Alice POV
Even if I hadn’t known who the woman that was sitting on the crisp white sheets of the bed was, I’d instantly recognize her as Caden’s mother. He looked just like her. She had a fair complexion, long black hair and the same bluish-grey eyes as the boy. The only difference was in the features of the face; Rachel’s were far more refined and feminine.
“Hey…” Caden greeted in a small, hesitant voice.
“Caden!” The woman exclaimed, looking up from the book she had been reading and placing it on the nightstand located next to her bed. I saw Cade’s tense body relax a bit as his mother recognized him. “I’ve missed you so much!”
She opened her arms and he went to hug her. The boy closed his eyes as he wrapped his arms around his mother’s body holding her tight and slightly swaying them both back and forth. He placed one soft, long-lasting kiss on his mom’s forehead and gently brushed her hair with his fingers.
I stood by the door feeling terribly out of place. This was something private. I had no right to be here.
Caden finally let go of his mother and spoke a bit worriedly.
“Mom… There’s someone I’d like you to meet.” He moved to the side so she could see me. “This is my friend, Alissa Green. Alice… This is my mother, Rachel Kavanagh.”
“Pleased to meet you, Rachel.” I smiled sheepishly at her. Caden had told me she preferred it when people addressed her by her first name instead of with Mrs. Kavanagh.
At first she looked startled to see someone new in the room. Her eyebrows scrunched and her eyes narrowed slightly as her gaze ran over me. I started to panic. What if she didn’t like me?
But then Rachel smiled.
Not a shy smile, or a polite fake one, but a genuinely warm smile.
I blinked a few times, surprised by her reaction and looked at Caden. He seemed just as taken aback as I was.
“Hello, Alice! Why don’t you come sit next to me?”
My gaze fell on Caden once more and I waited to see if he’d approve. The boy nodded curtly and I cautiously approached Rachel’s bed. I slowly sat down on the white sheets, still a bit worried that even the slightest movement from me would startle the woman. But she looked completely calm as she continued to smile at me.
“So, Alice… Tell me about yourself!”
“Umm…” I wasn’t sure where to start. My fingers fidgeted nervously in my lap and I bit my lip. Rachel must have picked up on my anxiety as she helpfully urged me:
“How did you meet my son?”
I relaxed. Well, that was an easy question and a safe topic to discuss.
“I tried to pick a CD that was at the top shelve in the music store but I couldn’t reach it and Cade got it for me.”
“How nice of him!” Her smile was directed towards her boy this time.
“Well, I couldn’t help it; she looked so cute with her unsuccessful attempt to reach it. She even stomped her foot like a little child.” He laughed.
“I don’t remember doing that.”
“You did, just after you groaned.”
“So I reminded you of a little child. Is that why you call me kid?”
“Yep.” The boy nodded. “A small, impatient girl. That was my first impression of you. Although Alice is actually my age. We share most of our classes at school.” He added, turning to his mother who was looking at us with an amused expression. “So we became friends really fast.”
“Did you now?” She asked smirking.
I knew THAT particular smirk; Caden had the same whenever something was on his mind. What could she be thinking of?
“And you’ve been spending a lot of time with each other?” Rachel asked as something flashed in her eyes.
“Even out of school we see each other pretty much every day.” I nodded. “And the four of us go out every Friday.”
“Four?”
“Caden, Keegan, Asher and I.”
“Oh… So you’re the only girl in the group?”
“Yeah, but I don’t mind; I enjoy hanging with the boys.”
“You equally enjoy spending time with each of them?”
“Pretty much… Although I seem to be closest with your son.” I admitted and glanced at the boy in question, eager to see his reaction to my little confession.
Caden turned his face away, pretending to gaze out the window, but not before I saw him trying to suppress a smile. He even blushed slightly. Something Rachel must have noticed as well because the smirk was back on.
“Alice, would you mind leaving me alone with my son?” She asked politely.
“No, not at all.” I got up and headed for the door. “I’ll be just outside.”
*****
I stood in front of of Rachel’s room. I was really happy about the way she reacted to me. Caden had warned me that her panic attacks were sudden and could be provoked by a lot of different things, but I had a feeling she’d be alright while he was in there. I mean, she was so happy to see him, she was practically glowing!
