In my Skin

“Waaeeyooooowaaeeyoooooo” “Get out the way, I'm going to save a life” “

“Jimmy get that truck from under the table, sit down and eat your breakfast. The bus will be here in 10 minutes!”

“I don't need school, mom! Im going to be a firefighter like daddy!”

“Daddy went to school and he liked it just like you will! Get to the table and eat those pancakes”

Jimmy sat down with his toy firetruck and began eating his pancakes. His school bus pulled up and he sprinted out the house with his firetruck instead of his book bag. His mom ran out behind him screaming, “JJ give me that truck and come get your book bag!”

“Mom, come on, you're embarrassing me” Jimmy said as he swapped his firetruck for his book bag. His mom leaned in to kiss him and he scurried away saying he didn't want to be late. She walked back into the house and cleaned off the table and did the breakfast dishes. It was 9:00 and she had 45 minutes before she need to leave for work. She poured herself a cup of coffee and  went and sat on the front porch. Heather, the next door neighbor was out watering her plants.

“Good morning Heather! Your flower are growing in quite nicely.”

“Thank you Taylor. When are you going to start yours?”

“I’ve been so busy!” Taylor said. That was the best excuse she could come up with

“Chasing around after that little boy of yours, huh? I saw the chaos that happened this morning. If you were smart like me, you’d get a nanny. You’d barely have to deal with him”

“Im sorry but uh, I gotta go get ready for work!”

Taylor walked back into the house trying not to think about what Heather just said. She got dressed and drove to work. While she was driving she was thinking about what she had to do.  Then she remembered, it was Wednesday. On wednesdays her and Jimmy go out to lunch.

Before she knew it, it was 12:30. Jimmy was waiting for her outside. They drove to their favorite restaurant, Bistrot La Minette. Taylor ordered the same thing she always gets, Jimmy wanted something different. He skimmed the menu for about two minutes before he realized he wanted the same thing he got last time. They’re lives aren't very exciting, they have the same routine everyday. Wake up, get the kids up, make breakfast, go to work, pick up the kids, make dinner, go to bed. Sometimes they do family things on the weekends, but for the most part they do the same thing everyday.

“Oh yeah, uhhh you're not going to like this” Jimmy

“What?

“My brother called this morning, they need to stay with us for a couple of days”

“A couple of days?”

“He didn't say how long,”

Taylor never liked Jimmy’s brother, Shawn. He was always jealous of Jimmy and you could tell. He would only come around for special occasions and not bring anything. He would say, “well Jimmy’s the big shot, right? Can't he handle everything”

“I don't like him”

“I know, but he's my little brother and he needs me”

“And don't get me started on his wife, or their kids. They treat their daughters like they princesses but if you ask me, they're little spoiled brats!”

Jimmy chuckled

“Its not funny!” Taylor whined

“Its not funny!” Jimmy mocked

They laughed. Jimmy leaned in to kiss her and they were interrupted by Taylor’s phone.

“Uh oh, its the kids school”

“I bet its about JJ.”

Taylor answered the phone speaking with a concerned voice.

“Good afternoon”

“This is she”

“Is he okay?!”

“Thank god, I’ll be there shortly!”

Taylor hung up and looked at her husband.

“He got into a fight..”

Jimmy just stared at her for a second. He didn't know what to say.

“Did he win.” he said chuckling

“This isn't a joking matter!”

“I know, come on. I have to go back to work. I cant go with you!”

“You have to, I need you”

“Sorry. You’ll be fine.”

He kissed her forehead

“Shawn should be there before I get home. I’ll handle everything when I get there, okay?

“Okay.”

You could hear the disappointment is Taylor’s voice.

“I love you, sweetheart” Jimmy said while kissing her again

“I love you too. Be careful”

Taylor drove to Jimmy Jr.’s school, running red lights and barely stopping at stop signs. When she got to his school the principal was in her office with Jimmy. He had an ice pack under his eye and was holding tissue on his nose. She ran to him and hugged im so tightly his nose began bleeding more. “Baby, are you okay?” She asked as she examined his black eye.

“He was fighting, Richard King” Principal Tyler added in

“Rachel’s brother? Why”

“Because his friends kept calling her my girlfriend and telling me to kiss her. But I don't like her mama, she's my best friend. And then Richard said if I thought about it he’d hurt me and I said if you do your going to get in trouble. I guess he didn't care that he was going to get in trouble because he punched me right in the eye.”

