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“Go Charlie! Go! Go! Go!” Olly screamed from the sideline watching as Charlie steamed away from the opposition’s defensive line towards the corner of the field, glancing over his shoulder to see how much distance was between him and his pursuer before trotting in towards the middle of the tryline. Nick chased up the field and engulfed his boyfriend in a hug before taking the ball and setting it up for the conversion, his job made much easier by Charlie’s swerve to the centre in his last few paces.
Olly and Sarah were together on the sideline with a smattering of other Truham supporters. Charlie waved at the two of them then retreated back behind the halfway line with the rest of the team. Nick made an easy conversion, the ball sailing through the posts, if not perfectly centred then close enough that there wasn’t any doubt of the parabola.
Nick flicked the kicking tee away and jogged back to join the rest of the Truham team, setting up for the opposition fly-half to kick off play again. The player in red glanced around, taking in the positions of the Truham players, then nodded to his own team and stepped forward on his left, swinging his right leg through to punt the ball into play. His own left wing came sprinting to try and get under it but Charlie got there first, leaping up to take the ball securely and hugging it to his chest as he landed, right as the opposition number eleven reached the same spot.
Unable to moderate his speed, the player in red crashed into Charlie, taking him down in a jumble of limbs. Charlie crashed to the ground, curling around the ball and rolling so his back faced the opposition. Kieran ran up from his position as full-back and dipped down to clear the ball, reaching for it and passing it back to Otis as Christian arrived. Christian reached a hand down to pull Charlie up before withdrawing it and throwing both arms above his head for attention.
“Ref! I think Charlie needs a concussion check!” he yelled. “He seems a bit out of it.”
The ref blew the whistle to pause play and Ms Singh, doubling as coach and medic, ran onto the field. Sarah grabbed Olly and pulled him tightly to her, offering comfort as his big brother became the centre of attention. “What’s happening? Is Charlie going to be okay?”
“Charlie just took a knock, it happens in Rugby.” Sarah rubbed up and down Olly’s arm comfortingly. “They’re only a problem if they’re ignored, and he’s being checked.”
Nick was hovering protectively but uselessly above Charlie and Ms Singh on the ground, the rest of the Truham team standing back in a loose circle. The opposition had retreated behind the halfway mark and were filling in time with what looked like a loose passing drill. Suddenly Ms Singh looked up at Nick and he swooped in to pick Charlie up, scooping an arm under his back and his knees and carrying him to the away bench on the sideline.
“Come on, let’s go see how he is.” Sarah flicked her head in Charlie’s direction. Olly’s hand slipped up to take hers as they walked over.
“I’m fine. I just took a hard tackle and my head hit the ground a bit hard on the way down.” Charlie was protesting. “Seriously, I was a bit dazed for a minute, but I really don’t think it’s something to worry about.”
“You’re staying off.” Ms Singh said firmly. “Matt, you’re on. You take blindside, tell Ritchie to take centre, and Otis he’s on wing. Nick, I need you back on the field.”
Nick dithered.
“Go. You heard Charlie, it was a small bump, I’m only keeping him off as a precaution.”
“Nick, go. I’m fine. Promise.” Charlie met Nick’s eyes and that was enough to send Nick back out.
Sarah and Olly sat either side of Charlie on the bench for the remainder of the game. Charlie didn’t want to admit it, but he was glad to be off the pitch. He was fine, he was sure of it, but that fine came with a side of woozy.
Nick pulled up outside the Spring house an hour later, warm-down complete. Olly jumped out and ran up the path, Charlie’s house keys in hand. “Bye, Nick.”
“I wish I could come in.”
“Me too, but Mum and Dad were very explicit that you and Michael weren’t to be here while they were in Almeria.” Charlie said. “Though what they expect us to get up to with Olly around, I don’t know.” He leaned across the console for a kiss. “It’s only for a weekend, and I can come to yours tomorrow, when Tori is on Olly duty.”
“Have you heard from her how Michael’s competition went?”
Tori had taken the train up to London to support Michael in the southern region Speed Skating time trials, the first step in his campaign for Olympic selection.
“Not yet, but he won’t be finished yet.” Charlie reluctantly opened the door. “I’ll call you when Olly’s in bed,” he leaned back across the passenger seat to give Nick another kiss, then watched Nick drive away before walking inside.
“Charlie, can we play MarioKart?” Olly bounced. “Please?”
