Tommy's Coma
"I'm here!" Jason yelled, shutting the door behind him.
"Jason!" Vida exclaimed, darting down the hall.
He laughed, catching her as she jumped at him to give him a hug. Madison wasn't far behind. Both girls started talking at once, telling him about school and their friends and everything they'd been doing.
"Slow down," he said, shaking his head as they tugged him toward the dining room. "And how much could you possibly have done in the past week? I just saw you last Tuesday."
Rolling their eyes, the twins let go as they walked into the dining room. Mr. Rocca was setting the table when they walked in. Setting down the silverware, he turned to give Jason a hug.
"Your mother is in the kitchen," he said. "How are things going?"
"Just great, dad," he said. "These two staying under control?"
Mr. Rocca laughed as Madison and Vida stuck their tongues out at Jason.
"Trouble as usual," he said, smiling at the girls.
"Jason," Mrs. Rocca said, coming out of the kitchen to greet him. "Where's Trini and Mark?"
"Nice to see you, too, mom," he said, hugging her. "Trini took Mark to her parents' this morning. They haven't gotten back yet."
"Oh, ok," she said. "Well, go help your father finish setting the table so we can eat."
Chuckling, Jason turned to do as she asked. Vida and Madison were helping, too. Soon they were all sitting down to dinner. Even though it hadn't been long since Jason's last visit, they spent the first part of lunch catching up and sharing stories about what everyone had been doing. Madison was telling them about something that had happened in class that morning when Jason sighed and reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone. He had glanced at it a few minutes before, but hadn't answered.
"Sorry, Mom," he said when Mrs. Rocca glared at him. "And I don't mean to interrupt you, Maddy. But it's gone off three times already—I need to make sure it isn't an emergency."
Sighing, Mrs. Rocca didn't argue when he stepped away from the table to answer.
"Hey, Hayley," he said. "What's going on?"
Jason froze in the doorway.
"What?" he exclaimed. "He's where? What happened?"
Jason took a deep breath, running a hand over his head as he started pacing. Everyone at the table was watching him now, frowning as they listened to the conversation.
"What is the doctor saying?" he asked. "So they have no idea?...Yeah, I realize that. It's not exactly something you can just explain—Alright, alright. But I'm on my way over there now…Why not?...Hayley, they know me already—Tommy made sure of that, remember? Yes, I do know about that…Fine. I'll wait. But don't call anyone else or—I know, I know. You have no intention of calling anyone else because you don't want to deal with the swarm—Don't let them call Kim! If anyone calls her you won't get rid of anyone for weeks and that's the last thing the kids need in their way."
Confused and concerned, the four at the table watched Jason closely. He took a deep breath.
"Alright," he sighed. "Please call me the minute anything changes…I really just don't understand how it's always him…Mmm hmm…Alright. Call me if they need me…No, I don't have a plan but I'm not going to let something happen to them if Tommy can't be there…No, go ahead. Bye…"
Sighing, he hung up, shaking his head.
"Jason," Mrs. Rocca said. "What's going on?"
He turned to look at them, having forgotten for a few minutes that he was there.
"Just something going on with Tommy," he said, trying to dismiss the conversation. "But I have to go take care of a few things now—"
"Jason Scott!" Mrs. Rocca said sternly. "Don't you take another step toward that door until you tell us what's going on with Tommy. That was not a casual conversation."
"Mom," Jason said.
"Jason," Mr. Rocca said, looking at him expectantly.
"That look shouldn't still affect me," Jason muttered, running a hand over his head. "But it does. I'm twenty-six years old and my dad can still get me with a look…"
Mr. Rocca raised an eyebrow.
"Tommy's in the hospital," Jason said reluctantly. "There was an—accident—in his lab this morning…"
Mrs. Rocca and the twins gasped while Mr. Rocca looked at Jason in surprise.
"Is he alright?" Madison cried, her eyes wide.
Jason shook his head.
"They don't know," he said slowly. "Right now he's in a coma. The doctor told Hayley is brain patterns are erratic. They're doing everything they can to bring him out of it, but they've had no success so far."
"What kind of accident was it?" Mrs. Rocca asked, a hand to her mouth.
Jason hesitated.
"I can't give you all the details," he said. "All I know for sure is he was working with a machine and something backfired."
