I stand at the back door, watching the rain fall violently from the sky, watching Emily, Ethan, Declan, and then Cameron and Ryan, Delaney and Blake's kids, and then Kyle, who is Shaun and Miranda's daughter, she's one, and then finally, Aleena, Cooper and Caroline's four year old.
They're all running and splashing in puddles, happy.
"You know that you don't have to stand there, right?" Delaney asks.
"I know." I speak up. We're all relaxing in the living room while I kids play. "I just like watching."
They start to throw a ball around. They're all such good kids. They let Kyle and Ryan, the two one year olds, they let them throw the ball too, and even though they can only just throw it at the grounds and scream of joy, they're very patient and just pick it back up.
It's a full sized basketball.
Emily picks up the ball and she's all laughing and happy, and she throws it as hard as he can.
She gets Declan in the back of the head, and he happens to be standing on concrete, and he falls face first, straight as a board, slamming his head on the concrete.
Screaming. I hear screaming.
"Oh god." I gasp, ripping open the back door, rushing out into the pouring rain to pick him up. The kids aren't playing anymore.
He has blood gushing from his forehead and he's just screaming.
I shove my feet in the nearest shoes I can find.
"Oh god, what happened?" Delaney demands. "Cameron better not have done that!"
I ignore her, grabbing the keys for the Range Rover, and my glasses off the table. "We need to go." I say, frantic. "Now!"
"Okay." Tyler stands up, putting his shoes on quickly. He grabs Emily and Ethan, rushing them to the car.
"I'll drive." He says.
"No, you don't know where the hospital is. Go get paper towels and get his blanket." I say. "Please. Please."
"Okay."
He rushes inside and comes back with his blanket and a handful of gauze.
Emily is crying too.
I put Declan in his car seat and buckle him in. I put the gauze on his forehead and hand him his blanket.
"Listen to me, Declan." I say gently. "Look at me honey."
He looks at me, his crying calmer, but still crying.
"You're going to be okay, alright sweetheart? We're going to take care of you. I promise."
I kiss the top of his head. He holds onto my finger when I try to pull away, just like he did when he was a baby.
When I try to pull away, he cries harder.
"It's okay." I soothe. "It's going to be fine."
I pull my hand out of his grip and get in the front seat. Tyler gets in the car. I look to make sure he buckles Emily and Ethan, and then I start the car and drive to the hospital.
I stop and park the car. Ethan is still crying. I get out and get Declan from the car seat. Tyler gets Ethan and Emily, holding their hands. I lock the car and rush into the hospital.
I go to the desk.
"How can I help you?"
"My son hit his head on concrete and he's bleeding a lot." I say.
