“Is Mom okay?” My legs bounce.
“She’s scared,” he tells me honestly. “But we all are. We’re all together, though, and that’s what matters. Mason knows we’re with him, even if we’re all in different places.”
I sniffle. Jumping to my feet when Noah steps onto the field.
A ref tries to get him to move back, but he argues, and I hold my breath as his coach, standing a few feet from Mason, spots him.
The coach rushes over, saying something, and Noah pats his shoulder, jogging toward the endzone.
“What is he doing?” Cameron whispers, and I shake my head.
“What’s who doing?” my dad wonders.
Noah reaches out, grabbing a hold of the giant camera just to the right of the goal post, and I gasp when the network splits the screen, Noah’s face displayed across the second one.
The commentators stop talking about the trajectory of Mason’s hit and begin taking guesses as to what the quarterback is doing, but they don’t have the slightest clue.
I do.
Because as soon as he knows for sure he’s alive, Noah stares straight into the camera, straight into my eyes… and he nods.
Everything inside me cracks, breaks, and then fuses back together. I collapse onto the sofa, tears pouring down my cheeks.
“He’s okay,” I rasp.
“What do you mean, honey?” my dad urges.
Cameron’s head snaps from the screen to me. “How do you know?”
“Noah,” I tell them both. “That’s what he’s saying. He’s letting me know Mason’s okay.”
Cameron’s tears fall and she drops onto the couch. “I fucking love that guy.”
A croaky chuckle leaves me, and I smile. “Dad, he’s okay.”
“Honey… he’s still not moving.”
I nod, but only moments later, Mason bends his knee and my mother’s gasp chokes me up.
The medic staff stands, repositioning themselves near Mason’s shoulders, and as they do, Mason lifts his left arm into the air, letting all those watching know, he’s okay. The cart comes out onto the field, but Mason isn’t put on a stretcher. The crowd goes insane as he’s helped to his feet, and then slowly set on the back. He’s carted away and my parents celebrate on the other end of the line.
We talk for a little longer, and my dad assures me he’ll call if they get any news. Mason being eighteen, there’s a chance none of us will hear a word until he’s able to call us himself.
Hours go by before my phone rings, and when it does, it’s from Brady.
Cam and I scrunch into the screen.
“Brady.”
“Hey, girls,” he says softly, a sad grin on his lips, Chase right beside him. “You heard anything?”
“Not yet. What do you know?” Cameron asks.
“They took him to a hospital a couple miles away to follow concussion protocol, run tests and shit.” He sighs. “That’s all we got from Coach.”
“Can you go see him?”
Saddened, they shake their heads. “We’re getting on the bus from here, but a trainer went with him. Coach says he’ll update us when he can, but without Mason’s permission, they can’t tell him shit. Coach thinks they might have doped him up, so he’s probably coming in and out.”
“They wanted to take him on the stretcher, but he wanted to walk off.” Chase runs his hands down his sweat-covered face. “I think that was for your and the fam’s benefit.”
I nod. “Yeah, I’m sure. They called. They were watching.”
“Damn.” Brady glances behind to the side and back. “One of the guys said he heard him wheezing, saying something about his ribs, so I don’t know.”
I nod again, gnawing on my inner lip. “I’m going to call my dad. If I hear more, I’ll call.”
“Same.”
“Ari, he’s going to be okay.” Chase catches my eyes. “He’ll be okay. Call me or Brady if you, you know, just want to talk.”
“We will.” I look to Cam, grabbing her hand.
“You guys try to rest on the bus.” Cam drops her head on my shoulder. “There’s nothing you can do. Don’t worry too much.”
Grim smiles cover the boys’ lips and Brady sighs. “We gotta hit the showers, we don’t have a lot of time left before we have to be on the bus.”
“Go. I’ll text you.”
With that, they hang up and we drop against the cushions.
I call my dad to fill him in on the little I found out, and he says he just spoke with the hospital, but to no avail. Cameron and I spend the next several hours pacing, heating and reheating food after allowing it to get cold all over again.