My Goalkeeping System

Scrolling through his phone while the car sped down the road he could see that a few sports pages had already posted the news about what just happened to his father.

"Hey, are you okay?" Emma turned her gaze to him to ask after taking a left turn into the highway.

"I'm worried." He replied after taking a deep breath.

"Me too but he said he's okay right?" She said before turning her gaze back to the road.

"He said he doesn't actually know but the doctor said he's okay for now."

"I hope it's not something too much." She said before pushing her foot down on the accelerator.

She parked the car in one of the parking spaces in the parking lot before the both of them quickly got down from the car and made their way straight into the hospital.

"Hey, I remember you two." The female receptionist said as soon as he spotted both of them heading toward them.

"Of course you do," Emma muttered.

"Dave Richards and Emma Smith right?"

"Look, I appreciate the recognition but I really need to see my father right now.

"I know, just go down the first hallway and then take a left turn to the casualty ward, room number." She directed.

"He's in the casualty ward." Emma gasped.

"Thank you," Dave said before grabbing his girlfriend by her arm and quickly making his way to the hallway.

"Your dad's still alive if you need the information." The receptionist said before the two disappeared into the hallway.

"He's in the casualty ward," Emma said as the two walked down the hallway ignoring the nurses and a few patients in the area.

"It was a serious accident, this shouldn't surprise you," Dave said.

It didn't take long for the two to arrive at the area to see Joshua sitting on the bench outside.

He had gotten up to meet the two as soon as they got closer to him.

Joshua was a pale-looking man slightly shorter than Emma, the only thing quite distinctive about him was his perfectly trimmed facial hair.

"Joshua right?" Dave said as the two shook hands.

"Yeah," Joshua said with a nod.

"How's my father?" He asked pointing back at the door which had the number three tag above it with his thumb.

"I don't know, the doctor's supposed to be out here anytime soon now," Joshua replied.

"Anytime soon?" The goalkeeper said before quickly turning toward the door and walking toward it.

He had never felt this tense since the day his mother was rushed to the hospital from home.

He was about to try and pull the door open but before he could place his hand on the door, it was quickly pushed open and almost hit him in the face.

If he hadn't jumped back in time, that door would have hit him in the face for sure.

"Doctor," Dave said as soon as he spotted the man in a white long coat with a stethoscope over his neck, obviously.

"Dave Richards I suppose." The Doctor said before slowly closing the door after stepping out of the room.

"How's my Father?" He asked abruptly.

"First of all, you need to calm down because there isn't any need for you to panic." The Doctor said. "The only serious injury your father sustained was a fractured femur so he's okay."

"Thank God." Emma breathed a sigh of relief.

"Can we see him?" The goalkeeper asked.

"Sure." The Doctor replied. "But you'll have to wait for the nurses to finish what they are doing, once they are done you can go see him but I can't guarantee he will be seeing you tonight."

"What do you mean?" Dave asked.

"He's unconscious and I'm not sure he will be waking up anytime soon but he's in a good condition." The Doctor said.

"Okay," Dave said.

"Thanks, Doc," Emma said after getting closer to the two.

"Emma." The Doctor said with a smile. "How're you doing?"

"I'm fine Doc."

"That's good, I have some other things to attend to, I have to go now." The Doctor said before turning to leave.

"Sure." She said,

Just before leaving the area, the Doctor seemed like he remembered something that he forgot, and quickly made his way back to the area.

"Hey, Dave." He said just as he got closer to the goalkeeper.

"Yeah?"

"My six-year-old sort of turned into your biggest fan for the past couple of days now."

"Oh," Dave said.

This was something he would really smile about but for some reason, the feeling wasn't the way he expected it to be.

<He already told you that your father's okay>

"So, do you mind signing a ball for him before you leave, tomorrow's his birthday and I think I may have just found the perfect surprise for him?"

"Sure," Dave said with a nod.

"Okay, thanks." The Doctor said with a bright smile on his face before quickly making his way out of the area to attend to his duties.

Emma noticed that Dave was constantly returning his gaze to the door when the Doctor was speaking with him and looking at him now that the doctor had left, he still had his gaze on the door.

She took one step forward to get the closest she could get to him before slowly placing her head on his arm.

"He said he was okay." She whispered to him.

She could tell by the way he was looking at the door that he wasn't exactly satisfied with what the Doctor said and was still worried.

"I know." He muttered. "But I can't help but worry."

Hearing him say that, a smile suddenly appeared on her face.

"I understand."

It didn't take long before the door was pushed open for two female nurses to make their way out of the room.

"You can see him now." One of them said before the two walked out of the area leaving the door open for them.

Dave didn't waste any time in quickly making his way into the room to see his father lying on his back on the bed with his left leg tied up with bandages.

Both of his arms were partially covered with bandages and the right side of his forehead also had bandages placed on them.

Dave walked closer to him as Joshua and Emma watched from behind.

He could hear him breathing from where he was standing so that wasn't hard to check.

"I'm just glad you're alive." He muttered with his gaze fixed directly on him.

After waiting for about thirty minutes to see if he would wake up, the two had decided to leave and maybe come back tomorrow, that was the way Dave had put it.

Joshua had left way earlier after confirming that he was alive himself to take care of important matters.

He had met up with the Doctor in the reception area to sign that ball just like he said he would.

"Thanks, Dave." The Doctor said with a bright smile on his face. "This is going to be a birthday that he won't be forgetting."

"It's my pleasure." The goalkeeper said before making his way to the elevator with Emma.

The two got outside of the building and throughout their short walk to the car, nothing was said between them.

Emma got in the driver's seat as she was going to be the one driving them home while Dave got in the front seat.

"You know I thought you hated your father after what happened the first day I met him at the house but after seeing you get worried about him like this, I'm convinced that you genuinely care about him." She expressed as soon as he entered the car and shut the door. "You guys just have a few issues to sort out."

"I wouldn't want to see my father get hurt, he was a good father but...."

"But what?" Emma asked.

"Forget it, just drive."

"Dave."

"Just drive!!"

She was quite stunned by the way he had yelled at her and after a few moments of silence, she let out a deep sigh before starting the engine and after properly reversing to get out of the parking spot, zoomed off into the highway.

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