by Louise Hall
“Sorry,” Liv said. “I won’t be able to call you on Saturday; we’re having an event that night at the bakery. I was thinking I could maybe call on Sunday but it’ll have to be in the afternoon because…”
Usually Cate was eager for any scraps of information about her sister’s new life but not tonight. Maybe Kian was right and it was time for her to let Liv go. She had more important things to think about. “Don’t bother,” Cate snapped. “Unless you’re too busy again, I’ll speak to you a week on Saturday.”
She hung up before Liv could say anything else.
“You OK?” Sara asked, putting her hand on Cate’s arm. “Let’s go back up. The teams will be coming out soon.”
As the teams ran out, Cate recognised one of the Aston Villa players; it was Jenna’s boyfriend, Zak. She quickly looked around but fortunately she couldn’t see the skanky blonde anywhere in the families’ section.
As the match kicked off, Cate wondered if Kian knew who Zak’s girlfriend was. He played in central midfield like Kian.
In the 5th minute, Zak went for a 50-50 ball with Matteo. Cate didn’t see what happened but Matteo slumped to the ground. The referee immediately stopped the game and the Rovers medical team ran on the pitch. Kian was blazing with anger; Yoakey and the Villa captain were struggling to restrain him. Cate leaned forward, trying to see what was happening. Matteo wasn’t moving. His eyes were closed and there was blood trickling down the side of his face.
“I can’t watch,” Sara mouthed, covering her eyes.
Cate had come to think of Matteo almost like a younger brother. Kian had taken the gaffer’s request to watch out for his young team-mate seriously and so Matteo had spent a lot of time at their house.
She looked up at the sky, praying that his family weren’t watching the game live; that they would only find out about all this when it was over and Matteo was OK.
Matteo was lifted on to a stretcher and taken down the tunnel with the Rovers team doctor by his side.
The referee didn’t punish Zak, deciding that it was an accidental collision, further enraging Kian. “He’s not worth it,” Cate murmured, watching her husband prowl the pitch, his eyes never leaving Zak.
Cate breathed a huge sigh of relief when they got to half-time and Kian was still on the pitch. She and Sara rushed upstairs to the bar to see if anybody knew anything about Matteo.
“I’ve spoken to one of the Rovers medical team and they said that Matteo Di Vela was awake and talking when they put him in the ambulance to take him to hospital,” the reporter on TV said.
“Oh, thank goodness,” Cate and Sara both gasped.
“It looks like the boy is going to be OK,” one of the pundits interjected in his strong Glaswegian accent, “but what I’d really like to talk about is… How did the referee and his assistants not see that blatant elbow?”
Cate watched the replay on TV; her blood ran cold as she saw Zak turn briefly and then slam his elbow into the side of Matteo’s head. The sickening sound of crunching bone reverberated through the now-silent bar area.
“I would like to apologise to any viewers who might have been offended by that footage,” the TV presenter said quickly. “We didn’t realise that it was going to be so graphic.”
The rest of half-time passed by in a blur, everybody was still shocked by what they’d seen on TV.
In the 61st minute, Villa got a corner and Zak made a late surge into the penalty box. What happened next felt like it was in slow-motion; the ball hung weightless in the air. Zak took it down on his chest, his muscles straining against the confines of his claret and blue shirt and it dropped to his feet. He brought his leg back and suddenly Kian was there, sliding almost gracefully across the turf. His studs made contact with the ankle of Zak’s standing foot, his socks rolled down cockily exposing his shin pad. Zak hit the ground with a bump, which like rippled outwards until everybody in the ground seemed to feel it. The ball rolled towards Yoakey, who quickly booted it up the field.
At that point, time seemed to suddenly fast-forward. Zak rolled on the ground, letting out high-pitched whines and clutching his lower leg. Kian stood up, almost resigned to his fate, a streak of mud down the side of his white shorts. The Villa and Rovers players collided messily and it looked like the referee was never going to regain control. Cate was convinced that he almost looked apologetic as he showed Kian the red card.
