"Well, it's definitely a bruised rib." The doctor confirms.
I roll my eyes, hoping that he wouldn't have said that. I'm so upset right now that I don't know if I want to cry or cuss someone out. The guys can see it in my eyes and they know I'm slowly holding on by a thread.
"Can I play football still?" I ask.
I know the answer to this question, but I guess I just need to hear him say it. To confirm it because if not, I'll play.
He gives me a really look. "Absolutely not. You have a bruised rib and unless you want it to be broken, you're going to have to rest."
I sigh, "For how long?"
"Three to four weeks." He states.
"We're starting our first round of the playoffs this week. By three to four weeks I'm only going to be able to play in the championship game." I yell.
"Jordan, calm down." Ryan says.
"No! You don't tell me to calm down! This is my senior year! I have to play every last game to ensure I get a football scholarship and that I'll be able to play college ball! Fix this, Doc!" I yell.
The doctor takes a step back, "There's nothing I can do. Only pain medication and time will heal this. I'm sorry, but you'll just have to sit out for the rest of the season. At least there's a chance you might get to play in the championship game."
The doctor walks out of the room, probably getting my papers so that I can go home. I let my head fall back against the pillow. The only thing going through my mind is that I want to kill that guy from the party for doing this to me. He messed up everything for me. I feel a hand on one of my shoulders and two on the other. I look to see Ryan's hand on my left shoulder and Troy and Daniel's hand on my right.
"Dude, college scouts are still going to want you. We'll make sure you'll be able to play in the championship game." Daniel says.
"But you have to do what the doctor says. If you don't rest, you're going to mess yourself up even more and then you won't be able to play in the championship. We're going to need you for that game, too." Ryan says.
"You're still the captain and we need you. Coach is going to be pissed at us for getting into a fight and you getting hurt right when the playoffs start, but he knows without us there is no team. We're going to win that championship even if it's the last thing we do." Troy says.
I nod my head and I feel something wet hit my arm. Of course, I'm crying. I don't like when the guys see me cry, but they're the only ones I feel comfortable crying around. They hug me and I cringe when I feel a little pain in my side. I welcome it though. It's better than knowing you can't play the rest of the season. Football is my everything. I don't know what I would do without it.
"It's going to be alright, bro. Don't worry." Troy says.
I wipe my eyes, "Thanks for coming. I appreciate it."
"You don't have to thank us. We would've been here, even if it were for a nose bleed." Troy laughs.
I smile a little and the doctor comes back in. He gives me a prescription and my papers releasing me. The guys help me out to the parking lot and I get into my car with Daniel.
Ryan leans down and I roll down the window. "Stay home tomorrow. We'll come up with a story for coach and all. Just rest up, okay?"
I want to disagree, but the look he's giving me is threatening me not to. I nod my head and we fist pound each other. I do the same with Troy before rolling my window back up and leaving. I don't really like anyone else driving my car other than me, but I trust Daniel the most out of all the guys driving it.
My phone vibrates again for the millionth time. I know it's Midget wondering where I am. I don't have the energy to text her back and let her know I'm okay. I know I'm being an asshole, but I don't feel like speaking to anyone right now.
"You could at least text her, letting her know you're okay." Daniel says.
I groan, "I don't feel like texting or talking to anyone."
"You're going to regret it tomorrow." He sighs.
I shrug, "Don't care."
I close my eyes, tired. I'm angry, depressed, and tired. Horrible combination right now. It's better that I don't talk to Midget in this state. Daniel pulls into my driveway and turns off my car. He comes to the passenger side and helps me out of the car. He knows where the spare key is, so he unlocks the door with it and helps me upstairs. Each step causes pain and I'm starting to hate that we have so many stairs in the house. We finally get to my room and he helps me into my bed. I feel so weak right now. I'm perfectly capable of walking on my own, but I can't stand up straight and I limp.
"I'll let your mom know what happened in the morning. Of course, my version of the story." He says.
"And what's your version of the story?" I ask.
"We were playing football and I hit you hard in the side. You were crying like a baby on the ground for a solid fifteen minutes." He smirks.
I laugh and cringe at the pain, "You wish."
"I'll go downstairs and get some aspirin. I'm staying here tonight." He says.
"Won't your dad be pissed at you for not coming home?" I ask.
He shrugs, "I don't know and I don't care. I might send him a text letting him know where I am."
I shake my head and smile at him. He heads back downstairs and I get off of my bed to change into something more comfortable to wear. Gym shorts. I take my shirt off, pants, shoes, and socks before slipping on a pair of gym shorts. Right when I get back in bed, Daniel comes in with an ice pack, a bottle of water, and two aspirins. I take the aspirins and wash them down with water before placing the ice pack on my side.
