William's Love - 26. Chapter 26

Spring Break

Today is Saturday, the first real day of spring break, so we decided to sleep in. Lee and Patrick are staying with us this week because the folks and Uncle Ian have gone on their cruise vacation we gave them for Christmas. If I’m not mistaken, I think Beau had stayed over last night as well with Seb. God, I hope he’s spoken with the Coaches about his relationship with Seb. I better remember to talk with him about it sometime today. I promised Coach that I would, I can’t make Beau tell them, but I can at least do as Coach asked.

I turned the light off in the bathroom after my morning pee and walked toward the bed naked. Liam was laying on his side propped on an elbow watching me.

“Do you know how sexy you are Babe? Fuck just look at you, Dude, you are ripped. You might want to slow down on the weights though, your t-shirts don’t even fit you anymore, and we only brought new clothes a month or so ago. They stretch so hard I think the seams are going to split like the Hulk. I’m on guard everywhere we go with people gawking at your hot ass.” Liam said.

I chuckled, “I think you might be exaggerating just a little, do you know how many people check you out even though I’m standing there right next to you holding your hand. And that’s just the women, don’t even get me started on the men. Besides my body looking like this is your fault, you know I only do weights so I can spend more time with you, while you’re working out.” Sliding over on the bed and resting my head where he was propped on his elbow. He leaned into me giving me a nice welcome kiss to the morning.

Liam put his hand on my jaw and thumbed my cheek staring into my eyes, “Love you,” he murmured softly and kissed me again.

I gave him a soft smile, “Love you more,”

“That’s my love smile, that’s what gets me through every day,” he kissed me again as he rolled on top of me, I feel our cocks rub together causing me to moan. Liam deepened the kiss, making my tummy feel warm with love.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Liam rolled off of me groaning, making sure we were at least covered to our waist, “Come in!”

The door opened slowly, “Um… sorry did I interrupt… I can… um… come back later,” our little brother Lee asked holding onto the door handle ready to leave. His cute little face is red with embarrassment.

“No Buddy, we were just talking. What’s up?” Liam asked.

“Um… I was just wondered if you were getting up soon. I wanted to get some breakfast.” He said looking at his feet nervously.

“You don’t need our permission to get breakfast kiddo, help yourself.” I paused for a second, he can’t cook, “Did you want a cooked breakfast?” I asked him.

“Um… No cereal is fine, but I already went down there, and Katherine yelled at me. I swear I didn’t do anything.” Lee said defensively.

“We know you didn’t, Katherine’s just… Well… not herself at the moment. Sorry, she yelled at you, just give us a second to get dressed, and we’ll be right out. Be smart and wait in the hall or your room don’t risk your life going back down there,” Liam said laughing.

Lee smiled as he backed out of our bedroom closing the door behind him. We put out our fists up and counted to three for rock, paper, scissors. “Paper covers rock. Ha! Good luck dude!” I said patting him on the chest and getting out of bed putting on my PJ bottoms. Liam put on his Superman onesie for shits and giggles, not really, he lost a bet last night, and he has to wear it around the house until midday. Cape and all. He bet I couldn’t get him off in less than thirty seconds – he was wrong. Eighteen seconds thank you very much, I guess it helps that I know his body inside and out. Plus I cheated a little, I made sure I spent last night turning him on when no one was watching. He was ready to pop.

We went into the hallway, and I banged on Seb’s door, “Get your lazy asses out of bed,” I yelled through the door snickering. If I ain’t getting any, neither are they.

I looked at Liam, who was standing at the top of the stairs, “You’re up Superman, go do your job and save us humans from the evil downstairs,”

Lee and I moved to the top of the stairs, as Liam slid slowly and cautiously down them. Katherine was currently vacuuming the living room. Seb and Beau came out of their room disheveled and looking thoroughly – well shagged. As the English would say. Lucky bastards. They went to walk down stairs, and we stopped them.

“What’s going on, and why do you two look like your up to no good?” Seb asked.

“We are currently being cowards and waiting for Liam to clear the path, the Grizzly’s awake, and Lee already copped it this morning when he went to get his breakfast,” I said.