“After dinner. Do you want Pizza?” Charlie said, pulling out his phone and sitting down. “Get the picnic blanket too and we can eat in the living room.” Olly’s face lit up and he scampered off to fossick in the utility room. “It should be in the second cupboard,” he called after him.
Charlie leaned back on the headrest and closed his eyes.
“Charlie! The Pizza is here.” Olly stood over him. “You fell asleep. Mum doesn’t want me opening the door to strangers.”
“Yeah, coming.” Charlie pushed himself up and wobbled a little as he stood. He should have eaten something after the game, but with coming off the field early his usual routine had been dropped. He took a step…
“Hey.”
“ Nick?”
“Olly?”
“ Nick, Charlie fell over, and he won’t wake up and Tori isn’t home, the Pizza Guy needs to leave, and I don't know what to do.”
“What?” Panic started building up in Nick’s chest. “Is he breathing?” Nick waited impatiently as he listened to shuffling.
“ Yeah. He’s waking now.” The tightness in Nick’s chest loosened just a little.
“I’m coming over. I’ll stay on the phone okay? But I’m coming over.”
“ But Mum and Dad said you weren’t allowed to .” Olly’s worried voice answered.
“I’m sure they’ll be okay with me coming over under the circumstances.” Nick reassured, pushing himself off the bed and out of his room. “Mum! Mum! I need a lift. Charlie’s hurt and Olly rang.” He sped down the stairs and grabbed the keys off the hook in the kitchen.
“Mum’s gone already.” David’s bored voice came out of the living room. “Her book club person just picked her up.”
“Fuck.” Nick winced. “David, I need you to drive me to Charlie’s.”
“You can walk.”
“Fuck!” Nick was exasperated. “David. Charlie had a head knock at the game today, Olly is the only one with him and rang me to say Charlie won’t wake up. Olly is nine. I need to get there as soon as possible to stop a nine-year-old freaking out.” He threw the car keys at his brother. “Now stop being an arse and get me to Charlie’s quick.”
David grumbled but stood and followed Nick out to Sarah’s car. Nick’s leg was bouncing with worry the whole three minute drive over and he burst out, opening the car door before David had even fully stopped and sprinted up the path to bang on the door.
“Olly? Olly, it’s me Nick. Open the door.” The door opened and Olly launched himself at Nick, arms around his middle.
A boy a bit older than Nick in a Pizza delivery outfit looked relieved to see someone. “I called an ambulance, they’re on their way. I gotta go.”
Nick watched him leave as he hugged Olly waiting for his tears to subside.
“He’s awake.” Olly sobbed into Nick’s middle. “But he was sick.” He looked past Nick. “Who’s that?”
“What?” Nick was releasing Olly and pushing into the house following the smell of vomit to find Charlie on the sofa. “That’s my brother, David.” David had parked the car and was following Nick inside. “Olly, can you show David where the cleaning stuff is, and find a bucket? Charlie. Charlie?” Nick was running his hands over Charlie’s face, looking for a reaction.
“Nick?”
Nick heaved a sigh of relief and bent to hug his boyfriend. “An ambulance is on the way. You need to be properly checked out.”
“I’m fine. I’m just a bit woozy because I didn’t have anything to eat since the game.”
“Charlie, I love you, but you are a stubborn arse sometimes. You had a head knock then you were out of it to the point Olly couldn’t wake you and called me. You are getting properly checked out.”
David watched his little brother switch from panic to control as he saw the wee kid — Ali? — then moved to check on Charlie. He felt a tug on his hand. The kid was looking up at him. “Nick said to show you the cleaning stuff.” There were still tear tracks running down the kids face, but he seemed calm now. Nick’s arrival was apparently enough for him to stop crying and breathe easy. David allowed the kid to pull him through the house to the Utility room. The kid pointed to a cupboard above the washer. “Mum keeps the cleaning stuff up there where I can’t reach it.”
“Right. Kid. Can you find a bucket?”
“My name’s Olly,” the kid said almost petulantly.
Olly, not Ali. “Right. Well then, Olly. I’ll do the tall person things. You find a bucket or two.”
David poked through the bottles trying to find something to clean vomit off carpet — University life had prepared him for this — then filled one of the buckets Olly found with warm water. By the time they returned to the living room Nick was sitting gingerly to avoid the spilled contents of Charlie’s stomach on the carpet next to him.