"Feel better bro. I'll catch you in the morning. Also, I'm taking your car to school tomorrow." He smiles before closing the door to my room.
I want to get up and protest against that last part, but I'm too comfortable to want to argue with him right now. I get out my phone and check the messages Midget sent me. A total of thirty one messages and twelve missed calls. I send a quick text to her, letting her know I'm okay and that I won't be at school tomorrow. She's going to be mad at my little explanation, but I'm too tired to type a book to send to her. I close my eyes and sleep consumes me.
*****
My eyes open and the sunlight from my window blinds me. I try and sit up, but end up groaning in pain and falling back down. My head hurts and my side is killing me. I grab my phone from the night stand and look at the time. It's eleven-twenty one. It's around lunch time and I'm starving, but I don't want to move.
My door bursts open with Daniel, Troy, and Ryan coming through. Troy has a box of pizza in his hands and Ryan has a can of sodas in his. I smile at the sight of them bringing me food and something to drink.
"Look who finally decided to wake up." Troy smirks.
"How you feeling buddy?" Ryan asks, sitting beside me.
"My side is killing me. My head hurts too. I feel like I've been hit by a truck." I complain.
"Well, lucky for you, we have two aspirins, a box of pizza, and a soda for you." Daniel says.
"Why aren't you guys at school? You do realize we have practice and you guys are still able to play?" I grab a soda from Ryan and open it.
"Yeah, we know that. We're just stopping by for lunch. We told coach that we were practicing football outside of school without any gear on and that you got hurt really bad. He's really pissed, but he said get as much rest as you need for the championship game. He said you're playing whether you're healed or not." Troy smiles.
I laugh and cringe, "Sounds like coach. Thanks, guys. Is my mom downstairs?"
"Your mom and dad are both at work. I told them the same story. She believed me because you told her you would be staying at me house last night." Troy tells me.
I ask them a question that I probably don't want to hear the answer to, but I need to know.
"Have you guys talked to Abby today?" I ask.
"Oh, man. She's so mad at you. It's almost scary." Daniel says.
My eyes become wide and I look to Troy and Ryan. "What did she say?"
"Well, she came up to us first thing this morning asking about you. We told her everything that happened last night and at first, she looked happy and relieved that you were okay. But then she got all pissed again because you didn't call and let her know you were leaving, going to the hospital, and that you were okay. She said she was worried sick about you last night. Went on about how she couldn't sleep and it showed. Her hair looked like a bunch of birds had been playing in it and she had dark circles under her eyes. Was not a pretty sight." Ryan explains.
I sigh and let my head fall back against the pillow, "I'm so stupid!"
Troy pats me on the shoulder, "I'm glad you know it."
"I need to call her." I grab my phone, but Daniel stops me.
"You call her and you're going to get fussed out. She's going to want a in person apology." Daniel says.
He's right. Midget won't believe that I'm being sincere if I call her over the phone and say sorry. I'll just have to make my way over to her house later on after school or ask her if she can come over. I'll probably just show up to her house so that she can't tell me no.
"Look at the time. We have to go buddy. We'll stop by after practice and see how you're doing." Troy says.
I nod my head. We all fist pound and they each take two slices of pizza with them and a soda before leaving. I'm left with two slices and two cans of soda. I decide to take advantage of this day by catching up on my episodes of The Walking Dead. Midget got me hooked on that show.
The day goes by agony slow and I've went through half of a season of The Walking Dead. When I get bored of watching The Walking Dead, I go through the pictures in my phone. Most of them consist of Abby, the guys, some random people, and me. I used to have pictures of naked girls. Random chicks that I used to sleep with would send me. I don't actually remember deleting them. I mean I do, but I don't know at what point in Abby and my relationship did I delete them.
I look at the time and see that school has just ended. I swing my legs out of bed, forgetting about my injury which causes me the most excruciating pain. I grab my side and start to take deep breathes which only makes it worse. I slowly get off of my bed and put on my shoes and a shirt. I'm not really in the mood to try and look good for Abby.
Walking down the stairs was the hardest part of getting to my car. I'm still limping when I get to my car. When I get into the car, I let my head fall back and I sigh. That was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in a while. I start my car and head for Midget's house. I wonder what she's doing right now. Probably thinking of ways to murder me. Or maybe she's so mad that she's listening to all the songs on her independent playlist. She has playlist for everything. She even has a playlist for me. All the songs that remind her of me.
I pull up to her house and I see her car outside of her house. I'm surprised her parents didn't take her car or maybe they did. I take a deep breath, which causes me pain, and I get out the car. I limp all the way up to her front door. I don't know if I'm going to be ready by the championship game. I knock on the door instead of using the spare key under the mat like I had planned to.
