Yes. Chapter two! I got a few very lovely reviews which I'd like to reply to and give a little shout-out to as well! :D Thanks to everybody who has read the first prologue/chapter and special thanks to those who took the time to review and/or add this story to their 'update' notifications and/or favourites!

matthewsbj: I feel the same way. And your sense of Kirsten's wrath, might be on point ;-)

Linneagb: Sanford ;-) thanks for the catch. I'm no native speaker (but I should've noticed this!) I'll keep a closer eye on that! And the 'Francis' middle name, that just never really felt good to me. Therefor I changed it, haha. (Really hated Frank *frownyface*)

Guest (whomever you are): Thank you very much for the compliments on my storytelling, it means a lot! More coming right up! Enjoy!


Ryan had spotted Kirsten and Seth at the stands, and after receiving very out-there waves of spotting him on the field. Ryan had shyly waved back. He was wondering where Sandy was- before he shook himself. At least someone came, even better both your brother and you mot-… Kirsten came. Stop whining, Ryan. Ryan thought as he had to focus on the game- looking over the opposite team Ryan swallowed a bit nervous. He'd heard all the rumors but hearing about it and seeing them was completely different. Now Ryan, in all his 5'8" glory wasn't persé short, he was already used to Luke's 5'11" tall frame… but the guys from the other team were massive. Not only did they all practically have football player physiques but they were all above 6 feet.

"Damn." He muttered.

"Yeah, told you." Luke commented during their stretching and warm ups.

Hearing a whistle followed by a harsh, "Alright- ladies!" Luke and Ryan turned towards their coach.

"You know the drill, kids! I want to go hard and fast from the get-go till the end. These mutants are large, but that also gives them disadvantage; they're slower. Use your speed- Atwood, Ward- I want you both on the offense. Keep an eye on your fellow players; make sure to leave no openings. Sanders! You better not let one ball slip past those beams, you hear me!"

"Yes coach!" The ream replied- and they were off.


It was half time, Ryan had already scored one goal - on his way back to the locker rooms he glanced once more up at the stands, still only spotting Kirsten and Seth. Kirsten caught him starring and gave him an enthusiast thumbs up- to which he replied with a shy smile and quickly looked away- embarrassed that such a little gesture could behold such strength. Again though, no Sandy. It shouldn't hurt this much for Sandy to be missing, it wasn't even that much of an important game. Well, it was- if they didn't win this one, they weren't going to the finals.

"Yo- Chino. Come-on, coach wants us in side." Luke yelled at Ryan who was walking a bit aimlessly.

"Coming!"


Kirsten checked her phone again, no message, no missed calls. Damn it, Sandy.

"Nothing from dad, yet?" Seth asked curious. Kirsten shook her head, "No, I know he had an important meeting today. He must be caught up."

"He'd better be." Seth muttered annoyed with his father.

Kirsten glared at her son, "Seth!"

"What? Not like you feel the same way too. You've checked your phone like a hundred times already. Dad should be here! This game is important to Ryan… we're here! I hate sports, I hate sitting in these stands, I hate that this game takes up over an hour of my precious time, I hate anything related to school… I could be with Summer right now. But I'm here, supporting my brother- because for the first time, he's enjoying himself and engaging with us more. Dad should be here! He's the only Cohen that even has the slightest of clues of what is going on—all we're doing is cheering Ryan on; whether he's doing something good or not, because we have no clue."

Hearing Seth rant, Kirsten couldn't help but agree. Sandy should be here. No matter what was going on at work; if you couldn't make just a bit of time for your children… especially the kid that never asks for anything. "I know, Seth. But unfortunately, I can't change it right now. At least we're here. But let me assure you- I will have a talk with your father as soon as I see him." Kirsten replied. I guarantee you that. She added in thought.


Almost at the end of the game, it all came crashing down – literally. It happened so fast. Like the coach had said, their speed was their advantage. And if Ryan's history had any positive outcome, it had been his ability to run fast. Together with Luke at the front of the team, both strikers - whose job it was to score goals – they were pretty agile and quick on their feet. Unfortunately, as the game continued and Newport was winning with 2 – 0, the other team became agitated and started to actively attack at random. Luke was gaining speed with the ball at his feet, when he was attacked and pushed over. He lost the ball and his footing and started yelling at the other player- who was smirking- the asshole. Luckily the referee had seen it and gave the other player a reprimand and a yellow card. Ryan helped Luke to his feet, who tested his already weak ankle (which was luckily already in a supportive brace) and nodded towards Ryan, that he was good to go. "Come on." Ryan said, "Only 15 more minutes on the clock. We've got this- purely defense should be enough."

Luke nodded and they continued. Luke kicked the ball towards the middle of their team, who then passed it back to Luke. Getting corned once again by the other team, Luke spotted that Ryan was open and gave the ball a hefty kick, Ryan went for the ball and just as he received it and went to kick it towards the goal- Ryan got smashed by another player and he went down. His right leg took the brunt of the attack and it was slammed from the inside into the ground, within nano-seconds Ryan knew he couldn't catch himself with his arms (to prevent injuries- he'd been there; his arm was not breaking today) so he let himself be slammed into the hard ground and it took his breath away.

Ryan could hear a loud whistle, but it felt like ages before he could focus on what was going on around him.

