Our conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door and a body entering shortly after. "Hola mi familia!" We all turned to see Nick standing in the door. "Wow. The groundhog finally left his hole." Kris jokingly said. "Bro, there's really no reason for me to every leave Wriglyville!" He said. "Who cares. KB are y'all gonna cook tonight?" Anthony chimed in again. "I mean we weren't planning on it but we can." Kris told him. "Well then get on it!" Rizz said. "Hey. Calm your tits. I'll cook when I wanna cook!" Kris said back. I looked at Matt and Max who were awkwardly standing there. "Guys they're not actually fighting. They joke around with each other constantly." I informed them. "Oh okay." They said in unison. "Alright fatass, what do you want me to grill because it'll have to thaw." Kris asked, addressing Anthony. "Burgers." Anthony said in a 'duh' tone. Kris walked into the kitchen and got the hamburger meat out before returning to the living room. "Okay, it's only 10:30. What are we gonna do?" Nick asked. "There's six of us. We could play backyard football." Max suggested. "I knew you were good for something!" Matt exclaimed as we all walked toward the backyard. "Team captains are Kris and Anthony." Max stated. "You wanna pick first or get ball first?" Rizz asked Kris. "I'll pick first so that you don't take my woman." Kris said, picking me and I walked to his side. "Alright, I got Nick." Anthony took his pick. "Damn, so you were either gonna take my woman or my brother. I got..." Kris began to think, not being able to choose between my two brothers. "Alright, I'm thinking of a number between one and ten. Whoever gets closest is on my team." Kris said. He got his number and the boys picked. "Matt, welcome to the good side." Kris exclaimed as Matt got closest. "Ha, sucks for you, I got Max. Y'all are gonna get destroyed." Anthony began trash talking. "We'll see about that!" Matt yelled as each team walked to different sides of the yard. Kris kicked off and Max caught it as he began running it back. "Wait!!" Anthony yelled out of nowhere and everyone stopped where they were. "We're playing tackle right?" He asked. "Duh. We aren't playing none of that gay two-hand tag crap." I responded and everyone chuckled. "Alright, play ball!" He yelled and we all began running again and seconds later, Matt grabbed Max's shirt and sling him to the ground.
Kris's POV
We have been playing for a lot longer than it seemed. I glanced down at my watch and saw that it was already 2:30. Time really does fly when you're having fun. We were all enjoying the game and Rizz wasn't complaining about being hungry (yet) so I didn't say anything. "Set, hut!" Rizz yelled. He got the snap and began looking for one of his two other players to get open. Nick was all the way on the other side of the yard, being covered by Madi. Rizz rared his left arm back and slung it in Nick's direction. Him and Madi both jumped and the same time, but Nick, having the height advantage, caught it before coming down hard, his leg folding awkwardly under him. "Nick!" I yelled as I ran over to his side and crouched down beside him. "My knee." He said, riving in pain. "Do you think you can walk?" I asked. He was in too much pain to talk so he just shook his head no. "Shit." I heard Madi whisper under her breath. "Where is the pain coming from?" Matt, who's had his fair share of knee problems, asked and Nick pointed to the one spot on his knee that we were hoping he wouldn't, his ACL.
"We need to take him to the hospital. If he's in this much pain, it might be more than just his ACL" Matt whispered to me and I nodded. I got Madi to run inside and get towels and athletic tape to wrap around his leg to keep it sturdy before we put him in the car and drove towards the hospital, Nick yelling out in pain the whole time and Madi almost in tears because she thinks it's her fault. We got to the hospital and me and Rizz helped Nick out, putting one of his arms around each of our shoulders, and we walked him into the ER. "Somebody get me a gurney!" We heard someone yell and seconds later, there was a doctor and a couple of nurses helping Nick onto a gurney. "Hi, I'm Doctor Williams. Can you explain to me what happened?" The doctor asked me. "Um... we were all playing football in my backyard and he threw a pass and he landed hard. It's his knee." I explained to the doctor. "Okay. He's in good hands here, if you all don't mind taking a seat in the waiting room." The doctor said and we all walked to the waiting room as they began running test.
"Mr. Bryant?" I heard a mans voice and I turned around to see the same doctor but this time wearing a scrub cap. "Your brother needs immediate surgery on his knee. His ACL is completely torn along with his MCL and LCL. From what the MRI is showing us, it's going to be a difficult surgery and he could possibly end up needing more than one with lots of recovery time and physical therapy." He informed me. "Do whatever you need to do." I told him and he nodded before shaking my hand and walking towards the operating room. I made my way back to where everyone was sitting. When I sat down I realized Madi was crying. "Baby, don't cry. This is not your fault." I told her. "I was coving him. It is my fault." She managed to say. "If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. I threw the pass." Anthony stated. "Listen, this is no ones fault. It's just a freak accident." I exclaimed.
We sat in the waiting room for what seemed like days although it was just a few hours. Moments later, the doctor walked up to us and we stood up. "He's out of surgery and resting. It was a very difficult because of all of the ligament damage but he shouldn't need another one. He will be in lots of pain and will probably need full-time assistance for a few months. It's going to be a long difficult road and you need to prepare yourself. You all can follow me to come see him." Dr. Williams stated and while trying to wrap my head around the next couple of months, we followed him to Nick's room. We sat and waited for about 45 minutes before he woke up with grown. "KB..." He said quietly. "I'm right here Nick. I'm right here." I replied, getting up and standing beside the bed. "It's hurts." He stated. "Get the doctor?" I quietly asked Anthony and he nodded before walking out. "Nick, I need you to understand how hard this recovery is going to be. You'll have to move in with me and Madi for a while until you're better." I told him. "How bad was it?" He asked. "You completely tore three major ligaments in your knee." I said and he covered his face with his hands. "I understand we're experiencing some pain." The doctor said walking in with a nurse and Anthony following close behind. "That's understatement of the year." Nick said and Dr. Williams chuckled as the nurse pushed more morphine. The doctors left and I pulled up a chair right beside the bed. After a minute, I heard Nick take a deep breath in and let it out. "We're gonna get through this Nick." I told him and then we heard Madi start crying again. "Madison." Nick said, looking in her direction. "Yes?" She replied through her sobs. "This is not your fault. It's not anyone's fault." Nick stated.
Nick had to stay over night at the hospital so I stayed with him while Anthony, Matt, and Max went home with Madison. I woke up the next morning and looked at Nick who was starring at the ceiling wide awake. "Nick." I said. "Hmh? He replied. "How bout you take a piss so we can get outta here." I stated and he chuckled. "Then why don't you help my ass up. I can't really walk on my own at the moment." He jokes and I laughed before helping him up. He peed and I sat him back on the bed, propping his leg up, before going to sign the discharge papers. They gave me a pair of crutches and a wheelchair. I walked back in the room and got Nick in the wheelchair before laying the crutches across his lap and pushing him towards the elevator. I got him in the truck before taking the wheelchair back inside then driving home.
Now time to mentally prepare myself for the next couple of months...
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I apologize for taking so long to update... I know I'm probably out of the "I've been busy" excuses but things are just crazy right now. I'm working on getting back on a normal writing schedule because I love writing this story so much.
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Chapter 19 (#harpertothecubs)
Start from the beginning