The door opens and Stephen appears in front of me. At first I'm shocked and think I'm dreaming or I've went to the wrong house, but then I hear Abby say who is it and my heart drops to the bottom of my stomach. Why the hell is Stephen here at my girlfriend's house?
"It's Jordan!" He calls back into the house.
He's staring at me, trying to figure out why I'm here or maybe if I'm going to punch him in the face. If I weren't hurt right now, I would definitely be doing some damage to his face.
Abby comes up beside him, "Jordan, what are you doing here?"
I know that if I fuss at her or punch him that she won't listen to my apology. She'll slam the door in my face and go back to doing whatever she was doing with Stephen. What was she doing with Stephen?
"We need to talk." I say, trying to sound calm.
"About?" She questions.
"Last night." I'm looking at Stephen who's staring me down just as hard.
"Well, I don't want to talk about last night. I have nothing to say." She begins to close the door, but I block it with my foot from closing.
"Well, I do. I'd like to talk to you alone." I say.
"I'm busy. I'm helping my friend with his Spanish homework and I would like to resume doing that." She says.
I roll my eyes, "Give me five minutes to explain."
"You had last night to explain." She states plainly.
I sigh in frustration, "Dammit, Abby. Just let me come in and explain myself. I know I had you worried last night, but I can explain my reason for having a shit attitude and being a jackass boyfriend."
She looks into my eyes thinking about if she should or not. Stephen is still standing there like the love sick lost puppy he is. I just want to take away one of his crutches and watch him fall to the ground. He's always hanging around Abby, waiting for his chance again. He's stupid if he thinks she's ever going to choose him over me. I look back at Abby and I can tell what answer she's going to give me.
"Fine. Five minutes." She says, like I knew she would.
I smile a little, "Five minutes is all I need."
I follow her into the house, making sure to send my biggest smirk to Stephen. He shakes his head and gives me a death glare. He can't do anything to me. Not if he wants Abby to be pissed at him. We go outside to her back yard and sit by the pool. It's still a mess from the party outside, but I can tell someone has been trying to clean it all up.
"Um, your on a time limit here." She reminds me.
"Yeah, I know. Listen, the reason why I was being a jerk and what not last night was because I have a bruised rib. The bruised rib wasn't the problem; it's the fact that I can't play football until the championship game and even then I'm not sure if I'll be able to play. I didn't want to talk to anyone. I really just wanted to be alone. Football is my everything. My passion. I know it's a stupid excuse to you, but you don't understand. When I'm out there on that field, it's like everything changes. Everything drowns out. My worries. Everything. It's just me and the ball. I get that I had you worried and I should have given you a better explanation, but I couldn't. I couldn't think straight at the time and for that I'm sorry. You have every right to be mad." I finish.
She sighs, "I get that you are upset about not being able to play. I knew you would be hurt by that. I understand, Jordan. I want to be here for you, but you have to let me. You still won't open up to me like you will the guys. Why is that?"
She's going to hurt by what I say next. I know she will, but it's the truth. The painful truth.
"They're my brothers, Abby. I trust them. It's just natural for me to be able to tell them everything. I've never had to open myself up to anyone, but them. I'm sorry that I forget to include you in things. I didn't know I had to." I say.
I can see the tears starting to fill her eyes. "You don't trust me?" She asks.
"I trust you, Abby. I'm just not used to having to tell you things. It's just some things I feel like I can't talk to you about." I tell her truthfully.
"I-I don't understand. Why wouldn't you be able to tell me how you feel about not being able to play football?" I hear the anger creeping into her voice.
"Because you don't play. You don't have a love for the sport like Troy, Ryan, and Daniel. They understand it." I say.
"That's bullshit, Jordan! They don't understand it. They're not having to go without playing football. They can only imagine what you're going through just like I can only imagine." She says.
I'm speechless. I have nothing to say back to that because she's right. Now I need to think of another apology route because this one obviously isn't working out for me.
"Your five minutes are up." She says, standing up.
I grab her arm and she turns around. "I'm sorry. You're right. I didn't think of it that way. I just assumed since they played the sport that they would automatically know what I'm going through."
"Do you want this to work?" She asks.
"What?" Did I hear her correctly?
"Do you want this to work?" She repeats.
"Yeah. Of course I do." I say.
"Then stop acting like I can't be here for you. I love you, Jordan. I want to show you that, so let me." She says.
I sigh, but nod my head. "You're right. I'm sorry, baby. Please forgive me?"
I poke out my bottom lip and bat my eye lashes at her. She tries to fight the smile on her face, but it breaks through.
