Jacob's Advocate - 8. Chapter 8 - The Boy Who Lived

"Morning sleepy head." A familiar voice echoed in my last vestiges of sleep, rousing me to a more wakeful state. I looked around to take stock of where I was, then I remembered.

Still at the hospital.

"Amanda." I said softly as my eyes peaked before closing again, "Where have you been."

"I've been at home Tyler. I had to take a minute to breathe. Things have been a little too heavy lately." She replied honestly as she sat in one of the chairs beside my bed.

"Yes, they have," I said hoarsely. Whatever medication Gavin had them give me last night was no joke. It was very effective at doing its job if its job was knocking someone flat on their ass for a while.

"Here drink this," Amanda said and I felt a straw at my lips and took a sip.

"Thanks… Sorry, my brain is muddled. They gave me something last night so I'd sleep."

"I figured." Amanda replied before she took my hand and interlaced her fingers with it, "I'm sorry I wasn't here yesterday Ty. With you out for the count and Jacob… I just couldn't."

"Don't be sorry, Amanda. The fact you realized you were having a problem and did something about it says more about how good you take your mental health versus me, I mean look at where I am." I said as I waved at the hospital room around us. "I'm glad you're here though.

"I'm glad you're here Tyler. Here as in aware and talking. Friday night was just…." She trailed off. "Well, you know."

"I know. I'm better, trust me." I said squeezing her hand.

"We've got to stop meeting like this young man." A new voice said from the doorway.

"Doctor Emery." I greeted with a grin.

"You know this is the same room you were in before. On your third visit, you get a free colonoscopy." Doctor Emery said with a smirk as she approached and checked the numbers on the monitors.

Amanda slapped her free hand over her mouth to either keep from laughing or saying something or both.

"I know," I said as Doctor Emery brushed some of my hair away while looking at something.

"They did a great job on closing that laceration. If it had been any lower you may have ended up with a scar like Harry Potter." She commented as she ran a thumb along it.

"No comment from the peanut gallery," I said immediately as I shot Amanda a glance.

She held up her free hand in surrender.
Doctor Emery stifled a laugh, "Tyler you'll probably be going home today. Your GP will be here later to give you a final check but as far as I can see you should be good to go."

"Thanks, Doc."

The room went quiet again as the doctor left I broke the silence, "Have you seen Jacob yet?"

"Yes, I saw him before I came to see you. His mom was there and filled me in on the stuff I didn't know. That was really too close Tyler."

"It was." I agreed.

"What if we had lost him?" Amanda asked absently.

I bit my lip as I thought about the answer, "I don't know Amanda, except it would be the darkest day, you know?"

"Matty would be trying to hold me together, and Travis would be handling you. We need more friends, we don't have anyone to back Matt or Travis if the two of us are incapacitated." Amanda commented with a frown.

"Well, I think we can call on Riley for Travis."

"Except Travis likes you. A lot. If Jacob wasn't in the picture, which I do want him in the picture, I think you and Travis would have been a thing."

"I think you're right," I mumbled as I rubbed my eyes. "Why does it all have to be so complicated."

"I know right? It's like a badly written Adult Youth novel." Amanda said as she looked at the mark from the former laceration on my forehead. "Tyler Wells and the Chamber of Never Ending Drama, talk about the boy who lived."

I busted out laughing, I couldn't help it. I laughed so hard one of the monitors started beeping an alarm, by the time someone showed up to see what was wrong I was in tears.

The staff that showed up turned off the monitors and unplugged me from them. I was unplugged from the IV as well since it was only saline to keep me hydrated.

"I wouldn't say it's badly written," I said after thinking about it after the staff had left. "I mean it's got us in it so it can't be terrible?" Amanda could only shake her head.

Amanda and I talked for a couple of more hours. I think she held on for as long as she did to help me pass the time until I could leave. All I needed was an all clear and I'd be headed home.

Now if only Gavin would get here.

 

* * *

 

"Doctor Casey, so nice to see you again!" A warm voice greeted him as Gavin walked the familiar halls of the University Hospital towards the room that held one of his charges.

"Doctor Emery, it's been a while."

"Some would say not long enough!" She joked as she finished reviewing a chart and flipped it closed. "Social call or do you just miss the smell of antiseptic?"

"Both, I'm here to check on the occupant of 312," He returned with a grin.

