Mama's Boy

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"Hear anything yet?" Her words came out muffled from his shoulder. She felt him shake his head. "I'm sure she's alright."

"Then, why are they taking so long?" Was his reply. She had no answer, so she handed him his food instead.

She turned to Valence with a disheartened smile. "I forgot to ask what kind of food you wanted. I hope you don't mind, but I got you the same thing Elvis usually eats: turkey deluxe with everything on it."

Valence shrugged. "That's fine. I'm so hungry right now, I could eat-"

"A horse?" Aiden finished with a grin.

"I was going to say fish. And I hate seafood." He scowled at the thought as he accepted the sandwich. "Thank you."

Aiden nodded and took a seat next to her friend as they all began to eat. She settled with her three chocolate chips cookies and observed the TV, which had been turned to the news channel. Aiden let Elvis finish half of his sandwich before breaking the silence. "So what happened? Did they catch the guys?"

Elvis sighed. "Not yet. The surveillance cameras caught them, but they're waiting for someone to identify them."

"How many were there?"

"Two," Elvis and Valence answered. They sat in silence once more, then Aiden spoke up again.

"What were you doing when they called you?"

"I had a doctor's appointment and Val was at a job interview. I was getting blood work done and literally right when the woman pricks my arm, my phone starts buzzing. So, I ignored it the first two times, then the third time I answered it and the lady tells me that my mom's been hurt; I call Val and we rushed here as soon as we could."  He let out another sigh, a bit breathier this time, with his shoulders slumped and a tired look on his face. "I'm getting full..."

The three sunk into another moment of silence. Elvis seemed to become tired as Aiden and Valence began to engage in small talk. Aiden was beginning to like Valence the more she spoke to him, and the more she hung around with he and Elvis.  She had been assured more than ever today that she and Elvis were true friends. It warmed her heart that he had called and pleaded for her company even in the presence of his boyfriend. At long last, the fog that had came with jealousy faded away and she realized that she had a special place in Elvis's life that no one would be able to take so long as they lived on Earth.

She knew how much it scared him be in the hospital while waiting for word of his mother's condition. Aiden could feel in her heart that Ellis would be fine, yet this experience was probably triggering for her closest friend. Long before he moved down south, Elvis, his mother and his father were involved in an accident while traveling up a hill; it had winding, slippery roads that were dangerously covered in ice and snow. Elvis's father was driving and he was suddenly confronted with what they later discovered was a bobcat in the middle of the road. Startled, his father panicked and swerved off the road. The accident had left Ellis and Elvis with plenty of sore body parts, scratches, and permanent scars. Elvis's father, however, had the brunt of the tragedy. His injuries had cost him his life.

Elvis had lost one parent and now possibly faced the fear of losing another.  Aiden wrapped an arm around his shoulders and hugged him close. Not much time passed before an older, Hispanic woman approached the three.

"Family of Ellis Nilsson?" They stood and Elvis took a step forward. "I apologize for the wait. Mrs. Nilsson suffered a mild concussion due to head injury, but she will be fine-"

The three of them collectively sighed as the words left the doctor's mouth. Aiden tuned the rest out as she gathered the trash and her personal items. As she expected, Elvis asked to see his mother and the doctor lead them to her. When they got to her room, she was speaking with a nurse. Elvis rushed to his mother's side and tenderly grabbed her hand. He bombarded her with questions, and Aiden had to remind him to give his mother a bit of space. She knew concussions could cause slight memory loss; Ellis didn't need to be bothered with remembering the events just yet.

They kept his mother overnight to monitor her brain activity and to be sure that her injuries weren't more than a concussion. Elvis, of course, wanted to stay with his mother--when Aiden offered to stay overnight as well, Elvis practically pushed she and Valence out of the room.

"You guys don't need to be here. Seriously," he insisted. He kissed Valence and gave Aiden a brief, bone-crushing hug before returning to the arm chair close to a sleeping Ellis. "Go get some rest, I'll keep you updated."

Aiden was hesitant, but she figured that Elvis would be fine. Besides, she had a feeling that Valence wouldn't be leaving anytime soon, so she opted to let the boyfriend takeover as the emotional support. With one last, light kiss to Ellis's cheek and a wave to the couple, Aiden made her way out of the hospital.

She drove home in silence. Her phone buzzed with text messages from Everett and Jenna, but she ignored them. When she reached the apartment, her sisters were lounging on the living room love seats with the TV set on the LMN channel and snacks occupying the coffee table. They turned to her with concern in their eyes as she closed and lock the door.

"She alive?"
"Everything okay?"

They voiced at the same time. Aiden rolled her eyes at them and explained everything. Once she reassured them that all was well, she returned Everett's keys. She grabbed her laptop and an unopened bag of chips before running off to her room, narrowly missing the impact of a throw pillow.

"Bitch!" One of her sisters yelled as Aiden closed her room door. She chuckled and bellyflopped onto her bed; her laptop sat in front of her as her stomach churned. The event with Ellis had been a distraction from her fate. She inhaled and exhaled slowly before unlocking her PC and login into her email account. Four new messages appeared, one of which from Grotesque Art Studio & Gallery.

Excitedly, she clicked on it and with sullen eyes, read its contents:

Dear Aiden Richter,

Thank you for your contribution to Grotesque's Rookie Showcase! We regret to inform you...

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