Game Over: Life's Over

About A Month

When we pulled into the driveway, I was glad to be home. I'd slept for a few minutes in the car, but I was so antsy to be home that I kept waking up. Thankfully, we didn't live too far away from the hospital. At most, half an hour.

Mom was right behind us when we pulled into the driveway. She pulled in beside us and was out of the car before anyone came to get me out of my side.

I rubbed my eyes and yawned. I was still tired but I knew that once I got inside to my room, I'd sleep well in my bed. I was finally starting to understand why people slept better at home than anywhere else.

Mom was the one to open my door. She smiled at me. "Hi, sweetie. Are you ready to go inside?"

I nodded.

She reached in and unbuckled me from my car seat. Having to use the car seat was so unfair. I was eighteen years old; I shouldn't have been using a kid's car seat. Yet my body was small enough that I fit. Plus, it wasn't safe for me to be without it anymore.

Life really sucked sometimes.

Mom helped me get out of the car and then reached back in for something. After she shut the door, she turned to me and held out my bunny. "Jake, you need to take care of him. I'd hate for you to lose him."

Taking my bunny from her, I tucked it into my arm and walked up the sidewalk to the door. Eric and Theo stood at the door, waiting for us. They'd already opened the door but were waiting for us to go inside.

I rubbed my eyes. "I want to go to bed. I'm still tired."

"Okay, baby. Go ahead."

I walked up to the baby gate and I wasn't much taller than it. I frowned at it as my brain slowed down and I wasn't able to figure out how to get the gate open. I whined, vocalizing my frustration at being so dumb.

Theo walked over to me. "Hey, it's okay. Sometimes, Eric can't get the baby gates open and I have to help him."

"It's not that I can't get it. It's just that I'm too lazy to try," Eric said.

Theo looked at me and rolled his eyes. "Eric loves to make excuses."

"I am not making excuses. It's just easier to climb over them than spend the few seconds unlocking them."

Theo laughed. "Sure, keep telling yourself that." He unlocked the baby gate and pulled it back so it opened for me. He walked up the steps and opened the second one for me also. "Do you want one of us to stay with you?"

I nodded and looked back at the steps. Mom was about halfway up the steps. "Mommy."

"Go ahead and get into bed," She said. I knew Mom would stay with me as long as she was home with me. It made me silently pray that she wasn't going anywhere for at least a few days. I wasn't ready for her to go away just yet.

I went to my room and pulled off the socks that I'd been given in the hospital. I wanted to put new socks on but none of my clothes fit me anymore so I didn't even bother trying to find anything in my closet. I pulled off my sweatshirt and tossed it onto the floor beside where the socks were then I crawled into bed.

I'd really missed my bed.

The blankets still smelled like they always did and the mattress was just as comfortable as I remembered. I stuck my binky back into my mouth and pulled the blankets up to my shoulders, even covering the bunny.

I was already feeling drowsy when Mom came into my room. She walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge of it. She brushed my hair back from my face. "It's good to see you home again. I know these past few weeks were rough on you."