"I'll walk with you, last I checked he was still asleep."

"Anything to be concerned with?" Gavin asked as he fell in step beside her.

"No, he should be free and clear at this point. The last scan shows everything went well and didn't indicate there were any problems, and his vitals are strong. We are letting him sleep for as long as possible before attempting to wake him up." She said as she pushed the door open to room 312.

Gavin peeked in at Jacob Edwards who was lying slightly elevated in the hospital bed, he wore the standard issue gown and looked pretty well tucked into his cocoon of blankets. He approached and gave a warm smile.

"This one had me scared for a while," He said in a low voice absently, admitting what he had held inside.

"I saw in the notes, you were listed as primary GP. Are you thinking of coming back full-time?" Emery asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"No," Gavin answered honestly. "This one's special," he added in a hushed tone.

"Must be," Emery replied warmly. "Tyler Wells downstairs in 219 seems to be good for discharge. I was just down there."

"Good, I'll be down to see him shortly."

"If you don't need me for anything I'm going to finish my rounds and hit up the nurses' station for this afternoon's gossip. I'll still be on the floor if you need me." She patted Gavin on the shoulder and left him alone with his patient.

Gavin did all of the basics almost on autopilot, confirming what the monitors said, reading the short-term history on the displays, and checking the IV that kept Jacob hydrated. Movement in the sheets caught his attention and he approached the bed.

"You're awake," He said gently with a smile to the not-so-sleeping form before him. "Don't move around too much, you've had quite the trip."

Jacob's eyes fluttered open for the first time since that night on the football field on Friday night.

"Huh?" came the raspy reply. Jacob did shift again in the sheets and tried to sit up a little straighter as he cleared the fog in his head. "What happened?" He managed to get out.

"A lot. Let's leave it as you got hurt at the game, took a helicopter ride here, had surgery, and pulled through." Gavin replied as he brushed some hair out of Jacob's eyes.

"Football," Jacob stated as he woke up a little more. "Did we win?"

"Yes Jacob, you won. In more ways than one."

"Tyler," Jacob said quickly as his eyes opened wider.

"He's downstairs, I'll bring him up if you like. You've been out since Friday night, it's now Sunday afternoon." Gavin explained as he pulled a pen light from his coat pocket.

"Hold still this is going to be a little bright." The penlight flashed against Jacob's pupils and gave the appropriate response he was hoping for.

"How do you feel?" Gavin asked as he put the pen light away.

"Groggy, and I ache a little," Jacob replied.

"Does your head hurt, any headaches?" Gavin asked, looking for signs of pain.

"Mmm no, not like that. I feel like I've been hit by a bus though."

"Understandable. Can you move your head for me to the left, now to the right? Up now. And down. How's your neck any stiffness?" Jacob had followed the directions as indicated and Gavin noticed he hadn't made any facial expressions that indicated pain.

"It's a little stiff but it doesn't hurt."

"Can you move your arms and legs? Gavin asked as he pulled up the blankets covering Jacob's feet, and watched as Jacob did so, "now wiggle your toes." He nodded as Jacob's toes moved and he pulled the blanket back up.

"What happened?"

"From what I was told, you leaped to catch the ball, which you did catch, before your feet could hit the ground the helmet from a member of the opposing team caught you square in the chest plate which hit your sternum. Jacob what happened next was a one-in-a-million shot, your heart was in between beats and the impact just made it stop. And because you were still mid-air when you got hit you fell backwards onto the back of your head. It took two shocks from a portable defibrillator to get your heart beating again, and the hit to the head caused you to stop breathing until you were halfway to the hospital."

"Is that why I don't remember getting hit?" Jacob asked softly as he tried to shake the fog from his brain.

"Yes and no, the other side effect to that hit caused a blood vessel in your brain to bulge and a surgical team had to fix it with surgery. Gavin continued.

"You mean I could have…" Jacob asked

"Yes, you could have," Gavin answered honestly, knowing the question he was being asked.

"Damn." Jacob pulled the blankets a little closer as the reality of his mortality made him think.

"Don't worry, we will discuss this in great detail later. The important thing Jacob, is you made it to the other side. Besides I have a more important question that demands your attention."

Jacob looked up at Gavin slightly confused. "What's that?"

"Are you hungry?" Gavin asked with a grin.

"I'm starving actually."

"Good! I'll go get Tyler, figure out where your mother is, and
I'll get you some food brought up."

