7. Lennon's POV

Lennon looked at Danny sitting on the other side of his father, the boy was already sleeping. His eye lashes closed against each other.

His father kissed his head, “ sleep Lennon, I’ll wake you when we get to the hospital…”, his father told him.

Lennon sighed, his eyes already felt heavy though, so he closed his eyes and allowed sleep engulf him.

The next time he woke up, he was in his father’s arms. He looked around, noticing that his father was already walking down the hallway of the hospital. He sighed, he had been sleeping and had not noticed that they had gotten to the hospital, it was already evening outside.

“ you’re awake?...”, his father noted.

Lennon hummed, allowing his father to readjust him so he was no longer carrying him bridal style. He looked over his father’s shoulders expecting to see Danny, but it was just the nurses and doctors in the hospital.

His father must have sensed what was happening because he answered his unasked question.

“ Your uncle Chase, went home with Danny. He was still sleeping…”, his father told him.

He hummed in response, dreading when they would get to his aunt, Brianna’s office. It didn’t take long for them though, because the next thing he saw was his father knocking and entering his aunt, Brianna’s office.

Lennon had been in the office before, so he knew it was her office.

“ Jacob…how was the game?”, he heard her voice first before turning around to see her.

“ Good evening aunt Bree…”, he muttered as his father placed him on the bed in the office.

“ you just don’t stay away from danger do you…”, she said, coming up to him.

“ …and you think it’s a good thing to allow him play the game. He’s already hurting himself at this age,” she told his father.

His father scoffed, “ if that’s what he wants, let him do it. I can’t stop him if he wants to play ball Brianna…”, he said.

Lennon would have kissed his father at that moment if not for the fact that she would have smacked him for listening to their conversation even though he was in the room.

“ Whatever you say Jacob, let’s check the leg…”, she muttered, looking at his ankle.

The door opened slightly and a ball of blond hair rushed into the room. Liam smiled at him when he saw him sitting on the bed.

“ Aww… you’re injured again…”, Liam said, climbing the bed and sitting next to him.

If there was any good thing that came out from this hospital visit, it was the fact that he got to see Liam. The kid was a year older than him, but that does not stop them from being friends, though Liam was more like an elder brother to him and Danny than he was a friend. 

Liam was uncle Aiden and aunt Brianna’s only son, And his father’s godson, plus Danny’s second cousin. They were close since they all grew up together and even lived close together, played ball on the same team and attended the same middle school.

Lennon pouted, “ it was an accident!”, he defended himself immediately.

Liam shook his head, “ I see… it simply means you won’t play for another month again…”, he said.

His father sighed, excusing himself from the room. Len groaned, he was already preparing to join in the game next week but now, he had sprained his ankle, another injury that would put him on the bench for another month, he sighed.

“ if it were up to me, he wouldn’t play again…”, aunt Bree said.

Liam gasped, “ mom!, He must play, he’s a Shepherd,” he exclaimed.

Brianna shook her head as she continued to treat him. She rubbed something that felt hot on his skin and went ahead to start wrapping his ankle with a bandage. His injury was not that serious that he couldn’t walk, he only felt pain when he was gripped.

Liam patted his shoulder in comfort, he couldn’t wait to play ball again. He did not know why all this was happening to him. Maybe it was God’s way of telling him that he shouldn’t play football.

He would sometimes hear stories on the television that a football player resigned because of an injury or something, he didn’t want to be like those players that would resign because of an injury. His father had told him that he could play football if it made him happy and if that’s what he wanted to do, plus Liam and Danny was playing too.

His father came back into the room, carrying a pack of snacks. Lennon smiled, taking the pack from his father and opening it.

“ all done… he shouldn’t move on that leg for at least a week and no playing ball until he’s recovered”, Brianna said.

“ how long before he can go back to the field…”, his father asked, drinking from the bottle of water he brought in.

“ Give or take, one month…”, Brianna told his father.

Lennon sighed, giving a snack to Liam and zoned the adults off when Liam started talking.

“ how was the game?, I heard you and Danny stayed in the VIP section. Dad told me when I couldn’t see you guys in the stadium…”, Liam said.

Lennon scoffed, “ yeah, whatever, everything was going on well until some stupid kid bumped into me causing my injury…”, he complained, remembering the silver haired boy. He was remembering this boy too much, he didn’t know why.

His skin pricked with renewed annoyance, “ he even had the guts to look at Danny like he was a piece of cake…”, he whispered.

Liam raised his eyebrows, probably at his choice of words than what he had meant by the statement. It wasn’t his fault that he learned faster than the average kid his size, Danny’s rate was too fast though, if that was any consolation.

“.. a piece of cake?, He’s a boy Lennon, he was probably surprised that Danny was a bit like him too… I’m sure it’s nothing, besides, you won’t see him again. It was a once in a lifetime encounter…” Liam said.

Lennon nodded, yeah, it was exactly that. He hoped that he wouldn’t see the kid again. His father and aunt Bree must have finished talking because they walked over to where he was.

“ alright kiddo, time to go home and face the wrath of your mother. For your information, she is not happy that you got injured again…”, his father told him.

He winced, that was bad. He was hoping that she would be on one of those her trips, but she was around at home. His father could believe his exaggerated stories, not his mother. She was the strict parent and was scarier that aunt Bree when she was angry.

“ Give me a kiss Liam and tell your father to call me”, his father said, bringing his face closer to Liam who Chuckled, giving him a peck on his cheek.

Jacob smiled, lifting his son into his arms and waving goodbye as he left the room. His father drove them home in his range Rover. Uncle Chase must have taken a cab or called the driver to come pick him and Danny up earlier if the car was still in the hospital.

He saw his home come into view few minutes later and before he knew it, his father was pulling up into their drive way. The front door opened and his mother, Mirabelle Shepherd in all her glory marched towards the car.

“ alright kiddo, here we go…”, his father warned, unbuckling his car seat belt.

His side door opened and his mother quickly did a full body scan on him. Maybe checking if he had other injuries aside the obvious one on his ankle.

She sighed, reaching to pick him up. He wondered when they would stop carrying him. He was already seven and would be eight in a few months, he was no longer a kid, but right now, he kept his mouth shut instead of intensifying the anger he knew his mother was feeling right now.

“ I don’t know why your attract trouble wherever you go…”, she scolded, kissing his father when he stepped up to her.

“ It’s because he’s my son Mira… you forget how I was when I was his age…”, his father muttered.

His mother shook her head, “ I hope he is not taking after you on that front, because you were so bad…”, she said rolling her eyes as they walked into the house.

“ How about a bath and then dinner before, you know…”, she told him.

He frowned at her, “ okay…”, he said. He was thinking she would give the lecture on how he should protect his body if he wanted to become a player.

He shook his head, yeah, his mother would always be his mother, there would be no changing this woman.

After dinner, he called Danny but the kid didn’t pick up the call after calling for three times. He assumes that he had probably gone to bed. He smiled when he saw a message from Zara in the group chat.

Within seconds, Gabriel responded and others too. He was expecting that maybe Danny would chip in a word or two, but he was silent during the group chat. Even when Sarah asked about him, there was no response.

His room door opened, he grumbled under his breath as he saw his mother. He guessed it was time for those heartfelt lectures of her.

Dropping the phone, he sat up as his mother began. Well, he zoned her off the moment she began.