I indicated to the hickey on Beau’s neck, he put his hand up to cover it and his face went bright red. Lee and I snickered. Pat chose that moment to come out the guest bedroom he and Lee are sharing for the week.

“What the hell is going on?” Pat said with a yawn, walking over to us, wearing just pajama bottoms and looking over the railing. He is so different now that he’s been living with Uncle Ian. He has come into his own, and it seems like he’s comfortable with himself. He’s no longer the shy little guy we first met, scared of his own shadow. He must have grown at least half a foot since we first met him. Thanks to boxing and running he’s also put on a little bulk and definite muscle tone. And the definition of a six pack clearly marking his middle region.

“Katherine!” we all said together cringing.

“Ahh! You bunch cowards just go down there.” Paddy said grinning.

“You go,” I dared him.

“Fuck no! I don’t have a death wish,” He looked at me, I was about to have a go about his language, but his face turned to a frown looking over my shoulder. Then he laughed, “Dude, nice hickey!” he said to Beau, “Good work Sebastian, at least all the noise was worthwhile.” This time Seb got embarrassed and buried his head in Beau’s neck. Pat and I snickered and high fived. Poor Lee stood there blushing about the whole incident. I put my arm around his shoulder and gave him a quick sideways hug. He barely flinched this time as Lee looked up at me and smiled.

We heard the vacuum go off, before the yelling commenced, “Hey, what the hell are you doing?” there was a pause, and the vacuum started again. Then the vacuum went off, we couldn’t see them from where we stood. “Liam, what the hell?” Katherine yelled out in frustration.

“Katherine, Sweetheart,” Liam was condescendingly gentle with her, “You have cleaned this entire house within an inch of its foundation,” the voices came closer, and we all shuffled backward so she couldn’t see us. Even the dogs backed up, they were smart enough not to get in her way. Yep, we are scared of a 100-pound teenager with baby weight. All.Of.Us. I could see Liam steering her by the shoulders from behind as he gently made her walk toward the back of the house. “You managed to scare poor Lee, I’m not sure his testicles will drop again. Now, why don’t you go and take an inventory of the baby’s room and we’ll go shopping for what’s missing after lunch.”

“Plus there’s no point cleaning, Will is pulling the kitchen out today remember and putting in a new one.” Liam continued on with excuses and reasons for her to stop cleaning.

“I can see you all up there you know!” Katherine yelled out angrily as she waddled off to do as Liam asked.

We all sighed with relief at Liam while he stood at the bottom of the stairs in a Superman pose. Fuck he looked cute, ridiculous but so, so, cute. I kissed him in thanks as we reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Dude, you are ridiculous,” Seb said to Liam laughing.

“Nice hickey, Beau,” Liam retaliated shutting Seb up, “Wait till the Coach sees that. He’s gonna kill you Seb.”

“Fuck!” muttered Seb under his breath.

Yep, I better talk with Beau today. We might need to give him shelter for a couple of days and get Liam to pick up some clothes for him when he goes out. So coach doesn’t see the mark on his neck. He’s helping with the kitchen renovation; so it will be a good excuse. Only until the coaches check on us as they are supposed to do while the folks are away. Shit! I hope Coach Campbell comes by himself. Actually, I think I might call him and ask him to do that.

As we were all pitching in getting breakfast ready, Ollie stuck his head through the back door, “Is it safe?"

“Yes, Katherine’s doing an inventory of the babies room,” Liam told him while he laughed, “I’ll take her shopping after lunch to get whatever is missing.”

“Thank god I have a double shift at work today. I’m not sure I’d live through the day.” Ollie said as he nervously walked further into the kitchen, “Please don’t let her spend on anything unnecessary, we just don’t have the money. Once the baby comes, I’m having a couple of weeks off to be home. So we need to save.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on her,” Liam said winking to Ollie who seemed relieved.

“Whoa! Seb, went to town on young Beau’s neck there,” Ollie winked at him, “must have been a memorable night.” Ollie laughed, “Coach is gonna kick your ass,”

“Shut it!” I saw the grin on Seb’s face as he turned away to hide it, as well as his very red face.