"But he has to be ok," Vida insisted. "He's supposed to come for a visit soon because he missed our belt testing."
"He promised," Madison added.
"I know," Jason said.
"How long has he been in the coma?" Mr. Rocca frowned.
"Since this morning," Jason answered. "Hayley hasn't had a chance to call because she was getting him to the hospital, waiting for the doctor, and then the kids—well, she finally got a chance to call me…"
"Kids?" Mrs. Rocca said in confusion.
Jason shook his head.
"Just a few of his students," he said. "They were with him when the—project—backfired. Hayley's been trying to keep them calmed down and everything under control. But the point is he's been out for several hours now with no sign of waking up…And the longer he stays in the coma—"
"The less likely he is to wake up," Mr. Rocca finished grimly.
Madison burst into tears. Vida wasn't crying yet, but she was close to tears. Jason held out his arms and they both hurried over to hug him. He held them close for a moment. Mr. and Mrs. Rocca were both on their feet now, lunch officially interrupted.
"I'll go pack," Mrs. Rocca said, starting to head toward the stairs.
"And I'll get the car," Mr. Rocca said.
"Whoa, wait a minute," Jason said, letting go of his sisters and moving to intercept his mother. "You can't go there."
"Why not?" Mrs. Rocca frowned. "Tommy is in the hospital in a coma, Jason. If there's a chance that he'll—well, we should be there."
"Mom, you can't," he said again. "First of all, they're not allowing him to have visitors right now. Second of all, there's currently a monster rampaging through Reefside."
"And there were monsters here in Angel Grove all the time when you were in high school," Mr. Rocca said, raising an eyebrow. "And we can sit in the waiting room until he's allowed visitors."
"No," Jason said again, shaking his head. "I know Tommy and he wouldn't want all of us moping around waiting for him to wake up. Hayley promised to call the minute she has any updates. Alright?"
His parents weren't happy, but they nodded. Jason took a deep breath.
"Thank you," he said. "Now I've gotta go. I need to figure out what I'm going to tell Trini—and the Olivers…"
He sighed, running a hand over his head again.
"What am I going to tell the Olivers?" he muttered. "Oh! Mom, dad—why don't you pack up lunch and go over to the Olivers' house to wait for news? I'm sure they'll need the company and I doubt they'll be up for making anything themselves."
"We can do that," Mrs. Rocca said quickly, glancing at her husband.
"Great," Jason said, heading for the door. "I'm heading over there now—don't know if I'll still be there when you get there, but I'll let them know what's going on."
Pausing, he looked at Madison and Vida. Both were still visibly upset. Madison was sniffling and crying a little while Vida was trying not to do the same thing.
"He'll be alright," Jason said, giving them a faint smile. "Tommy's pulled out of a lot of things before—he has a way of surprising us when it seems least likely."
They nodded and gave him another hug before he left. As soon as Jason was gone, the house exploded into motion. Mrs. Rocca shooed the girls up the stairs to get ready to leave while she packed up the food. Within twenty minutes they were all in the car and on their way over to the Olivers' house. When they got there, Jason was already gone but Mr. Oliver met them at the door. His face was grave as he greeted them, thanking the Roccas for coming over. Mrs. Oliver was crying in the living room, still wanting to go running to Reefside. But Jason had convinced them to at least wait until the monster was gone. The rest of the afternoon was spent waiting for a phone call with the TV on so they would know when the monster was gone. By late that evening, however, there was still no news from Tommy. They did see on the news that the power rangers had gotten rid of the monster, but by that time it was too late to head to Reefside. The hospital wouldn't be allowing visitors even if Tommy was allowed them. So the Roccas headed home for the night.
"Do you think he's going to be alright?" Madison asked softly, curled up on her sister's bed.
After getting home, they'd gotten ready for bed. But neither of them wanted to be alone right at that time so Madison had ended up in Vida's room.
"He's always alright," Vida said. "And he never breaks a promise…"
Madison sighed, nodding.
"But what if—" she cut off, hugging her pillow tighter.
"He's going to be alright," Vida repeated, hugging her own pillow. "He has to be."
Eventually they both dozed off, neither one really falling asleep. Hearing footsteps in the hallway, the both sat up to look as the door opened. It was their father holding the phone.
