-JOANNE
Four days had passed since the incident in the hotel suite.
Hardy and I were back in the mansion, and the tension between us was palpable.
We hadn’t spoken much since I challenged him to end my life, and he had walked away without comment.
We both seemed to understand that it was better to give each other space, but it didn’t make things any less awkward.
His behavior was juvenile, moping about Lisa’s death as if everyone else was to blame.
At first, I thought it was jealousy fueling my irritation, but as I ruminated over the baby growing inside me, the real cause became clear: anger. Unrelenting, simmering anger that boiled just below the surface.
It was infuriating to watch him wallow in self-pity while I carried the weight of responsibility, the burden of life, within me.
Standing in my room and staring at the manically desired painting that somewhat gave me slight solace and redirected my anger every now and then.
Trinity walked into the room, looking tired.
She’s been ecstatic since we arrived from our horrible and useless vacation, but after meeting our mood and silent treatment towards each other, every shade of enthusiasm left her blood.
And now she looked horribly sick.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“I don’t think I am,” she sighed, walking up to my bed to change the pillowcase.
“You’re not” I walked up to her and grabbed the pillows from her.
“Take a seat and let me do it,” I offered.
“No way.” She scoffed. “I work here and for you. You cannot do anything I do,” she was resistant.
I rolled my eyes.
“I don’t know if my being under Hardy is making you believe I am some sort of princess who can’t tie even her own shoelace. But I promise you, before coming here, I worked three jobs. And yes, one of them involved this.” I gently pushed her to sit on my bed, and I grabbed the clean new pillowcase and started to change them.
Trinity watched me, amused at how fast I was.
I almost laughed because I guess she did think of me as some sort of princess who would be clueless about every petty thing in her life.
“Can we not get you a doctor?” I asked while watching her wipe her eyes.
“It’s just a slight fever.” She waved it off.
“Self-diagnosis and over-the-counter medication can be worse than death. You need a doctor,” I assured her.
“Joanne. I have lived older than you and worked under this roof for years, and I have gotten sick. Please, I know how to handle myself,” she begged with her usual Trinity bear smile.
“Okay then,” I shrugged
She continued watching me change the pillowcases, and when I was done, She clapped and smiled.
“Why aren’t you resting if you’re sick?” I asked.
“I work,” she beamed. “Hardy is in a bad mood,” she added.
I sighed.
“He’s unbelievably childish.”
“What happened between you two?”
“I’d rather talk about this later. I am tired of everything. I almost got the urge to get rid of this baby last night,” I snapped, and she slowly nodded.
I expected her to react, gasp, and tell me to stop thinking that way.
But sure, I could work with a slow, understanding nod, which was nothing like Trinity.
“Well, I get you,” she nodded.
“You do?”
“Yeah, sometimes in life there are some things you’d want to get rid of to keep something to yourself. Some things that drive you crazy to do, but you just have to do it anyways, you just have to, because you have no choice.”
Okay. That was basically not what I was talking about.
“Tri… Are you okay?” I had to ask. She looked like she was going through something. Something that wasn’t just fever.
“What do you mean? I’m fine,” she smiled.
“Yeah?” I cocked my head forward.
“Yeah,” she smiled.
“Anyways, is there anything you’d like me to do? Change more sheets? wipe floors? I’m all down for it. You should rest.”
She beamed. “You’re the exact opposite of Lisa.”
My smile immediately faltered.
“Lisa?”
It spiked my interest.
“What was Lisa like?” I pressed. It was weird that I wanted to know, but I knew why I wanted to know.
I found myself plagued with questions about Lisa, the woman who had held such a powerful grip on Hardy’s heart, even in death. What was she like? Was she beautiful, ethereal, possessing an irresistible aura and energy that still lingered long after she was gone? How had she met Hardy, and what mysterious allure did she possess to hold him so strongly in her thrall? My curiosity ached to know more, but my pride prevented me from inquiring.
Despite my attempts to dismiss her memory, I could not help but wonder: who was Lisa, truly?
