Page 25 of After the Siren
Fuck.They each had individual programs, but tomorrow was supposed to be the last training session of the year. Jake had planned to leave for home directly afterward. To spend some proper time with his mum. His anger had trickled away, and now all he could think about was having to call his mum toexplain why he couldn’t come home until Christmas Day, why he wouldn’t be there to do everything they’d planned.
‘But,’ Jake started. ‘It’s —’
Davo went even redder. ‘Yes, Cunningham, it’s Christmas. Do I look like I give a fuck? If you wanted a Christmas break, you shouldn’t have fought one of your teammates.’
‘Right,’ Jake managed. He realised, on an awful inhale, that he was on the verge of tears. He bit the inside of his mouth, trying to keep it together.
‘And as for you,’ Davo said, turning to Bestavros, ‘I suggest you spend more time earning a place on this team and less time getting into it with someone who’s proved he deserves his.’
‘I understand,’ Bestavros said, stony-faced.
Davo waved a dismissal and Jake headed towards the rooms without looking back.
Fuck.
A combination of panic and trembling rage got Theo off the oval and into the gym before his brain really had time to process what had happened. They may have been kicked out of the rest of training, but Theo still had a conditioning workout he was supposed to do. He wanted to be done and out of the gym before the others got off the field.
Lifting weights turned out to be a good outlet for the sick energy crackling under his skin. His brain fell into a spiral of every shitty thing that might flow from that one stupid snipe. Lodged, every now and again, on the way Cunningham had looked at him when he’d saiddon’t. He could almost taste the horrible blend of guilt and satisfaction every time he thought about the fact he’d finallygottento Cunningham.
Except maybe he’d done that better than he’d meant to. And since when had he sledged using misogynist bullshit? It hadbeen the kind of sledge packed in layers of everything he loathed about footy culture. Let alone taunting Jake for doingexactly the same thing Theo was doing.
Just as he realised he was benching slightly more than he should have been without a spotter – though if he crushed all his ribs at least he wouldn’t need to deal with the consequences of his actions – hands appeared and grabbed the bar. Yelks looked down at him, frowning, and helped Theo rack it.
‘Thanks,’ Theo wheezed.
He hadn’t had much to do with Yelks yet. The Falcons captain was a big guy – 6′5″ according to the stats sheet – with long, dark-blond hair and striking green eyes. He was softly spoken off the field, almost gentle, as though he was acutely aware of how much space he took up. On the field he was a towering presence at fullback: the last line of defence, known for his physicality and his uncanny sense for the game. Theo didn’t know what to make of him.
Theo sat up, swinging his legs around so he was sitting sideways on the bench. Yelks sat down beside him and handed him a protein shake.
‘Thanks.’
‘No worries. You want to tell me what happened out there?’
Theo popped the lid off the shaker and took a sip to avoid answering. Once he’d swallowed, he said, ‘Did you ask Cunningham?’
‘I would have if I’d been able to find him. I still will. But I’d like to hear it from you.’
Theo took another sip.
Yelks folded his hands in his lap. ‘Davo is happy for me to handle this. I can tell you that no matter what it was, you’re not looking at any serious disciplinary consequences, because it’s the first time there’s been an issue. But.’ He pinned Theo with those eerie green eyes. ‘This is a close-knit group. You andCunningham have been needling each other for weeks – I’m not that oblivious. We need to fix it before it becomes a real problem.’
Theo put the shake aside and stared at the floor between his feet. The jittery energy he’d carried into the gym had drained away and now he just felt hollowed out. There was no good answer to that question.He pisses me off.God, he was anadult.A professional.
Yelks seemed content to sit in silence for as long as it took.
‘I guess we got off on the wrong foot,’ Theo said, finally. ‘And things ... escalated.’
‘Okay. Why the wrong foot?’
‘I ... that episode ofFull Forward. I wanted Cunningham to apologise.’
Yelks nodded. ‘That’s fair enough. And he didn’t?’
‘No.’
‘Did you raise it with him?’
‘No.’
