CHAPTER FIVE; LAURA'S SON.

I hear a voice from a distance. I try to open my eyes but the light is too bright and I close them as soon as I do. "Hey, how are you feeling" I hear a familiar voice I cannot place. "You were supposed to come meet me yesterday and you did not show nor leave a message," I try to think what appointments I had yesterday. Then it hit me and I open my eyes. Just what I thought it's detective Swindle. He is sitting besides me with concern written all over his face.

He helps me sit up. "How did you know where I live?" I notice the basin of water and the towel on the table. "After work I passed by your office and your assistant said you had not shown up the whole day and you were not answering your phone so I asked for your address." He wring the towel, places it over my forehead and holds it with his left hand. He is super close to me and I feel him trying to avoid eye contact. 

"So you were that worried about me," he shuffles uncomfortably. He brings my left hand up to hold the the towel. "I need to get warmer water," he walks to the open kitchen. I watch him and I resist a smile. "Looks like you've been doing this for a while," he stops fo a while then continues. "My mother has a weak body and she is always in and out of hospitals," I can tell it's something he doesn't like talking about. "By the way you told me you found something about the murders or was it about the weird caller?" He walks by over and sits on the table across from me. He dips the towel in the warm water and wrings it then places it back on my forehead. 

"There was someone both Nate and Mark talked to frequently," he stands to take the now slightly cold towel from my forehead. "Who was it?" He puts the towel back and sits down. " A guy called Xavier, do you by any chance know him?" I think really hard but that name but it does not ring a bell. "No I don't know him. Maybe it's a coincidence like how we could have the same office supplier without even knowing each other," His eyes are deep in concentration. He touches his earlobe and I find it really cute. "Maybe, but i'll look more into it before dropping it."

After an hour of mindless chattering and alternating cold and warm towels I start to feel better. I offer to cook us a quick meal but he refuses. "Your fever might have gone down but you haven't eaten anything since yesterday. You are too weak to stand let alone cook." "Okay we could order something," he stands and head back to the kitchen. "There is no use. I'll make you a healthy meal," this time I cannot stop myself from smiling. 

I tell him where everything is. I reach out for my phone when he starts cooking. It's almost seven in the evening. I look at my call logs. Other than Christine who had called almost ten times, there was also four from Jade. I wonder how she is doing with her sister passing. I decide to call her before Kerrick finishes cooking. "Hey love, how are you doing?" there is silence on the other side. I check my phone to make sure it's not on mute. "Really, that's what you're asking me after disappearing for a whole day. Especially when I needed you. My sister is freaking dead and where are you? I was there for you after your brother and even more so after your parents. And you come asking me how I am doing. You are a shitty friend Vienna Starr Kilmartin. That's what you are. A shitty friend." She hangs up the phone before I can say anything.

I want to text her but as luck would have it my phone shuts down before I can. I slide down and lie on the couch. I look up the ceiling and I cannot help but think of all the times she showed up for me. She was right, I am a shitty friend. How could I judge her because of a smile I thought I saw. Her sister just freaking died. I hate this feeling. I try to focus on the smell coming from the kitchen. God, I love a man that can cook. I sit back to look at him. Our eyes meet. For the first time I get myself feeling shy. I look away. "You good? You look stressed," he continues chopping something and I go back to thinking about Jade and cursing my damn phone. 

"Hey, food is ready." I open my eyes to see Kerrick in a distance setting the table. I can't believe he actually made all that food. Nothing about him ever seemed domestic, looking at him right there, with the apron on and a bit of sauce on it. The food is actually very tasty. "Who was that on the phone?" "It was jade." He looks at me confused. "She is my bestfriend. Well she was," I whisper at the end. "She is not anymore?" he asks as he continues eating. "We had a fight." I answer trying not to sound as bothered as I feel. "You stop being bestfriends because of a fight? Have you never fought before?" I stop for a minute and try to think of the last time we fought. It was before the death of my parents. It feels like she felt guilty of bringing up anything that might hurt my feelings after that. That was until her sister passed. 

After the meal I go for the box that has all my childhood photos. Kerrick insists on doing the dishes which I refuse and he finally gives in. We sit back at the dining table and start looking at the photos. I like how interested he seems. I explain who the people in every picture are, where the pictures were taken and what the occassion was. He listens, like really listens. "This was taken on the last time we had such a big fight with Jade." I show him a picture of Laura and I in the park. "We had this huge fight, I don't even remember what it was about. Then I ran off and it was Laura, Jade's mom who found me and brought me back."

He looks at the photo keenly and takes it off my hand.  "Let me see that," he looks at it and touches his earlobe. " This is my mother," he says almost in a whisper. "What?" I asked not sure I heard him well. "This is my adoptive mother," he says this time with certainity in his voice. " Can't be, she died in an accident almost three months after my parents died." He looks back at the photo. "She is crippled but not dead.This is the woman who raised since I was thirteen years old." He removes his wallet from his back trouser pocket. He opens it and hands it to me. Sure enough the picture I am looking at is of Laura in a wheelchair with  little boy.