Chapter 14
"See! I told you I would beat you!" Aaron said, doing a little victory dance.
"The only reason you won was because I never played it before!" I retorted.
"Nick, don't be a sore loser. Aaron, let me play you!" Caitlin said, and she took my controller.
"No, you know how to play!" Aaron whined.
"So, you'll still beat me anyway," she said. I watched them from the couch, my ego still bruised from Aaron's win.
"Nick, come here!" my Mom called from downstairs.
"OK!" I replied and made my way down the stairs. I saw my mom on the phone, busy making a salad.
"Yea, Mom?" I asked. She held up a finger and told me to wait. I nodded and sat down at the table, grabbing an apple to munch on while I waited.
"Ok. Nick, I have a huge favor to ask you. And also Caitlin. Caitlin!" my mom called. A few seconds later, we heard footsteps on the stairs.
"Yeah, Jane?" she asked.
"Are you busy tonight?" my mom asked.
"Actually, I was going to go to the movies with Sandy tonight. Why?" she asked.
"Well, BJ and I have to go out tonight, and I need someone to watch the kids. We were hoping that you two would watch them," my mom said.
"I can cancel, its no big deal!" Caitlin said, reaching for the phone. I stopped her.
"Go ahead. I could do it myself. It wouldn't hurt to spend some time with my brother and sisters," I said, looking at the family picture that hung in my living room.
"Are you sure?" she asked me. I nodded a simple yes. "Thanks, Nick" she said, and gave me a kiss on the cheek before running back up the stairs. My cheek tingled from her touch.
"That was nice of you, Nick" my mother said.
"I seriously don't mind," I said with a smile.
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"Aaron! Clean up your stuff!" I called to him from downstairs.
"What stuff?" he called back. I sighed and started to pick up Aaron's toys that were scattered amongst the floor, when I saw a teenage mutant ninja turtle. I smiled as old memories flooded back to me.
"What stuff?" he repeated once he was downstairs. His eyes widened when he saw the turtle.
"Wanna play?" he asked.
"Yeah!" I exclaimed, like a little boy on Christmas morning.
"I'm this guy!" Aaron called, and grabbed a turtle.
"Man! I wanted to be him!" I said, and grabbed the closest turtle.
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"How long will you be gone?" Angel asked Caitlin upstairs while Caitlin scrambled to get ready.
"I will be home when you are asleep," Caitlin said, sitting next to Angel on the bed.
"I don't want to stay here with Nick and Aaron! I am the only girl!" Angel complained.
"No, Leslie is here."
"She doesn't let me play with her," Angel said, her eyes drooping.
"Come on," Caitlin said, and walked Angel to Leslie's room. She knocked twice before Leslie answered it.
"Can Angel hang out with you while I'm gone? Nick and Aaron are probably doing guy things," Caitlin said.
"Sure!" Leslie said, and took Angel's hand. Angel reached over and hugged Caitlin.
"Thank you," Angel whispered. Caitlin smiled her gratitude and gave Leslie a hug before walking downstairs to see Nick and Aaron playing with Ninja Turtles.
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"You have got to be kidding me!" I heard a voice say from the stairs.
"Caitlin, come play with us," I pleaded.
"As much as I want to, I have to get going," she said, kneeling in front of Aaron and I.
"Oh, you're no fun," Aaron said and I laughed.
"I promise I will play tomorrow, OK?" Caitlin said to Aaron.
"OK!" Aaron said, his face lighting up.
"Nick, make sure they get to bed before 11, ok?" she asked me.
"Yes, Mom," I joked. She reached over and hugged me.
"Later, Nick."
"Later. And be careful!" I yelled.
"Yea, yea!" I heard her call from the driveway and chuckled.
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"Bri, I bet you anything that Orlando will win!" I said to Brian that night on the phone. Aaron, Leslie, and Angel had fallen asleep a while ago, and my mom had just called me to tell me she would be home around 1. Usually my mom would stay up to wait for Caitlin, but, tonight, that was my job.
"You're on, Bud!" Brian said. I was just about to make the bet when I heard a beep on the other line.
"Brian, hold on. I have a beep," I said and pressed the flash button.
"Hello?" I asked.
"Nick??" I heard my mom on the phone. She sounded frantic and she was crying.
"Mom, what's wrong!?" I asked.
"Caitlin's been in an accident!" my mom cried. A panic surged through my blood and veins.
"Mom, where are you?" I asked.
"At the hospital."
"I'll be right there." I said, and pressed flash again.
"Brian, I have to go!" I cried onto the other line.
"Nick, what's the matter?"
"I have to go to the hospital."
"OK, see ya there," Brian said, even though he had no clue to why he was going. I hung up the phone and ignored the tears that were blocking my vision.
"AARON! ANGEL! LESLIE!" I screamed. Leslie was the first to wake from her slumber.
"Nick, what do you want?" she asked me sleepily.
"Get Aaron and Angel, we have to go to the hospital," I rushed out.
"What?!? Why?!?" she asked.
"JUST DO IT!! I'll tell you in the car," I said, calming down.
We got the kids rounded together and placed them in the car. I prayed for good news as I sped to the hospital.