Chapter 11 - Tyler

“Knock, knock!” I said from the door.

Mack’s head turned towards us, and he gave us a weak smile. Gone was the confident and strong coach. In his place was a man who was on the verge of going over the edge. His usually tidy, short, light brown hair was in disarray, probably from pulling at it. Always clean shaven, he had more than a five o’clock shadow growing on his face. His eyes weren’t their normal bright blue but seemed like a dull gray. My heart broke for my former coach and friend.

“Thank you so much for coming, guys. It means so much to me.” He stood up and greeted me with a hug.

“Of course! How are you?” I asked and then mentally slapped myself. Of course, he wasn’t okay.

“I’ve been better, and I’ve been worse,” Mack answered with a shrug. “Anderson! Thanks for coming.” He hugged Dominic.

“I hope you’re hungry,” Dom said as he held up the big take out bag we had picked up on our way to the hospital.

“I’m starving and sick of hospital food already. Please, tell me there is fried chicken in there!”

“Only the best fried chicken from The Hen Hut!”

“You guys are the best,” Mack said and turned to my wife. “Wow, Molly! You are huge!”

Molly laughed and gave him a big hug. “I am so, so sorry about Ashleigh. I didn’t know her well, but she was always so nice and welcoming!”

Mack sighed deeply and just nodded. “I miss her. It still doesn’t feel real.”

“Mack, this is my sister, Emma,” Dominic introduced his sister.

“Nice to meet you,” Mack said, shaking her hand and then pointing his chin at Dominic. “How is someone so beautiful related to this ugly mug?”

“I was adopted,” Emma said with a laugh. At Mack’s shocked expression, she added, “For real.”

“No kidding, really?” Mack asked.

“Really,” Dom said. “You’ve missed a lot.”

“What did I miss?” Mack asked as we all sat around Nico’s bed in hospital chairs or on the couch.

“You have other things to worry about, Mack,” I said. “We can fill you in later.”

“Nico’s going to be asleep for a while, and I could use something to distract me for a bit.”

We told him all about how Molly had surprised me and missed the tornado because she wanted to tell me about the twins. He was super excited for us. We let him know that everyone knew that we were married now. Dominic couldn’t believe Mack had known the whole time and didn’t tell anyone. I told Dom I had to tell the front office to get Molly added to our insurance. Mack was relieved to not have to keep the secret anymore. Dominic told the story about how he and Molly were siblings. Mack was shocked and said, “What are the odds of that happening?”

“Probably as crazy of the odds that Ty and I met as kids and then met again as adults and didn”t realize it until later.”

“Girl, you should play the lottery!” Emma said to Molly with a laugh.

“I’ve got my dream guy, we have twins on the way, and I have a brother. I couldn’t ask for anything else, except for maybe my bakery to be rebuilt quickly,” Molly said and then covered her mouth in embarrassment. “I am so sorry, Mack. Here I am worried about my bakery after you lost your wife and your son is fighting for his life.”

Mack just shrugged her comment off, “I want the best for you all. I’ve just hit a bad patch. I just want my son to be okay.”

“How do you feel about cats?” Molly asked as she walked over to his hospital bed.

“That’s a random question,” Mack said.

Molly had to laugh and explained about the kittens that Camden and Peyton found with my mom. “They want Nico to have one if you say it’s okay. They really want to cheer him up. We’re going to go see about possibly adopting one ourselves.”

“I’ve never really had pets. Ashleigh was OCD about keeping a super clean house and said animals just added to the mess. I will definitely think about it. He might really need to be cheered up, and a kitten might just do the trick.”

“How is Nico doing?” Dominic asked. “I can’t believe he’s been asleep this whole time.”

“He actually woke up a few hours ago,” Mack said but without the excitement you might expect. “They actually had to sedate him because he was freaking out. He kept grabbing his head, screaming, and looking around. He calmed down for a few minutes when he saw me and hugged me tightly, but when the nurses and doctors took him from me to check him over, he got irate again and wouldn’t stop thrashing around. They were worried about him hurting himself. They took him in for a CT scan to see if maybe he suffered some brain damage. The results can take anywhere from 24-48 hours to come back.”

“Oh, poor sweet boy.” Molly said as she took one of his hands in hers. “He had to be so scared.”

“What happens if it’s brain damage?” I asked.

