Still Here

Chapter Twelve

"Hey, baby," Keanna greeted as Aubrey carried Shiloh through the front door. "How was your day?"

"Long," he replied putting his daughter down. He took a deep breath and caught a whiff of what was cooking in the kitchen.

"What's wrong?" Keanna asked as she set the dinner table.

"Um...am I missing something?" he inquired, scratching his well trimmed beard.

"Your mother called and said she was coming over for dinner."

"Today?!"

"Yep."

"Why didn't you tell me?!"

"I just did."

"Jesus, Keanna, you have to tell me things like this," he muttered, rushing upstairs to change.

"I thought she would've called you too!" Keanna yelled as Aubrey disappeared down the hallway.

Aubrey always wanted to make a good impression on his mom since she had sacrificed so much for him to be where he was. She moved to an entirely different country to make his dreams come true and he wanted her to feel like her sacrifice was worth it.

After getting himself dressed, Aubrey made sure Shiloh looked her best as well. Keanna stifled a laugh as she watched him inspect the rest of the house.

"Are you gonna do the white glove test on the shelves or what?" she joked, crossing her arms.

"Did you clean up?" he asked.

"The house has to look presentable to your mom, right?"

"Thanks, Keanna."

"Don't thank me," she said walking toward him. "I know how much your mom means to you so I made sure everything looked okay." She fixed Aubrey's collar before kissing his cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too."

The doorbell rang and Keanna smiled wide. "I'll get it."

Aubrey took a quick look at himself in the mirror. He had to make sure he looked okay.

"It's so nice to see you again!" Aubrey heard Sandi cry. "Where's Shiloh?"

"She should be around here somewhere. Shiloh! Grandma's here!" Keanna called.

Sandi entered the kitchen and her eyes softened when she saw Aubrey. He grinned and immediately rushed to give her a hug.

"How are you?" she asked, as Aubrey kissed the top of her head.

"I'm fine. I'm so happy to see you."

"Me too."

"Grandma!" Shiloh squealed, pulling Sandi out of Aubrey's arms.

"Hi, sweetheart!" Sandi greeted, sweeping Shiloh off the floor and into her arms. "How's my little girl?"

"Good." Shiloh toyed with Sandi's blonde locks like she had never seen hair before.

"So, how have you two been...you know," Sandi said to Aubrey and Keanna, inferring about their relationship as she put Shiloh in a chair.

Aubrey and Keanna exchanged apprehensive glances before looking at their daughter.

"We're fine," Aubrey responded.

"Are you su..."

"We're fine," Keanna repeated, flicking her eyes at Shiloh and then Sandi.

"Oh. Okay." She took her seat and neatly placed her napkin in her lap. "How's school, Shiloh?"

Sandi was asking all the wrong questions.

Aubrey shook his head and she caught the gist. "Nevermind."

"Daddy, I'm gonna go to the little princesses room," Shiloh hissed, dropping down from her chair. "Come on, Mommy."

"I'm coming," Keanna laughed as she was basically dragged out of her seat.

"Okay, I have five minutes to tell you everything so I'm gonna give it to you straight and you can call me later for details," Aubrey said, leaning in toward his mother.

"I'm ready."

"Keanna and this guy named Kendrick seem really close and Shiloh has agoraphobia so we might have to homeschool her or something," he explained. "I don't know why this stuff is happening to me all of a sudden. I mean, ever since they moved in, everything's kinda been falling apart."

Sandi reached for her son's hand and squeezed it tight. She didn't say anything and she felt she didn't need to. Aubrey didn't need words either; the love he felt from his mom was enough for him.

"Aubrey, I know you're doing everything you can."

"It's just that I feel like nothing I do will help," he replied, rubbing his forehead.

"Don't rush things, honey. Results don't happen overnight."

"I know but I want things to be perfect now. You know how I am."

"Aubrey, to be honest, you were different when you were rapping," Sandi commented, rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb. "You got your emotions out instead of keeping them all inside."

"I still write," he countered.

"Yeah, but you can't write a song about your agoraphobic daughter and give it to someone else."

Aubrey knew she was right but he couldn't admit it. He left the rap game for a reason and he wasn't going back in. He'd have to find another way to relieve his stress.

A/N: I am so sorry about not updating lol. I hope these will be more frequent. Vote and comment! More soon💕