As Kian trudged down the tunnel by himself, Cate couldn’t watch anymore. She said goodbye to Sara and ran upstairs to the empty bar area.
It was agreed because the match had been so contentious, it would be best if Kian left Villa Park before the final whistle.
When he walked out of the empty dressing room, Cate was waiting for him in the corridor outside. He’d changed out of his kit into his navy-blue club suit. He didn’t notice her at first; his shoulders were hunched forward as if he was carrying the weight of the world on them.
“Hey,” she said softly.
He looked up surprised, “Cate, what are you doing here?”
“It’s your birthday,” she reached for his hand and entwined their fingers. “I wanted to surprise you.”
Kian tugged her towards him. He stroked his fingers through her inky-black hair, pressing her cheek up against his chest, which was still damp from the shower.
“I’m so glad you’re here, angel,” his voice was a little shaky.
“Me too.” She lifted up their joined hands and kissed his knuckles. “Come on, Dave’s arranged a car for us.” Dave was his football agent.
After stopping at the hospital to check on Matteo, they went to the hotel in Birmingham.
When they were alone in the lift, Kian pounded his fists against the mirrors on the back wall. “Fuck!”
“Kian,” Cate said gently. She really hated seeing him like this. He’d always been his own worst critic and she knew that he was beating himself up for losing control. She reached for his clenched fists and kissed his knuckles, gradually unfurling them. “It’s going to be OK.”
The lift doors opened and two women joined them. It looked like they were part of a hen party; they were both wearing glittery, penis-shaped deely boppers and one of them was wearing a pink, satin sash. When the lift started moving again, they stumbled and it was obvious that they were both drunk. Cate cringed; it was the last thing that Kian needed. She subtly positioned herself in front of him, hoping that she could protect him from their scrutiny.
“Hey, aren’t you Kian Warner?” one of the women recognised him. She blinked really fast; her false eyelashes were starting to come loose.
She looked at Kian as if he was a museum exhibit instead of a living, breathing human being. Then she turned her attention to Cate and it was like watching a flashbulb go off above her head. They weren’t football fans but they knew about Kian because of Jenna, because she’d become a “celebrity” for sucking his cock.
“Is that why you did it?” she asked eagerly, leaning forward, “because he’s dating your ex?”
Cate felt sick; that Jenna’s “celebrity” had somehow validated what she’d done. She’d never been Kian’s girlfriend. When she’d sucked Kian’s cock that night, he was Cate’s husband.
She felt Kian tense up behind her. She knew that he’d want to say something to defend her but these two skanky, little bitches just weren’t worth it. Neither was Zak but she hadn’t been able to stop that. Anything he said or did now was just going to make it worse.
She turned around and trailed her fingers through Kian’s damp hair, tilting his head down towards hers. She forced him to look only at her and ignore the other two women in the lift. It really didn’t matter what they thought; she knew with absolute certainty that what had happened during the match tonight had been nothing at all to do with Jenna. They stayed like that until the lift arrived at their floor.
Cate led him down the corridor to their room. As she unlocked the door, she checked her watch, it was almost midnight. There wasn’t long left of Kian’s birt
hday. She was determined that it wasn’t going to end like this.
When they got inside the room, Kian sat down on the end of the bed and loosened his tie. Cate stood in front of the full-length mirror, with her back to Kian and slowly removed her t-shirt. She bent forward a little. Kian loved her bottom and these maternity jeans were scandalously tight. She grinned as she watched the pure, unadulterated lust burn through any lingering worries he had about what he’d done out there on the pitch earlier tonight.
He got up off the bed and prowled towards her. “Fuck, Cate.” His hands clamped down on her hips.
“I hope so,” Cate teased.
“I was so tempted,” she whispered in his ear, “not to wear panties tonight.”
Kian reached for the zip at the front of her jeans, “yeah?”
He slid the zip down slowly, revealing a glimpse of white lace underneath. “You changed your mind?”
