28. Julie

Harry fiddled with his tie and exhaled deeply as we walked towards the headmaster’s office. To our right were the carefully manicured playing fields of Castle Academy, to our left the 4G rugby pitch that some multi-millionaire past pupil had paid for.

‘Did he give you any clue as to what Liam did?’ Harry asked, for the third time.

‘No, he didn’t. He just said we needed to come to the school to talk to him about an incident.’

In the first few years of their time at Castle Academy the triplets had been in trouble a fair bit, nothing serious, but I had been inside the principal’s office several times.

In the last few years, however, they had really settled in. Playing rugby had cemented friendships and their place in the school for them. They felt like they belonged and had stopped acting out. Even I had begun to relax and stop feeling like a total imposter at the place.

But now here we were again, called in to see the head-master. What had Liam done?

‘If he’s in trouble, it could endanger his place on the team,’ Harry said.

Always back to the rugby. ‘Jesus, Harry, I’m less worried about the sodding rugby team and more concerned that he might be suspended or expelled. We don’t know how bad this is.’

Harry looked appalled. ‘You don’t think it’s that serious, do you?’

‘Hopefully not. We’ll find out soon enough.’ I stopped outside the headmaster’s office and knocked.

Mr Henderson greeted us politely and asked us to sit down. His office was large and filled with light. Behind him was a wall of book-lined shelves. It even had one of those ladders you see in libraries, like on Downton Abbey , which they’re always climbing up to pull down big, dusty books.

Harry and I sat down on the two dark green leather chairs opposite the headmaster.

Mr Henderson took off his glasses, cleared his throat and clasped his hands together.

When people take off their glasses and do the hand-clasping thing it tends to mean trouble, big trouble. I held my breath.

‘I’ve called you here today to discuss a serious incident involving Liam.’

Harry looked at me, panic-stricken. Serious incident was bad news.

‘Liam is a really good kid,’ I said. ‘What exactly happened?’

‘This morning, at early-morning training, Liam punched another boy in the face. We don’t believe the boy’s nose is broken, but there was a lot of blood, and we cannot condone violence.’

‘That can’t be right. Liam would never do that,’ Harry said. ‘Are you sure it was him?’

‘Positive.’

‘Who did he punch?’ I wanted to know. Liam was not a kid who went around punching people for no reason.

‘Sebastian Carter-Mills.’

Of course it was. No surprise there. This was not unprovoked. Sebastian had clearly wound Liam up.

‘What led to the incident?’ I asked.

‘Apparently there was a quarrel that, unfortunately, ended up with Liam resorting to violence.’

‘Did Sebastian hit him first?’ I asked.

‘No.’

‘We will speak to Liam and I can assure you this will never happen again.’ Harry was eager to placate the headmaster.

‘What was the quarrel about? I know my son. He did not punch Sebastian without serious provocation.’

‘We have asked Liam to explain his actions, but he insists he has nothing to say. He made it clear that he would rather not discuss what happened. Besides, the question here is not what the quarrel was about but how your son reacted. Violence towards another boy is unacceptable. Mrs Carter-Mills was extremely distressed to see her son injured and has taken Sebastian to hospital to make sure his nose isn’t broken, although the coach, Mr Long, is certain it isn’t.’

I could just imagine the scene Victoria had caused. She’d make our lives hell over this.

‘We will, of course, cover any medical bills and Liam will apologize to the Carter-Mills family,’ Harry said.

Hang on a second, why was he offering them Liam on a plate?

‘While I obviously agree that Liam shouldn’t have punched Sebastian,’ I said, shooting a look at Harry, ‘I would first like to talk to my son and find out more about the incident. Liam is not someone who loses his temper easily. We need to find out what led to the punch. Sebastian must have said or done something awful to provoke that reaction from Liam. There’s more to this than we know at present.’

‘As I said, winding someone up is still no excuse for violence. That is our primary concern here.’

‘Generally, I’d agree with you, but we don’t know what Sebastian’s part in this was and I think that’s a key factor in this scenario.’

‘We will speak to our son, make sure he apologizes and then we can all move on,’ Harry said. ‘We have a semi-final to focus on.’

Mr Henderson cleared his throat. ‘Regarding the semi-final. Mrs Carter-Mills is asking for Liam to be expelled. While that is far too strong a punishment, considering he has been an excellent student up to this point, we have considered suspending him for a week. However, I have spoken to Mr Long and I feel that the best way for Liam to learn from this lesson is to exclude him from the team for the semi-final. We know how much his rugby means to him and by excluding him we believe that he will truly understand that actions have serious consequences.’

Beside me, Harry made a strangled sound. I knew he was devastated.