"twood? Atwood? You alright?" The coach's voice was heard. Ryan nodded and tried to get up, not wanting any attention on himself. But immediately he was pushed back down by his shoulders. Lying on the grass, his vision started to clear and he glanced at a few of his team- including Luke and his coach – surround him. "Don't get up just yet Atwood, you took a nasty spill."

Grunting and taking a deep breath, Ryan replied. "I'm fine."

"You don't sound fine." Luke's voice suddenly tuned up.

Ryan glared at him. "Don't give me that look, Chino. I heard something pop." Luke replied.

The coach reached out a hand towards Ryan, "Think you can get up, Atwood?" Ryan nodded and took the coach his hand, he leveled himself up but immediately noticed something wasn't right with his right leg. He put all his weight on his left and hopped a bit, trying to keep his right leg elevated and off the ground, before he grunted out in pain. "Hold up." He could hear the coach say as suddenly another pair of arms helped him relieve some weight so that he could manage to hop towards the side lines. Once there, he was helped to sit down on a bench.

"What's hurting, Mr. Atwood?" A sudden female voice – school nurse – asked.


Kirsten and Seth were both frozen to their seats as they watched Ryan being slammed into the ground.

"Oh my god." Seth replied in shock as he continued to stare. "He's alright, isn't he? He's not getting up mom."

Kirsten had clutched onto her son's hand, "I think the coach is checking him."

"He's not getting up, mom." Seth replied a bit more frantic.

"Seth, keep your calm. Watch- Ryan's communicating. The coach is just taking precautions, see? He's getting up." Kirsten replied as she tried to convince Seth, whilst also trying to calm herself. She didn't want to run down like an overbearing mother, if nothing bad had happened. She didn't want to embarrass Ryan."

"oh yeah…" Seth replied, followed by an "oh no", as Ryan was suddenly supported by Luke and his coach.

"We need to get down there!" Kirsten said in a panic as she started to move, followed by Seth.


"uh—my right leg. Something doesn't feel right." Ryan replied, whilst subconsciously bracing his ribs with his left arm.

"Alright- I need some room people." The nurse asked as she lowered herself down to take a look at Ryan's leg. She carefully moved his shorts more upwards Ryan's thigh, before examining Ryan's knee. It seemed to be swelling, but she wasn't too sure. "Ryan, I'm going to remove your shin guard, ok? Just don't move until I say so. As soon as she moved the sock just a bit, she could see the indentation of the sock's elastic- yep, there was definitely something swelling alright.

"Alright Ryan. You've definitely sprained something, if the boys would be so kind to escort you to my hut. I can splint your leg and get you to a doctor, is your family here? Or do I need to call an ambulance?"

"Ryan?" Kirsten's concerned voice ran out – perfectly timed.

"I guess that answers my question." The nurse replied with a kind smile as she let the guardian of the child through.

"Ryan, everything ok?" Kirsten asked concerned as she look at Ryan, then at his leg and then at the nurse- knowing information would be coming from her.

"I'm fine." Ryan replied quickly- earning himself a shake of the head from the nurse.

"Mrs. Cohen- Ryan seems to at least have some sort of sprain; but I can't be too sure about the actual damage. We're going to move Ryan to my hut, stabilize his leg and then you can either drive him towards his GP or the hospital – at the mention of a hospital Ryan's head shot up towards the nurse; it couldn't be that bad, could it?


Once Ryan was helped towards the hut and onto the massage table, the nurse quickly got to work and started an emergency splint the entire length of his leg, to stabilize any injury that might be there. Luke then helped Ryan to hobble his way towards the Range Rover.

"Do you want to sit in the back or…" Kirsten asked not really sure what to do.

"The front." Ryan asked as he leaned over to push the chair all the way back. With some grunts and troubles with his now splinted leg, he was finally seated- he took a couple of deep breaths and winced; once again bracing his ribcage.

"Thank you, Luke." Kirsten said grateful as she and Seth also got in the car.

"No problem." Luke replied before turning towards Ryan, "Text me later, alright?"

Ryan nodded, "Yeah man."

"Good luck, man. I hope it's not too bad."

"Yeah…" Ryan replied as he had the door closed. He then turned towards Kirsten, "No hospital."

Kirsten looked at Ryan for a moment, figuring that with his background it might not have the happiest of memories, but recalling the conversation with the school nurse told her to absolutely forgo Ryan's GP and go straight to the emergency room.

"Ryan, you heard the nurse. You could've really injured something, we could drive to Dr. Adams, but he'd probably need an x-ray or something to see what's going on and then we'd still have to drive to the hospital. I'd say one quick stop- a thorough examination – and we'd be home in no time." Kirsten replied.

Ryan was a smart boy- he knew Kirsten was right; and the pain in his leg was only increasing. He'd never felt this sort of pain before. "Yeah, ok. Where's Sandy?" He asked as he reached for the belt.

Kirsten frowned but answered as truthful as she could, "Sorry honey, he's still at work- he was hoping to make it; but probably got stuck with a client."

Ryan stared at her for a little while, before staring out the window. "Oh." He muttered, lost in thought. If they were going to the hospital, he really wanted Sandy to be there.


*giddydance* Let me know what you think!