She dials Lena’s number, which goes straight to voicemail. Hands shaking like buggery, she manages to type: DONT LET THE SOCIAL WORKER IN CALL ME WHEN YOU GET THIS.

Seconds, minutes, half an hour with no response. She sips the water a nurse’s aide has brought her. She dials, texts, dials, texts. Tries Will’s phone but it goes straight to message, too. Drinks some more water to cool her panic. The only time Lena doesn’t answer is if she’s at work, but it’s midday and Lena never starts before four. She might be in class, but even so she’d see the texts, would notice the urgency and type something back.

Is it possible Lena’s intentionally ignoring her? Because why? Because what the social worker said is true? Because she’s been lying and conspiring all this week while Nic has trusted that—

A vice closes around her ribs. Pain like she’s never known. Not even when she fell. And there’s no air at all. Like the squeeze on her middle has pushed something thick and sticky into her throat. Nic slams her hand down on the call button. She can’t die and leave the social worker to wander around her home. Can’t die without knowing what has happened to Lena, why she’s abandoned her like this.

LENA

LENA

The social worker—Ada—was the same woman they’d met with in the hospital, but standing in Nic’s hallway she looked too young and tiny to have any kind of responsible job. The sneakers, Lena noticed. Off-white, canvas, no socks. The other day she’d worn a near identical outfit of tight pants and brightly coloured singlet but with shiny high heels. Extraordinary that all it took to transform an officious hospital social worker into a high schooler was a change of shoes.

‘I saw the skip out front. Looks pretty full,’ Ada said, as Lena closed the front door behind her.

Will appeared from the living room, where he’d been helpfully napping since he returned from visiting Nic. ‘Yeah, probably should have ordered the biggest one. Hey, I’m Will. The nephew. Thanks heaps for coming today and for looking out for Aunty Nic so well. We really appreciate it.’