"There's that beautiful smile I like to see." I pull her closer to me and she wraps her arms around my waist.
"I hate you." She says into my chest.
"I love you more." I smirk.
She rolls her eyes, "You really do have to go. I have to tutor Stephen."
"Why can't I stay?" I frown.
"Because you'd be a distraction. You two don't get along and I don't want to deal with both of you right now. Besides, I'm not allowed to see you for two weeks." She says.
"What? Why?" I ask.
"Grounded for throwing that party. I can only use the car for school and back. I'm not allowed out of the house unless it's for school." She tells me.
"Well, that sucks. I guess I'll just have to sneak into your room." I wink.
"Whatever, but you really have to go. Not trying to kick you out because I really miss you, but I have a duty right now." She says.
I roll my eyes, "Fine. At least kiss me before I leave."
She smiles and leans up pecking my lips really quick. I raise an eyebrow at her.
"That's all you get, bud. Next time, don't be an asshole to me." She goes back inside the house and I'm left slightly frustrated.
I walk around the house and go back to my car, getting in. I check my phone before starting the car and see that my mom texted me telling me she has to tell me something. I put my phone in the cup holder and head to my house to see what she has to say.
When I get home, I go straight inside to find my mom and dad in the kitchen. My dad is sitting at the table and my mom is cooking my favorite meal. I can tell by the smell.
"Honey." She smiles, coming over to hug me being careful not to hurt my side.
"What's all this?" I look around to see she's going all out for this to only be a regular dinner.
"I have something to tell you and your dad, but it can wait until after dinner." She tells me.
I nod my head and take my regular seat at the table. She starts to place the plates on the table along with the food. Dinner is awkward. Mom tries to make small conversation with dad and me, but it doesn't get very far because she's nervous about something. Quite frankly, I want to skip dinner and get to the big announcement she has to tell dad and me.
She starts to clear the table, "Just go in the living room and watch TV. I'm going to clean the dishes and then I'll be in there."
"Want me to help?" I ask for the first time in years.
She laughs and shakes her head, "No, hon."
"Okay." I go into the living room where I find my dad watching a basketball game.
I never could get into basketball. I played during middle school, but when I got to high school I quit playing. I wasn't bad at the sport, I just wasn't good enough to be on a varsity team. I always got chosen first in basketball for p.e. though.
My mom comes walking into the living room with a small smile on her face. She's nervous. I can tell by the way she's picking at her finger nails right now. She sits across from my dad and me. She's looking around which tells me she's gathering her thoughts on how to say what she's about to say.
She takes a deep breath, "I really don't know how to say this any other way, so here goes nothing. I'm pregnant."
I look at my dad, who looks confused. I look back at my mom before I start to laugh. She has to be playing a prank on me. There's no way she's pregnant.
"Good one, mom." I laugh.
"Jordan, I'm serious. I'm pregnant. This isn't a joke." She says in a serious tone.
My laughter dies down and so does the smile on my face. If she really is pregnant than that would mean I'm going to have a brother or sister. I will no longer be the only child.
I start to smile, "That's great! How long have you known?"
She sighs in relief, "About a week now. I thought you were going to be upset."
"What? No. I've been wanting a sibling. This is great." I smile, going over to hug her.
She squeezes me a little to hard and I wince at the pain. She apologizes before looking over at my dad. He still looks as if he's in shock.
"Honey, are you okay?" My mom asks, going over to him.
He snaps back into reality before looking up at her and smiling. He stands up and hugs her.
He kisses her briefly, "This is great. Another member to the family. We should celebrate."
"Do you know if it's a boy or girl?" I ask.
"No. I won't find out until a couple more appointments. I'm thinking about just waiting until I give birth to find out the gender." She tells me.
"No, don't do that. I've always wanted to get the balloons that say it's a boy or it's a girl. It would help me a lot if I knew the gender." I smile.
"It doesn't matter. Tomorrow night we'll have a big barbecue and invite a bunch of friends over. We'll make the big announcement tomorrow night." My dad says, smiling.
This is the best news I've gotten all week. Knowing this just made me feel a little bit better about not being able to play football. I'm going to be a big brother. Jordan Collins. A big brother. I'm going to make sure I'm the best brother a brother or sister can have. I look at my mom and dad, smiling at two of the most important people in my life.
"I love you guys." I say.
They look at me and smile, "We love you, too, Jordan."
They pull me into a group hug which I resist at first, but agree to because of the moment. I'm glad my parents are having another child. When I'm gone off to college, they're going to need someone to drive them insane like I do. I smile and hug them tighter to me, ignoring the pain in my side.