<>-<>-<>

Liam has taken Katherine baby shopping – Thank God. I love that girl to death, but right now she has the entire house walking on eggshells. I can not wait for the baby to come, I’m excited about the baby, but almost more excited to have our fun and effervescent friend back.

The boys are helping get the kitchen ready to be gutted tomorrow. We’ve moved the refrigerator to the mud room. Emptied all of the draws, cupboards, and pantries into plastic tubs and put them in the dining room for now. We were hanging the plastic sheets on the entryways from the kitchen to the house to minimize any dust and dirt spreading throughout. Coach Campbell, came through the back door.

“Hey, guys… What the Sam Hill is going on here?” he asked amused.

“Oh, I’m gutting the kitchen tomorrow and putting a new one in,” I said shrugging my shoulders.

“Do you know how to do that?” Coach asked incredulously.

“I’ve done two before, with Alan he’s a contractor I met at the Men's Shed. He’ll be here tomorrow to help me, and I have a plumber and electrician coming Monday to do the things I can’t. Like, put in a couple more power sockets as well as a new eight burner stove top with a chimney exhaust and a double oven. They need to be done to code. I’m also putting in a double sink and modernizing the faucet and taps.” I replied as if it were nothing.

“So where did you get the kitchen from?” Coach asked.

“Uh… what do you mean? I made most of it myself, except for the granite tops which will be arriving Tuesday. That and all the metal fixtures, stove, and oven. Do you want to see the rest it’s in the workshop?” I asked.

Coach scratched the back of his neck and looked at me with eyes popping out of his head. If I could hazard a guess, he thinks I’m blowing smoke up his ass.

I continued, “It’s part of the reason we chose this house so I could tinker and change things.”

“Okay… Sure… Let’s take a look,” Coach said walking back toward the door, “Oh, why was it important for me to come alone?”

I tapped Beau on the shoulder and pointed to Coach. Beau grinned waved and gave Coach a hug. As he pulled back I saw him roll his eyes, “Seb, you’re a dead man if my husband see’s that on his neck.” Then he laughed, “If he has a go at you, just remind him he was young once, and you’ve heard the story about the road trip to Chattanooga. I’m not going to tell you the story of course, but it should shut him up.” Coach Campbell laughed and walked out the back door, and I led him to the workshop.

Coach is wide-eyed as he looks around my workshop. He let out a low whistle, “So, this is the bat cave huh?” He picked up one of my wood chisels. I gently pulled it out of his hands and put it back. I hate it when people touch my tools, they’re expensive, and one little ding can ruin them, making them unusable.

“Yeah, a lot of the chisels are custom made or made to order.” I pointed to them lined and in place hanging on the wall. I pulled one of the new cupboard doors and put it on the workbench. It was sanded and had a low sheen finish. I wanted a wax finish, but the heat from cooking would ruin them of course. I had done the carving by hand on each of the cupboards. Except cutting them to size and planing, I hadn’t used any power tools.

Coach ran his hand across it, then looked closely at the carvings, “You did this yourself?” I nodded my head sheepishly. He kept inspecting the door and running his hand across it.

“Did you want to see what I did for Dad’s house? I start on theirs Wednesday,” I asked Coach, who nodded his head but was still focused on the one he had in his hand.

I pulled one of Dad’s cupboard doors, it was in a rosewood color finish with lead light design in the middle. Coaches eyes bugged out again.

“Did you do the lead lighting too?” He asked amazed.

“I only helped, I’m still learning how to do that. A man by the name of Nino does it at the men’s shed, he’s really passionate about his work – talented too.” I said.

“You’re really talented Will, do you think you’ll do this when you leave school?.” Coach asked as he was looking at the cupboard door for Dad’s kitchen. “I can’t wait to see the end result, will you let me know when they're done so I can have a look-see and show Cass?”

Who the hell is Cass? He must have seen the look on my face, “Coach Ferrige,” he chuckled.

“Oh,” I laughed, “Of course! I’d love to see what you think of the end result.”

“He’s talented huh?” Liam said as he walked into the workshop. He put his arm around my waist after giving me a quick kiss.

