I thought that she was dead. My heart almost stopped beating at the sight of her.
“Kennedy!” I shouted and moved in even closer. I could hear the sound of her breathing. It was only then that I realized I had been holding my own breath and I let it out in one quick burst.
“Kennedy, are you okay?” I asked over and over again. I lifted her up and saw that the blood had come from the back of her head. Thankfully there didn’t seem to be too much. As I sat her up, her eyes started to flutter open. She looked at me in confusion.
“What . . . what’s going on?” she asked.
“Ken, are you okay? Are you in pain? What happened? Where’s Trinity?” I asked, the questions pouring out of me.
Kennedy still seemed to be trying to figure out where she was herself. She looked around and then looked back at me. Then her eyes widened in shock as the events unfolded before her.
“Angela!” she said.
“What? What about her? Oh my god, Kennedy, what did she do? Did she do this to you?”
“She knocked me out. I saw her as I fell. That’s all I remember. Trinity! Where is she?” she said suddenly.
I shook my head. “I don’t know! She’s not in her room. Oh my god, do you think she took her?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know. Oh, Reed, what are we going to do? We have to find her!”
“I’m going to call the police right now. Do you need an ambulance too?”
She shook her head. “Call the police. We’ll worry about me later.”
I quickly called the police and then ran the perimeter of the house making sure that Trinity wasn’t lying somewhere unconscious too. I couldn’t believe what was happening. I ran back to Kennedy to see if I could help her. She was clutching the back of her head but otherwise seemed okay.
“Ken, I’m getting an ambulance. Are you okay? Does it hurt?” I said.
“I’m fine, the bleeding has stopped. She knocked me out for a while, but I don’t think anything is wrong. I think I’m more in shock than anything else.”
“You and me both,” I said. “Why the hell would she do this to me? Does she really think that this is a way to get me back? Oh god, Ken, what am I going to do? What if she has run away with Trinity? What if I can’t find her? What if she does something bad? I mean, she already hit you over the head, so she’s clearly capable of violence.” My entire body was now trembling.
Kennedy took my hands and squeezed them. “She won’t do anything to Trinity. The only reason she did this was to get Trinity back. She won’t do anything. And chances are the police will find her anyway.”
The police arrived ten minutes later, and I almost fainted from pure happiness when I saw that they had Trinity. She was sitting in the back of the car talking to one of the police officers.
“You found her! You found her!” I said.
“It wasn’t too difficult. We just traced the name that you gave us and we tracked down her car. She was sitting on the side of the road with your daughter. We have taken Angela into custody now. I just wanted to let you know what was happening before you saw your daughter. She’s safe now, and Angela won’t be allowed near her again. Of course, we’ll have to take this to the courts. This is not our decision, but we will happily give a statement to say that she attacked Kennedy.”
“Is she okay? Trinity? Is she okay?”
“She’s fine. I have no idea what she was going to do with her, but I have a feeling she just wanted to scare you. She was saying a lot of bad things about you, but Trinity filled us in on everything. Anyway, we have her on record. This is not the first time that she’s done something against the law.”
“Really?” I said. Then I laughed. “Actually, I don’t know why I’m so surprised. She’s not all that right in the head. Can I see Trinity now?”
“You sure can,” he said. “One of the officers is just talking to her now. But she’ll be with you in a few minutes.”
I shook his hand and thanked him for everything. It was nice to know that they were on my side, and not sticking up for Angela. She had no problem when it came to manipulation, so I was thankful that I didn’t have to try and prove myself. I saw Kennedy sitting by herself on the sofa and I went to join her.
“She’s okay?” Kennedy asked.
I smiled. “She’s okay. And Angela is in custody. I’m so sorry that you got so involved in this. What a nightmare. You didn’t deserve any of this.”
She shook her head. “It’s not your fault. I’m just glad that Trinity is okay.”
“Me too. They’re bringing her to me now.”
Kennedy stood up. “I better go.”
“Don’t you want to stay?”
“I don’t think that Trinity will want to see me. I told her today that it was my last day and she ran to her room in tears. She told me that she hated me. If I hadn’t told her that today, then maybe none of this would’ve happened. Maybe she would’ve been with me the whole time, and we could’ve called the cops.”
“Don’t blame yourself for what Angela did. She would’ve done something like this with or without you. The police told me that they already had her name on file for other things she’s done. So please… don’t put this on yourself.”
She nodded. “Okay. But I still think you need to be with her right now without me. I’m going to go. Tell her that I love her. Okay?”
“Okay. Call me if you need me, Ken. Please.”
“I will,” she said, even though I knew she wouldn’t.
I watched her leave and then turned to see Trinity running toward me. I knelt down, and she ran into my arms. I squeezed her tightly.
“Oh, Trin. I was so worried about you. Are you okay, my darling?”
“I’m okay. I was so scared, Daddy. She’s not a nice lady. She said I have to stay with her, but I don’t want to. I want to stay with you. I don’t want to be with her. She’s not nice.”
I soothed her by patting her gently on her head as she squeezed me tightly. Then I pulled her away and wiped away her tears.
“Don’t worry, Trin. She’s not going to come after you anymore. The police said they won’t let her. And you will always stay with me. I promise. I’m so sorry that this happened, my angel.”
“Where’s Kennedy? Daddy, I saw her lying on the floor when we left. I was so worried. I called her name, but she didn’t get up.”
“She’s fine. She’s fine. She’s just gone home to get some rest. But she’s fine. She told me to tell you that she loves you.”
“Daddy, I told her that I hated her. But I don’t. I just said that because I was angry at her for leaving. But I don’t hate her.”
“It’s okay. She knows that. And you know she’s always going to be your friend. But right now, I think she just needs some rest. And don’t worry. I’ll be there for you until we find someone to look after you. Okay? I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I love you, Trin.”
“I love you too, Daddy.”