“Jimmy go ice your eye outside so I can talk to your mom.” Principal Tyler said

Jimmy walked out of the office and Taylor sat down. Ms. Tyler’s face gave Taylor a bad feeling about what was about to come out of her mouth.

“Jimmy has been suspended for three days, Ms. Adams

“THREE?! He didn't start the fight!”

“No but he did encourage it and he hit one of the boys who was picking on him.”

“Three is still a lot!”

“Im sorry, but thats policy.”

Taylor was in so much shock all she could do was thank her grab Jimmy and leave. When they got in the car Taylor told Jimmy they would discuss what happened later when his father was home.

When they got home it was a mess. Shawn had pizza boxes all over the coffee table. Mia and Maya spilled juice on the floor and no one cleaned it up. You could tell Monica made coffee because the house reeked of burned coffee beans.

Taylor was so close to losing her temper. She was already pissed off because Jimmy left her, then Jimmy Jr.’s suspension, and now her house.

“Jimmy, go to your room and dont turn the T.V. on!”

“But mom!” Jimmy whined

The look in Taylor’s eyes told Jimmy her answer. Taylor asked nicely as she possibly could, walked over to Sean and Monica and asked them to clean up the mess they made and to not let their children eat or drink on the floor.

Taylor walked to her room and just laid on the bed. She was so angry she wanted to cry. She turned the lights off and tucked herself into, she set an alarm for when she needed to go pick up Melanie and quickly dozed off.

She woke up to what she thought was her alarm. Mia was in her room and turned the T.V. on to Fast 5 and turned the volume all the way up. When Taylor realized why she was awake she couldn't help but yell. Monica and Shawn flew into her room.

“Don't yell at my daughter, she's only 4!” Monica screamed

“Even more of a reason you should be watching her!”

“You dont have the right to tell us how to raise our kids, look at your son!” Shawn added in

“Get out my room, NOW!”

They all left and Taylor quickly grabbed her phone. She called her husband, thinking in her mind he better pick up. When he answered the phone, he didn't even finish saying hello before Taylor started venting. She was talking so face he couldn't even get a word in. When she finally stopped he told her he would handle everything when he got home and she needed to relax. Then he tried to bribe her, It didn't work. She was so angry she just wanted them out of the house!

“Honey, I have to go. I’ll see you when I get home. I love you!”

Taylor didn't even say anything back. She just hung up. It was time for her to go get Melanie. She was too afraid to leave JJ home with her in-laws so she took him with her.

After she picked Melanie up she told her how her day was going. Melanie agreed to make dinner so her mom could rest after the long day she's been through.

They got home and Shawn and his family wasn't there. They wrote a not and put it on the fridge. It said, “went out for dinner. bbl” That put a smile on Taylor’s face. We’ll have a nice family dinner tonight, she thought to herself.

As soon as dinner was ready, JJ set the table. Jimmy walked in a few minutes later with flowers. He kissed Taylor’s cheek and handed her the flowers. She didn't really show much emotion. She was mentally drained. They sat down and Jimmy looked at little Jimmy. JJ was too afraid of what was going to happen so he wouldn't look at his father in the eye.

“Pick your head up, son. Thats a sign of weakness.”

“Im sorry, daddy! I didn't mean to get In trouble!”

“I know son, that still doesn't make it okay! I wont happen again, do you understand?”

“I promise!”

They continued their dinner. Taylor was starting to feel a little bit better but then she remember her in-laws were coming back.

Jimmy had to do the dishes as his punishment. Melanie was in her room doing homework and Taylor and Jimmy Sr. were on the couch watching a movie. They were talking about what he was going to tell his brother when he came back.

Taylor went upstairs to shower before they came back. The twins were already sleeping so Monica went up to bed too. Jimmy and Shawn were sitting on the couch. Jimmy really didn't want to tell Shawn what to do because he was a grown man but he had to do. He set the rules and Shawn agreed to follow them. The Jimmy did something he really didnt want to do. He asked him if he would watch JJ for the rest of his suspension. Of course Shawn said yes because he was staying in his house for free. Everyone went to bed after that.

The next morning Taylor was really scared to leave Jimmy but she had to go to work. Shawn made everyone breakfast and packed Melanie’s lunch. That made Taylor feel better about everything. Once everyone was gone Jimmy went back to his room to play firefighter. Shawn and Monica were outside on the porch and Mia and Maya were still asleep.

