Lion (manxboy)

Chapter 18

"Mom, for the last time, no, I haven't seen your hair straightener in my boxes!" Lion exclaimed as his arms fell to his sides in exasperation.

Charlotte looked around the guest room with a wary expression on her face. She sighed and groaned out as she kept searching Lion's boxes.

Lion shook his head. The few days his mother arrived from the hospital where she would be staying at his place were the last days, ever again. Lion needed to find his mom an apartment as soon as possible. He could no longer stand having his complaining mother around anymore. Elijah also agreed to help, asking Shawn to ride around town to look for low priced homes. Lion couldn't believe how much complaining Charlotte was doing, but he loved her and wanted only the best for his mother.

"Maybe if you would look in your boxes and not mine, then you'd find your straightener." Lion said and earned a glare from his mother, "look, your boxes are in that corner." The boy said, leading Charlotte to her boxes, "and here is a box cutter."

Charlotte sighed, taking hold of the box cutter and starting to unbox everything, "I swear it was in this box." She mumbled.

Lion rolled his eyes and helped Charlotte open her last two boxes.

"You've gone through a lot, mom. You might not remember which box it was in." Lion pulled out the hair straightener from the fourth box and handed it to her with a soft smile played on his lips, "here you go."

"Ah!" Charlotte giggled and grabbed ahold of the object, "I'm sorry, Alecsander, I just haven't been my usual self recently, and it's hard for me to cope with not having... you know... this." Charlotte said and placed both of her hands against her flat chest.

Lion pressed his forehead against his mother's shoulder and hugged her. He closed his eyes and listened to Charlotte's heartbeat, "no matter how hard you fought, mom, you are always pretty to my eyes." Lion reassured his mother the best he could, patting her back.

Charlotte couldn't believe Lion's words and only bawled out crying against Lion's shoulder. Her arms wrapped tight around Lion's torso, "how am I so lucky to have a son like you? I love you so much." She said, kissing Lion's cheek.

Lion held his mother close and embraced her in his arms. He knew it was hard for his mother, and he didn't want to make things worse for her, but Lion needed his privacy with Elijah, and if that meant getting Charlotte into an apartment, Lion would do it.

The moment was cut short as Lion's phone rang from across the apartment. Lion pulled away from the hug and smiled down at his mother before leaving to grab his phone, "hey Elijah, did you guys find anything?" Lion asked and paced around the kitchen, picking things up and placing them at their rightful places, "great! How far is it, though?" Lion smiled with rosy cheeks, "okay, thank you!" The boy put his phone aside after hanging up and moved back towards the guest room, "mom."

Charlotte turned on her heel as she taped up her opened boxes, "yes?"

"Elijah and Shawn found you a perfect bachelor not far from here. They said the owner doesn't mind animals and visitors. From what Elijah told me, the place is spotless and has just been renovated." Lion explained and walked towards his mother.

Charlotte's expression changed, her eyes watering once again as she put her hair straightener aside and sat on the edge of the bed. Lion didn't know what emotion his mother was feeling and decided to give her space. He padded around the apartment and cleaned the counters and tables, his mind lingering with thoughts and images of things his mother and he went through. Lion sighed and reminisced on the old days. He wanted to forget about them but kept going back. The boy couldn't wait for Elijah to come back. At least maybe then he would stop thinking about his past and live in the present without any effort. Elijah was now Lion's new comfort zone.