Saving Molly - Chapter 2!!!

It's Tuesday once again! I'm so sorry I'm so late, but we have been making Jesse perfect so he could make his date with the printer today! I so can't wait for you to get to know him better! 
Anyway...without any further ado...here is Chapter 2 in the RTL short story: Saving Molly.  (if you're new to the blog, this is the backstory to the RTL series, chapter 1 is posted still, just scroll down a few days.)  Enjoy and xxoo!!!!
Chapter 2
     Once James got Karen calmed down, they walked arm-in-arm out of their bedroom and headed down the long hallway to their son’s door, passing a lifetime of black-and-white photographs neatly arranged along the walls.  Some professional, some blown-up candids, every last one them showed happy times.
     How in the hell were they supposed to explain everything to Brody?  The boy in those pictures was so fortunate to never know the pain that Molly had grown up with.  They had been very careful to keep their conversations with George over the last couple of years very private.  Their son was a contradiction if there ever was one.  On one hand, they knew they kept him more sheltered than most parents.  The flip side of that coin was they let him do things on a dirt bike that normal parents would shit their pants over.       His amateur career was taking off, so the last several years Karen had homeschooled their fourteen-year-old son.  Not having him subjected to what other teens were doing and learning way too early was a convenient coincidence in their minds.  He wasn’t on a pedestal by any means, but after trying so long to get pregnant, they did everything they could to protect the one and only child they’d been blessed to have.       James introducing Brody to his favorite sport when their son was little was just supposed to be a once-in-a-while hobby, something fun to do together on a random weekend.  However, Brody was hooked from the get go.  Something about wheels and engines, the sport  was in his blood, his DNA and they had to let him go.  Knock on wood, over the course of ten years of racing bikes, he had only been unlucky once, suffering a minor broken wrist.  That accident did nothing to deter him.  In fact, his competitive streak flamed even higher.  His mother was all right with the racing, but it was Brody’s new love that was testing her limits.  Seeing their son attempt tricks while flying through the air on a dirt bike had never been James’s intention when he bought that first little KTM 50cc over a decade ago.       Reaching Brody’s closed door, James heard Karen take a shaky breath.  He knew where her thoughts were, that’s what made her the wonderful mother that Brody had been lucky to have.  Lacing her fingers with his, took James’s breath away.  She was ice cold to the touch.  Turning to face her, he kept his voice low not wanting Brody to hear them yet.  “She’s going to be all right, Karen.  You just have to believe, sweetheart.”       “I’m trying, James.  I’m trying.  It just absolutely kills me that someone could do that to a child…let alone their own child.”     “I don’t have any clue either, honey.” 
     James opened the bedroom door without knocking first.  “Son.”  Talk about startling someone, Brody about hit the ceiling.  He had been leaning back in his desk chair with his legs propped up and crossed at the ankles.  When they scared the crap out him, Brody was a blur of arms and legs flailing about.  He was damn lucky he didn’t tip over backward in his chair.  They weren’t trying to sneak up on him, but it was apparent Brody had been up to something.       James held the door open and motioned for Karen to enter ahead of him.  So much for working on the homework his mother had sent him up to do two hours prior.  The breathing hard, game controller still in his hand and the closed math book gave him away instantly.  Looking like a caught deer in the headlights, only made their son look all the more guilty.  He could have at least had the book lying open, then it would have appeared like he was just taking a break.  With it closed, they all knew that wasn’t the case, leaving him with nothing to spin an excuse out of , at least nothing that wouldn’t have been an all-out lie.
    After receiving the phone call from George, everything else fell into prospective.  James reached over and roughed up Brody’s hair.  Drawing in a long breath, he gazed into the pair gray eyes that matched his own.  If their child’s only problem was getting his homework done, he’d take that in a New York minute. 
     “Honey,” Karen’s voice cracked.  She was noticeably shaken.  She took a deep breath and tried to start again.  If it was possible, James’s heart continued to break further.  Watching his wife in so much pain was unbearable, knowing there was nothing he could do…well, that made it excruciating.  “We…honey…we.”
     The emotions were washing over Brody’s face one by one.  Seeing his mother struggle to speak to him had his eyes widening.  James continued to face their son, but squeezed Karen closer to his side, offering her his silent strength and support.    After another deep breath, she continued on.  “We know this is very last minute, but you’re going to have to—“ she paused, choking back the next round of tears that were threatening, placing a hand against her mouth.  “I’m sorry.  I don’t mean to frighten you.  You’re going to have to stay with Grammy for a few days.”        Brody loved his Grandmother Noland dearly.  He was the only grandchild that lived close by and she was always happy to spoil him rotten.  It wasn’t material things she lavished upon him at all, but her heart and time.  She had let him stay up late on more than one occasion because milkshakes were better after bedtime.  She came out to their house frequently to sit by the white fence surrounding the track behind their home just to watch Brody practice for hours.  Her house always smelled like a candle store, the difference though, hers smelled yummy because of the foods she was always whipping up and baking, and the minute anyone walked in the door they were put to work.  She was quick with a joke and never treated Brody like a child, but a person.  To hear he was going to stay with her several days was a good thing, except, James could see the fear in his panicked eyes.
     “What’s going on, Dad?”His voice was desperate as he turned to his father for answers.  The homework and game were both long forgotten.  It was uncommon for them both to enter his room to talk to him like this, and James knew they had sent a red flag up immediately.  Brody’s breathing started to speed up, and he looked like a caged animal.       “Son, George called.” 
     He knew that in itself wouldn’t faze him.  George was like an uncle to Brody.  He knew their son understood what George did for a living, and being in charge of the amateur circuit was something their dear family friend loved.  Whenever they were together, he never failed to have a head full of stories to share regarding the riders of all ages.  However, it was the kids that George had a soft spot for.       “What’s wrong with George, Dad?  Is he okay?”