David put the two buckets down next to him, one filled with water and carpet cleaner, the other empty, and backed away. “Olly and I will hang out…uh… somewhere else. Come on, kid.” He shoved Olly out of the doorway behind him and in the general direction of the stairs and followed him up.
“How’d you call Nick?”
“Used Charlie’s phone.”
“It wasn’t locked?”
Olly shrugged. “It was. His thumbprint still worked.”
David suppressed a chuckle. Smart kid.
“Where are your parents?”
“Spain. It’s Abuelo’s birthday so they went to surprise him for the weekend.”
“And left you here with Charlie?” Olly pushed open a door and led David into what was clearly his room.
“And Tori. They didn’t want me to miss school on Friday. They left at lunchtime.”
“Where’s Tori?” David remembered Charlie’s sister clearly. He rubbed his forearm idly.
“Michael was competing today. She’s coming home tonight. Charlie had to look after me today and she is looking after me tomorrow.” Olly curled up on the bed and pulled a cuddly Thomas the Tank Engine toy towards him, hugging it closely with one hand clutched to Thomas’s chimney. “Is Charlie going to be alright?” Olly looked up at him with big eyes.
‘Nick’s with him and he’ll talk to the ambulance people when they arrive. They’ll figure out if he needs medical attention and take him to hospital if he needs it.”
“Oh.” Olly focussed on his Thomas toy. “Last time Charlie went to hospital he was gone for a really really long time.”
David didn’t know what to say to that. “Um, I don’t think he would have to be in long for a concussion. It’s not the same sort of head problem as Charlie went to hospital for before.”
He looked around the room trying to find something to talk about. Something that he knew how to talk about. “Do you want to play a game? If you have one?”
Olly nodded and thought for a moment. “Charlie and I were going to play MarioKart after dinner.”
“I can play MarioKart.”
“It’s in Charlie’s room.” Olly slid off the bed and led David across the hallway. David hovered on the threshold; it felt somehow off to enter Charlie’s room. Olly clambered onto the bed and, holding onto the bookshelf, reached precariously for the far corner where David could see a Nintendo Switch. David grabbed it before Olly could accidentally knock it to the ground, handing it to him when both feet were firmly on the floor again. Olly fidgeted with it for a minute, then deflated. “It’s locked and I don’t know the password. Nick knows it.”
“I think it’s probably best if we don't disturb them right now.” David suggested, taking the Switch from Olly and putting it back on the shelf before Olly could head downstairs. It dislodged a pack of cards. Old-school, but they might do the trick. “We can play with these.”
“I don’t know many games with those.” Olly said.
“I do. Grandmere loves cards and made me and Nick play every time we visited.” David cast his mind over the many games they played.
“Let’s start with Snap!” Olly plonked himself down on the floor and looked at David expectantly until David lowered himself down as well and started divvying up the cards.
Olly was better than David expected and soon he was playing in earnest rather than holding back. Olly giggled like he had forgotten what was happening downstairs.
“Do you know Go Fish?” David asked after ending another round of Snap! empty-handed.
“Is that the one where you collect pairs?”
“Pairs or fours, depending on how you want to play it. We can play for pairs.” David gathered up the cards and started shuffling.
“I can play fours.” Olly said. “So you have to get all of them before you put them down, right?” He accepted seven cards from David and started fanning them in front of his face.
“Have you got any twos?” Olly ventured.
“Go Fish. Have you got any threes?”
Olly handed over a card with a frown, then scrutinised his cards. “Have you got any tens?”
David handed over a card. ‘You and Charlie seem close. Have you got any Aces?”
“Go Fish. Charlie’s the best.” Olly twisted his mouth as he decided what to ask for. “Have you got any sevens?”
“Go Fish. Threes?”
Olly shook his head. David sighed and reached for the pile.
“Have you got any sevens?” Olly asked again hopefully. David handed over the card he had just picked up, Olly crowed and put it on the carpet in front of him adding three cards from his hand. “Umm. Have you got any fours?”
“Go Fish. Have you got any fives?”
“Go Fish. I don’t think Nick likes you very much.” Olly said. “Have you got any kings?”
David held out two cards for Olly to take. “I know. Have you got any Aces?”
“Go Fish. That must be sad. I’d be sad if Charlie didn’t like me. Have you got any tens?”