“Mm, I know how much you like this,” Cate eased her jeans down her hips, showing off the lace thong.
“I want you naked,” Kian looked at her through the mirror. As he tugged down her thong, Cate peeled off her bra.
“You too,” she demanded.
“Get on the bed.” Kian quickly stripped off his clothes and climbed up on to the bed with his wife. He settled between her slender thighs and she looked at the clock on the bedside table above their heads. “Do you have somewhere else you need to be?” Kian smirked.
“I know you want to tease me,” Cate looked up at him. “…but I need you inside me in the next two minutes.”
Kian looked at the clock, it was 11.58. “What’s the rush?”
Cate blushed, “it’s your birthday. I want you to make love to me.”
“I thought it was me who was supposed to be making the wishes, angel,” Kian chuckled, flexing his hips. “It is my birthday, at least for another minute.”
“You don’t want to be inside me?” Cate pouted.
Kian answered by thrusting inside her hungrily. “Mm,” she tightly gripped his biceps. “That feels so good”
They were so close; every pant pushed her tender breasts against his muscular chest. Kian slid a hand underneath her, holding her against him. “I love you.”
“I love…” Before she could even finish, Kian had claimed her mouth again.
But even in the midst of making love to his wife, he couldn’t forget what had happened out there on the pitch tonight. Injuries were part of being a footballer, it should be a physical battle but when he’d seen Matteo, his young team-mate, lying still and bloodied on the pitch like that…
Cate reached up and stroked her fingers through his black hair. “Come back to me.”
“I’m right here, angel,” Kian stroked the pad of his thumb over her plump bottom lip.
After they’d both climaxed, he arranged Cate so her soft, warm body was curled around him, her silky, black hair trailed across his damp skin.
“I fucked up,” Kian looked at the ceiling. There would be serious repercussions for his sending-off tonight. He thought about what those two women in the lift had said. “It had nothing to do with her, I promise.”
Cate looked up at him sleepily. “I know. You were angry because of what he’d done to Matteo.”
“I still shouldn’t have done it,” Kian frowned. “I should call Dave.”
“No,” Cate shook her head. When he tried to sit up, she wrapped her leg around his thighs. “I’m serious, Kian. There’s nothing you can do tonight. You need to get some sleep.”
CHAPTER 16
“I’d better call Dave,” Kian said glumly as he switched the engine off. On the way home, they’d stopped at the hospital in Birmingham again; because of the severity of his injury, the consultant wanted Matteo to stay in for at least a few more days.
“OK,” Cate brushed her lips against his stubble. She hated seeing her husband beat himself up like this but there was nothing she could do. “I’ll be upstairs if you need me.”
As she walked into the bedroom, the phone rang downstairs. It was probably for Kian so she let him answer it.
A couple of minutes later, he appeared in the doorway. “Angel, we need to go to Lola’s school.”
Cate immediately panicked, “is she OK?”
“She was caught fighting in the playground; the headmistress wants to talk to us.”
“What?” Cate couldn’t believe it. “There must have been some mistake. Lola doesn’t get into fights.”
When they got to the primary school, there was a cluster of photographers waiting for them outside the school gates.
“Fuck,” Kian gritted his teeth.
“Should we call the police?” Cate asked anxiously. She just wanted to find her daughter.
Kian shook his head, “it won’t do any good. They aren’t actually on school property.”
He turned around and put his hand on the back of her seat. “When we go out there, they’re probably going to say some really horrible things to you. I’ll try and shield you as much as I can but I need you to keep your head down and just keep walking, OK? Don’t react to anything they say.”
“OK,” Cate gulped.
As soon as they got out of the car, the photographers rushed towards them. Kian pulled Cate into his side, trying to protect her. She tried to do what he’d said and keep her head down. The flashes were so bright; she could feel them searing into her skin. She tried to block them out but the things they were shouting were so vile, she was on the verge of tears.
The photographers stopped at the school gates but Cate could still feel their prying lenses trained on them as they hurried across the playground to the main building.