“I’ll say. If you don’t mind me asking how much would something like this cost?” Coach asked.

“It’s going to cost us close to $15,000 by the time it’s all in, that’s with the new appliances, fixtures and paying the tradesman. We managed to get everything at trade prices thanks to Alan. Including the wood for the cupboards as well as the doors. But if someone were to buy a custom kitchen and everything made by hand like this it’s the probably high twenties, maybe more.” I said and watched him wince.

“Dad’s is not quite as expensive because he is not getting any new appliances. We had money left over from the insurance payout, so we decided to upgrade the entire kitchen. We all like to cook, and Katherine really loves to bake, so the kitchen will get the use it’s intended for. Plus I can’t see us ever selling this home. We love it here, and it’s our first home together.” Liam told him and squeezing me to him smiling.

“You’re both so talented, you should be really proud of yourselves boys. You’re amazing young men.” The coach said proudly.

“Thanks, Coach,” We said in unison.

<>-<>-<>

The week had flown by, and we had managed to get both kitchen’s finished. I can’t believe we have to go to school tomorrow. Mom and the Dad’s had no idea we were going to do their kitchen. I hope they didn’t mind, but the thing had been the same for the last seventeen years, longer I’d say. Time for a change. They would have gotten back late last night, so I didn’t expect to hear from them until sometime today.

“Ahhh! What the fuck?” I felt something wet on my behind. I rolled over, and Cash had his front paws on the bed nudging my butt, and he was wagging his tail.

“Okay, okay, come on,” I said unwrapping my limbs from Liam and putting on a pair of shorts. I need new clothes, everything was starting to feel a little too tight for comfort. Maybe Liam’s right I need to slow down on the weights. I’m breaking out of my clothes, how did I not realize this.

I quickly visited our bathroom to relieve myself, then went downstairs. As I hit the kitchen a pair of arms wrapped around me and kissed my cheek. “Thank you, Will, that was the sweetest thing to come home to. The kitchen is beautiful, I love it.” Mom said wiping her kiss off of my cheek.

“I’m so glad you like it, Momma, it needed sprucing up,” I smiled down at her. My Dad’s are preparing to cook breakfast for everyone. “I didn’t expect to see you guys this early, thank you for coming over. Just give me a sec I have to let Cash and C.C. out their poor little bladders are bursting.” I walked over to the door to let them out, but they were too excited about their human Grandparents being there to spoil them. I whistled, and they came running, I closed the door behind them, they can stay out until after breakfast.

“Did you make the doors, with the lead lighting?” Papi asked.

“No, I helped Nino, he’s been teaching me though so in the future I’ll be able to make stuff like that. Did you guys like them because if not I can switch them out for something else.” I said.

“Don’t you dare, we love them. Thank you, it was a pleasant surprise to come home to. Make sure you let me know how much we owe you for everything. I don’t want you spending your money on us.” Dad said with a serious tone.

I put on my best sad and offended pouty face, “You can’t just say thank you and let it go. I wanted to do that for you. You all do so much for all of us, it was a way to show you how much we appreciate you folks, Liam, Pat, Lee, Seb, and Beau all helped too. Ollie would have, but he worked double shifts all week trying to get some money for after the baby comes.”

“Aww, Son. Of course, I’m sorry. Thank you, it was very sweet of you, I didn’t mean to upset you.” Dad said giving me a hug, and I smiled and winked at Mom. She shook her head at me grinning.

“Your kitchen is fantastic Will, very professional, I love the granite tops they’re gorgeous. You did a great job. You are very talented Son,” Dad said proudly, Papi and Mom agreed nodding along, “We’ve been admiring it for half an hour, it’s like something out of a magazine.”

“Let me go and wake up the brat pack for breakfast, Beau’s here also. He’s been here all week.” I said laughing and embarrassed by the praise and fuss.

“Him and Seb huh?” Papi asked.

“Yeah, they’re pretty close now. Beau wasn’t staying, but Seb put a massive hunkin’ hickey on his neck so Coach Campbell wouldn’t let him come home until it was gone. He didn’t want to deal with the fallout between Seb and Beau’s, Uncle Cass.” I snickered at Coach Ferrige’s first name.