Trinity looked unsettled.
“Oh, you know, she never liked working.”
“Not that,” I said, shaking my head. “What was she like? I want to know everything about her.”
“Why?” Trinity was quick.
I took a slight step back.
“What do you mean, why? You’ve worked here all your life. If there’s anyone who knows anything about her, it would be you. Or were you two not on good terms before she passed?”
Trinity sighed and made an uncomfortable shift.
She was hiding something.
Even a six-year-old could tell.
“She was nice,” Trinity agreed with herself.
“Are you telling me or convincing yourself?” I pressed.
Now I was getting even more curious.
Trinity’s expression was revealing nothing but the fact that Lisa was a bad person.
I didn’t know why that made me feel good about myself.
I was crazy, indeed.
“I am not. Lisa was nice.” Trinity was sure of her words.
“Well, what was she like? Did Hardy like her that much?”
Trinity looked at me.
“Hardy liked her so much. More than you could ever fix.”
She got on her feet and walked towards the door.
“Wait. Where are you going?” I said, rushing up to her to prevent her from walking out, but instead of walking out the door, I heard the clicking sound of the door lock.
Trinity turned around, and her eyes were brimming with tears.
“Trinity, what’s wrong?” I rushed up to her, but she raised her hand, indicating that I should stay where I was.
She walked up to me and wiped her eyes.
“What? What’s wrong?” I asked again, directing her to the bed and helping her take a seat on the bed.
I let Trinity cry until she was ready to tell me what was wrong.
Whatever did Lisa have on this woman to let her cry like this?
Or was it something else?
“I feel haunted by the thought of Lisa every single time. And last night. I had a nightmare about it, and I feel like if I don’t talk about this with someone, I’ll go crazy.”
Shit.
“Okay.” I took a seat on the bed too and glanced at the door she had locked.
What was going on with Trinity?
What did already dead Lisa have on her to have her so vulnerable and bulging out her eyes like this?
“Lisa dying is my fault.” Trinity coughed out and started to dry up her tears that wouldn’t stop.
I didn’t know what to say or how to react, so I scooted close to her and leaned closer.
“What do you mean? What nightmare? And your fault?”
I asked as my hand ran up and down her back.
“Yeah-
She finally dried her eyes and sniffed.
I waited patiently for her to get a hold of herself before talking about Lisa. I wanted to talk about Lisa, but I didn’t know it would lead to such tears.
“I have never talked about this with anyone because I felt like I never felt like. But it’s taunting me. I can’t breathe sometimes when I think about this. Can this be between us for a while?” Trinity turned to me.
I squinted.
I couldn’t read her face; I couldn’t tell what she had in store and was about to tell me, so instead I just nodded.
“Your secret is safe with me,” I beamed.
“It’s not entirely a secret. A few people knew about it. “There are few people who are not Hardy,” she added.
“What happened?” I asked softly, when my mind wouldn’t try to process any theories at all. “Were you and Lisa not on good terms?”
Surprisingly, she laughed.
“Lisa and I were on good terms. We were on great terms, even. But I shouldn’t have ended things like that,” Trinity said softly.
“Ended things? What things? I’m confused” I rushed my words.
“Tri, you know you have to explain things to me properly so I can understand,” I sighed.
“I know.” She glanced at me.
“Lisa never liked Hardy, you know.” Trinity began.
My jaw almost fell.
The same woman driving his insane after passing never liked Hardy?
That was impossible.
“You’re joking,” I echoed.
Trinity sat up properly. She wanted to speak, but it looked like her words were fighting battles inside her closed mouth.
Finally, she let herself speak. “I am not joking; she never liked Hardy in the slightest. He was the one in love with her, the only one.”
“And how do you know that?” I asked. I am not getting the picture.
“Because Lisa and I had something going on?”
“What?” I was extremely confused.
“I should probably start this from the beginning,” Trinity began.
A heavy feeling of guilt was written across her crimson features, and her gestures were held back by her fears.
–
*