“What?” her jaw dropped. “You couldn’t tell me this earlier?”
“I didn’t want you to freak out in there,” Theo said.
“Well I’m freaking out now … is he OK? Oh my God, does my mom know?”
“Yeah, I told her already and your dad too … I went to your house first to tell them the news,” he inhaled deeply, “He’s fine …” he touched her hand to calm her down. His eyes focused on the road driving back to her house.
“What happened?”
“It was last practice before summer break and he got tackled a bit too hard … they said he needed knee surgery, it’s very common for athletes to get this type of surgery but it’s a surgery nonetheless,” Theo explained.
“So he’s not coming back for the summer?” she calmed down with a sad look on her face.
“No … he needs to go through therapy after the surgery, his campus is going to provide all the necessary treatment for him until he’s good as new.”
She went quiet after that. Theo glanced at her, “Are you alright?” he squeezed her hand.
She nodded lightly, “I have to call him … why didn’t he tell me this? He could’ve text me or call?”
Theo shrugged, “He didn’t want you to worry too much … he was pretty upset for not being able to come home … you can call him in the morning, we’ll video call him together in the morning, how about that? He’s probably sleeping right now.”
Hazel looked at the clock on the dashboard, it was a little over midnight. “Okay.”
—
When they arrived at her house, they walked into an unusual scene. Claire and Edward were pacing up and down. Edward was on the phone, and Claire was packing.
“Hey honey … did Theo tell you about your brother’s injury?”
“Yeah … what’s going on? What are you guys doing?” Hazel walked in slowly with Theo behind her.
Claire came over and hugged her, “I’m sorry honey … the surgery is the day after tomorrow and we’re booking a hotel room which is so hard to find because it’s so close to summer holiday … we have to leave tomorrow morning.”
She paused for a moment to take it all in, “Oh … for how long?”
“We don’t know … we’ll have to see how it goes, we can’t let him go through this alone, he needs us to sign papers and decide things,” Claire sighed and caressed her daughter’s arm, “Will you be okay by yourself for a while?”
She raised her brows, she couldn’t think of why she wouldn’t be okay, though she wanted to see her brother too. “Can I come with?”
Claire sighed, “I thought about it but … they say it’s not serious but we’ll be at the hospital all day for days to come or maybe even weeks … we can’t drive you back home if you get bored there … we figured it’s better you stay here and keep updated through videocalls … Max will understand.”
It wasn’t the first time she was left home alone, and her mom was probably right, she would be a bother for them at the hospital while they’re concentrating on Max’s recovery. Though her mom didn’t put it that way, but Hazel was smart enough to know what she meant.
“I don’t want you to worry … it’s summer … go have fun with your friends, ask Jan to stay or you can stay at her place … we’re just a phone call away, if there’s anything you need, just call me … I’ve packed some food in the freezer, I’ve ordered some groceries and they’ll send them in the morning … and Theo …” Claire turned to look at him.
Theo looked up at Claire.
“We’ve talked about it … please look after Hazel while we’re gone … keep her out of trouble and check in with us everyday … even if it’s just text, let us know where you guys are and what you’re doing … can I trust you with that?”
“Yes, ma’am …” Theo said.
Hazel looked at Theo in confusion, she didn’t think it was already discussed without her. “Will you be staying here the whole summer?”
Theo pressed his lips together, his hands were in his pockets, “For as long as it’s needed.”
“At least for a couple of weeks … we’ll make new arrangements once we know how it’s gonna go … I don’t want you to cancel your plans for us,” Claire said.
“No … no … it’s fine, really, I’d love to be of help … I was planning to stay for the summer anyways, don’t worry about it,” he reassured her.
A smile bloomed across Claire’s face, “That’s settled then … okay … I better get back to my packing, we’ll be leaving at 8 in the morning, there’s food on the table if you kids want to hang out for a while.”
And with that … Hazel’s summer plan was turned abruptly around, and it would be the summer she will never forget.