I cut the onions and used that as an excuse for my tears. I heard a noise and turned around hoping that it was Trinity coming to make amends, but there was nobody there. I turned back around and shook my head, reaching for the wooden spoon to stir the onions. But just as I was about to retrieve the spoon I saw a shadow behind me.
“Trin?” I said.
I didn’t get a chance to fully turn around because as soon as I had moved my head, I felt a strong pain in the back of my head and I fell to the ground. I saw Angela standing above me with a smile on her face before my eyes fluttered shut.
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.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Kennedy
Almost two weeks had passed since the incident at Reed's house. I hadn’t heard from him, which was a surprise, but I hadn’t called him, either. I was sure that if something was wrong, he would’ve called me, but it still ached every time the phone rang and it wasn’t him. I had taken a few days off afterward. I basically slept from the morning to night, and only left my bed to shower or get something to eat, both of which I didn’t do very often.
But for the most part, I slept. When I did eat, it wasn’t very much. I was in bed at the moment, wondering if I should bother to drag myself over to the TV when I heard a knock at the door. For a while, I was frozen on the spot, unsure on how to react. Was it Reed? I sat up and looked in the mirror. I looked a mess. I stuck my head back under the duvet. There was no way I was going to go out and see Reed looking this way. Whoever it was knocked again, and I closed my eyes, willing them to go away.
For a few minutes, there was no more knocking, and I stuck my head out of the duvet and breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe it wasn’t even Reed. Maybe it was a salesman. There had been an influx of them lately driving the neighborhood mad. The more I thought about it, the more unlikely it seemed that it would even be Reed. Then the phone rang beside me, and I saw that it was Camille.
“I know you’re in there,” she said without saying hello.
“Cam? Was that you knocking at the door?” I asked.
“Of course it was me. Who did you think it was? Anyway, I’m still outside. Come and open the door for me or else I’m going to find a way to crawl through a window. And don’t lie about not being there. Your car is here.”
“How do you know I haven’t just gone for a walk somewhere?” I said.
“Well, have you?”
I sighed. “No. I’m coming.”
I dragged myself out of bed and made my way downstairs. When I opened the door, Camille frowned at me.
“Whoa. You don’t look good.”
“Hello to you too,” I said, and I let her in. I locked the door behind her. Ever since the incident, I had become pedantic about locking the door wherever I was. Sometimes I ran down in the middle of the night just to make sure it was definitely locked.
“Ken, come on, you can’t stay holed up forever. When’s the last time you had something to eat? You look so skinny.”
“Skinny is good,” I said.
“No, it’s not. When did you last eat?”
“Uh, not so long ago. Few hours maybe. I don’t know. I don’t remember.”
“And what did you have?”
“Toast.”
“How much?”
“I don’t know. A slice.” It was more like a few bites out of a slice, but she didn’t have to know that.
“Okay, and before that?”
“Toast,” I said again.
She shook her head. “And when’s the last time you showered and got out of those clothes?”
There was no point in lying about it all. I shrugged. “I have no idea.”
“Okay, so here’s the plan. You’re going to take a long shower right now. You’re going to wash your hair, and put on some clean clothes. Then I’m taking you out for something to eat. And you are not going to argue with me because I’m not going to let you get away with not doing it. You know I’ll stand here until you do. Got it?”
“Got it,” I said. I wouldn’t dare argue with her.
Admittedly, the shower did feel good, and when I got out and dried my hair, I almost felt like my old self again. It was amazing how easy it was to dwell in self-pity. I put on some clean clothes and made my way downstairs where Camille was waiting.
“Feeling better?” she asked.
I nodded. “Yeah. Thanks, Cam.”
“Come on then; it’s time for some food.”
I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until we stepped inside the restaurant and I smelt the food coming out of the kitchen. My stomach grumbled, and I quickly ordered a plate of scrambled eggs with avocado on toast and a cup of coffee. When the coffee arrived, I took a grateful sip and sighed.
“I haven’t had coffee in days,” I said.
“Are you serious? I’ve never known you to go without coffee. Or food for that matter.”
“Yeah. I just wanted to sleep. I have never felt such an overwhelming desire to sleep before. I would just close my eyes and fall asleep again. It was crazy.”
“And that, my friend, is a little something they call depression. How are you feeling? You’re not still hurt, are you?”
“Nah, I’m fine.
Apparently head wounds bleed a lot even when they’re not that bad.”
“Gross.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, tell me about it. When I finally came to, I couldn’t believe it was my own blood on that floor. I almost fainted all over again.”
“Have you heard from them?” Camille asked.
“Not a word.”
“Well, that’s good. That’s what you wanted, wasn’t it?”
“I guess so,” I said although I wasn’t so sure anymore. I missed them more than I could’ve imagined. I wanted Reed to call me even though I had told him not to. I wanted him to prove that I had been wrong about them, but after what had happened I also wasn’t sure that it was a good idea to get involved again. I probably shouldn’t have gotten so close to them in the first place.
“You miss them, don’t you?” she said as if reading my mind.
I nodded. “More than ever. I had no idea they would do this to me. It’s so damn hard not seeing them every day. I’m not sure what’s worse: not seeing Trinity or not seeing Reed.”
“I guess they come as a package those two,” she said thoughtfully.
“Yeah, they certainly do. I still cannot believe that Angela took Trinity away. What was she planning to do? And they found her just sitting in her car. Poor Trinity must’ve been so frightened.”
“I can’t believe she hit you over the head. She sounds bonkers that one.”
“Yeah, and get this. She hit me over the head and still thought about switching the stove off before running to get Trinity.”
“How thoughtful of her,” Camille scoffed.
“Such a lovely lady,” I said sarcastically. “Let’s not burn the food, but it’s okay if I just knocked a human being onto the floor while her blood runs out from her head.”
“Weirdo! Anyway, let’s not think about them anymore. I think it’s time you start moving on from this whole thing. You chose not to work for them anymore, and you chose to stop going out with Reed. I know I’m being harsh here, but that was your choice, and I think it’s time you started looking toward your future.”
Dirty Daddy (A Single Dad Romance) (The Maxwell Family) Page 20