When they were alone again, Cate put her hand to her mouth, “I feel sick.”
“Sit down for a second,” Kian guided her backwards until the backs of her knees hit a wooden bench. She sat down and he knelt in front of her. “Fuck,” he cursed quietly as he reached for her hands; they were cold and trembling. “Are you OK?”
Cate looked up at him, “I don’t know.” A tear trickled down her cheek.
“Come here,” Kian gathered her up in his arms. “I’m so sorry, angel.”
“I know,” Cate hiccupped. “I just… I don’t want Lola to have to go through that. How can we protect her?”
“I’ll think of something,” Kian helped her stand up.
“Mr and Mrs Warner?” The receptionist stood, holding the second door open for them. “Would you like to come through?”
“In a minute,” Kian growled. He turned to Cate, “are you OK?”
Cate nodded, “let’s get this over with. I just want to find Lo.”
The headmistress, Mrs Blake, led them into her office. “Where’s Lola?” Cate asked.
“She’s waiting in the canteen with the other pupils who were involved in the altercation in the playground.”
Kian waited until the door was firmly closed before rounding on Mrs Blake. “I want to know exactly how the press found out that my wife and I had been called to this meeting.”
“Mr Warner, I don’t know what you’re insinuating…”
“I’m not insinuating anything,” Kian said. “I’ve been in the public eye long enough to know a few things. I know when I’m being followed and I wasn’t followed to the school today. Those photographers were waiting for us. They didn’t come here for a photo of Cate and Lola; they’d been tipped off that we’d both be here. Cate and I didn’t tell anybody about this meeting, we were more concerned with our daughter’s welfare, which means that the leak must have come from inside the school.”
Cate was horrified; she’d naively thought Lola would be safe at the primary school Kian had attended.
Mrs Blake looked equally horrified, “I can assure you Mr Warner that I will investigate this fully and if…”
“When you find out who leaked this information to the press, I expect them to be sacked immediately.”
“Of course,” Mrs Blake looked pale as she sank into the chair behind her d
esk. “If we could talk about Lola…”
She explained that Mrs Cooke, Lola’s teacher, had found Lola and Josh, one of her classmates, fighting in the playground at lunchtime.
“Why weren’t they being supervised?” Kian asked angrily.
“Kian,” Cate put her hand on his arm.
After pulling them apart, Mrs Cooke had tried asking Lola what had caused the fight but she was refusing to talk to anybody. Emily, Lola’s best friend, told Mrs Cooke that Josh had said some “bad things about Lola’s mummy and daddy”.
“I need to see her,” Cate got up from the chair.
She rushed down the corridor towards the canteen with Kian following closely behind.
Lola was sat on her own on one of the metal benches near the shuttered food counters. She had a plaster above her eyebrow and her navy blue jumper was ripped at the shoulder. When she looked up at them, her beautiful, black eyes were glassy and red-rimmed.
“Mummy, I’m sorry,” Lola said quietly. She tried to arrange her jumper so the tear wasn’t so obvious.
“Oh, sweetheart,” Cate felt fresh tears fill her eyes. She hugged her daughter fiercely. “It’s OK. Let’s get you home.”
The school had a small van so Mrs Blake arranged for Cate and Lola to get a lift home in the back. “Mummy,” Lola looked frightened as the driver opened the doors at the back of the van so that they could climb inside. It didn’t have any windows. “I don’t like it.”
“I know,” Cate said softly, “but I’ll be with you the whole time, I promise.” With Kian’s help, Cate climbed into the back of the van. It was uncomfortable, the floor was hard and the metal ridges dug into Cate’s back but it was much better than having to push through the photographers who were still waiting like vultures outside the school gates. Cate reached for her daughter’s hands. “Come on, sweetie.” Kian lifted Lola up and she snuggled into Cate’s side. “It won’t be long, we’ll be home soon.”
When they got back home, Cate felt like she could breathe for the first time since they’d got the call from Mrs Blake. She thanked the driver and took Lola inside.
