Page 120 of Good Sisters

‘But there must be something we –’

I grabbed Harry’s arm before he got down on his knees and offered to donate a kidney if Liam was allowed to play. I dragged my devastated husband out of the office.

We walked down the corridor, me fuming and Harry saying, ‘No no no no,’ over and over. I stopped just inside the main door and shook him.

‘Harry, we know our son. There is a lot more to this than meets the eye. I know you’re upset, and so am I. But you need to pull yourself together for Liam’s sake. He’s waiting for us outside and he needs us to be strong for him. Let’s hear his side of the story before we jump to any conclusions.’

‘I’m so gutted for him, Julie. I know how much this will hurt him and I’m furious with him for allowing his temper to ruin this huge moment in his life.’

‘Harry,’ I barked, ‘Liam needs our support right now. We have to listen to his side of the story.’

We walked out to where Liam was standing, head bowed, at the entrance. He looked shattered. I could see he’d been crying.

I went over and hugged him. ‘It’s okay, come on, let’s get you home.’

‘Jesus, Liam, the semi-final,’ Harry muttered.

When he was safely in the car Liam began to sob. ‘I can’t believe they’ve dropped me. That prick just … just …’

I turned in my seat to face him. ‘What did Sebastian do, Liam?’

He looked out the window. ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’

‘Liam, I know you wouldn’t have punched him unless he said something really shitty. If you tell us, maybe we can talk to the principal and your coach and see if we can sort it all out.’

He shook his head.

‘Liam, tell me what happened. I’m trying to help you.’ I was exasperated.

‘Mum!’ Liam shouted. ‘I don’t want to talk about it. Stop.’ He covered his face with his hands.

‘Leave him,’ Harry whispered.

But there was no way in hell I was leaving it. We drove home in silence. Liam raced through the front door and ran upstairs, muttering about having a shower.

Harry and I went into the kitchen, and as Harry went to put on the kettle, both of our phones buzzed. It was the rugby WhatsApp group.

I wish to inform you that there was a horrific physical assault on Sebastian today by one of the joint captains, Liam. Mr Henderson and Coach Long have decided that Liam is unfit to represent the school at the semi-final. He is a disgrace to this team and to Castle Academy. Clearly he has anger management issues and a violent nature. The good news is that we have just come from A&E where the consultant told us that although Sebastian’s nose is badly bruised and he lost an awful lot of blood it is not broken and he will be able to play in the semi-final. I have no doubt he will shine, despite the trauma he endured today. Sebastian is a trooper.

The bitch. The rotten, nasty, gloating bitch. Harry stared at his phone and flung it across the kitchen.

‘She is an utter wagon.’ His hands were shaking. ‘How dare she write that? How dare she say Liam is unfit? How dare she?’ He slammed his hand onto the table.

‘I’m going to talk to Leo and Luke when they come home.They’ll tell us what happened,’ I said. I would question them like a KGB operative until I found out the truth.

Ping ping ping…

OMG poor Sebastian!

Is he really OK?

Violence is not acceptable.

Teammates are not supposed to turn on each other.

The team will miss Liam, he’s such a strong player. What a letdown.

I hope we don’t lose now.

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