"It's for you two," he smiled, holding it out. "I'll leave the phone with you. Just put it away before school in the morning. Oh, and you might want to turn it on speaker."
They both looked at each other and then at the clock before turning back and reaching to take the phone from their father. It was after midnight. After they took it, he turned and left the room.
"Hello?" Vida said hesitantly after turning it on speaker.
"Hey, V," a familiar voice said. "Is Maddy there, too?"
"Tommy!" they both cried.
"You're awake!" Madison exclaimed.
"You're alive!" Vida said at the same time.
Tommy chuckled, sounding tired.
"Yeah, I am," he said. "And I'm going to be just fine."
"Jason said you were dying…" Madison mumbled quietly. "We were scared you were going to…"
"You should know better to listen to your brother," Tommy sighed. "He always over exaggerates everything."
"But you were in a coma!" Vida said.
"I know," Tommy said soothingly. "And I'm sorry for scaring you. I promise everything is fine now. I'm going to be alright."
"And you're going to come visit?" Madison asked.
"As soon as I can get away for a weekend," he promised. "I still want to see those new belts, after all."
The girls smiled.
"Now," Tommy said. "You two get some sleep. You have school in the morning."
"So do you," Vida retorted.
Tommy laughed.
"Yes, I do," he said. "Now go to sleep. I'll talk to you soon."
"Bye," the girls chorused.
Hanging up the phone, they set it aside and curled up again. Relieved to have heard from Tommy, both of them were soon fast asleep.
"There's his jeep!" Vida exclaimed, darting for the door.
Madison was right behind her. They flew out the door and down the walkway to where Tommy's jeep had just parked. He climbed out and turned around just in time to catch the girls as they threw their arms around him.
"Tommy!" they exclaimed excitedly.
He stumbled a little as he caught them, but laughed and hugged them back. Hayley waved from the driver's seat of the jeep, her phone to her ear.
"Hey, girls," he smiled. "Good to see you, too. What are you doing here?"
They grinned at each other.
"Well," Madison said. "Jason may have let it slip that you were coming to see your parents this weekend—"
"So we asked if we could come over while you were here," said Vida. "And so mom and dad decided to come over, too."
Tommy glanced around as they started heading up toward the house.
"There are an awful lot of cars here for just your family and mine," he said suspiciously.
The front door opened again and Jason popped out.
"You're in so much trouble, bro," he grinned, leaning against the door frame.
"Jason, who did you call?" Tommy asked, glaring at Jason as they walked toward the door.
"I only called your parents and my parents," he said. "Your mom did the rest."
Tommy groaned.
"Who all is here?" he sighed.
"Well," Jason said slowly. "Pretty much everyone except Kim and Tanya's parents and—no, it's just their parents who aren't here. Our group will be here shortly. They all want to see you."
"Great," Tommy muttered, walking up the porch. "Just great. I should have just stayed home."
Jason laughed, moving aside so Tommy could walk inside. But Tommy had only taken a few steps inside the house when Mrs. Oliver launched herself at him, grabbing him in a tight hug. Tommy winced a little, but hugged her back. She didn't notice his wince as she started crying into his shirt.
"Hey, mom," he said, rubbing her back. "I'm here and I'm alright. I promise."
She just started crying harder and hugged him tighter.
"You almost died," she sobbed.
"I'm alright," Tommy repeated. "I'm sorry for scaring you…"
Mr. Oliver came walking down the hallway as Tommy continued hugging his mother. Coaxing his wife into letting go, he pulled Tommy into a hug.
"You really gave us a scare," he said.
"Sorry, dad," Tommy sighed, hugging him back. "But I really am alright. Just ask Hayley."
"Where is Hayley?" Mr. Oliver asked. "You didn't drive, did you?"
Mrs. Oliver, apparently not having thought of that, frowned at her son.
"No, didn't drive," he said. "Hayley is in the car."
"Tommy!" Mrs. Oliver exclaimed. "Invite her in."
"She's coming," he protested. "She's just on the phone right now."
"Mmm hmmm…" Mrs. Oliver said.
"You should come sit down," Mrs. Oliver insisted, taking Tommy's hand and tugging him down the hallway. "After being in the hospital you need to rest."
