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Chapter 22

Day 8:  Dallas Texas, United States, The Santiana residence, The Attic, Spinny office chair 12:00 AM

Login Timeout.

"Awe are you kidding me? It was just getting good!"

He was beginning to get used to this routine. Wait until midnight. Login screen pops up. He inputs his login info. Silently curses himself for his horrible username. Pass out. Wake up in Icewynne. Go on a badass adventure. Wake up in his room. Live out a normal life. Repeat.   

Arsen blinked as his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of his bedroom. He leaned against the back of his spinny office chair and stretched. Just as he was getting into the arch in his back, he curled over feeling a sharp pain in his stomach. The feeling was so intense it sent him out of his chair and onto the floor on his hands and knees. He groaned loudly and immediately shot a hand to his mouth. He paused for a second making sure the noise didn't wake his mother. 

It suddenly felt like all of his muscles had been replaced by a ton of bricks. Slowly, he curled up into the fetal position. He had to inhale and exhale slowly in order to steady his breathing. Was this what Azure was talking about? If you're injured in Icewynne, you're injured in the real world as well? If that was the case then that meant Arsen has retained all of his injuries from his training session and now after all the shock and adrenaline had worn off, he was left with painful bruises and sprains.

Clearing his throat, Arsen glanced up at the body mirror that hung on the backside of his door. He eyed the red marks on his neck, lifting up his shirt he observed the purple bruise beginning to form on his stomach. He needed to get ice for these injuries before they bruised and swoll up even more. 

Slowly, still on his hands and knees, he creaked open the door and began to crawl down the carpeted hallway and scoot down the stairs towards the kitchen. Once he made it to the first floor, he cautiously inched himself upwards until he was in a slouched standing position one hand on the banister, the other still clutching his stomach.

"What are you doing up?"
Arsen jumped. He knew from the voice that it was his mother, the very woman he was trying to avoid. She came down the stairs rubbing her eyes tiredly. She wore a flamingo pink bathrobe with a hole in the left pocket she could stick her pinkie through. Her Chesnut brown hair was rolled up using orange juice cans as hair rollers, which she swore by forgiving her hair immense volume. Arsen loved to see his mother in her sleep clothes, it let him know that she was relaxing instead of working herself too hard, which is what she usually did. It was beginning to affect her health and that worried him.

"Couldn't sleep?" She asked her voice soft like cotton. Even while in pain, Arsen still flashed her a warm smile. "Heh, yeah, you can say that." He tried to fix his posture to seem as uninjured as possible. His mother- being a mother of course- could see through his charade, easily.
"What's wrong with your stomach mi vida." She deadpanned. Arsen's eyes widened as he stumbled to come up with a lie to cover him. 

"I just-"

His mother cocked a brow expectantly.

"I-it's nothing I just have a stomach ache is all."

His mother hands went on her hips and she pursed her lips.

"You have a stomach ache because you always eat too fast!"

She gave Arsen a good whack upside the back of his head.

"You're like a pig you know that? Un gran cerdo gordo!"

"Mom I'm fine, honest."

"And what's that on your neck huh?"

His mother, a head shorter than him stood up on her toes and tilted his chin upwards. 

"It's all red and splotchy. What in the world have you been up to?"

Arsen bit his lip. He hated to worry his mother but he couldn't exactly tell her the truth. Oh hey mom, don't worry about me! I just got kicked in the stomach and held off the edge of a building by a piece of shit alcoholic bartender in a digital world that I go to on a nightly basis. Oh yeah! Everything that happens to me there shows up here and I could most definitely die but it's no big deal I'm just tryna stand up for the lil guy! 

He watched as his mother's eyes widened slowly. Had he said all that out loud?

"Ah" 

There was a beat of silence. 

"I know why."

He could feel his face begin to perspire.

"Y-you do?"

"Of course."

She sighed and took a seat at the dining room table. Her eyes fixated themselves on the wooden surface deep in thought. She was taking this a lot better than thought.

"Please tell me you're at least using protection."

Now it was his turn for his eyes to widen. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water.

"I...I'm sorry what?"

Arsen's mother nodded as she returned her gaze toward him.

"You don't have to pretend. You're at that age so it makes sense, I'm just...so surprised. I know you've been taking a lot of long showers recently, and you lock your door more often so I had no idea that you and Gabriela-"

"What! Mom!"

"You and Josh-"

"What! Mom!"

"Listen, whoever it is I just want you being safe."

Arsen paused, he wasn't sure whether or not he should correct his mother on her...increadibly embarrassing assumption. He opted to just go with it seeing as he had no other excuses. 

"Don't worry, I'll be safe mom."
Of course, she was unaware of how his statement had more meaning than she could have ever imagined.