Jimmy put on his fireman jacket, boots and hat and pretended like his driving. He drove into the kitchen and turned on the stove to pretended like that was his fire. First he threw water on it. The he turned all the burners on. He remembered when his dad came home with bandages because he got burned in a fire. So he stuck his finger into the fire. He realized his finger didn't look normal, but it didn't look burned. It also didn't hurt. He was shocked and confused, so he stuck his whole hand in the fire and watched as his hand lit up.

Jimmy had just learned something a bit scary and different about his self. When he touched fire he didn't burn, his skin glowed. At first he thought that was the coolest thing ever. Then he realized that meant he couldn't be a fire fighter. When he would have to go into fires his skin would glow and he wouldn't be able to save people. Instead he would scare them and wouldn't be able to help him.

He didn't know how to handle it so he cried. He called his dad’s cell phone, begging him to come, “Daddy, I need you! Please come home.”

Jimmy Sr. didn't know what was going on so he flew home. The whole ride he was saying I knew I shouldn't have trusted Shawn. He got to his house and saw Shawn and Monica sitting on the porch.

“Where’s my son?! Are you watching him?!”

“He’s in the house, relax!”

“Well, somethings wrong. He just called me crying!”

Shawn looked shocked and confused. They ran into the house. Jimmy was on the kitchen floor crying. His fireman jacket and hat were sitting next to him. His dad grabbed him, Jimmy cried even more.

“Son, what happened.”

“Watch” he said as tears rolled down his face

He turned the stove.

“Jimmy you are not supposed to touch the stove!”

Before his dad could turn it off he stuck his hand in the fire. His hand glowed, just like before. Shawn and Monica didn't know what to say, they just stood there. So did Jimmy Sr. Tears continued to run down Jimmy’s face.

“Daddy, look at my hand. Its glowing. And it doesn't hurt.”

“JJ I don't know what to tell you. I've never seen anything like it before.”

“Does this mean I can't be a firefighter?” Tears streamed down as face as he barely got that sentence out.

“Don't worry about that now. We need to go see a doctor.”

“Can mommy come. I need her!”

“Ill call her on the way there. Go get dressed”

Jimmy turned and looked at Shawn and Monica. They looked just as shocked as he did. “What am I going to do.”

“Relax, take him to the doctor and see what she says.” Monica said in a quiet calm voice

“Ill go help JJ get ready, go call Taylor.”

Jimmy walked slowly outside while trying to figure out what he was going to tell Taylor. He dialed the number hoping she wouldn't answer. She did.

“Hey baby, we got another problem”

“Oh god”

“I have to take Jimmy to the doctors. Can you meet me there. Ill tell you whats wrong when I get there.”

“Uhh wha never mind I'll be there.” Taylor stumbled over her words

Jimmy walked out slowly carrying his firetruck in his hand. You could see how angry and disappointed he was. His dad pulled off, trying not to speed. If he went faster than normal Jimmy would know his dad was scared.

Taylor beat them to the doctors. JJ ran into his moms arms, tears streaming down his face, holding on to her for dear life.

Taylor and the doctor could believe what she was seeing when Jimmy put a liter to his son’s arm. Taylor started crying, she was scared. The doctor immediately started typing scaring Taylor even more. She started rubbing her son on his back, trying to comfort him. Jimmy hugged his firetruck tighter.

“I’ve never seen anything like this.” the doctor said

“Is there anything you can do about.” Taylor asked

“I-ummm” the doctor stumbled over her words

That made Taylor cry more.

“I dont think I can.” that time her words were a little bit better

“I wanna be a firefighter, like my daddy! Can I still be a firefighter?!

“Jimmy, your health is the most important thing. If every time you get near fire you glow, thats a problem. If we can find a surgery, then there might be a chance.”

“I’ll get surgery!”

“Its not that simple. I’ve never even heard of this.”

Jimmy put his head down while tears dripped from his face onto his truck. He knew this couldn't be the end. Someone would have to find the answer.

Later that night he asked his mom if they could go to another doctor. His dad told him no. Even though they’ve been planning for Jimmy to be firefighter before he was even born, things changed. His dad knew he had no one to carry on the family tradition. JJ was in his room thinking of a plan. Jimmy was also in his room, working on a different plan. Jimmy and Taylor were planning another baby.