Jacob nodded lightly and rested back against his pillows.

Gavin let himself out of Jacob's room feeling better than when he had stepped into it. He approached the nurse's station with what felt like a second wind within him and those at the nurse's station noticed.

"Doctor Casey?" Doctor Emery asked.

"Jacob Edwards is awake and very hungry." He beamed.

 

* * *

 

 

"Tyler Wells," Gavin said as he entered the room.

"Hey, Gavin," I replied as I sat back up in the bed. Amanda had left a half hour before after my mom arrived, bringing me a change of clothes I had already changed into.

"Reports say you're ready to leave. How do you feel?"

"No offense, but I feel ready to leave," I replied honestly.

Gavin chuckled, "No offense taken. Do you feel up to seeing Jacob before you go?"

"Of course, why do you ask?"

"Because he just woke up and he's asking for you."

My heart skipped a beat as soon as he finished that sentence. "Seriously? He's awake!? Can we go now!?" I asked as my head jerked between my mom and Gavin.

"I think we better say yes before he just ups and leaves." My mom said as she stood up.

"Then let's go," Gavin replied to her.

On the way to the elevator Gavin went over the discharge paperwork with Gavin, I only heard about half of it as I tried to will the elevator to go faster. I restrained myself as the door to the elevator opened and Gavin indicated Jacob's room. Both of them held back as I opened the door gently.

"Tyler." Jacob's voice greeted me as I entered.

A sense of relief flooded over me, all the pent-up emotions, anguish and everything I had been feeling fell away. It was a rush to my head that made me a little dizzy. I wanted to smile, I wanted to cry, I wanted to crush him with a hug, and part of me wanted to yell at him for scaring me even though it wasn't his fault.

Jacob looked at me as I took all this in, "Tyler are you okay?" He asked as I stepped closer and stopped at the side of his bed.

I quickly nodded as crying had won out on the 'what to do list', "Jake." I started but my face crumpled as I couldn't hold it anymore. He held his arms out and I gently leaned over into him as they wrapped around my back. "You scared me, Jake. I thought I lost you." I said finally as he squeezed a little harder.

"I'm still here." He whispered into my ear.

I nodded and gently kissed his forehead just under where the wrappings around his head stopped, and then I gently kissed him on the lips. Then pulled away so I could get a good look at him.

"Are you in any pain?" I asked as I took hold of his hand and intertwined his fingers with mine.

"A little," He answered. "My whole body is stiff as hell. I remember leaping up to get the ball but that's it."

"You caught it, then threw it away to Matt and Travis, they made the touchdown that won the game with it. When you didn't get up I fought everyone to get on the field. It took Travis and Riley both to pull me away from you."

Jacob gave me a hint of a grin, "Well Travis is taller. You're pretty tough but you aren't getting away from him."

I nodded. I quickly explained what happened from what others had told me from the moment the helicopter took off to my arrival here. I told him about the twins, Derek and Eric from the other team who had taken him down. Jacob agreed that what happened was an accident of the severest form and he had no ill will towards anyone in regards to what happened.

"The Coach, Preston, all the guys are going to sleep easier knowing you're awake Jacob," I said finishing it off.

"Are you okay though?" Jacob asked, no doubt inquiring about my catatonic episode and the fright it had given everyone.

"I'm going to have a conversation with Gavin about it. But I'm okay Jake, just worried about you more than anything." I bit my lip and gave him a look.

Jacob smiled at me, "I'm here Ty. I made it through." He winced a little, "Looks like I'm going to need your help again to catch up with school…"

"Well stop nearly dying so you can get out of it." I chastised.

The door opened and Diane entered the hospital staff who was bringing in what looked like food for Jacob.

"I better go," I reached down and kissed him again. "I love you, dude."

"I love you too, come see me tomorrow?" He asked with a hopeful look on his face.

"I'll be here after school."

I reluctantly let go of Jacob's hand and moved back while the hospital staff did their thing. I gave Diane a long hard hug before I left.

"What are you feeling right now Ty?" My mom asked as we made our way out.

"Relieved Mom. Absolutely relieved."

It was early evening Sunday night when Mom and I got home. Dad was in the process of making dinner when we walked through the door. Mom and I gave him a brief rundown of the developments then I excused myself for a few because I desperately needed a shower.

