Bumps N Bruises

Chapter 5: A Freak Accident

Paula then went running towards Shannon, Brendon and his friends following from behind. "Shannon? What happened? Are you okay?" Paula asked, kneeling down. Shannon was stunned, and was too shaken to get up at first. "He tried skating on roller blades, but I guess you could only imagine how that went!" Melissa admitted, taking off the roller blades from Shannon's feet. "Roller blades?! You guys are too young for those!" Paula replied. Before she could say another word, Shannon finally managed to utter a word. "I-I-It hurts..." He mumbled, tears stinging his eyes. He couldn't muster up the nerve to get up, resulting in Paula lifting him up. Upon this, Shannon was scratched and bruised on the face, arms, and knees. "Oh God, you really did a number on yourself." Paula said. She was mostly mad at McGuirk for the result of this situation, but she couldn't be mad at Shannon. "I...Is Shannon...Crying?" Jason whispered to Melissa. "Well, Brendon. Pay up!" Melissa responded, holding her hand out. "What are you on about, Melissa. Now isn't the time..." Brendon muttered. "Remember that bet we made a while back? If we caught Shannon showing any form of emotion outside of his inflated ego, you owed me $10?" Melissa reminded. "You were serious about that?????"

"Here, we'll get you cleaned up back at the house." Paula said, placing Shannon on her lap. "T-That's f-fine, Miss. S-Small...I can manage..." Shannon stuttered, attempting to stand up, only to fall back on the pavement again. This time, clutching his leg. "Owowowow" Paula picked Shannon up once again, trying to calm him down. "Is Shannon alright, mom?" Brendon asked, only to notice Shannon's left leg was swollen up. "Uhhhh nevermind." He responded, stepping back. "How are we gonna get him to a hospital though, Miss Small. We walked here!" Melissa added. "Go see if Coach McGuirk is still here. He has a car!" Paula said, holding Shannon close to her. Melissa nodded and ran back to the playground. 

McGuirk was, once again, sitting at one of the park benches. He was sipping on what was probably his first beer of the day. Before he could crack open the next can, he heard a voice calling his name out. "COACH MCGUIRK!!! COACH MCGUIRK!!!" Melissa yelled, waving her hands in the air. "Melissa? What's going on? And what gives you the right to interrupt my afternoon drink?" McGuirk questioned. "I-It's Shannon! He's hurt!" Melissa responded, her hands shaking. "So? He's 10, he can take care of himself! A couple scratches never hurt anybody." Melissa scowled at McGuirk's comment, "This isn't just a few scratches, Coach. We think he might have hurt his leg!" She protested. McGuirk then rolled his eyes and let Melissa take him to the skate park. 

Paula managed to keep Shannon stable as she waited for Melissa to return with Coach McGuirk. "Mom. It's been like... 5 minutes already." Brendon sighed as he was playing with some rocks. "I don't think now would be the best time to argue with your mom, Brendon." Jason whispered back. Paula looked at the  two boys for a second, listening in on their conversation, before looking back at a distressed Shannon. "Don't worry, Shannon." She said, wiping a tear from his eye. "We'll get you to the hospital soon." McGuirk and Melissa then returned to the scene. "Alright what here is SO important that makes me have to postpone my afternoon beer?" Asked McGuirk before Melissa pointed towards Shannon, who was laying across Paula's lap. "What happened here Paula?" Shannon then sat up, letting go of his leg. "I-I hurt my l-leg." He stuttered, looking down at his leg. McGuirk examined the injuries, cringing at the sight. "I'm sure you just twisted it or something. Should heal up in a few days." He shrugged. Paula then got up off the ground, holding Shannon. "John! This is serious! We need a car to get to the hospital!" She protested. "Uhhh..You sure you wanna take Ol' Reckless?" McGuirk questioned. "Look, I just need it for the ride back to my house. We're only a block down from here." Paula replied. "Well if you guys say so." McGuirk then led Paula and the kids to his rotting car, starting the downward spiral. 

Shortly after, McGuirk dropped Paula and the kids back at Brendon's house. Opting the group to go inside. "Brendon. Go put your camera back in your room while I get an ice pack." Paula instructed. "But mom! I still have a lot of footage left to film! And there's a LOT of potential for hospital scenes!" Brendon retorted. "Look, I'm in NO mood for arguments. Plus the hospital wouldn't allow you to film to begin with!" Paula protested, resulting in Brendon taking his camera upstairs. Paula then carried Shannon over to the couch and sat him next to Jason and Melissa. "I'll just be one second, kids. I need to grab an ice pack for Shannon's leg." The mom then went over to the kitchen while Jason and Melissa looked over at Shannon. "We're uh....Sorry about your leg, Shannon." Jason spoke. "Yeah, right. You probably WANTED me to get hurt as karma for what I did to you guys. And YES, I heard your conversation." Shannon said, looking away from the two. Melissa and Jason felt guilty, seeing how upset Shannon was made things worse. "Everything ok, guys?" Brendon said, entering the living room. Shannon quickly wiped his face to make it look like he was sweating. "Yeah...Everything's cool, Brendon." Shannon said with a fake laugh. "Newsflash: It's not." Melissa quietly whispered to Brendon so Shannon wouldn't hear. Paula then entered with a large ziplock bang with ice cubes inside. "A-Am I gonna be ok, Miss. Small?" Shannon asked, trying to put on a brave face as he flinched from the pressure of the makeshift ice pack. "Oh yeah. Accidents do happen." Paula said, reassuring the boy. She then grabbed her keys and unlocked the car from inside. "You kids get in the car. I need a minute with Shannon." Paula instructed, resulting in Brendon and the others heading to the car.

"I hope Shannon is alright, guys." Jason muttered. "Me too. I've never seen him this upset before...Then again, none of us have ever seen him this way period!" Melissa replied. The kids then climbed into the back seat as they waited for Paula and Shannon to return.