Chapter Seven: Crash
"Wake up mom," Lily called, nudging Manny for the fifth time.
"What is it Lily?" Manny asked.
"I just thought you might want to say goodbye. Aunt Paige said she's got to get back to work, so we're leaving in ten minutes," she explained.
"I'll be right down," Manny told her daughter. Lily ran to her room to get her bag. Manny got up and slipped her bathrobe on. Jimmy had already gone to work. "Are you sure you don't want me to drop them off later? So you can work in peace," Manny asked Paige as she walked down the stairs.
"Nah, it'll be fine. Jake's got the day off. He loves playing with the kids," Paige assured her.
"Bye mom!" Lily said, hugging her. Manny kissed her on the cheek.
"Bye sweetheart. And make sure you be good," she told her. Lily rolled her eyes. Manny went around her and hugged Paige, then Avery and Maia. They all went out the door, leaving Manny in silence.
She was about to walk into the kitchen, when she noticed that Emma was still fast asleep on the couch. One of her arms was hanging off the side, and her blanket had slipped onto the ground. Manny gently placed her arm on top of her chest and covered her with the blanket. Manny looked at her, and she looked so tiny and frail. She went into the kitchen this time, and started making a pot of coffee. Even though she didn't like it, Jimmy lived off of it, and she knew Emma would want some.
"Hey mom!" Lucas yelled as he ran into the kitchen with his brother.
"What's for breakfast?" Jon asked.
"Shh! Your Aunt Emma is still sleeping. And you can have cereal for breakfast."
"Aww, but Mom!" they started to complain.
"Oh stop your whining. I'm not going to make a huge breakfast for just a few people. Paige, Lily, Avery, and Maia are all gone. Did you see what your dad did for you yesterday while we were out?" she asked them.
"No…" they answered in unison.
"Go take a look in the backyard." The boys stood up and went into the living room to look out the window.
"Cool!" they yelled, going back into the kitchen.
"Make sure to thank him for uncovering that pool for you. It's too heavy for you to do it on your own," Manny told them.
"We will!" Jon said excitedly.
"Can we go swimming now mom?" Lucas asked.
"Yes you can. But before you get your bathing suits on, I want you to go wake your Aunt Emma up and give her some coffee," she told them, handing Lucas the cup.
"Dad, we're home!" Avery and Maia yelled to Jake as they walked into the house. Jake came into the kitchen and kissed them all on their cheeks, including Lily.
"Uncle Jake, guess what?"
"What Lily?' he asked her.
"I'm sleeping over tonight!"
"Oh, just what I need, more girls," he said sarcastically and rolling his eyes they way Lily always did.
"You're so funny," Lily said, in a tone similar to Jake's. She rolled her eyes at him and walked past him to get a drink.
"Well, your Aunt has to do some work today, so we're all going to go outside and give her some peace and quiet," he told her.
"Can we go swimming?" Lily asked. "I brought my bathing suit."
"What? You're coming over here to do something that you can just do at home? No way! Let's go check out the back and see if we can find something better to do," Jake said, leading the girls to the deck.
"Whoa! You are the coolest Uncle ever!" Lily yelled. Avery, Maia, and Lily all saw that Jake rented a huge DDR system, an inflatable castle to jump in, and a pop-up camping trailer for the girls to sleep in that night.
"Thank you!" the three girls yelled in unison. They ran out into the yard with Jake, eager to try out everything. Paige smiled and walked downstairs to her huge finished basement, where she ran her business. She was a fashion designer and had some drawings to finish. Jake was a homicide detective. Their house was about the same size as Manny and Jimmy's.
After Paige had been working for almost an hour, she heard the doorbell ring. She stayed where she was and kept on working, thinking that Jake would answer it. After the third time it rang, she decided to just take a break and answer it. She ran up the stairs.
"I'm coming!" she yelled when the person rang the bell for the fifth time. Paige threw open the door, a little frustrated, and nearly fainted.
Manny was sitting on the deck, cradling her baby in her arms. Bella had sunscreen and a hat on, and they were sitting at a small table, with an umbrella shading them from the sun. She was still so tiny, and Manny didn't want anything to happen to her. Emma was sitting next to Manny, and they were watching Lucas and Jonathan swim in the pool.
"Mom! Watch my dive!" Jonathan called from the diving board. Jon was on the local swim team, and he was a pretty good diver for his age. He jumped up high and his feet left the board. He did a somersault in the air, and should have gone straight into the water in a perfect dive. Somehow, he misjudged his distance. He was too close to the board when he came down, and his neck slammed into it. For a split second, Jonathan lay on the edge of the board, but then his body slithered off of it, and landed in the water with a small splash.
Emma was dozing off in her chair, extremely tired. All of a sudden, she heard a thud and a crack followed by Manny's screams. She jumped awake as Manny's chair was knocked to the ground and Isabella was shoved into her arms.
"Call 911!" she yelled, running off the deck and jumping into the pool to save her son. Emma pulled her cell phone out of her purse and dialed quickly, explaining the situation to the dispatcher and giving them the address.
When Manny reached Jonathan, he was floating face down in the water. She carefully rolled him over, making sure to support his neck and head, and trying not to move him too much. He wasn't breathing, but he had a pulse. She heard the sirens in the distance and prayed that her son would live through this.
"What are you doing here?" Paige asked angrily once she gained her composure.
"I came to see my daughter."
A/N: Two cliffhangers in one chapter! For those of you who don't know, DDR is Dance Dance Revolution. It's a dancing video game. Sorry if it's too short.