It was probably the longest shower of my life, and the hot water heater was probably grateful when it was finally over. The last few days had run through my mind, along with the last few weeks. It had truly been a roller coaster and I silently wondered if part of what happened to me was due to pure exhaustion itself.

After dinner, my parents and I had a long, drawn-out discussion about whether or not I should stay home from school. I was against it because I needed things to go back to normal for my sanity. I told them I could be by myself all day while they were at work, or I could spend time with my friends doing something productive. They understood my point, and I understood theirs. They were worried about the exhaustion I had thought about earlier. In the end, I convinced them to let me go to school, but we agreed that if it became too much, I would stay home for a day.

School the next day was a flurry of activity. The student body had the weekend to talk about the event and I was sure it was all over social media not that I had bothered to check. In fact, I hadn't bothered to turn my phone on at all and it was still turned off safely stowed in my backpack.

My first stop was at the office, and the front desk receptionist greeted me with surprise.

"Tyler." She said as she stopped what she was doing as I walked in.

"Hi, is Doctor Yo in yet?" I asked, "It's a status update from the hospital."

That certainly got her attention she told me to wait a moment and I remained standing and paced a couple of steps before they both came out.

"Tyler, it's good to see you. Coach Stevens said you weren't well."

"I wasn't but recovered over the weekend. I wanted to give this update personally, so you could give it to staff and I guess the students if you see fit." I explained.

"Yes, please."

"Jacob had emergency surgery Saturday in relation to the fall he took. The surgery was successful, and he woke up late yesterday afternoon. I had a conversation with him and the doctors believe he's going to be fine." I said quickly.

Doctor Yo and the receptionist breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank God. I'll start spreading this around immediately. Thank you for letting us know Tyler." Doctor Yo said as she looked towards the receptionist, "Get a hold of Coach Stevens and let him know as soon as you can get him."

Doctor Yo asked about my issues and I informed her of what happened exactly, she pretty much reiterated my parent's concerns. I repeated my reasons for being present today and she accepted the same promise I had given my parents.

I barely made it into the cafeteria before I was manhandled into a tight bear hug by Travis.

"I love you too Trav," I mumbled into his shirt.

"I'm sorry, I was so worried about you and I'm so friggen' happy to see you." He replied as he let me go.

"I'm fine Travis, and please don't ask why I'm at school today I've already gone over this twice," I said with a sardonic grin.

"Totally not going to ask. I just didn't expect to see you today." He said while escorting me to our usual table.

I was getting the looks today, none of them bad, most of them in surprise.

"Hang on Trav, we're about to get barraged with questions I better do this en mass now. Help me up."

Travis helped me stand on the bench that lined our table and half held me up on the unstable platform.

"Yo! Everyone!" I called out. The entire room stopped and looked our way. "I just want to say I'm fine. Jacob is fine too, he woke up yesterday. I'm sorry if I have missed messages or snaps but my phone has been off during this whole ordeal. Oh, and Jacob sends his love."

The room erupted in applause, causing my unstable position to become even more unstable. If Travis hadn't been standing there I probably would have fallen off.

"There you go," Travis announced as he unceremoniously plopped me back onto my feet.

"Thanks."

"Jacob's really awake?" Matt asked as he appeared out of the crowd with Amanda in tow.

"Yeah, he woke up right before I got discharged."

"And you're okay?"

"I'm good Matt I promise."

"I didn't mention this the other day Ty, but you scared the crap out of me," Matt said as I got enveloped in another hug.

"I know Matt. I can't explain what happened. I barely remember it. Something just snapped." I said as I looked at Travis. We shared a brief moment because no one except us knew what had brought me out of it. I made a mental note to find time with him alone so we could discuss it.

Matt released me and we all sat down.

"Are you going to see him after school?" Amanda asked.

"Yeah, he asked me to."

"Good, I was talking to Matt about it this morning, we all want to see him but at the same time he just went through a pretty invasive thing, and we were thinking of waiting a couple of days before we showed up en mass." Amanda offered.

"Might be a good idea," Travis said in agreement.

"Okay, and I'll let him know just so he doesn't wonder where you guys are," I said
as my eyes caught sight of Preston Foster who was headed for us.

"Hey guys, I just heard the news," Preston asked as he sat down.

"Yes, he's awake Pres," I replied.

