All Chapters of The Footballer's Secret: Chapter 11 - Chapter 15

It makes no sense. Gerran’s 17. He’s still got a curfew. Mam and Tad don’t let him work so he can focus on the online courses he’s taking for his A-levels. How the hell did he get the money for the train ticket? Callum frowns before he switches out of his messages and over to his search engine of choice. Train ticket from Cardiff, Wales to Alexandria, EnglandHe stares at his screen while options pop up. The cheapest one he sees now would have been £100, just like he thought, and it would have taken four hours. Where the hell did Gerran get £100 from? How the hell did he manage to slip away from Mam and Tad without them noticing? They’re overprotective as hell. He leaves the search engine and returns to his messages. Still nothing from his family. Just an unread text from Isaac. His heart flutters a bit at that. He taps it. Isaac: everything alright bruv? you were all quiet on the ride back to the training centre. clubbing ain’t as fun without you.There’s a picture, too, Isaac pou

Only almost, of course, because Isaac’s probably the least subtle person Callum knows. He thinks about that for a moment. Second least subtle person, he amends, because Matthijs is Dutch and wouldn’t know subtlety if it hit him in the face. Isaac glances at Callum.His head tips a little toward Gerran. Think I can get anything from him?Callum frowns, then gives his head a little shake. Leave it be, lad. He’s still a bit shaken up.Isaac’s lips purse into a slight frown. Yeah, no, fair, but shouldn’t I try anyhow?Callum’s eyes flick over to Gerran. … Go ahead, try. “Gerran,” Isaac starts, getting the teen’s attention. Gerran looks up from his curry. The bruise looks sickening under the soft light of the dining room. There isn’t enough gentle lighting in the world to make something like that look less ugly, Callum thinks, shivering a bit. Gerran’s blue-green eyes narrow in slight suspicion when he makes eye contact with Isaac. “... Your mum and dad know you’re out here?” he asks.No

“Hang on, give us—we need a tick,” Callum manages, standing up as well so he can cough properly and clear his throat. Isaac glances up from where he’s leaning against the wall, his eyes wide with a mixture of surprise and sheer confusion at this revelation. He gestures vaguely toward the kitchen. Callum nods before he follows Isaac into the other room. He feels a bit dizzy, actually, because when did his own brother get a boyfriend?“Bruv, you never told me he was gay!” Isaac hisses. Callum just makes a vague gesture back toward the dining room. “I didn’t know until just now myself!” he whisper-yells back. What the fuck? “Oh my god, no wonder Tad smashed his laptop,” he mutters. He scrubs a hand over his face, muffling a final cough before his throat is finally okay and only a little on fire from swallowing water incorrectly. “... Shit, why’d he say it like I was supposed to know?” he asks. Was he supposed to know? Is his gaydar that shit? “You can be a little spacey, but I don’t th