Our Life Together

The Call

"Hey, do you know this number?"  I hand my ringing phone to Jane "Its from around here..."

"No," She takes me from me, "Here, I'll answer."

"Hello?"  She pulls the phone away from her ear and puts it on speaker.

"Hi, Mrs. Pitt?"

"Uh, yeah.  This is she."

"This is Coach James, your son Gabe's soccer coach..."

What?

Jane looks from the phone to me, knowing he is not supposed to be playing soccer anymore.

"Gabe fell backwards during practice a few minutes ago, and hit his head off the ground pretty hard.  I think he should be checked out, but I didn't know if you wanted me to take him and you meet us, or if you want to get him... I have to go either way because of being the coach."

"I can meet you there in about 20 minutes?" I quickly take the phone from Jane,  "It'll go faster if you can take him right away."

"Okay.  See you then."

We hang up and Jane and I look to each other in disbelief.  Brad freaking signed Gabe up to play soccer again without telling me, knowing that I did not want him playing anymore.

"I'm going to kill your son!"

"I'll help." She sighs "Why did he sign him up?  He had 2 concussions last year, he should know better."

"I don't know, but he is not going to be happy when he finds out that I know." I pick up Scar to get ready "Can you stay here with Jack and Liv so they stay asleep?  I'll take her so she doesn't wake them."

She says she will, so I go up to get ready and get Brad.

"Hey," I rip the sheets off of him, waking him "Coach James called.  Gabe fell on his head at practice today."

I watch as his eyes get huge with horror.  His secret has been revealed because he's an idiot and gave the coach my phone number.

"What do you mean?"  He asks sleepily.

"You know what I mean, Brad!  Get up!  We have to meet them at the hospital."

We get ready and have Scar and Liam in the car minutes later.  Brad knows that I'm pissed at him and won't even look at me as he drives to the hospital.  He knows that he is going to pay for this in every way possible.

"You're such an asshole!  You knew I didn't want him to play anymore and you freaking sign him up?!?  What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I'm trying to let the kid have some fun, Jen!  You flip out the second his knee has a scrape on it.  I signed him up again so he could be with his friends, not because I wanted him to get hurt!"

"You know damn well why I didn't want him to play anymore!"  I glare over at him, filling with even more anger than before, "He's already had 2 concussions from soccer!  He can have permanent brain damage!  It's not some little scrape that I'm worried about, it's his life!  What are you going to do when it gets too bad that he can't do anything?!?  Still go behind my back and sign him up because you think it'll be fun for him?"

"Guys, I know you're mad,"  Liam cuts into the argument, "But we just passed the hospital... and I think everyone in this family has some kind of brain damage."

I turn towards him, and just by my look he knows to get quiet.  Brad turns the car around quickly, and we drive into the hospital parking lot.

"Gabriel Pitt."  I walk up to the receptionist with everyone following me.  She looks through her computer and responds with his ER room number.