Tommy groaned, but allowed her to pull him down the hall after he kicked off his shoes. The rest of the mothers were waiting in the living room. They immediately started fussing over him, everyone wanting to give him a hug and make sure he was alright. After a moment, Trini managed to insert herself for a hug.
"Tommy you idiot!" she exclaimed, smacking him on the arm as she stepped back. "You can't keep doing things like this to us—and if you ever do this again I'm going to hunt you down and put you in the hospital myself!"
"It's good to see you, too, Trini," he said, smiling as she glared up at him.
"Sit down, Tommy," Mrs. Rocca insisted.
Mrs. Oliver agreed, pushing Tommy toward a chair. Sighing, he sat down and made himself comfortable. Vida and Madison grabbed the chair next to him the two of them squishing in together. Four-year-old Mark, who had been playing with some toys on the floor, got up and walked over to Tommy. He leaned on the arm of the chair, looking up at him.
"Uncle Tommy?" he said.
"Hey, bud," Tommy smiled. "What's up?"
"Are you in trouble?" he asked. "Cause everyone is crying and keeps touching you…Mommy only does that when I scare her. Then I have to go to time out…"
Tommy chuckled.
"Yeah, I'm in trouble," he said, ruffling Mark's hair.
"You're in time out?" Mark said.
"Mark," Trini said, shaking her head.
"Yeah," Tommy sighed. "I kind of am…"
"Tommy, you are not in time out," Mrs. Oliver sighed.
"Are you going to let me out of this chair while I'm here?" he asked.
Mrs. Oliver hesitated and Tommy smirked.
"See, I'm in time out," he said.
"You were in the hospital," Mrs. Oliver protested. "You need to rest."
Grumbling, Tommy settled back into his chair and looked over at Jason.
"I go from having no mom to having ten," he muttered.
"That's your problem, Tommy," Jason grinned. "You're the one who managed to endear yourself to all of them."
Tommy just glared at him.
"You said there were more people here," Tommy said. "Where's everyone else?"
"The dads are in the backyard," Vida piped up. "They're grilling lunch. And none of your other friends are here yet."
"Oh, good," Tommy said, starting to try and get up again. "I think I'll go say hi to them."
"Thomas Oliver stay right where you are," Mrs. Oliver scolded.
Sighing, Tommy sat back down.
"Mom, I'm fine," he said. "Seriously. I don't need to sit in the chair all afternoon."
"You weren't just taking a nap, Tommy!" she exclaimed, nearly bursting into tears again. "You were in a coma!"
"And I'm awake now," he said. "There's nothing wrong with me."
Mrs. Oliver's eyes narrowed. She put her hands on her hips as she glared down at her son. Lounging in another chair, Jason snickered. Madison and Vida were giggling, too. They didn't see Tommy in trouble very often.
"Oh, is that so?" Mrs. Oliver asked. "Did they ever determine what the cause was?"
Tommy hesitated, glancing over at Jason.
"Not exactly…" he answered slowly.
Everyone was looking at him expectantly now.
"What?" he said, his hands up. "Ok…So I may have been electrocuted by a backfiring machine in the lab…"
Nearly everyone in the room gasped. Madison and Vida looked at Tommy with wide eyes. Trini sighed, shaking her head as she glanced over at Jason. He didn't seem surprised by the news, so the girls guessed Tommy had already told Jason the full story.
"And you're still claiming there's nothing wrong?" Mrs. Oliver said. "There are bound to be some side effects. What did the doctor say when they released you?"
"Well…" Tommy said, running a hand through his hair.
"Released?" Hayley snorted from the doorway. "Who said anything about him being released?"
Tommy groaned as all the mothers glared daggers at him. He absently rubbed the silver band he was wearing on his left wrist as he listened to them scold him.
"Thomas Oliver!" his mother snapped. "What does Hayley mean by that? You were released, right?"
"Hayley," Tommy groaned. "You just had to say something, didn't you?"
"What?" she said, crossing her arms. "You didn't want everyone to know that you checked yourself out of the hospital not fifteen minutes after you woke up? And didn't go back to have them check on you until the next evening when I had to drag you there under threat of drugging you?"
"What?" Mrs. Oliver exclaimed, glaring at Tommy. "Thomas Oliver what were you thinking?"
