Brooke Diamond was in a business meeting when her phone rang.
She glanced at the caller ID, though she had to do a double take once she saw the number.
"Excuse me, I need to take this," she said, getting out of her chair and walking out of the room without even a backward glance at the poor young woman presenting.
Once the door had closed behind her she quickly swiped the screen to answer. "Hello?"
"Mom?!" James' panicked voice came through the speakers. Brooke could hear the tears in his voice.
"Hello Brooke? This is the Little Marais Police Department," another voice – this time a woman's – cut in before Brooke could answer. "My name is Susan. Mrs. Diamond it seems that James' car has malfunctioned. He is currently going down the interstate at a rapidly increasing speed without working breaks." The woman said, and Brooke felt the breath leave her lungs.
James was panicking.
Actually, that was a nice way to put it. He was about to just burst out in tears and start screaming. He didn't normally pray, but he had a jumble of prayers and /'oh fuck'/s all tumbling around in his head.
"James are you still there?" Susan asked, her voice staticky from his car's speaker.
"Yeah," he replied, voice shaking uncontrollably. He hated to sound like a terrified little boy, but /fuck/ he was scared!
"Jamie baby?! What's going on? Are there a lot of people on the road?" His mom's terrified voice came through.
James gulped. "Umm... T-the car wo-won't slow down. An-and there's not that many p-people," James answered. "I'm scared Mom," he whispered as the tears started to flow.
"James, what is the speed of your car right now?" Susan asked. James glanced down, almost terrified of taking his eyes off the road.
"Almost eighty five and still increasing," he said. He was so terrified he thought his heart was about to burst.
"Is there a concrete barrier next to you?" She inquired.
"Yeah," James answered, not really understanding where this was going. Didn't she understand he was in a rapidly increasing death trap?!
"I want you to make the side of the car drag along that to try and slow it down, okay? And if there's a grassy slope I want you to aim for that. Try to see if you can get it to roll." She instructed.
Brooke gasped. "Baby, I want you to be careful okay? I love you. If we loose connection I want you to call me ASAP, okay sweetheart?" Brooke asked.
James nodded, forgetting she couldn't see him. "Yeah, Mom. I love you too," he replied. He let out a terrified sob and let the side of the car skid across the barrier at nearly ninety miles per hour.
The noise was horrible. It make a terrible screeching noise and the car was barely slowing down at all. The Diamonds had never been super religious, but James was now crossing his heart and praying to God that he wouldn't die at the ripe old age of sixteen. He could see the barrier coming to an end and she a grassy slope that lead to the median. With one final pull of the wheel, he flipped the car.
Brooke sobbed as she heard the crunch of metal, a potential scream from James, and static before the line went dead. She went limp in her desk chair and stared at the phone in her shaking hand, not caring that her mascara was running and her eye liner was smeared.
"Brooke?" A voice asked from her doorway. She glanced up to see Donna, one of her best friends standing there. "Is everything okay?" She asked.
Brooke burst into tears, still waiting, hoping, praying for her phone to ring and tell her that her baby is okay. "No," she sobbed, covering her mouth with one hand and still staring at her phone with big blue raccoon eyes.
Donna walked over to her and set put a hand on her shoulder. "What happened?" She asked, brown eyes searching for a way to make everything better. She was loyal and caring to a fault, and that's why she loved her.
Brooke was about to answer when her phone finally rang, this time showing James' caller ID with a picture of him smiling happily at her. She swiftly swiped to answer and lifted her phone to her ear. "James?" She asked tearfully.
The person who answered was not James, and her heart sank. "Brooke? This is Jennifer Knight. Kendall and I were driving by and we saw James' car flip and called the paramedics and thought we'd help in any way we could. His car was upside down but we were able to get him out. He's hysterical right now and Kendall is trying to calm him down, but other than some bruising and a possibly sprained wrist, he seems to be fine. A little shaken up, but he's okay. He said we needed to call you."
Brooke let out the breath she had unknowingly been holding. "Oh Jennifer! Thank you so much! Oh my God thank you! What hospital will he be at, do you know? I have to see him!"
Jennifer cut off her rambling. "He's going to be taken to St. Luke's. Meet us there and we can fill each other in, okay Brookie?" Jennifer asked, using Brooke's old nickname.
Brooke sighed in relief again. "Yes. Okay. Thank you so much Jen!" Brooke replied, before hanging up and looking at Donna. "I have to get to St. Luke's," she sniffled, digging through her purse for her keys.
"Brooke you're crazy if you think I'm letting you drive. Now, let's get you some tissues, get into my car, and I'll drive," she said, helping Brooke gather her things.
It took them twenty minutes to get to the hospital. When they arrived they were met with a red eyed Kendall in the waiting room.
"Mom went back there with him," he explained, seeing Brooke's terrified expression. "They're going to x-ray his wrist and check for a concussion, but then we can go see him."
It took thirty minutes for the doctors to come out and say they could go see him, but if felt like three eternities to Brooke. Donna and Kendall never once asked what happened. Probably because Kendall sort of already knew and Donna somehow knew everything (or she knew she'd find out soon enough).
The doctor led them to a hospital room where James was sitting up, now supporting a green cast, and leaning on Jen, who was gently stroking his hair and soothing him while he hiccupped with tears still streaming down his cheeks. They looked up when the door opened.
"Mom," James choked out, sitting up and reaching out his arms. Brooke rushed over and practically mauled him over, but James didn't mind. He didn't think he'd live long enough to see her again, much less get hugged by her.
"So he has a sprained wrist, a minor concussion, and some severe bruising from the seat belt. However, he should be fully healed in about six to eight weeks," the doctor said. "I'll prescribe some mild pain killers, and some sleeping pills, just in case. Come back in a few weeks so we can monitor your progress, and I'll go get your discharge papers." He headed out of the room, and James nearly started sobbing again.
He buried his face in his mom's neck and tried to slow his rapidly beating heart. The adrenaline was starting to wear off, leaving him breathless and exhausted. As he started to drift off, Brooke started filling everyone in what had happened.
"Oh my god," Donna breathed. "That's why you left the meeting. Oh my god." Brooke smiled a little at her. "Yes, that's why. I'm pretty sure the police don't call you for anything other than major problems," she pointed out.
"I was so scared," she whispered, looking down at her son's face. "I thought I was going to lose him. What would I do without him?" She asked, pulling him closer to her and her bottom lip starting to tremble.
"Hey, none of that now," Jennifer lightly scolded. "He's fine now, and he's alive. That's all that matters."
Brooke nodded, and kissed the top of his head. She never wanted to go through that again. He probably never wanted to drive, or even get in another car ever again, but she was definitely getting him a car that wasn't completely computerized after this. A high tech car was not worth having to worry about her baby whenever he drives.
Brooke hummed and continued stroking James' hair, hoping to sooth the nightmares and memories away. "I love you James," she whispered. "So, so much. I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always. As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be," she whispered.
Alright! So this was inspired by a true story. My neighbors' friends' son was driving home from school and his car wouldn't slow down. I don't know the specifics, but I do know that he was on the phone with 911, who was on the phone with his mom. He also used the median to slow down the car and then rolled it to get it to stop. Except he walked away without a scratch. I just can't resist a little James hurt! :P
So, little bit of Kames in here. I'm sorry. I couldn't resist.
Also, Brooke and James don't really have many of their own stories. It's kinda sad really. :'(
I don't own anything except Susan. Even Donna belongs to someone else. The creator of Suits. And the end quote isn't mine either.
Let me know what you think! I love getting reviews! And I'm sorry it's been so long since I've written anything! I love you all!
~ Nikki