Witness

43. Kaiden

My mum startles when my phone begins to ring on her bedside table. 

"Christ, Kaiden," she mutters, holding her chest. "Are you trying to send me into cardiac arrest?" 

"You never used a phone before, Nora?" I snort. 

"That's mum to you!" 

She's having one of her good days. 

It's on days like these that I feel that guilt over putting her here in the first place; days where she remembers the best parts of her life in surprising detail; where she's good with names, places, people; where she talks about Callum., knowing what happened to him.

But there's only so long until the memories go dull and her eyes cloud over again. 

I pick up my still ringing phone from the table and let myself out of the room, feeling her smile follow me as I do. 

It's only Will, so I know its not going to be important. He's probably just calling to tell me that Lisa has left a few home-cooked meals in my freezer again. 

Chelsea is with her family again for the rest of the day, not wanting Cecilia and her mum home alone in case Damien decides to live up to his threat and swing by, but Noah seems to have calmed him down by convincing Damien that it was actually him who picked Chelsea up from the club on Saturday night.

It's weird that I've felt myself constantly checking my phone since she left my side. My nerves are fucking shot, waiting to hear from her that everything is still going well. 

I still have the text open on my phone from half an hour ago: Checking in 3pm! 

The decision to make hourly check-ins put us both at ease. 

I press the phone to my ear.

"Yes, William?" 

"Oh!" He yells. "Ow, wow! You! Friend. Remember me?" 

I lick my teeth. 

"I'm drawing a blank, actually... No, wait. Did I buy an adult magazine from you earlier? Because I think you overcharged me, actually-" 

"You're such a prick," he says, but his voice has already softened. "Lisa is going to drop some food by your place on the way home from her shift, by the way." 

Of course she is. The woman's a saint. 

"Anyway Will, I'm with my mum, so..." 

"So?! So you have a girlfriend, you nit!" 

A nurse glances at me as I laugh and then cover the phone receiver. "Don't call me a nit."

"Don't even deny it." Wasn't. Though technically I don't have a girlfriend. Yet. "Don't you sit here and deny this, Beckett. I called Jennifer, I have the intel, I know exactly what you've been doing these past few months." Well, that's alarming. "Well... not exactly. I just know that you have a girlfriend you've been skipping work for. Who are you?"

I open my mouth to speak. 

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Will asks before I can get a word in edge-ways. 

"About what?" 

"Kaiden. Kaiden. I swear to God. This is insanity. I actually think you might have lost it. Actually - I think your girlfriend might have lost it. How the fuck does she put up with your attitude? No - how did this happen? I'm honestly so thoroughly confused. Have you ever had a girlfriend?"

"Yes," I answer, a little forcefully. Once. When I was in university. 

"Well, colour me impressed."