Preston was already on his phone, in the team group chat sharing the news. "Dude that's a huge relief. I about shit myself when I was there and they announced he was going into the OR."

"If you've got the contact info for the twins uh…"

"Derek and Eric" Preston finished for me.

"Yes, you should probably let them know as well. I did speak to Jacob specifically about them and he wanted me to tell you to tell them that Jacob considers this an accident, and they shouldn't feel guilty about it." I explained.

"I'll shoot them a text after the first period is over."

At that moment the bell rang and I got up, "speaking of which…"

The rest of the day pretty much repeated itself after that point. Judging by the sheer amount of people that had intercepted me throughout the day it was pretty safe to say that Jacob's reputation had changed from uncertain to loved and protected. One of my fears about helping Jacob get out of the mess we had created was how he'd be seen by everyone and after today that concern had pretty much been thrown out the window.

All they wanted was for him to recover and return. I found out later that Jacob had been painted quite the hero for catching the pass, sending the ball to Travis, and then literally taking a hit for the team. It was because of him the school won that last game, and while playoffs weren't in our future everyone felt it had won our school the Super Bowl.

By the time school was over I had no doubt that in the next 24 to 48 hours his hospital room was going to be flooded with cards and teddy bears.

I texted my mom to let her know I was on my way to the hospital when school was out, and it seemed to take longer than usual. I wasn't sure if it was due to rush hour traffic or my anticipation to get there. Eventually, I did arrive and I went straight up to the third floor and stopped by the nurses station to see if it was okay.

"Hi, I was coming to see Jacob in 312. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't a bad time." I said as the nurse looked up from the computer she was at.

"Please tell me your name is Tyler." She said with feigned exasperation.

"Yes," I replied with a chuckle.

"Oh thank heavens. Jacob is an absolute pleasure, but sweetie if you hadn't shown up I'm not sure we'd be able to live with it." The nurse replied in good humor.

"I know what you mean. I'll take it from here and keep him occupied for a while."

"Thank you!"

I walked over to Jacob's room and gave a brief knock as I opened it. Jacob's head looked up from the tablet he was holding and he smiled.

"I hear someone's been making the nurses crazy," I said as I walked in.

"I know and I'm sorry." He said as I walked closer, "I just missed you, and I was making my mom crazy. I told her you were coming and it was safe for her to go home."

"How is she doing?"

"Better now that I'm awake. I told her not to come back until tomorrow, she hasn't been sleeping well if at all."

"The only way I was able to sleep was because they drugged me," I said as I stood next to his bed.

"I'm sorry about that Ty."

"Don't be sorry Jake, you didn't have any control over it you know."

"Well, I didn't have to play." He said meekly.

"And because you did the whole school things you're a hero. Seriously expect a truckload of cards and stuff they're coming."

Jacob tried to shy away from the attention, and I wouldn't let him. "Jake, let them have their hero. You deserve it, man."

"If you say so." He started to shuffle to one side, "Here lay with me."

"I shouldn't."

"Are you going to deny a sick boy his request?"

"I'm not Make A Wish Jake," I said trying not to laugh.

"Please…" Jacob asked, and the look and tone of voice he had said it with quickly made me cave in.

"Okay, but I hope I don't get thrown out for it."

I took off my shoes and he let me in under the covers. It was a tight fit and I had to arrange the cables plugged into the monitors, but he quickly burrowed himself into my side with his head on my shoulder. I wrapped an arm around him and stroked his back as we both found a position that would last.

"Better?" I asked.

Jacob shifted again and nodded.

"You know this gown you're wearing has its advantages," I said as I quickly found out he was of course nude underneath it.

"It does." He agreed.

I re-positioned the tablet he had been holding earlier so he could continue to see the screen.

"Thank you, Ty."

"For what?"

"For coming, I wasn't sure if you would."

"Jake I told you I was."

"I know but…"

"Hey," I said as I gently gripped his chin and moved his head so he could look into my eyes. "I wasn't joking when I said I loved you, dude. I need you to know that."

I kissed the top of his bandaged head.

"I'm sorry, just being here alone or just with my mom makes me a little crazy I guess. After everything that happened, I wasn't sure if… You know."

"That I would still want you?"

"Yeah…"

"Jacob." I said with a more serious tone, "I went catatonic because I thought I'd never see you again after you got airlifted here. I would not have done that if I thought I didn't want you. I want you more than anything, and I need you to hear those words and understand them okay?"