"I wasn't," he protested, trying to back track. "I had just woken up from a coma. I wasn't exactly thinking straight."
"No kidding," Jason snorted, muttering to himself. "Have to go running off before the doctor sees you."
"Uncle Tommy?" Mark said, tugging on Tommy's shirt again. "You're gonna be in time out a long time…"
Tommy sighed, nodding as he pulled Mark up onto his lap.
"Yeah, bud," he said, glancing at the silver band again. "I am…"
"Hayley," Mrs. Rocca said. "What exactly did the doctor say after you took Tommy back?"
Hayley shrugged.
"The same thing Tommy has been saying," she sighed. "He's fine. There are no apparent side effects besides the two dizzy spells he had the day after—but they determined those were from lack of sleep the night before and not having eaten anything in over twenty-four hours."
"Well, he should still rest," Mrs. Oliver insisted, turning back to Tommy. "And you are going to eat something as soon as lunch is ready."
"Alright," he said. "I will."
Mark shifted on his lap, climbing up to be closer to Tommy. As he bumped against Tommy's chest, Tommy grimaced and carefully shifted the four-year-old to another position. Madison and Vida frowned, wondering what that was about. Mark really wasn't heavy and it didn't look like he'd elbowed Tommy or anything like that. Jason noticed, too, leaning forward in his chair.
"Alright, bro," he said. "What was that look for?"
"What look?" Tommy asked, trying to play innocent.
Jason's eyes narrowed.
"The one that said you were in pain," Jason snapped.
"Jase, I'm fine," Tommy said. "Mark just caught me in the ribs with his elbow."
"No he didn't," Jason retorted. "Now what is going on?"
Mrs. Oliver was watching Tommy now, too, along with all of the other moms.
"Nothing," Tommy insisted.
"Tommy, take off your shirt," Mrs. Oliver said suspiciously.
"I am not taking off my shirt, mom," Tommy said, shaking his head as he continued to hold on to Mark.
"You're hiding something," she said. "And I want to know what it is. Now take off your shirt."
"Mom!" Tommy exclaimed. "I am not taking off my shirt. There's nothing wrong with me."
Glaring at him, Mrs. Oliver stalked over and started to try and tug Tommy's shirt off. He held Mark as a shield, using him to keep his mother from pulling his shirt up. He was wearing a lightweight, long-sleeved black shirt.
"Thomas!" Mrs. Oliver snapped. "Take your shirt off right this instant."
"No, mom," Tommy said. "I'm not taking it off."
Jason got up from his chair. Striding over, he scooped Mark off of Tommy's lap before Tommy could stop him. Handing Mark over to Trini, Jason crossed his arms as he looked expectantly at Tommy.
"Take it off, bro," he growled.
"Jason," Tommy said, glaring at him as he crossed his arms over his chest. "It's not happening."
"Fine," Jason said. "Then we'll do this the hard way."
Jason grabbed Tommy and pinned him against the chair.
"Hayley!" Tommy exclaimed. "Aren't you going to help me?"
"Nope," she said, taking Jason's now empty chair. "This is all your own fault—you get to deal with the consequences."
Tommy glared at her as he tried to shove Jason off of him. But as Jason held Tommy down, Mrs. Oliver and Mrs. Rocca each took a side. Grabbing Tommy's shirt, they tugged it up and over his head. As soon as Tommy's shirt was off, Jason let go and step back.
"Tommy!" Mrs. Oliver exclaimed in shock. "When did you get those tattoos? And are those electrical burns?"
Tommy just groaned, his head falling back against the chair as he crossed his arms again. Madison and Vida stared, too, just as surprised as all of the mothers in the room. None of them had known Tommy had any tattoos, let alone the extensive collection they could see now that his shirt was off. And visible among the tattoos were several fading burns. They looked a lot more healed than they should have been after just two days, however.
"What's going on in here?" Mr. Oliver asked, walking into the living room.
He looked at Tommy in surprise, not expecting to see him sitting there with his shirt off.
"Hmm…" he said, studying his son. "Oh, is that the new one?"
He moved closer to take a look at one of the tattoos on Tommy's arm.
"Yeah," Tommy sighed, shifting so his dad could see it.
"You knew about them?" Mrs. Oliver exclaimed, looking at her husband in surprise.
