Everything Has Changed: Book Three

Chapter Thirteen: Sexist

Chapter Thirteen: Sexist

They flip over so Danny is on top and Caleb rolls to the side, knocking Danny off the couch. His head slams against the metal coffee table and I hear a loud bang.

"Oh shit." Caleb sits up. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Danny mumbles, but he takes his hand to the back of his head, and when he pulls it away, it's dark red. "Oh." He says. "Maybe I'm not."

"You're bleeding." Caleb says.

"Yeah, actually Dad, judging by the amount of blood on my hand, I kind of figured that I was bleeding."

"Smartass." Caleb grumbles, pushing himself up from the couch. "You probably need some stitches. Damn, I thought you were a man Daniel. You got your ass kicked by a forty five year old."

"Shut up Dad." Danny snaps. "I may be bleeding, but I can still fight you."

"Oh really?" Caleb laughs.

"Yeah." Danny pushes himself up onto his feet and turns around to face his Dad.

I maneuver around the couch and push my way between them.

"No." I say. "You're done. We're going to tie something around your head and then we're going to the hospital."

"We don't need to go to the hospital. We can use a stapler." Dad says.

"Yeah, Scott's right. Why pay a hefty hospital bill?" Caleb agrees.

"There's a stapler in the junk drawer in the kitchen." Danny nods.

"I'll go get it." Dad says.

I look at Beatrice with a shocked look.

"I'll be fine. Just hold me down and do it quick. Once my skin starts growing over the staples, we rip them out." Danny says.

"Agreed." Caleb nods.

Dad returns with the stapler and I snatch it out of his hand.

"You want to do it?" Danny asks.

"No, I don't want to do it!" I exclaim. "You guys are idiots! All three of you!"

"Come on, give me the stapler." Danny says, holding his hand out.

"No." I hand it to Beatrice.

"Ma, come on." Danny whines. "Just give me the stapler."

I go get a towel from the laundry room and go back to the living room, tying it around Danny's head.

He pouts the entire time.

"Grace, I'm not going."

"If I cracked my head open, would you let me use a stapler at home?" I ask.

He hesitates.

"Well no, but that's different. You're a girl and you guys can't handle pain."

"Oh?" I laugh. "We can't?"

"No, you can't." Caleb scoffs.

Beatrice's eyebrows shoot up, but Dad just presses his lips together and mutters, "You guys better stop. It's a trap."

"I'm about to push your fucking baby out of my vagina." I snap at my husband. "Something this big." I connect my fingertips of both hands to make a circle. "Is coming out of something this big." I make a circle with my index finger and thumb, and then I throw the staplers on the couch. "Next time you act sexist, I will make you sleep on the couch or on the bed in the basement for a week. I'm not kidding. Now you're not being an idiot and stapling your head at home! We're going to the hospital!"