After Shift - Chicago Fire Fanfiction

40.) I'm Dropping Out

"Wait, What happened?" Gabby asked as she was on the phone with Matt. "Okay, well, we knew this would happen eventually... Yeah, just drive around and let him calm down, I'll let Stella know when she wakes up, she's finally asleep and I'm not waking her...No, I don't know where Kelly is, probably Molly's...Yeah, I bet he would keep an eye on him if you asked...yeah, I can text him, you just keep an eye on Jack...Yeah, talk to you later, love you."

"What happened?" Riley immediately asked, having heard Gabby's side of the conversation.

"Reality set in for Jack." Gabby said softly.

"Oh." She said as Evan suddenly threw a book across the room and screamed in anger.

"Hey! What's the problem?" Gabby asked, hoping he didn't just wake up his sleeping mother.

"Why am I expected to still do a shit-ton of schoolwork when my brother just died!? It's fucking ridiculous and I quit! I give up! I'm dropping out!" He screamed, chucking another book on the ground and throwing his papers everywhere.

"Evan, pick that up!" Gabby said, hating to yell at him but knowing she couldn't let him do this. "You love school. You've always loved school."

"I always loved my brother too, but where is he?" Evan said bitterly as he went upstairs and slammed a door shut.

-/-/-/

Eventually, after a few hours of simultaneously driving around and comforting Jack, Matt arrived back at the Severide home just as Jack had fallen asleep in the backseat.

"I'm gonna carry him in, get the door for me." Matt told Spencer, his son doing as he was instructed as Matt carried the teenage boy inside, still in his football uniform with tears still fresh on his face.

"Hey, is he okay?" Gabby asked as she watched Matt set Jack on the couch.

"No." Matt said quietly as he took Jack's cleats and football jersey and pads off of him.

Gabby sighed. "Neither is anyone else here. Ella's upstairs with Riley, they're watching Netflix and trying to relax a little; they need it. Stella and CJ are asleep together, which is great, they're both exhausted and haven't slept in days. Boden said he'd keep an eye on Kelly at Molly's for us. And Evan is worrying me. He flipped out about school earlier and I haven't seen him since."

"Alright, I'll go check on him." Matt said, going upstairs. He found Evan's bedroom door open and the room empty. He went to check the bathroom and found the door closed.

"Hey, Ev?" He knocked, not receiving an answer. "Okay, I'm coming in."

Matt opened the door and saw Evan passed out on the floor with an empty pill bottle in his hand.