Sparks

18

Brooklyn rolled out of bed and sat on the edge. Sam's eccentric family was nothing compared to hers, and instead of trips to the theatre with two brothers and a sister, holidays were always rowdy and loud. Sam was still sleeping and Brooklyn left him in the bedroom as she went to the bathroom and started up the shower. Bryson was making breakfast and the tantalizing smell of bacon filled the house.

Brooklyn sat in the car waiting for Sam and Bryson to finish getting ready. Sam had gotten up late and Bryson was preoccupied with his computer. Finally, after waiting another ten minutes they were on the road to the Ramsey household.

 "Are you nervous?" Brooklyn looked at Sam and fixed the collar of his plaid shirt.

 "No. Not as much as you were yesterday." Sam kept his eyes on the road and smiled. They pulled into the drive way of the Ramsey's Spanish style house and saw that two other cars were in the driveway. Kelsey, Brayden's wife, opened the door and ushered them inside.

 "It's so good to see you Kels." Brooklyn embraced her and wandered into the kitchen to help her mom.

 "I've seen how well Bryson is. Would you consider taking him in for a while longer? Your house is closer to the school anyway. We can give you a little compensation each month for the extra cost of food." Brooklyn's mom handed her a bowl of salad and she set it on the dinner table.

 "Sure. I'll talk to Sam about it. I'm sure it will be fine. Then I wouldn't need to get a babysitter." Brooklyn laughed.

 "Bennett! How's sixteen treating you?" Brooklyn hugged her younger sister.

 "It's just high school. I have nineties in all of my AP classes. Scholarship here I come!" Bennett smiled and brushed her short, light brown out of her face.

"With your grades you could go anywhere you wanted with or without the scholarship." Brooklyn smiled at her little sister. Brayden was outside barbecuing some burgers and chicken for later.

 "Hey Brook! How's Sam been?" Brayden looked up and put an arm around her shoulders and flipped a burger.

 "He's been promoted at work and with Cameron on the way I don't really know how he's been lately. He seems kind of distant." Brooklyn looked at her older brother.

 "I'm sure he's fine. I haven't been a father yet either so I can't really tell you." Brayden turned off the barbecue and went inside. "You should talk to him though."

 Suddenly Bryson came running in through the garage door and grabbed Brooklyn's wrist.

 "Brook, hurry! It's Sam!" Bryson ran to the garage.

 "What happened!" Brooklyn ran after Bryson.

 "He was helping me with my car, fixing something underneath, and the wrench slipped and hit his face." Bryson looked white. Sam was leaning on the car, his hand on his forehead, blood trickling down his face.

 "Come on Sam. Let's go." Brooklyn grabbed his hand and told him to get in the truck. "Tell everyone we'll be back later. I'll call and let you know what's happening." Brooklyn called to Bryson as he tossed her the keys. Brooklyn got in the truck and drove to the hospital as fast as the speed limit would allow. Brooklyn reached over to the glove compartment and found a half empty package of Kleenex.

 "Here. Keep pressure on it ok Sammy?" Brooklyn reached over and pressed the tissues to his forehead. Sam took his hand away from his forehead and blood gushed out of the deep gash.

 "How many fingers am I holding up? Are you dizzy?" Brooklyn held up two fingers and steered the truck with her knees.

 "T...three fingers?" Sam mumbled weakly. Brooklyn got out of the truck in the parking lot of the hospital and helped Sam get out the truck. Sam leaned on Brooklyn and he staggered through the door of the emergency. The nurses told Sam and Brooklyn to go into one of the curtained rooms and wait for the doctor. They brought more gauze for Sam.

 "How ironic is this. The overly pregnant wife taking her husband to the hospital." Brooklyn sat down on a chair next to Sam and held his hand. A doctor came into the room and addressed them both.

 "Your husband only has a minor head wound. It's not alarmingly deep, head wounds just bleed a lot. With a few stitches and some rest he should be fine." The doctor closed up the gash on Sam's head and sent them on their way.

 "I'm going to drop you off at home. I can go pick up Bryson." Brooklyn put the truck in reverse and started down the road to their house. Sam didn't even protest he just rubbed his temples and groaned.

 "Sleep sounds good right about now."

 "Good. You can be stubborn sometimes." Brooklyn smirked and pulled into the driveway.

 "Not all the time." Sam grimaced as he brushed his fingers his along his head.

 "Stop whining. Come on, into bed with you. When I get back you'll probably be fine." Brooklyn kissed his forehead lightly and turned off the light and returned to the Ramsey's house to get Bryson.

Bryson ran out of the house with a couple Tupperware's full of food and hopped into the passenger seat of the truck.

 "Hey. How's Sam feeling?"

 "I think he'll be ok. He's at home sleeping." Brooklen smiled at her brother.

 "That's good. I saw all the blood and it freaked me out..." Bryson trailed off and looked out the window.

 "Thank goodness your calling is music, Bryson." Brooklyn laughed and pulled into the drive way. "How much do you want to bet that Sam got up the minute I left." Brooklyn unlocked the door to find all the of the lights still off only the hum of the refrigerator the only noise.

 "Sam?" Brooklyn called up the stairs and walked into the bedroom. She sat on the edge of the bed next to him and gently shook him awake.

 "Yes?" Sam said weakly, rubbing his eyes.

 "How are you? You could be due for your next painkiller." Brooklyn rubbed his back.

 "My head hurts and I'm dizzy." Sam sat up and flicked on the bed side light.

 "I would imagine. Are you going to make it to work tomorrow? I can call in for you." Brooklyn changed into her pyjamas and climbed into bed.

 "I'm going to have to work with Cam on the way. We need the extra money." Sam put his arms behind his head and leaned back on the pillow.

 "Sam. We need to talk. Let's go out for dinner tomorrow and talk. My treat." Brooklyn sighed and turned on her alarm.

 "Wow, I've never heard of the wife taking the husband out for supper."

 "You need to tell me what's going on. It's late let's just go to bed." Brooklyn turned off the light and rolled over, facing the wall.