Quiet vs. Loud

Waiting and Worries

Rayne's POV

As soon as I heard Riker say Jackson's name, I felt like my world stopped.  Aside from my mother, Jackson was my best friend, and had been since we were little.  I knew I had to get to him as fast as I could.  I looked around at everyone.  "I need to get to him.  Can someone call me a cab so I can go?"  Rydel just took my bags from me while Riker put his arms around me and led me to the nearest bench.  "Honey, it's all been taken care of.  You and I are going to take the car so you can get home.  Rydel and Ratliff will wait here for Rocky and Dad, who are already on their way.  They will take care of finishing up at the cabin, then meet us at home later tonight or first thing tomorrow."  Rydel, who was sitting beside me, just leaned over and gave me a quick hug.  "I can tell that you are worried about us.  Don't be.  Just get home and take care of Jackson.  We will be fine here."  I hugged her, then Ratliff, then I looked at Riker.  "Let's go."

Riker and I ran to the car, and as soon as I had my seatbelt on, he took off.  I stared out the window and wished that he could go faster.  But I knew he was going as fast as he could without getting in trouble. After a few minutes, I turned and looked at him.  "Riker, do you know what happened to Jackson?"  Riker took a deep breath and said, "According to what Evan told me, your brothers were playing soccer in your front yard.  Jayce kicked the ball but it bounced off Evan's car and went into the road.  For some reason, Jackson ran to get the ball, and he didn't look before he went into the road.  A car had just turned the corner.  They honked their horn, but of course Jackson couldn't hear them.  Jackson hit the windshield of the car, then fell into the road where he hit his head on the road."  I heard everything Riker said, but all I could think was that I needed to get to Jackson and see his condition for myself.

As we drove, I didn't say much of anything.  I felt that if I opened my mouth to talk, I would start to cry and then I would fall apart.  And I could not afford to do that.  I had to stay strong for Mom, Evan, Jayce, Whit and Jackson.  Riker seemed to understand that I didn't need to talk, so he just drove quietly.  The only thing he did for me was to reach over and take my hand.  I could not let go of him.  He called Evan once during the trip and found out exactly where we needed to go when we got to the hospital.

As soon as we got to the hospital, I took a deep breath and opened the door and got out.  Riker walked around the car and held out his hand to me.  I took his hand and we walked to the hospital.  We went up to the third floor where the surgical waiting room was.  Once in there, the first people I saw were Mom and Evan.  Mom was crying and Evan had his arms around her and was whispering in her ear.  I knew Evan well enough to know that he was telling her that everything would be ok.  As I walked toward Mom and Evan, I looked over in the corner of the room and saw Jayce sitting in the corner and Whit was right beside him.  They were both just sitting there and staring at the floor.  I looked at Riker and nodded my head towards them.  Riker nodded, then gave me a quick hug and walked over to Whit and Jayce while I went to Mom and Evan.  

When I got to them, Evan stood up and gave me a hug and said "Hey Rayne.  Here, sit with your mom.  I'm gonna go get some drinks for everyone."  I hugged him back, then sat down beside Mom.  When I put my arm around her, she looked up at me.  "Hi honey.  I'm sorry you had to cut your trip short.  You really needed a break.  But I knew you would have wanted to know, and if I'm right, you already knew something."  I smiled at her.  For as long as I could remember, I had always gotten a feeling when something was going to happen to one of my brothers, and Mom knew about it.  She said she couldn't explain it, but it wasn't something that should bother me.  

"So, how's Jackson?  Have the doctors said anything?"  I asked as I settled into the chair.  "Yeah, evidently, the car hit Jackson on the right side when he ran into the street.  His right leg is broken in three places, he had some broken ribs and his right arm is broken in two places.  He also hit his head on the road, so that caused a broken jaw and few other facial fractures.  The surgeons are working on repairing the breaks in his arm and leg now, so hopefully they will be done soon."

We sat there for a few minutes not saying anything.  I looked over at Riker, and he was sitting on the floor with Jayce and Whit.  He was talking to Whit, but Jayce was just sitting there with tears running down his face.  I turned to Mom.  "Hey, why is Jayce so upset?  I mean, I know Jackson is hurt, but something's not right."  Mom looked over at my brothers and sighed.  "Jayce feels guilty because he is the one that kicked the ball that Jackson went after.  The whole way here, he just kept signing that it was his fault and it should have been him.  When we got here, he went straight to that corner and hasn't moved since.  Whit hasn't left his side, even though Jayce won't talk to him."  "If you don't mind, I'm gonna see if I can get Jayce to take a walk with me.  Maybe he will talk to me." I told Mom as I stood up.  "You can have Riker come find me if the doctor comes back."  I walked over to the boys and knelt down beside Riker.  "Thanks for sitting with the boys.  If you don't mind, Jayce and I are gonna go for a walk.  But if the doctor comes back, you can come get me."  Riker just smiled at me and nodded his head.  "That's fine.  Whit and I are gonna go get some snacks and I'm gonna check in with my Mom, but I will stay close.  I promise to come get you as soon as the doctor shows up."  We hugged and then I stood up and reached out my hand to Jayce.  When he looked up, I signed for him to get up and come with me.  He stood up and he and I walked out into the hallway.  We didn't get far when Jayce just stopped at the window and stared out.  I tapped him on the shoulder and he turned and looked at me.  "What's going on?"  I signed.  He just shrugged his shoulders and tried to turn away, but I put my hand on his shoulder to stop him.  I signed the question again.  He hesitated for a minute, then signed "This is my fault.  It was my idea to play ball.  I suggested playing in the front yard since the dogs were out in the back.  I kicked the ball that went into the street.  None of this would have happened if I hadn't wanted to be outside playing ball."  I stood there in shock.  Then I signed "Did you mean for the ball to go into the road.  Did you make Jayce run after it?  Were you driving the car that hit him?  Jayce, the answer to all these questions is NO.  You would never do anything to hurt anyone.  This was just an accident.  It's no one's fault.  Now get that thought out of your head.  I MEAN IT!!!!"  Jayce stared at me for a minute, then he hugged me.  We just stood there hugging for a few minutes until I heard Riker call my name.  I looked back at him.  "The doctor just came back in.  Your mom asked him to wait for me to come get you so we can all get the update together."  I put my arm around Jayce and Riker took my other hand and together we walked back into the waiting room.  I was worried about what I was going to hear, but as long as Jackson was alive, we would be ok.

***** Sorry this took so long, but I've been dealing with family issues since New Year's, and things are just now getting back to normal.  I hope I didn't lose any of you.  Hopefully, I will update again soon. *****