Chapter 47, enjoy!

"Mom, can I go sit in the student section with my friends?" Gracie asked at the Pemberton football game that Friday night.

"Yes, but be good," Tami replied. Gracie got up from her seat and abandoned her mother, so Tami moved to sit with the assistant coach's wife, one of the only other people she knew. In Dillon, Tami worked are the school, so as a result she knew nearly everyone. Here, she worked out of town and only knew a handful of people.

"Hi Tami!" The assistant coach's wife, Samantha, greeted.

"Hi Samantha, mind if I sit here?"

"Not at all! How have you been?"

"Good, and you?"

"Pretty good! You have an older daughter right?"

"Yes," Tami replied, curious as to why she was asking about Julie.

"That's who I thought was with you at the last game.

"She came to stay with us for a little while."

"I see." Samantha replied. "Looks like this is going to be another rough game," She added as the first quarter ended and the Pioneers were down by 14."

"That's what it is looking like," Tami chimed in. They silently watched as the team only fell further behind. During halftime and the third quarter, they engaged in a conversation about state mandated testing, something both Samantha, being a teacher, and Tami, being involved in the education system, were passionate about. Their conversation, as well as everyone else's, and the play in progress on the field were intrupted by the echo of gunfire. Tami and Samantha huddled against each other in an attempt to protect each other. The play on the field stopped as they players raced for the locker rooms.

"Are you ok?" Tami asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, are you?"

"I'm okay," Tami answered as she straightened up in her seat. "Oh my God, Gracie!" She quickly pulled out her phone and typed out a message to her daughter with shaky hands. The wail of police and ambulance sirens echoed trough the chilly night's air.

"Is she ok?" Samantha asked. Tami let out a sigh of relief as she read Gracie's response.

"Yes, she is," She replied, relieved.

"Everyone please remain calm. We have been informed by local authorities that the gunshot was a mile from the stadium. Will we be keeping the stadium on lockdown until authorities give us the all clear. Please remain calm and at your seats, tonight's game is now paused for the night," A school official announced over the speaker.

"That's a relief," Samantha stated.

"It is, but I thought this was the safe part of town."

"It was, it's gotten rougher recently. The gang activity has really picked up and started to drift over to this side of town.

"Mom!" Gracie shouted from the end of the row before racing to her mom's side.

"Are you okay?" Tami asked after pulling her daughter into a tight embrace.

"Yeah," Gracie answered with a hint of fear still in her voice.

"The suspect of the shooting has now been taken into custody, it is safe for you all to leave the game. Please leave in an orderly fashion and avoid 5th street," The school official returned to the speaker to announce a while later. Everyone fled out of the stadium to the safety of their vehicles which took them to their homes.

Tami sat at their bar in her kitchen sipping a glass of red wine, reflecting on the day and waiting for Eric to arrive home safely after today's chaotic and unexpected events. Nearly an hour after Gracie and Tami arrived home, Eric emerged into his home from the garage.

"Eric!" Tami exclaimed and hurried to wrap him in her arms. A school official had announced that everyone in the stadium was safe and uninjured, but Tami's nerves couldn't be eased until she saw with her own eyes that her husband was safe and uninjured.

"I'm okay," He answered her unverbalized concern. "Just a little shook up, gunshots isn't really something you want to hear when you are on the field."

"I know," Tami replied.

"How's Gracie handling it?"

"She went to bed, I think she was pretty scared until we got home. She asked me if she could sit in the student section, and I let her. What if the shooting would have been in the stadium and she wasn't with me?"

"You can't play the what if game."

"But it is our job as her parents to keep her safe."

"I know," Eric agreed.

"What if she sneaks out again and is caught in a drive by?" Tami worried. "Samantha was telling me that the gang violence is making it's way to this side of town."

"Tami... you can't think like that."

"I know, but with her behavior recently, she could get herself into a lot of trouble if she goes to an unsafe part of town, or should I say city."

"Let's go to bed and talk about this in the morning," Eric told her. Together, they walked back to their room and prepared for the night. Eric caught himself thinking about Buddy's offer, and constantly checking his phone for a report from Jason. Maybe moving back to Dillon would be good for my family, it would definitely be safer, he thought.

This is what my mind came up with at 11:30, so it's what I wrote... Why not throw another problem in their lives?

I hope you all enjoyed!