The Terrible Trial of Kennedy Abrams (Treadmill II)

XI

"Why does that even matter?" Rebecca asked as the two girls walked out of the courthouse and into the parking lot. "It's not like you're going to go have sleepovers with them."

"My dad hasn't cared about any part of my life until he thought I was stealing money from Hank. He hasn't come down to visit me at school once, and now here he is, staying in a hotel less than a mile away while I stand trial for the murder of his apparent best friend. And he certainly isn't here to support me," Kennedy shook her head, walking briskly towards her car and thanking God that she had been allowed to park far from everyone else, where no reporters would be able to find her car and rip through it, "you said that the website involved all four of them. Lydia, my dad, Hank and ADA Karl. I want to know why this was the first time in my life my father has shown any interest in me."

"That's kind of sad—"

"My entire family life is kind of sad, Rebecca." Kennedy snapped, unlocking her car. "I'll meet you at the Smoothie King that we went to after our volleyball game last summer." She checked her watch, which blinked 5:57 PM, "Be there at 6:30 with your laptop. Tomorrow they start questioning witnesses, and I want to be as prepared as possible for anything the ADA might pull."

She got into her car and closed the door before Rebecca could argue with her, turning it on and driving away from the courthouse.

Her mind raced and her heart went even faster, causing her to wonder if it was even safe for her to be driving. Then again, she had hit a man with her car, was put on trial for it, and they still hadn't revoked her license or given her any disciplinary measures in that department. If she got in an accident at this point, it was kind of on law enforcement's conscience, not hers.

Kennedy had always been good at getting out of bad situations. She had always had a knack for manipulating everything and everyone to get her way. She had never gotten anything but straight A's her entire life due to the fact that she wasn't against sleeping with a professor or two to help them forget about a failed midterm. She had passed her driver's test on the first try despite hitting a STOP sign because the proctor had told her that he had a daughter her age, and she started crying when he said she wouldn't pass. She 'accidentally' called him 'Dad' when she was crying, and he seemed to be a bit more forgiving.

Kennedy had been the center of every social circle, the center of attention at every party, the one who got her friends out of speeding tickets and into clubs when they had been underage. Her mastery of manipulation had somewhat made up for what her home life had always lacked: it provided her with the feeling of people genuinely caring about her.

A very real part of her was fully aware that she didn't have real friends and that she had been emotionally abusive to every guy she had ever dated. She knew she came across as someone who only cared about herself. And she was pretty sure that getting to the bottom of whatever perverse four-way was going on between Lydia, Kristopher, Hank and Jaxson would give her a semblance of the reasoning behind her twisted childhood.

Plus, it felt nice to have Rebecca speaking to her again. Not that she was planning to admit that to the other girl.

She got to the Smoothie King that she had instructed Rebecca to meet her at and sat in her car, staring at the front door of the shop. There was a high chance that Rebecca was going to be questioned the following day; the prosecution's witnesses were set to start testifying right away and Kennedy knew that Hotchky wasn't going to go easy on the cross. They had to make sure their stories lined up before either one of the girls testified—Kennedy's freedom depended on it.

Kennedy sat in her car until 6:26 PM, when Rebecca pulled up right next to her and Kennedy was jolted out of her thoughts by the slamming of a car door. She looked to her left to see Rebecca walking into the store, laptop in tow, and followed suit.