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The One with the Chocolate Milkshakes

Elliot

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"Elliot, I'm open!"

As soon as I see Trevor unguarded, I pass the ball to him and he catches it easily. As we all run down the court, he passes it back to me and I've got a pretty clear shot. "Go for it, Elliot!" The go-ahead from my couch prompts me to shoot the ball in what I'm pretty sure will be a good basket.

As soon as I'm in the air, the biggest guy on our team (and probably in the entire fifth grade) bumps me and suddenly I'm on the floor. I don't feel it at first, but I start to notice everyone in the gym—including all the guys on my team and my two coaches—rushing over to me.

My coach tells the assistant coach to call 911, and I think there's a lot of blood because I feel like my arm is sitting in a pile of liquid. "Elliot, we're calling the doctors," Coach Alterman promises me. "They're gonna come, okay? Can you move your arm?"

I try, and that's when I realize that something is very wrong. My arm screams in pain and I have to try really hard not to cry. "It hurts bad," I'm able to get out. "Really bad."

"Okay, buddy, the ambulance is on its way. They're close; it won't be long. Can you give me your dad's phone number?"

I shake my head, or at least I try to. "He won't answer. He's at work. Call my sister." I give him Jade's number (she made me memorize it as soon as I could talk), and Trevor and Leo help me sit up.

"I broke my arm too, once," Leo tells me. "Just try not to move it."

"Elliot," my coach says, temporarily taking my attention away from my stinging arm. "Your sister isn't answering. We've called a few times, and I left a message. Who else can we call?"

"Beck," I say immediately, following up with his number.

"Hello?" My coach speaks into the phone, and I know Beck had answered. "This is Mark Alterman, Elliot's coach...Yes, exactly...We called her, but...Ah, okay...Anyhow, were doing a scrimmage during practice today, and Elliot got hurt...He's okay, yeah, but he might have a broken arm...The EMTs are on their way to get him now, so if...Yep, that would be great...Okay, we'll see you at Memorial."

By the time he's hung up, the truck is here to get me and some paramedics help me onto a little bed and into the back of the ambulance. The assistant coach is staying with the rest of my team, and all the guys wish me luck as Coach Alterman and I head off to Memorial. "Your sister has some kind of rehearsal or something, so I guess she doesn't have her phone."

"Yeah," I say, wincing in pain as one of the doctors starts to wrap my arm. "I forgot about that. Is Beck meeting us there?"

"He's already on his way," Coach Alterman says with a smile. "You'll be okay. You're a tough kid, I've gotta say."

By the time we get to the emergency room, Beck is walking in to meet us. "Hey, El," he says, looking relieved to see me. "I bet this hurts pretty bad, huh?"

"Uh huh," I answer. "Thanks for coming."

"You know I wouldn't be anywhere else," he says, smiling and pushing some of my hair out of my forehead. "Jade is going to freak when she gets the messages after rehearsal. I texted her to meet us here, but I made sure she knew you were okay."

Before I can do anything but laugh, a guy in blue scrubs comes up to us and introduces himself as Dr. Johnson. Beck shakes the guy's hand and, when asked what his relationship to me is, tells the guy that he's my brother-in-law. Dr. Johnson doesn't seem to have any problem with this, and proceeds to ask for Beck's approval to take me in for an X-Ray.

"Of course," he answers.

"Can Beck be in the room with me while I get it?" I don't want to be a baby, but I also don't want to be alone when I have to get the test done.

"Sure thing," Dr. Johnson tells me. "Give us a few minutes to get the room and machine prepped, and I'll be back to get you shortly."

Beck thanks the guy and then sits on the edge of the hospital bed I'm laying on. "Are those painkillers kicking in yet?"

"Yeah, my arm feels really fuzzy. I'm kinda hungry; can we get dinner after this?"

He laughs and nods his head. "Definitely. I say we do In-N-Out so we can get chocolate milkshakes. Yes or yes?"

"Yes!" This is why I love Beck. He likes all the same food as me, and he doesn't treat me like a baby by constantly asking me if I'm okay. He just wants to talk about what we're getting for dinner. I like that. And he also makes really good eggs and bacon, but I guess that's beside the point.

The X-Ray results show that I have a single fracture, which I guess is the best kind because the bone is only broken in one place. Dr. Johnson takes me and Beck into a little room, where we'll wait for a few minutes before I get my cast. We've just sat down when Jade appears in the doorway. She slows down as soon as she gets to the door, and she looks really out-of-breath.

I watch as she sets a quick hand on Beck's shoulder before moving over to me. "Elliot," she says, and I can tell she's been crying at least a little bit. It's weird to see because I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen my sister cry, but I don't mention it to her now. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," I promise and I smile at her. "My bone is only broken in one place, and I get to pick the color of my cast."

"Okay," she says, taking a few deep breaths. "I'm so sorry that I didn't answer. You have no idea how sorry I am."

"Don't be sorry. Beck was here, and he said we could get chocolate milkshakes at In-N-Out when I'm done." This makes her smile, and she hugs me for longer than usual before standing up again and walking over to Beck.

"Thank you," she sighs, and then he pulls her in for a hug. She's facing away from me so I can't tell for sure, but I think she might be crying just a little bit.

"Everything's okay," I hear Beck whisper to her after a while. He smiles at me over her shoulder and she stays standing in his arms. He's running his hand through her long hair; I think I've seen him do that to her before. It's not an easy task to calm Jade down, but if there's one person who can do it over and over without fail, it's Beck.

I know Jade is grateful that Beck was able to be here with me when she wasn't, but I guess it never crossed my mind that Beck wouldn't come. He wasn't exactly being totally honest when he told Dr. Johnson that he's my brother-in-law, but I think he still kind of counts as one. He feels like my brother, that's for sure.

And besides, he's taking me to get burgers and shakes after this. What else are brothers for?

I've written a few of these little one-shots. Let me know if you'd be interested in reading more of Beck and Jade with Elliot.