Page 38 of Deviant

He was too busy eyeballing me and eye-fucking the mayor’s daughter on stage, with a silent Rowen sitting by his side, looking every bit like a Stepford wife.

I don’t get it.

I really don’t.

Is she that blind or just fucking clueless?

Or does she just not give a shit?

Whatever her damage, it gave me great pleasure telling Hank that he should worry about his own kid rather than anyone else’s.

That shut him up real quick.

Unfortunately for me, by the time I get home, I’m still unable to shake this pissed-off energy running through my bloodstream. If I didn’t have my boss’s wife looking after my mom so I could attend the meeting, I would have gone for a longdrive up the mountains or gotten piss drunk at some bar just to blow off some steam.

But my mom always comes first.

No matter the mood I’m in.

“How is she?” I ask once I step into my house.

“Sound asleep,” Alice says cheerfully.

“Yeah? So it was a quiet night?”

“The quietest,” she confirms, her bright smile dimming somewhat. “I did have a bit of trouble feeding her, though. She barely ate three spoonfuls of the soup you made her.”

“Yeah. It’s the meds. They take away her appetite,” I groan, running my fingers through my hair.

“That and also the fact that she’s starting to have difficulties swallowing,” Alice adds with concern while putting her jacket over her scrubs. “When is she due to see Dr. Mitchell again?”

“I’m supposed to take her to see him Monday morning.”

“Good. I’ll see if I can switch my shift at the hospital to be on call then, too. That way, I can explain anything you don’t understand after seeing him. Mitchell loves to use fancy words, and doesn’t understand that speaking plainly is just as efficient.”

“You don’t have to do that, Alice. You and Rick have helped me enough as it is.”

It’s true.

Rick helped me out by giving me a job at his garage when no one in this town wanted to have anything to do with me. And Alice has been a godsend, coming over every day to give my mother a bath and attend to her personal hygiene. I know my mom appreciates it as well. It gives her a little bit of dignity in not having to rely on her sons to do such intimate tasks.

“Now, don’t you even start, Elias Larsen. If the tables were reversed, you’d do the same thing for us.” She smiles, giving me a little pat on the shoulder. “Are you okay taking it from here? Or do you need me to stay a little longer?”

“I’m good. Thanks.”

“Anytime. Goodnight, kiddo.” I laugh at her remark because I haven’t been called that in years.

I don’t think, even as a child, anyone dared call me ‘kiddo,’ save for my mom. But Alice has that maternal quality about her that prevents me from taking offense from such a harmless endearment.

After watching Alice get in her car and drive off, I walk back inside to take a small peek into my mother’s bedroom and check up on her.

Just like Alice said, my mom is fast asleep.

I glance over at her nightstand, frowning at the numerous orange prescription bottles, some half full and others almost empty. Whatever money we received fromThe Scourgelast year is long gone., it’s long gone. Most of it went into those little tablets she has to take on the daily.

In the beginning, they seemed to work, but now…

There is no medicine out there that can save my mother.

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