“No doubt,” Mom said rolling her eyes.

As I went to the stairs, the doorbell rang, “I’ll get it,” I opened the door to five familiar faces. “What, did you all come together?”

“Yes!” They replied at the same time. I could see Theo’s Escalade parked at the entrance. I unlocked the screen door and let them in. “Folks are in the kitchen, help yourself to coffee.” I waited until they had all crossed the threshold and locked the screen door and left the front door open.

I banged on all the doors upstairs calling out different variations of get your ass up and downstairs now. Then went into our bedroom and kissed Liam awake. We had a quick shower together, dressed and went downstairs to help with breakfast. Luck had it, all we had to do was set the table and get the milk and juice pitchers ready.

We added an extra fold up table and chairs to make one long table to fit everyone. Breakfast was lively with tales of their trip. It sounded like they had an excellent time. They are all definitely sporting a tan. The conversation flowed throughout. We got a lot of praise for the kitchens. Extra from the Coaches, I’ll offer to do theirs if they want it during summer vacation – if I get time. We have the wedding, then the gallery exhibition for Liam in DC. As soon as we get back, he leaves for California for the workshop with Ken Duncan, so there goes a week. He wants me to fly out and spend another week out there so we can look around, maybe check out some colleges as well as the sights.

“Derek don’t let me forget to give you the photo’s from the baseball game before you leave. I put them all on a USB. Uncle Ian did a great job with them. There’s at least one photo of each kid batting and fielding. He also managed to capture a great one of you and Theo together.” Liam said.

“Thanks, Liam, that’s great. I’ll print them out and put them on the notice board and print a copy each for the kids to keep, so they have a picture of themselves. That should put a smile on their face. Thank you again for that day, the kids are still talking about it.” Derek said enthusiastically, then shoving a forkful of pancake in his mouth. “Next time you come to the shelter bring Cash and C.C. they were definitely a fan favorite and lift the spirits of the kids. A little bit of normalcy for them.”

“Will do,” Liam said smiling. We still go a couple of times a week, taking Lee with us and practicing baseball skills with the kids that want to learn or play.

“Oh Momma, let me show you this picture.” I pulled my phone out of my pocket and pulled up the photo of Liam in his Superman onesie at the bottom of the stairs in a superman pose. Then I handed it to her.

Mom’s whole face softened, and she went to touch the screen, “You are so adorable Liam, you used to have spiderman jammies when you were a little boy. You were definitely cuter then.” She said laughing. Mom passed the phone to my Dad’s, and they both cracked up then passed the phone around. When it finally got back to me, I sent the photo to Benny, through Tracy and then to Cory and Shane.

Liam and I cleared the table with the help of Seb and Beau. They made out in the kitchen and we worked around them.

*PING*

I pulled my phone from my pocket.

From: Tracy

Pic: Benny in his Superman PJ’s posing like Liam

Message: He changed into his PJs to be like Liam. We’ll never get him out of them now.

I clucked my tongue, “Aww!! He’s so damn cute that kid,” I said showing Liam.

Liam put his arm around my waist pulling me to him while he looked at the photo. “I can’t wait to be a Dad,” he whispered to himself.

I chuckled, “Yes.You.Can!”

He kissed my cheek, “You know what I mean,”

“I know Baby, I hope our kids are just like Benny and Haley, they are so cute,” I said tilting my head looking at the photo.

“Yeah!” Liam said surprised, by my confession, “We can have more than one?” he asked looking at me.

“Baby, we can have ten if you want. But let's get through College and your baseball career first.” I crooned kissing him. I could feel Liam rumbling with excitement as he kissed me. Obviously, it was the right thing to say to him.

“CHRIST! IT’S LIKE WOODSTOCK IN HERE,” Theo called out to the dining room. That stopped the four of us in our tracks.

And just to piss Theo off for interrupting, I tilted my head putting a confused look on my face and said, “What’s Woodstock?”

He rolled his eyes, threw his hands in the air and turned around grumbling walking back to the table as we cracked up and high fived. We all knew what it was, we’ve watched documentaries. Movies that referenced it, and it’s part of our countries music history. Duh!

