The Wrong Person For The Job

Chapter Five: Pick Ups and Phone Calls

Drew’s POV

“Whoa, whoa whoa. Jackson, I need you to take a breath and say that again. Just slowly this time okay?”

From over the phone I heard my best friend’s brother take a few shaky breaths then say, “Drew you need to get here. Oli got into an accident. He’s heading towards the hospital right now.”

“What! I’m on my way. Just stay at the school, got it.” Before I heard Jackson say anything, I hung up. Grabbing my jacket and keys I ran out of my office at Taylor Corp. and practically dived into the elevator just as the doors were about to close.

“Drew! Over here!” Jackson waved when I finally arrived at Peyton Academy. He looked like he was on the verge of tears. Oh, poor buddy.

“What happened?” I asked as I headed over to him. “There usually isn’t that much traffic even in the after school pick-up rush. Where’s Oli?”

Jackson looked at the ground. “Oli got hit by a car. There was a kid who ran into the street and the car didn’t see her. Oli … Oli...  He… Drew? Is he going to die?” At the end, Jackson’s voice squeaked a bit, the panic was evident.

I pulled him into a hug saying, “No. No, he won’t die. Oli is made of tougher stuff than that. He probably did more damage to the car than the car did to him.”

Jackson let out a small laugh and pulled out of the embrace slightly. “You’re probably right. He should be okay.”

Even though my best friend was headed towards the hospital at that very moment I was rather glad that Jackson wasn’t anywhere near the accident when I went to pick him up. By the time I arrived the police was already there collecting statements from various witnesses and a news crew was setting up trying to get a story of some sorts. Had Jackson been anywhere near the accident, I wouldn’t of been able to pull him away from the chaos. No kid needs to be in that situation.

“Does your mom know,” I asked once we were in my car, driving away.

“I don’t know. I tried calling her first but all i got was her voice mail. Five. Times. I gave up then called you. There was nothing else that I could do.” Jackson looked out the passenger's window and sighed.

I quickly looked at him before looking back at the road. I didn’t like what I saw. Pure fear. I knew that whatever happened to Oli didn’t happen to just Jackson’s brother. It also happened to his father. Now, let me explain that. Oli wasn’t just Jackson’s older brother. He also was his father. Not biologically of course but he filled the role better than Jackson’s and Oli’s actual father. Mr. Taylor was always working, rarely home. Ever since Oli was a kid, he knew that the only way to spend time with his father was if it was somehow work related. Hoops had to be jumped through, and it only worked if those hoops were on fire and over a tank of sharks. Figuratively speaking of course. Oli would rather be damned than have Jackson go through the same motions just to have a poor excuse of a father be the only outcome. Nothing against Mr. Taylor, but he was more concerned with being a businessman than a family man. The only reason why he even bothered in having kids was because his wife wanted them, and he could never say no to her.

Since Jackson was an infant, Oli took on the roles of both brother and father. He was the one that Jackson went to for everything that a boy could ever want from an older brother or a father. It was Oli who made failed attempts trying to explain why girls did what they did. It was Oli who was at all of the school functions. It was Oli that signed the permission slips for class field trips. Not Mr. Taylor - he was too busy making a name for himself in the finance and business world for him to realize that he missed out on what should have been his most prized possessions: his sons Oliver and Jackson, and his daughter Lisa.