"What?" he said, straightening up. "Oh. Yes. I've known. I took him to get his first one."
"What?" she cried.
Tommy rubbed a hand over his face, glancing at the silver band again.
"He was eighteen," Mr. Oliver said, shrugging. "And he was going to get one anyways. I figured if I went with him I could at least make sure he didn't get anything he'd regret later or go somewhere he shouldn't. I haven't seen the whole collection, though…"
He turned to look at Tommy again, frowning when he saw the burns. Tommy quickly covered them up again. As his parents continued talking about the tattoos, he leaned over to Jason.
"And this is why we don't tell them everything," he muttered quietly. "This is her freaking out about tattoos. Can you imagine what would happen if they found out about you-know-what?"
Madison and Vida exchanged confused glances. But they were quickly distracted as the conversation turned attention back to Tommy.
"You should have told me," Mrs. Oliver was saying.
"He's a grown man," Mr. Oliver sighed. "He can do what he wants."
"He's still my baby!" she exclaimed.
"Mom, I'm not a baby anymore," Tommy protested.
"I picked you," she responded. "You're mine and you're always going to be my baby. At least until I get grandchildren."
Tommy groaned as Jason burst out laughing.
"Better get on that, bro," he snorted.
"Shut up," Tommy growled.
"Why?" Jason smirked. "You got yourself into this."
"Oh, is that so?" Tommy said, smirking back. "Well, then I'm not going down alone."
Jason frowned, not sure what Tommy meant by that.
"Alright," Tommy said, glancing around the room. "If we're all going to get upset about my tattoos—why don't we talk about the three Jason has? Or the one Trini has on her ankle?"
The room went silent for a moment as attention shifted to Jason and Trini. They were both looking at Tommy in horror. Like him, they obviously hadn't told their parents about their tattoos.
"Jason!" Mrs. Rocca exclaimed. "What is he talking about?"
Trini's mother was looking at her in complete shock. Madison and Vida both shrank back in their chair as the room started to get loud. They did not want to draw attention to themselves right now.
"Yes, I have tattoos," Jason growled. "But I'm not the only one with secrets. Kat pierced her bellybutton and Aisha dyed her hair yellow."
"She did what?" Mrs. Campbell exclaimed.
"What did she pierce?" Mrs. Hillard cried at the same time.
"Dyed it yellow," Jason smirked. "As in the color of Trini's shirt yellow. Just the underside so you can't see it when her hair is down, but it's yellow. And Kat pierced her bellybutton freshman year of college."
Aisha's mother took a deep breath, muttering about having a talk with her daughter. Mrs. Hillard was doing the same thing.
"And don't forget Rocky," Jason continued, catching Mrs. Desantos' attention. "He's the one who brought beer to his eighteenth birthday party. Couldn't tell you where it came from, but he had it."
All of the mothers froze in shock.
"I did not have any," Tommy immediately inserted. "Didn't touch a thing."
"Neither did I!" Trini exclaimed.
Jason said nothing, trying to avoid his mother's gaze.
"Jason?" she said, glaring at him.
"Fine," he muttered. "But I only had one."
"Jason!" she shouted.
"What?" he protested. "I'm not going to lie to you about it—what good would that do me now? And at least I wasn't arrested for public intoxication in college like Kim and Zach."
The noise volume in the room nearly tripled as everyone started talking at once. Laughing to himself, Tommy leaned over to talk to the girls as Jason and Trini argued with their mothers as well as all of the others. Hayley was in her chair watching everything with an amused look.
"You know," Tommy said to Vida and Madison. "I was just trying to get all of the attention off of myself—but this is so much better."
The girls grinned, nodding in agreement.
"And we're just going to stay quiet and watch the show," Vida smirked, exchanging glances with her sister. "Right, sis?"
Madison laughed. Through the chaos of everyone talking at once, a beeping was heard. Hayley and Tommy both jerked upright. As Tommy glanced at the band on his wrist again, Hayley leapt from her chair and headed for the door.
"Bye, everyone!" she said, darting out without a pause.
Her abrupt exit caught everyone's attention. Tommy was on his feet now, too, pulling his shirt back on.
"Tommy, where are you going?" his mother frowned. "And what was that noise?"
"Pager," he said quickly. "Emergency. Gotta go."