     “George is fine.”  At least physically James thought to himself.       “Then what is it?  You guys are scaring me.” 
     That statement in itself spoke volumes, the fact that a teenage boy admitted it took it to another level.  “Okay, well.  I don’t know where to begin, but really, and I hate to do this to you, Brody, but we just don’t have time right now to get into all the details.  But, do you know the name, Molly West?”
     “The blonde girl that races?  She’s like winning everything.”  Waving his hand toward his bed and the three current issues of his favorite motocross magazines that were laying on top of the navy and gray plaid blanket, Molly’s pictures splayed across the covers.  He turned back to face his father.  “She was in them again this month because she just signed a development deal and she’ll go pro as soon as she turns seventeen.  Can you freaking believe that?  She’s like…my age.  And she’s already signed.  Do you know how amazing that is?”
     Shit.  James mumbled under his breath.  He had forgotten the future that Molly had going for her. 
     “She’s like…unbeatable right now.  I mean, seriously, like no one can touch her, Dad.”
     James couldn’t help the sliver of a smile that flashed.  Brody really loved the racing side of dirt bikes, like James had when he was younger, but his passion was quickly becoming freestyle.  It scared the absolute holy hell out of him and Karen, but doing tricks and flying through the air, that is what Brody loved.  It was what he lived for, the challenge of it all.  He continued to race and religiously followed that side of the bikes that Molly West had definitely made her mark on over the last few years.  However, James and Karen had braced themselves for the day Brody came to them ready to retire so he could focus on freestyle.  “Yes.  Her.  Well, Son…she’s coming to live with us—permanently.”
     Even with the sound of the game still on, and the virtual bikes on the screen continuing to rev waiting for their rider to bring them to life with the game controller he was still holding, the breath Brody sucked in was audible.  His eyes widened briefly before narrowing.  It was nothing short of a bombshell they had just dropped on him. 
     “What?  But she’s…she’s like my age?  I don’t get it, why would she leave her parents, for like you said…forever?  I wouldn’t want to leave you guys.  Well—“ Brody slouched down in his desk chair, a visible sign that he’d let the comment slip and was now embarrassed to still need them.  “At least not forever, I mean.”  He added the mumbled last line hesitantly, the pink noticeable on his cheeks.
     “George knows her really well and she needs our help, Son.  We’ve been discussing this for a couple of years now.”  James could almost see the gears spinning in Brody’s head.  The confusion washed over his face erasing his embarrassment of just a moment ago. 
    His raised eyebrow and curled lip made it apparent he was trying to sort this out, but none of it was making any sense.  “What are you going to do, Dad, take over her training or something?”
     He had raced motocross as a kid for several years, and he even had a great future in the sport.  Unfortunately, James’s parents didn’t have the means or the knowledge to get him to the top.  So instead, he lived vicariously through George and invested his own efforts in to putting himself through college to achieve his second dream of becoming an architect.  James met Karen in college and the rest flowed perfectly.  He had always promised himself, that when he had kids someday, he’d do everything he could to help them live out their dreams.  There weren’t any ill feelings toward his parents, they did the best they could, and in hindsight, his life today was more than he could have ever hoped for.  Even though Brody was an only child, they hadn’t spoiled him in any stretch of the imagination, and that had been on purpose.  However, when it came to his future and his dreams, the sky was the limit.         “Yeah.  I’ll help train her.” Being well aware that he’d need to bring in professional trainers for her was a bridge they’d cross when they came to it.  Right now, it wasn’t even a concern at the moment, not even a blip on the radar.  His mind was still on Brody’s last question, but his son was firing off the next.
     “Okay?  But, you’ve never trained anyone but me, Dad.  How are you going to train her?  What’s going on?”
     James could see the path that Brody’s mind had gone down.  He was a fourteen-year-old boy, combined with the fact that he was well on his way to becoming a pro athlete himself.  Competing and winning were all he was concentrating on.  James could tell the point of, Molly moving in with them, had gone completely over his head and Brody just hadn’t seen the bigger picture yet.  He and Karen hadn’t had a chance to discuss how much they were going to tell him about her situation, there hadn’t been time.  The last few moments had been a blur.  Their travel plans were last minute and they needed to get to the airport so they could get to her.
     “Brody, honey—“ Karen’s choked and saddened voice interrupted them.  “She’s really hurt right now.”  He watched his son’s face go blank as he listened to his mother.  Blinking a couple of times, Brody’s eyes flitted between his and Karen’s, James could only assume their son was making a mental list of questions.    “Sweetheart, they just took her to a hospital down in Orlando.  She’s going into surgery right now and we’re flying down to meet George and Eileen there.”
     Brody’s jaw slowly dropped at his mother’s statement.  "Okay.”  He softly responded.
     James let out a subtle sigh of relief, Brody seemed to understand not to ask anymore.  His old soul was perceptive and right now James appreciated it.  He knew they had just rocked his entire world, but there wasn’t time to put him at ease until they knew what they were dealing with.  Unfortunately, they weren’t going to know that until they got to the hospital.  George and Eileen were waiting for them along with a lawyer and the local police, and hopefully everything was in order this time. “Get packed, Grammy’s on her way to get you and should be here any minute, we’re leaving now.”
     Brody only nodded.  The shell-shocked blankness on their son’s face gripped at James’s heart.  He grabbed the boy who was almost his height these days and hugged him tight.  “Mom and I love you, we will call you and talk to you more—I  promise.  But Son, this little girl needs us right now and we’ve got to go.”
     He shut his eyes with Brody in his arms and prayed silently that Molly would still be alive when they got to her.