Ben's mind kept returning to the strange dynamic he'd witnessed at the Bateman house. Her parents had seemed almost disappointed when Kelly stood her ground, the subtle undermining, the clear preference shown to her sister.
If they showed that much favoritism to Celia, how did they act toward the older brother, Rob? Kelly had mentioned that he was the golden child and, in her parents’ eyes, could do no wrong.
"Can I ask you something?" he said finally, his voice careful, measured.
Kelly's shoulders tensed again, but she nodded.
Ben hesitated, choosing his words with care. This wasn't a business negotiation where he could calculate risks and rewards. This was personal, potentially painful territory.
"What’s going on with your parents? Why do they try to frame you in a negative light?"
The question hung in the air between them. Kelly's face cycled through several emotions before settling into a bitter smile that didn't reach her eyes. She let out a long, low sigh that seemed to come from somewhere deep inside her, a sound so weary and knowing that it made Ben's own chest tighten painfully.
No matter what Kelly said out loud, deep inside this woman was hurting.
"Welcome to my life," she said, her tone bitter. "Bennett Reilly, meet the Batemans, where success is measured by how closely you follow the script they've written for you, and heaven help you if you decide to deviate. Even just a little bit."
There was something both fragile and unbreakable about Kelly. She was a woman strong enough to pursue justice for her murdered friend, yet vulnerable enough to be wounded by parents who should have been her greatest supporters.
"Do you want to talk about it? Because I have nowhere to go and nothing but time. I doubt I have any great wisdom, but maybe just talking about it and getting it off your chest might make you feel better.”
And he wanted to see her smile again.
She turned to look at him, and he could see those tears still glistening in her eyes. The urge to reach out and comfort her was strong, but he forced his hands to his sides. He didn’t know howshe’d feel about a hug, even if it was meant in friendship and comfort only.
"They want me to regret my decisions," she said, each syllable precise and measured. "Specifically, the decisions they disagree with. If I'm a big old loser, then they can rub it in that they were right and I should have done it all their way."
Ben watched her face as she spoke, noting how her chin lifted slightly, how her shoulders squared. This wasn't just venting; this was a truth she had carried for years, examined from every angle, and finally accepted.
"It's pretty simple, really," she continued. "They have very specific ideas about what constitutes success. The right college, the right career, the right spouse, the right number of children. The right everything. My brother Rob followed the script perfectly. My sister Celia is mostly doing it too, with just a minor deviation to finish college before getting married, but without actually threatening their worldview."
Christ on a cracker, what dysfunctional parents.
"And then there's you," Ben supplied, his voice soft.
"And then there's me." Kelly's smile didn't reach her eyes. "I started coloring outside the lines early and never really stopped. The more they pushed, the more I pulled away. By the time I was eighteen, we had established a pattern that's never really changed."
Ben had seen enough of the world and people to know that family could sometimes be the source of the deepest wounds. It was the calculated nature of it that struck him hard. The deliberate undermining, the emotional manipulation disguised as concern.
"So let me get this straight," he said, trying to make sense of it. "If you're happy and productive in your life choices, they can't claim they were right. But if you're miserable and struggling, they get to say 'I told you so'?"
"Exactly." Kelly nodded, a spark of appreciation in her eyes that he'd grasped it so quickly. "They want me to be miserable so that they can be right."
Imagine that. Wanting to be right so badly that you wish misery on your child. Shit, some people didn’t deserve to have children.
"And then what? You come crawling back and do things their way?"
The Batemans clearly didn’t know anything about Kelly. She wasn’t the crawling type. Surrender wasn’t in her vocabulary.
"That's the end game, yes. I finally admit they were right all along, I do what they tell me, and then I'll finally be happy." The sarcasm in her voice was thick with painful emotion. "Because happiness, according to David and Jenny Bateman, can only be achieved by following their precise blueprint for life."
Ben shook his head in disbelief. His own parents had certainly had expectations and hopes for their children, but they'd never made their love or support conditional on following a predetermined path.
His mother had been thrilled when Lulu became sheriff, proud of Chase for taking over the coffee shop, and had supported Ben's business ventures with genuine enthusiasm.
Note to self. Buy Mom a really expensive gift for her birthday. She deserved it.
"Have you done a lot of things your parents don't agree with?"
