Promises and Pomegranates

The first time Kal killed someone, he was 16 and had been working for Rafe for three years. He felt nothing. He saw Rafe and Carmen for the first time while he was at the hospital with his mother; Rafe dropped his card at Kal’s feet. Then, when Kal’s mother died, he sought Rafe out. Now, Kal tortures Tony, one of the men who assaulted Elena. Tony tells Kal that Rafe needs money, and he thought threatening Elena would make Kal give it to him. It’s Carmen who pushed the kidnapping narrative. Kal kills Tony and sends his heart and thumb to Rafe.

Kal goes outside to find Elena upset that her garden is still not growing. She confesses that she wants something at the Asphodel that feels like her own, and she used to have plants and flowers on her balcony. Kal shows her to a spot with beach roses, right on the ocean. She immediately takes off her clothes and gets in the water, inviting Kal to join her. No one has ever seen him naked, and he fears this will be what convinces her that he’s a “monster.” When he sees how happy she looks, however, he begins to undress.