Mack shrugged. “We figure out how bad it is and how our lives are going to change. I’ll do whatever he needs.”

“How long will he be sedated for?” Dom asked.

“We gave Nico a low dose so he could wake up anywhere from 4-10 hours after,” a nurse explained as she came into the room. She plugged numbers and other information into the tablet she was carrying.

“Have you left his side at all?” Emma asked, even though we already knew the answer.

“I don’t want him to wake up and for me to not be here.”

“Well, he knows Ty and me from when he’d come to practices. Take a break, Mack,” Dominic said.

“Yeah,” I agreed. “You need a shower and maybe a nap in a real bed.”

“I would feel bad that you guys came all this way. I can’t just leave and take a shower.”

“We offered!” Dominic said.

“And you stink, man,” I added with a chuckle.

“You know, there is a shower in the bathroom that you can use,” the nurse suggested. “This is a double room, and there is no one using the other bed. If you want to take a nap in that bed, while your friends watch your son, I will change the sheets myself.”

“And you won’t be far. If he wakes up, we’ll wake you up,” Molly said.

“Are you sure?” he asked the nurse.

“Go,” she said. “It’s a benefit to me, so I don’t have to smell you anymore.”

We all laughed, and Mack headed to take a shower.

“I have a card game we can play while we hang out here,” Emma said as she rifled through her huge purse. She brought out the box of the same card game we had played the other night, Apples to Apples. I had a feeling this would be our group”s favorite game!

“Crap, that means Dominic and Molly are going to win. They had some kind of psychic connection when we played this last time,” I said with a groan.

“Yes! You’re right,” Dom said as he smiled over at my wife. “That explains so much.”

“I didn’t think about that either!” Molly exclaimed and hugged her brother. “Let’s kick some butt, bro.”

When visiting hours ended, we left a sleeping Mack and a sleeping Nico as we headed back to Trinity Falls. It was hard to leave them, but only the immediate family could stay after visiting hours. The nurse promised to wake Mack up the minute Nico did, and we trusted her. We then dropped Emma back off at her hotel and visited longer with Dominic’s mom and brother. There was a teary goodbye, and Molly felt that although Dominic was her only blood relative, she had found a whole new family. I loved seeing her connect with them, just as she had felt comfortable with my family. They all promised to come visit when Cupcake Curveball had its grand re-opening. Molly shed lots of tears when Jessica said, “Please, let me know when the babies are born. I want to come visit. I know they aren’t technically my grandbabies, but maybe I could be an honorary grandma.” Molly, of course, loved that idea.

Dominic had to leave the next day for a few away games, so we dropped him off at the dorms. Molly and Dom gave each other a lengthy goodbye hug, and I could already see their connection building. I was glad she would have him to look after her when I wasn’t around all the time. I had to laugh to myself at the memory from the hospital earlier tonight. When Molly and Emma had gone off in search of some coffee, Dom had given me the “big brother” talk about how I had to treat his little sister with respect or he’d kick my but. Considering I was over half a foot taller than him, Mack and I both had a good laugh.

“What are you chuckling at over there, Ty?” Molly asked as she got back in the car.”

“Your brother gave me the “big bro” talk about how I’d better be good to you.”

Molly gave me a huge grin and put her hand over her heart. “I have an older, protective brother! Just what I always wanted.”

I just laughed and shook my head. “Who is half a foot shorter than the guy he threatened.”

“I don’t care. I have a brother who is protective of me, and I just love him. Oh, man! Is it too early to love my brother? Is it okay that I told you before I told him? This is all new territory for me.” She pulled her car out of the dorm’s parking lot and back onto the road.

“I don’t know if there is a rule book. I think it’s great that you love your brother and that he’s going to be here for you.”

“Did you know he loves to make sandwiches? He loves experimenting with different meats, cheeses, toppings, etc., to make them gourmet and exciting. I do the same with some of my baked goods! It’s so cool how we have that in common!”

“You know what? Now that you mention it, I had a sandwich at lunch once before a game and remember it being an odd combination. I didn’t even know who had made it, but I was told it was nut-free, so I dug it. It was grilled cheese with pepper jack cheese, pickles, barbecue sauce, and a fried egg. It was one of the best sandwiches I had ever had.”

“That sounds disgusting and messy,” Molly said with a giggle. “But I bet it was good since Dom made it.”