<>-<>-<>

The bell rang for lunch, thank god I’m starving. Liam wasn’t waiting for me at the cafeteria entrance, as usual, I waited until the crowd slowed and he still wasn’t here, so I went in and sat at our regular lunch table. I sent a text to Liam asking where he was, but nothing came back. Strange. Ollie joined me, Kat is on bed rest at home for the remainder of her pregnancy, we take her school work home to her.

“Have you seen Liam?” I asked Ollie.

“No, not since first period.” Ollie replied looking around, “Maybe he’s caught up in his last class.”

“Yeah! Perhaps,” I muttered quietly, looking at my phone again. Still no response, the usual suspects had joined the table. I asked if any of them had seen Liam. They all responded with a no. I had a horrible feeling in my gut. Something isn’t right, Liam’s not okay. I mumbled something about looking for him when suddenly the cafeteria was abuzz. Like there was major gossip happening. I saw people keep looking in my direction, and Beau was running toward me signing. He was frantic and going too fast for me. I had him take a breath and slow down.

That didn’t work, but I did manage to catch, Liam, 911, hurt. Beau took my hand and pulled me along as he commenced running. Our lunch table abandoned their lunch trays and followed. As I came around the admin building, the paramedics were putting Liam in the back of the ambulance. I dropped my bag and ran as fast as I could toward them.

“NOOOO!!! LIAM!!” I could already feel the tears in my face, my stomach lurched, and I fell to the ground vomiting. I jumped up to my feet and kept running to the ambulance. Just as they were shutting the last door in the back, I grabbed it and pulled it open.

“LIAM! BABE! What’s going on?” I tried to get in, and the paramedic pushed me back and closed the door. I fell to the ground crying, screaming and watched as the ambulance pulled away sirens howling. I’m on my knees, rocking back and forth hugging myself. Begging for this to be a nightmare and for me to wake up. I felt strong arms wrap around me and lift me to my feet and hold me tightly to their body while I tried to make sense of what’s going on.

I need to get to him, he can’t be alone. What the fuck happened? Why is he hurt? Where did they take him? I need to get to him, he’s all alone. WHAT.THE.FUCK!!!! I broke free from the tight embrace I was being restrained with and started running for my truck. The Coach caught up with me and took my keys. He unlocked the doors and told me to get in. We left the school, right then.

“Can’t you go any faster Coach? What the fuck happened? Why is Liam hurt?” My head hurts, my mind is going a thousand miles a minute, I need to throw up again, and I have this vile taste in my mouth from vomiting before.

Coach was silent. I looked at him, his face was scrunched up, and he was crying. I watched as he tried to gather himself.

“Coach Campbell and I were teaching a Sophomore gym class, so the locker room was empty. When the kids came into the locker room to get changed, they found Liam on the floor of the showers – beaten,” He let out a sob, “there was no reason for Liam to be there. I can’t work out why he was there.” Coach looked at me, “He’s going to be okay Will, I promise.”

“Please drive faster, I need to get to him. He’s all alone and hurt.” I said to Coach.

He pulled up at the entrance of emergency, I didn’t even wait for the truck to stop before I was out and running through the doors. There must be every man and his dog in this waiting room. They are four deep at the counter. I didn’t care I went straight to the head of the line.

“Where do I go, I’m looking for Liam Sands he was brought in by ambulance,” I said in a panic.

“Sir, you're going to have to wait your turn. If you…” The nurse started in on me.

“I don’t care, you need to tell me where he is, he’s all alone, and he’s hurt. He was beaten where is he?” I said slapping my hand on the counter, I am still crying, now begging, “Please, please, please, tell me where to find him. I have to get to him, where is he?”

A security guard came over to me as Coach walked through the door. He took the security guy to the side, “Settle his ass down, or he’s going to have to leave.” Is all I heard loudly before the guy walked away.

Coach sat me on a chair and told me to behave and not make a sound, he was going to find out what’s going on. I must have looked insane, crying, raging, my leg bouncing as I sat. I bet my hairs everywhere from me grabbing it in frustration. I stared right at those doors waiting for him to come through them. Miraculously they opened, and a big male nurse walked through, I sat up straight in hope, and he called a name. Nope don’t give a shit about that one. I put my head in my hands and just let the tears fall.

