Page 47 of The Fullback
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Hunter
I tappedmy phone screen again, checking to see if there’d been any updates from Aiden in the twenty seconds since I’d last looked. I’d already known the answer. My eyes hadn’t left the screen since we’d sat down in the canteen.
But that didn’t stop me from checking anyway.
Bailey nudged the bowl of porridge in front of me, gently reminding me that I had to eat. I didn’t really want to because I was too stressed and it tasted like nothing in my mouth, but I couldn’t bear to make Bailey worry. Not on top of everything else.
Last night had ended on such a high and I’d hoped today would be the same. Then I’d opened my phone and seen the messages from Aiden about his kitchen. And while I was relieved he hadn’t been hurt, I hated being unable to do anything except send support from afar.
He’d done so much for Bailey and me, and we couldn’t return the favour. That was the thing that grated the most.
“Do you think Jonny’s there yet?” I asked under my breath. I didn’t want to draw any attention to our quiet anxiety. As much as I loved our teammates, they were the nosiest motherfuckers in existence and none of them knew when to stop digging.
“Should be,” Bailey said, glancing up at the clock on the canteen wall.
“Would it be worth… He’ll keep Devon up to date, right? Think we could ask Devon if he’s heard anything?”
“Could do, but…” He trailed off and prodded his porridge with his spoon. He’d gotten us exactly the same breakfast, which was what he always did when he thought I wouldn’t eat. That way I could mirror everything he did without really thinking about it. “Does Devon know?”
“About us? No idea.” I looked over to where Devon was sat by the window chatting to West and Mason, an empty chair beside him where Jonny would usually be. Was it too much to expect that neither of them knew? There were some oblivious blokes on the team, but I didn’t think Devon was one of them.
He saw me looking, his mouth falling into a set line. He said something to West and Mason then stood, chair scraping on the floor.
“I think we’re about to find out,” I muttered to Bailey, shoving porridge in my mouth. It still didn’t taste of anything.
“Why—shit, act natural,” Bailey said. He plastered a smile on his face that looked so fucking fake it almost made me laugh.
“Good morning,” Devon said as he pulled out the chair next to Bailey and sat down. “You two look stressed this morning.”
“Why would we be stressed?” Bailey asked.
“Seems like a bit of a reach,” I added, grabbing the bowl of fruit and yoghurt next to my now empty porridge bowl.
Devon smiled. If he was trying to play innocent, it wasn’t working. There was a surreptitious glee to it, like a kid desperately trying and failing to keep a secret. He definitelyknew something. The question was how long he could hold on to it. “Oh, you know, just because Aiden had three feet of water running through his kitchen this morning. But if I’ve somehow got the wrong idea and Iwasn’tdistracting Jonny last weekend so he could come to yours, then I’ll go…”
He went to stand up, putting his hands on the table like he was going to push away from it dramatically. Until Bailey put his hand on Devon’s shoulder, making him curse as he wobbled slightly. Then he laughed. “I knew it!”
“Yeah, fine, we’re fucking, whatever,” Bailey said. He still hadn’t taken his hand off Devon’s shoulder. “Did you get an update from Jonny?”
Devon let out an interested hum as he nodded and looked between us. I didn’t think he’d been expecting Bailey to admit it. “Yeah, I did. He’s in Leicester and they’re still waiting to get into the building. It’s not looking good to be honest. I think Aiden’s pretty convinced everything will have to be binned, including the equipment.”
“Shit,” I said. It was barely adequate to describe how I felt, but it was all I could manage.
“Do they know what happened?” Bailey asked.
“I don’t know if they’ve got an actual answer yet, but when Aiden rang this morning, he said it looked like a water main had burst. And there was a chance it flooded the sewage system as well. I’ve not heard anything since.” Devon chewed his lip for a second. “Did Aiden say anything to you?”
“Not much. I think he was trying to play it off. Like a funny thing that’d happened,” I said with a sigh. “I don’t think he wanted us to worry. It’s not like we’re close.”
Devon hummed again, like he didn’t believe that. Then he said, “Don’t take it personally. Aiden’s always been like that. He can be pretty closed off, and he acts like he doesn’t need anyone.But he does—everyone does. You just have to get him to open up to you.”
“Should you be telling us that?” Bailey asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.
Devon shrugged. “Why? Don’t you want to know? You can tell him I said it. He’ll probably curse me out, but he wouldn’t accuse me of lying. Well, maybe he’d say he doesn’t need anyone, but he would.”
“Is this where you tell us to, I don’t know, be good to him?” I asked and grinned when Devon snorted.