“Rachel didn’t react well to you, did she?” The young nurse that we saw earlier asked with a smug expression, drawing nearer to me. Now that I had the chance to look at her closely, and wasn’t too nervous to meet Rachel to pay attention to anything else, I had only one thing to say: Hellooooo, nurse! The resemblance between this girl and nurse character from the Animaniacs cartoon show was striking. The woman had long blond hair, big blue eyes, curvy body, huge breasts, and let’s not forget: she was a nurse. The only difference was that she was real and far more beautiful than her animated counterpart. She was the type of girl to make me reconsider my heterosexual status. There was one thing I did not like about her though: the way she looked at Caden and how she glared at me; that really got on my nerves!
“On the contrary…” I answered her coolly “… Rachel seemed to enjoy my visit.”
“Then why are you out here?”
“Because she wanted to spent some quality time with her son.” I explained as if was the most obvious thing; which, technically, it was.
“Speaking of Caden…” She leaned on the wall opposite me, trying to sound casual. “What are you two to each other?”
“We’ve been going out.” I shrugged nonchalantly.
She narrowed her eyes at me and her jaw clenched.
“Really?” There was contempt in her voice. She didn’t seem to believe me.
Before I answered, the door next to which I was standing opened and out came Caden himself.
“How was your visit?” The flirty smile was back on the nurse’s lips. “Your friend…” She stressed the word. “… was just telling me Rachel took her presence well.”
Caden nodded, keeping his eyes on me. I think he was purposefully avoiding looking at her, hinting he had no interest whatsoever.
“She was also telling me how you guys are going out together.” The nurse casually added as an afterthought but kept her gaze on the boy to see his reaction.
Oh-oh! Not good! What if Caden thought I was spreading gossip that the two of us were dating?
All I had said was that we’ve been going out. And that was true. Not as a couple of course, but then again I’d never claimed we were. It wasn’t my fault if she interpreted it otherwise.
“We have.” The boy wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Come on, let’s go!”
He led me down the hallway. I turned back just in time to see the nurse’s surprised expression turn into a death glare. Then I did something really, really mature: I stuck my tongue out at her.
*****
I opened the door to the car. I really wanted to know what Caden and his mom had spoke about after I got out of Rachel’s room. Was I a topic of their conversation? I wanted to utter the question out loud, but I decided that whatever they talked about, it was private, something between a mother and her son, and I had no right to poke about in their business. So instead, I spoke about something else that made me nervous:
“So… Everything okay?” I asked as we sat in the vehicle. By “everything” I actually meant Rachel.
“Yeah.” He seemed thoughtful as he drove off.
Was he going to elaborate on that? I played nervously with the hem of my t-shirt, waiting for him to continue. After about a minute of silence, I came to the conclusion that he wouldn’t.
“Did your mom say anything about me?”
“She likes you.”
“Really?” I questioned with so much enthusiasm that he laughed.
“Really!”
I smiled.
Truth to be told I feared… no, I dreaded the meeting with Rachel. What if I did something wrong and scared her? What if she got one of her panic attacks because of me? I guess we were lucky she’d been having a good day when we got there.
“So…” Cade started with a little smirk on his lips. “How long have we been going out?”
I gulped quite audibly. Darn it! I was hoping he’d forget about that.
“I meant “going out” as in “hanging out”.” I hurried to explain. “Not my fault Hello Nurse misunderstood. Why did you go along with it anyway?”
His face darkened and the grip he had on the steering wheel tightened.
“Because the way she was looking down on you pissed me off!” He stated in a rough voice.
“Oh! Umm… Thanks!”
He nodded, still frowning.
“Hello Nurse?”
“Yeah… She reminded me of a character from this cartoon show I used to watch as a kid. It’s called “Animaniacs”. Have you seen it?”
“Nope.”
Silence settled between us again.
“Want to go somewhere?” I asked, trying to get his mind off the nurse.
“Have something in mind?”
“Not really… Oh! How about the diner?”
“The diner it is!” He looked amused.
“What got you so elevated?”
“I was just about to suggest the same!” He smirked.