Mama's Boy

♊️24♌️

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Anxiously chewing on the skin surrounding her nails, Aiden sat with her legs tucked beneath her body on the living room loveseat. She had been waiting by her laptop for the last twenty-seven minutes.

She checked her wrist watch. Twenty-eight minutes.

It was the day that emails were to be sent out, informing all who had participated in the Rookie Showcase whether they had sold any of their work, therefore securing their contract with the agency. The emails were scheduled to be sent out at precisely one o'clock in the afternoon. it was going on one-thirty, and Aiden was starting to get a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Surely, she'd sold something? She worked on her paintings harder than she worked on any others. She'd used as many techniques as she could. They were some of her best if she were being honest with herself. She had even eased up on the creepy, though creepy paintings were her signature. She was a good artist. She knew it. It was a matter of convincing other people that her art was truly something of worth.

She refreshed the page for the sixth time and saw that there were still no new messages in her inbox. She huffed and threw her head back in frustration. What in the hell was taking so long?

Her phone vibrated on the coffee table. She took her time to sit up and glimpse at the screen. Elvis's name appeared on the screen along with a view of the living room's ceiling. She reached for it and positioned herself as she accepted the call. Elvis's face appeared and she was immediately concerned. His face was flushed; his eyes were a bit red; and he was sniffling. Aiden sat up straighter and gave him her full attention.

"Elvis? What's wrong with you?" She stared, bewildered, as Elvis swiped at a tear trailing down his face.

"My mom..."  he whimpered. "My mom, she's..."

Aiden's heart stopped as she thought of all the words he could finish his sentence with. She tried to refrain from thinking the worst, but only one word lingered in her mind.

"What? What happened?" She pushed--trying, yet failing, to be patient. He was clearly distraught at the moment.

"I'm at the hospital and my mom got hurt-"

"Hurt how?"

"She was at the store and some dumb, stupid, fucking fucks decided to rob a fucking store in the middle of the fucking week," He ranted. "And in the fucking daytime at that! Who the fuck robs a store during the day?"

"Okay, but what happened to her, Elv?"

"The fucking idiots, Aiden, they fucking--you know my mom's stubborn. They told her to  do some shit and she probably refused and they-"

"Holy shit! They shot her?!"

"No! They fucking hit her in the head. These whores won't tell me anything. Aiden, I'm pissed, I'm worried, and I'm hungry. It's all too much for me to handle." He choked on a sob once again. Aiden stood and found her shoes while he continued to vent. "Valence is in the waiting room, and he's great, he's supporting me as much as he can, but I need you here."

"I'm already on the way," she told him. After grabbing her sister's car keys and her own house key, she was rushing out of the apartment and down the stairs. She rushed to her sister's car--all the while, Elvis was on the phone debating on whether he wanted to buy a snack from the vending machine. "Do you want me to bring you guys something to eat?" He responded with a yes and informed her that he didn't care where it came from.  Aiden started the car and rushed to her bestfriend.

When she got to the hospital, she found Elvis sitting with Valence in the waiting room. They were holding on to each other's hands and Elvis's leg was bouncing furiously. He no longer looked sad,  but more so pissed off. She rushed to the two of them with Subway sandwiches, drinks, and cookies in tow. Elvis stood when he seen her and was quick to wrap her in a tight hug, allowing all his worries to pour into her.