I had to say something to try to save Liam. ‘I think that’s very unfair. We don’t know the true circumstances. Liam is one of the captains. He has been a real leader for this team and one of the best players. He has put his heart and soul into training and being part of the squad. This semi-final is the biggest moment in his young life. Please don’t take that away from him. Suspend him, by all means, but don’t leave him out of the team.’

The headmaster shook his head. ‘The decision has been made.’

I stood up. ‘I think that’s incredibly unfair and I will get to the bottom of this.’

Harry finally found his voice. ‘Is there any way you would reconsider this decision?’

‘I’m afraid not. Liam will be waiting for you outside the main reception area. I think it best he goes home immediately.’

‘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.

On and on the messages went. I turned off my phone and spent the day watching the clock until it was time to pick up the boys. Harry spent the day trying to talk to Liam through his locked bedroom door and getting nowhere.

Luke and Leo flung their bags into the car and slammed the door.

‘Fuck Sebastian,’ Luke said.

‘He’s a scumbag,’ Leo added.

‘I need to know what happened. What did Sebastian do?’ I asked.

Leo and Luke looked at each other.

‘Boys, your brother is in big trouble and getting blamed for everything. It’s not fair, but I can’t help him if I don’t know what Sebastian did to wind him up. If I know what happened, maybe I can plead his case to the headmaster.’

‘It’s embarrassing,’ Leo said.

‘Embarrassing? For Liam?’

‘No,’ Luke said.

‘For Sebastian?’

‘No, Mum,’ Leo snapped.

‘Well, for who, then?’ I was so frustrated. ‘Spit it out.’

‘Fine then. Jess,’ Luke told me.

‘Jess? What do you mean? Did Sebastian say something about Jess?’

‘Kind of.’

‘It was worse than that,’ Leo muttered.

Jesus! What the hell had gone on in the changing room that morning?

‘Guys, I know it’s hard for you to tell me, but I need to know everything. It’s the only way I can help Liam. I know he’d never punch someone without good reason.’

Leo and Luke looked at one another. I could see they were weighing up how much to say. I stayed quiet, even though I wanted to roar in their faces to tell me.

‘He was saying stuff about Jess and … he had a photo.’

I felt like my heart had actually stopped in my chest. The air in the car felt dense, like it was pressing against me, suffocating.

‘What kind of photo?’

The boys shifted about.

‘One of her with no top on,’ Leo muttered.

Oh, God, no. ‘The bastard,’ I hissed.

‘And he was saying that she, like, does stuff,’ Luke said.

‘What stuff?’

‘Stuff,’ he said, looking mortified.

‘Luke, I need the full story.’

‘Jesus, Mum, it’s … it’s –’

‘Blow-jobs,’ Leo blurted out. ‘He said she’s really good at giving him blow-jobs.’

Oh, my God, she wasn’t even sixteen. That lowlife was showing a photo of my niece topless and saying she was a blow-job queen. I felt a shot of pure rage go through me. I wanted to bash his stupid head in. I could have killed him with my bare hands.

‘Did the other boys see the photo?’ I said quietly.

‘They didn’t get a chance. Sebastian just showed it to the three of us, to wind us up. We tried to wrestle the phone out of his hands, but then –’

‘Liam punched him?’ I interrupted.

‘No. Liam punched him when he said Jess was a slut.’

Tears sprang into my eyes. I had never been prouder of Liam. But my poor, lovely Jess.

‘Does Jess have any idea he has this photo?’ I asked.

‘I dunno,’ Leo said.

‘We tried to get Sebastian’s phone, but Coach came in when he heard the shouting, so the prick still has it.’

‘Oh, Jesus, poor Jess. We have to delete that photo.’

‘Don’t worry, Mum. We’ll get his phone and destroy it,’ Leo said.

‘But won’t it still be on the cloud or whatever?’ I was panicking.

‘Not unless it’s synced or backed up,’ Leo said.

I had no idea what that really meant, but I knew we had to get Sebastian’s phone ASAP and delete everything.

‘We could go to the guards,’ Luke said. ‘I mean, couldn’t they talk to him and get his phone? Isn’t it illegal to have pictures without a girl’s consent or whatever?’

I shook my head. ‘No. We need to shut this down, boys. We don’t want this to get broadcast all over the place. The most important thing here is to keep it quiet so we can protect Jess. I want you to leave it with me. I’ll sort it out. But you have to do one thing for me – find out if he forwarded that photo to any of the other lads. And if you find out he did, don’t go rogue. We’ll handle it. We have to tread carefully. But I promise you this, I’m going to make sure that prick Sebastian pays for what he’s done to our Jess and to Liam.’

‘Get Louise to sort him out. She’s way scary and she can totally legal him,’ Luke suggested.

‘Yeah, Louise can kick serious arse,’ Leo said.

‘So can I, boys. Trust me, so can I.’