Jacob didn't answer me right away.

"Okay?" I said as I gave him a gentle shake of the shoulder.

"Okay." He finally responded.

My hand found the bare small of his back and traced circles into his skin and I kissed the top of his head again, "you mean so much to me, Jake."

I felt his arms give me a silent squeeze.

We both watched the movie he had been watching on the tablet, then started another when one of the nurses came in.

"Well, what do we have here." She said with a light-hearted laugh.

"The mattress was lumpy so I fixed it," Jacob said without taking his eyes off the screen.

She shook her head and approached Jacob's side of the bed and looked at the dressing wrapped around his head.

"Do I need to move?" I asked.

"Actually, where he is lying is perfect. Jacob, I'm going to remove the bandage on your head and check the area where they did the surgery to make sure everything is okay. It needs to be changed anyway."

Jacob nodded his approval, happy not having to move.

I watched with interest as she unwound the bandage that had covered the entire upper portion of Jacob's head.

"They shaved his head?"

"Yeah, it was easier to get in there that way." The nurse replied as she peeled back the bandage covering the surgery site. "Since the problem was on the outside of the brain they went directly to it instead of the other methods. It saved time really. From what I read in the chart they just clamped off the area the aneurysm was forming and put a titanium clip in there to stop it from bulging even more, that way the blood that's in there can clot safely inside the clamp and not bother anything."

I nodded as the bandage came off and I saw it for myself. There was a small area on the back of his head that had been stitched up.

"He's going to need to be very careful with the back of his head for the next few months, it's going to take a while for that piece of skull to heal, they had to remove it to access the problem."

"Well thank God he has a thick skull then," I commented getting a small pinch from Jacob in return.

I watched as she cleaned the area with some antiseptic, and applied a new bandage. She then rolled a new dressing around his head and neatly got it tied into place.

"There you go." She said with a smile.

"You aren't going to make Tyler move are you?" Jacob asked quietly.

"No, I'm not. You'd be surprised at how often this happens and a patient's good mood often helps heal the body. So as long as you're comfortable and you don't unplug something that makes the nurse's station panic you are just fine."

"Thank you, Fergie," Jacob said as he cuddled more into me.

"You are certainly welcome!"

The nurse packed up her gear and left us alone again. We fell back into the movie we were watching and ended up well into the third. I could tell Jacob was still awake, but he hadn't moved, and usually, he would fidget if he stayed in one position too long. I had to get up once to use the restroom and he reclaimed the same position when I returned.

"Are you going to leave soon?" Jacob asked gently and quite randomly breaking the silence.

"I was thinking about it yeah?"

"Stay with me please?"

"I mean I can if you want. My parents already said I could take a day off school if I need to."

Jacob looked up at me, directly into my eyes. He looked so vulnerable and a little frightened. Considering what we had gone through I could understand why, but I needed to know what was in his head right now.

"Jake, I need you to tell me what's up. What are you thinking about."

"I'm just. I don't know. I'm scared Tyler. What if I don't wake up tomorrow, and my last thought was wishing you were still here?"

That literally broke me. I looked away for a moment as I regained my composure. He was more than scared, he was terrified. That's why he had driven the nurses crazy asking about me.

He didn't want to die alone. Jacob's mortality had been thrust upon him like a ton of bricks, and it scared him. Hell, it scared me.

"Jacob, I need you to listen to me, at some point you, me, and Gavin are going to have a very long talk about this. At some point, we're all going to have our last day on this planet but yours isn't tomorrow. Yes, I will stay, I'll stay all night if you want." I held onto him as tightly as I could that wouldn't cause discomfort, "it may not seem like it right now Jake, but you are going to live. We're going to live. We're going to live and do all the things that irritate the hell out of each other until
we're so old and gray that we can say we've done it all, seen it all and we're ready to go, understand?"

Jacob nodded silently as he thought about my words then gently kissed me on the cheek.

I called my parents and gave them the update and told them I was spending the night with Jacob, they didn't argue and even agreed since my staying meant I'd be taking the day off they wanted me to take to begin with. They promised they'd let the school know and I shot a text to the group chat I had with Travis, Matt, and Amanda so they'd be aware as well.

Jacob was asleep by the time I was done and I turned the little overhead light away from us to help him sleep a little more peacefully.

Amanda was right, talk about the boy who lived.