"What could be so important that you have to leave?" she asked, placing herself in front of him. "You're a teacher and it's the weekend."
Tommy groaned, running a hand through his hair and glancing toward the door. Jason and Trini were both shaking their heads, exchanging knowing looks.
"It's my research assistants," he said. "I left them in charge of something while I was gone for the afternoon. They'd only call me if it was an absolute emergency. As in someone is going to die if I don't get back to Reefside as soon as possible."
"What on earth do you have your assistants doing that could get someone killed?" Mrs. Oliver exclaimed.
Tommy groaned, glancing at his wrist again.
"Mom, they're cleaning up some of the mess left from that experiment I got hurt on," he said. "And apparently things aren't as under control as I thought. So I'm sorry, I love you, gotta go, bye."
Giving her a quick hug, he slipped around his mother and hurried out the door.
"I thought he grew out of that after high school," Mrs. Oliver said, watching him go. "Always running off suddenly without a real explantion…"
Jason snorted, heading for the door after Tommy.
"The rest of us did," he said, shaking his head. "Tommy tried—it didn't work."
Madison and Vida exchanged glances and then jumped up, running out after Jason and Tommy. By the time they reached the door, Tommy was finishing pulling on his shoes. He had his left hand up to his ear like he was holding a phone, though they couldn't see one from where they were standing.
"Alright," he was saying. "Just hold tight—I'm on my way. Watch each other's backs."
Straightening up, he dropped his hand and reached for the door. Assuming he'd stuck his phone back in his pocket, they both ran to try and catch him as he headed out the door, Jason right behind him. Hearing them, Tommy glanced back and paused.
"Oh!" he exclaimed. "I'm sorry, girls. I've really gotta go, but take these first. Something to celebrate your new belts."
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out two silver bands similar to the one he was wearing. They were slimmer than his and didn't have the etching on it. Instead one said Vida and the other said Madison.
"Been doing some experimenting with metals," Tommy said, handing them to the girls. "Thought you might like them—something to remind you that one of us is always watching out for you. Sorry I've got to cut the visit short, but I'll be back soon."
Grinning at them, he turned and ran for the jeep. Hayley had pulled it around and was waiting to take off. Madison, Vida, and Jason watched as Tommy bolted down to meet her. Instead of running around the car, however, he jumped and slid over the hood.
"Just get me to my ATV!" they heard him call to Hayley as he landed on the other side of the jeep.
He also didn't bother opening the door, vaulting over it and into his seat. Jason rolled his eyes.
"Now he's just showing off," he muttered.
As Hayley peeled out, another car came pulling up. Rocky, Adam, Aisha, and Tanya climbed out, frowning as they watched Tommy and Hayley disappearing down the street. The girls and Jason waited at the front door for them.
"Why are they in such a hurry?" Adam asked as they walked up. "I thought Tommy was here for the afternoon."
"He got a call," Jason said. "One that couldn't wait."
The four arrivals exchanged knowing looks, but didn't say anything else about it.
"He's in trouble anyways," Vida smirked.
"Nice," Rocky grinned. "What did he do?"
"He didn't tell anyone about his tattoos," Madison said. "Or the electrical burns…"
"Electrical burns?" Tanya repeated, frowning as she glanced at Jason.
"I'll explain later," he said. "You know—in private?"
All four nodded as the door opened behind Jason. The girls exchanged looks and shrugged. They were used to the cryptic way their brother and his friends communicated most of the time.
"Hey, kids," Mr. Oliver said. "If you want to eat anything you may want to go around back. If you come in this way you'll never make it to the food."
"Why?" Aisha asked.
"Jason may have spilled a few secrets in an attempt to make his seem like less of a problem," Mr. Oliver said. "All I caught was something about tattoos, yellow hair, underage drinking, and public intoxication. Not really sure who's guilty of what, but no one is happy."
Aisha, Rocky, Tanya, and Adam all glared at Jason who just shrugged sheepishly.
"Rockford Desantos!" Mrs. Desantos yelled, having seen his car out the window.
"Run!" Rocky exclaimed, bolting around the house toward the backyard.
Madison and Vida laughed as the others, including Jason, followed his lead. Deciding to try and avoid interrogation themselves, they followed the older group around the back as Mr. Oliver shut the front door.