Chapter Three

The five bills he'd taken from Penelope's dresser were all fifties, which would be enough to rent out a room at a cheap motel for a few nights. Unfortunately, Kaiden was barely sixteen and thus not old enough to legally rent a room.

It was now a few hours after midnight, and the air seemed to grow colder by the minute. Kaiden only felt a mild chill as he finally wandered onto a main road, which was alight with the neon glow of dozens of fast food restaurants.

He had no idea where he was, but it had to be nearby the Collins Estate, which was situated in one of the many suburbs of Cochrane. The only time he'd caught even a glimpse of the city had been on the day that Alexander had picked him up at the larger of its two airports, the prelude to the pitiable lifestyle that he'd been forced to suffer through over the past two years.

He wound up inside a Tom's, a small coffee shop where the lights were always on. Before squeezing his brain dry about how to find a place to live, he bought a few bagels and a coffee and then settled down on one of the many sofa chairs that filled the room. There were only a few other people there, and other than glancing at the bruises on his face, they all kept to themselves. When this caught him off guard, he realized that he'd grown used to people not minding their own business after all of the time that he'd spent with his despicable relatives.

Just as he swallowed the last bite of his last bagel, a sudden silhouette appeared at his elbow.

"Here you go." A plastic baggie filled with ice was proffered in front of him. "For the bruises."

It was the girl that had taken his order. She seemed older than him by a year or two, with earnest eyes, long lashes, and an athletic figure.

"Oh," he blushed, "thanks."

As he accepted the baggie, he wondered why a pretty girl like this felt the need to wear so much makeup at work.

She showed a pleasant smile and turned around to head back to the register, where an old lady was waiting patiently to make an order with an approving smile on her wizened face. "Make sure you don't press it for too long!"

He nodded despite the fact that she had already rushed away. Funnily enough, he was a bit thrown off by the unexpected interaction.

All that amazing stuff I just learned, and it's this girl that gets to me, hah... He leaned his face into the baggie and sat there with a habitual sigh. That was really nice of her. I should've asked for her name.

He sat in silence for a while, sipping his coffee with an absent mind. Once he'd taken his last sip, he began to run through all of the possibilities, though in the end there was only one viable option.

He left his seat and threw away the trash before he returned the white plate and matching mug that he'd been served with, placing it at the designated spot along the front counter.

The old lady had been the only one in line, and now that she was gone the three girls on the night shift had begun to prep for the morning rush that would come when the sun rose in a couple of hours.

"Hey," he called out, "thanks again for the ice."

"No problem," said the girl from before, who was filling the display cases with fresh baked goods. "Wish I could have seen the other guy."

"Do you think you can do me another favour?" Forward as it might seem, it was better than admitting that the other guy was fine and probably high out of his mind playing video games despite the early hours. "It's nothing big. I was just hoping you could call me a cab."

"Um, yeah I can do that." She pulled out a smart phone with a pink case that had some sort of cartoon puppy as the centrepiece. "What name should I give them?"

"Kaiden."

She held up a finger. "Ah, hello? Could I have a cab to the Tommy's on the corner of Ypres and Somme, for Kai?" She sent him a playful wink. "Yeah, the Tom's near Memorial Road. Okay, thanks!"
"Awesome," he said. "You're the best."

"No, I'm Katelyn. Hey, so did you just come from that West High party? Is that where you got in a fight?"

"No, this was from my cousin."

"Oh..." She brushed a loose curtain of blonde strands from her brow, which was a bit sweaty from rushing to fill the display cases. "I'm sorry to hear that. That actually sounds like me and my cousin."

An awkward silence set in, though it was broken when a yellow cab pulled up alongside the doors just to Kaiden's left.

"Wow, looks like your cab's here. It must have been driving by already when I called, or something."

"Yep. Thanks for all the help Katelyn. I hope I see you again."

"I...yeah, me too. See ya later, Kai!"

He left the café in brighter spirits, climbing into the back seat of the cab with a deep breath.

"How are you doing today, young man?" said the cabbie with a thick Indian accent. "You are lucky! I was just passing here when you called."

"I'm good, thanks. And ah, yeah I figured."

"Where am I taking you today?"

"Could you bring me to the nearest police station, please?"

"Ah, yes." The middle-aged man gave him a discerning look. "Do you mind if I ask, is everything okay with you? You are fine?"

To think that one of the only people to show any concern for him in recent years was a complete stranger. Rather than sulk at the thought, Kaiden simply smiled.

"Yeah, I've never been better."