There has to be something I can do to get through those doors. Maybe the next time they open I can run through them. If I just stare at them and wait right here, the opportunity will present itself. Coach is sitting next to me talking about something, but I can’t worry about that I need to get to Liam. If he could get me to Liam, I wouldn’t still be sitting here would I? People are standing in my view of the door, fuckers! I look around them and peer between legs just to get a glimpse of those doors.

“Will,” I think someone just said my name, the doors didn’t open, so it doesn’t matter. They can’t help me.

“Will,” I feel a hand on my shoulder, I still don’t care unless they can get me through them doors.

“ WILL!” I wonder how long I’ve been sitting here. I swear I’m going to hurt one staff member for every minute they keep me from my Liam.

“ WILL?!”

“WHAT?” I yelled not taking my eyes off of those doors. I’m hearing them around me, but I ain’t really listening. I ain’t interested until someone takes me to Liam.

“ I told you, John, he just sits there staring at those doors like either Liam’s going to come through them or Will’s going to storm them like the gates of Normandy. Look at him John, he’s aged ten years in two hours. Do they actually not function without the other?” Coach asked Dad.

“Unfortunately no, no they don’t. Why do you think Liam stayed behind when his parents moved across the country. When they were thirteen, Liam went away to baseball camp for the summer. His parents had a phone call from the camp to come pick him up after four days. I don’t know what it is, they have to be in constant contact if they can’t contact each other they panic. It’s easier now with cell phones no one really notices. They can physically spend longer periods of time apart even days. But something like this, their behavior becomes desperate and unpredictable.”

Dad continued, “I don’t think they are even aware of how strong their connection is. Kit should be here any second, she’ll take care of it. The minute Will sees Liam, he’ll relax and calm down.”

“Is that healthy John?” Coach asked.

“Well, they don’t stop each other from doing anything they want to do. They champion the other’s goals in general and in life. They even had a plan how college would go if one got in and the other didn’t and if Liam got a baseball scholarship. We tried to explain to them they had to do what they needed for their own happiness. But then we had to sit through a lecture on their plan and how happy they were with it for nearly three hours. I don’t know what it is. They are unselfish with each other and others, they don’t really get jealous of others, and they are never jealous of one another. It’s like they have found this secret to life and they won’t share it.” Dad said back to Coach.

“Wow, I don’t know whether to envy them or have them studied.” Coach said chuckling.

“Right…Oh Momma,” I heard Dad say softly after he got up. The seat was filled by another person. This person took my hand in both of theirs and rest their head on my shoulder. I quickly took my eyes off of the door for a second to see who it was. Oh! My poor Lee, he is crying and looks frightened. I put my eyes back on the door and pulled him onto my lap and put my arms around him. He laid his head against my chest, he just hugged me. He didn’t say a word, he sat on my lap and hugged me. Like he knew that’s what I needed at that moment.

“Will, it’s Momma,” she clicked her fingers in front of my face to get my attention. I looked up at her, and the tears started again.

“They won’t tell me where he is Momma, they won’t tell me anything.” I sobbed, Lee patted my back as I spoke.

“Come on, we are going upstairs.” Mom told me as she grabbed one of my hands and pulled Lee and me to our feet. Lee wouldn’t let go of my hand. “He’s going to be okay Will, he has a mild concussion and a lot of bruising. Some internal bleeding, they are keeping an eye on, but it should take care of itself. Unfortunately, they broke his arm. He’s in x-ray, and then they’ll set his arm, and he’ll be back in a room on the fourth floor after that. They will let us know when we can see him. I’ve also cleared up the confusion as to who family is. Only your Dad’s, you, Lee and I can see him at the moment. And two at a time.”

I stopped walking, “Arm? Which arm Momma? Which fucking arm did they break?”

Mom turned to look at me fiercely, probably because I swore. Her face softened, “It’s his pitching arm Will,” I squeezed poor Lee’s hand so tight he winced.

FUCK!!