The Other School's Quarterback

Chapter Nine// Two in The Morning.

CHAPTER NINE// TWO IN THE MORNING.

Nothing is worse than getting a phone call at two in the morning.

Because when you get a phone call at two in the morning it's never good. No one gets engaged at two in the morning, no one finds out that they got into the college of their dreams at two in the morning, and no one would call you and tell you they had their baby at two in the morning. Because if you were really that important, you would have gotten the call a couple of hours before about how that person was going into labor.

So when my phone started to vibrate on my night stand with a phone call from Jack at two in the morning, I knew it was bad.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Court." Jack whispered with a shaky voice. "Courtney my dad, he-"

After hearing the tone of his voice and the way he was stuttering, I was wide awake. My light was on and I threw a hoodie over my tank top. "I'll be at the hospital in ten." I said then hung up the phone as I threw on my Ugg boots and tucked my pajama pants into them.

Tiptoeing downstairs, I quietly slipped out the door after grabbing my keys off the kitchen counter.

I didn't care if I would be grounded for the next six months for sneaking out at two in the morning, Jack needed me more than ever, and there was nothing stopping me from coming to him.

~

"Are you related too Mr. Rivers." One of the nurses sitting behind the desk in the waiting room of the hospital asked me.

Considering everything me and Jack had been through, I was like his father's daughter. "Yes." I answered and the lady gave me the evil eye.

"I need to see your ID."

I was beginning to get frustrated. Jack needed me right now, and with the process I was making, I wouldn't get to him within the next hour.

"Look," I said, crossing my arms. "I'm practically Mr.Rivers long lost daughter. His son needs me more than ever right now. If you don't let me in-"

"Courtney." A voice that I had known since I was six years old said from behind me.

I turned around to see an exhausted looking Jack. Their were dark circles under his eyes and his blonde hair was a mess, his large hands were shaking and his eyes were watery. Jack Rivers wasn't the emotional type, but looking at him now, I'm pretty sure he was going to break down any second.

I ran over to Jack and wrapped my arms around him. He returned the gesture and rested his chin on top of my head.

He began to pull away. "Courtney-" He started, but I quickly cut him off.

"Shhh." I whispered. "Just stay here for a second, just don't think about anything for five seconds. Just pretend it's you and me. Put the rest of the world on pause."

So he did, we wrapped his arms back around me and closed his eyes, letting out a breath I knew he had been holding in for a while.

It was now three in the morning, Jack's arms were around me, and the rest of the world was on pause.

~

"The cancer has spread to his brain." The doctor explained to me and Jack, but my eyes were focused on Jack, watching him slowly take the news in.

It was like he was a robot. Every time the doctor would say something he would stare at him with a blank face. It was like he had turned off all of his emotions.

The doctor continued to explain everything that was going on in Mr.Rivers body, I still wasn't listening and my eyes were still focused on Jack, but one statement caught my attention.

"I'm very sorry to inform you this," the doctor who's name tag read "Dr. Phillips" began with sorrow in her eyes. "But we're not sure how much longer he has to live. Considering how sick he is, he's incredibly lucky if he survives the next two days."

Suddenly it was like the world was on pause again, everything was silent. Jack's eyes were wide and all of the color had drained from his face. Tears started to form in his eyes, and the last time I saw Jack cry was when he was three.

He bit his lip and stared at the ground, he looked like he was still processing the news, trying to understand how this could happen.

"I'm sorry, son." Dr. Johnson said as he put his hand on Jack's shoulder. "You're a tough kid you know, you've been through a lot. Consider this another obstacle in life, with a really hard course."

The doctor walked away holding a tan colored folder in his hand. Jack slid down to the floor and put his head in his hands.

"Jack," I began as I sat down next to him, but he cut me off as soon as I began.

"Stop, Courtney." He said, shaking his head that was still in his hands. "Stop saying things will get better because they aren't. It's never going to get better. He's dying, Courtney. And there isn't anything I can do to help." He rested his head against the wall and looked me in the eyes. "I can't put the world on pause, because everything is playing right in front of me and I can't control it. I can't stop this never ending horror movie."

I sighed, and grabbed Jack's forearm then laid my head on his shoulder. "Honestly," I said, playing with his fingers. "I don't have anything to say. Words can't make this better, but I wish they could."

Jack rested his cheek on top of my head and began to play with my hair. "If you don't have anything to say, just sit here, wrapped in my arms. Because after my dad dies-" He paused, swallowing and taking a deep breath. "You're the only person I have left."

So I did, I stayed wrapped in his arms at three forty-five in the morning, sitting on the cold tile floor in one of the many hallways of the hospital.