‘Go Fish. It’s… I don’t like me very much sometimes either.” David said with a shrug. “Have you got any twos?”
Olly handed over a card. “Dad says we can’t expect other people to like us if we don’t like ourselves. Have you got any….Jacks?”
‘Go Fish. My mum says that too. Have you got any threes?” David took the offered two cards, adding them to his hand then pulling all four three’s out and laying them on the carpet. “Hmmm. Have you got any fours?
“Go Fish.” Olly looked over his cards then up at David. “I think that Charlie doesn’t like himself sometimes. That’s why he sees Geoff.”
“Who’s Geoff?”
“Geoff’s a… not a doctor, but he does head healing. He helps Charlie figure out his feelings. He’s mostly happier since he’s been seeing Geoff.” Olly looked at his cards then back up at David. “Have you got any twos?”
“Go Fish.” David replied, then looked at his cards, trying to figure out what to ask for next.
“Maybe you need someone like Geoff. To help you like yourself.”
David looked up at Olly. “Maybe.”
Olly didn’t seem to be aware that what he had said was anything out of the ordinary. “It’s your turn.”
“Oh, um. Have you got any… any fours?”
“You said that last time.”
“Right, right. Uh, fives?”
“Go Fish”
“David. Olly?” Nick’s voice came up the stairwell, followed by footsteps. They went out to meet him. “The ambulance officers want to take Charlie in for observation.” He took a breath like he was bracing himself. “I want to go with them. Can you stay with Olly? Tori should be back soon. I've been messaging her. It won’t be long. I promise.”
“You’ll owe me.” David said.
Nick nodded resignedly and looked at Olly. “Tori will be back soon. Maybe you and David could have that Pizza Charlie ordered.” Olly nodded solemnly, Nick turned and went back down the stairs.
“Nick.” David called, Nick turned. “Olly wanted to play MarioKart. He said you can unlock the Switch.” Nick looked at him curiously then climbed the top steps again going into Charlie’s room and coming out Switch in hand and handed it to David. “I turned the lock function off. Charlie can turn it back on when he’s feeling better.” He started down the stairs then paused. “David…”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
David got home about the same time as Sarah arrived back from her movie. “Hi Darling, good night? Where’s Nick?”
“At the hospital with Charlie.”
“Oh no, what’s wrong?” Sarah pulled out her phone to see a string of unread texts.
“He was woozy and vomiting. Olly called Nick for help.”
“Was Tori not with them? And on the weekend Julio and Jane are away, too.”
“She is now. She just got home.” David said.
Sarah looked at him, puzzled. “How do you know that? If Nick’s at the hospital with Charlie?”
“I drove Nick over, then stayed with Olly until Tori came home.”
Sarah’s face softened and she pulled David into a hug. “That will have meant a lot to Nick. He loves Olly like another brother.”
“Better, probably.” David said bitterly. “He loves Olly more than me.”
“That’s not true. I know you and Nick don’t get on, but he loves you. I’m sure of it.”
“You don’t have to lie, Mum.” David said. “Nick hates me.”
“I’m not.” She patted his hand. “It’s the ones we love who can hurt us the most. I live in hope that you two will work things out.” She smiled gently. “Maybe looking after Olly is the olive branch you two need to start patching things up.”
“Don’t get your hopes up, Mum. Good night. I’m going to bed.”
“Good night darling. Sleep well.”
David woke to the sound of a gentle knock on his door.
“Yeah?” he called out, still half asleep.
“Can I come in?” Nick called tiredly through the door.
“Yeah.” David pushed himself up to sit, leaning against the pillows as Nick pushed the door open. “You look like shit. Did you sleep at all?”
“No. Charlie was conscious enough to tell them I could be in with him, but the machines kept us both up all night. He’s home now, and Tori has instructions on what to watch for.” Nick said. “Um, I just wanted to say thanks. For taking me over quickly, and staying with Olly.”
“You know you could have driven yourself.”
“I know, but I didn’t think of that at the time.” Nick chuckled tiredly. “I probably wouldn’t have been safe driving anyway, and there wouldn’t have been anyone to look after Olly if I had remembered.”
“He’s a good kid,” David offered.
“Yeah.” Nick turned to leave, then hesitated and turned back to face David. “I went back to his place, Charlie’s, before coming home. I talked to Olly. He liked you.”
Nick bit his lip indecisively then added, “Maybe you’re not a complete arsehole after all.”