PENALTY by Annika Sturm (best contemporary novels TXT) 📕

Alex asked him. 'Oh yes, I did talk to him. He was great actually.' Tom nodded and smiled. 'Well, and as for the rest, let's hope Kai keeps his big mouth shut this time, ey?' Alex mumbled and Tom nudged his thigh. 'Still jealous?' He asked with a cheeky smile. Alex laughed defensively and embarrassed. 'He's not the same league as me!' He grunted and Tom kissed him lovingly. 'Well remembered.' He giggled.

Tom's mobile rang and the boys both saw Felix's number come up. 'Someone else is up early.' Alex mumbled and made his way into the kitchen to make some more tea whilst Tom answered his phone. He sighed as he was putting some hot water on to boil and rummaged through the cupboards looking for a mug. It would be such a tough day for Tom. Alex knew he would never forgive Christine for this hell she was about to throw Tom into.

Whilst he had been making tea, Tom got dressed and joined him in the kitchen. He hugged him from behind. Alex turned around and checked his face. He noticed again how pale and stressed he looked. 'What's the plan then?' He asked him. 'Felix and Kai will come here in about twenty minutes or so. With the newspaper,' Tom gulped, 'then we'll just sit here and wait. For something I guess.' Alex nodded and picked up his tea. 'And how long will you hide in here for?' He asked and sipped his drink. Tom shrugged his shoulders. 'Stefan said to give it 24 hours in hiding initially and then face the press with a statement the next day.' Stefan had been Tom's agent for years and Alex knew him well. 'I'm assuming he'll write that statement for you?' Alex asked him and Tom nodded.

Alex took his tea and Tom's hand and led him back to the sofa. They sat down and Alex carefully pulled Tom onto his lap. He had both arms wrapped tightly around his upper body as Tom rested his head against his'. 'Have you thought about denying it all?', Alex asked quietly, 'Christine has no proof and you could argue she is trying to drop you in it because you dumped her.' Tom nodded. 'I have thought about it,' he stroked his friend's hand, 'but there is always Markus to then pipe up, let's not forget. He'd relish the revenge. But also, if I lie now, then I will never ever be able to...,' he hesitated and looked at Alex, 'be in a gay relationship openly. I might as well bite the bullet now.' He laughed bitterly. Alex pensively took his hand. 'You're very brave.' He said and Tom smiled at him. 'Only because I know there is someone worth being brave for.'

The boys both jumped when the doorbell rang. Tom stood up and quickly let Felix and Kai into his flat. They hugged him, patting him on the back as they handed him a copy of the newspaper. 'How bad is it?' Tom asked hectically grabbing the paper. 'Pretty bad,' Felix said as he walked towards Alex to say hello to him, 'front page and headline news of the national tabloid newspaper is a pretty good effort.' Alex shook Felix's and Kai's hands. Tom sat down next to Alex as he was scan reading the article with a frown and the other boys read over his shoulder.

'She mentions you,' Tom said to Alex in panic, 'not explicitly, but she might bloody well have done,' he read the paragraph out loud, 'he cheated on me with one of his best friends, who plays for a different league club but also plays for Germany. I will not mention his name to protect his family, who, like me, also will have to live with this shame every day,' Tom stared at his friend and was breathing hard. Alex’s heart started racing. Tom was right, his identity was pretty obvious, 'she promised me, she swore to me, she would not mention anything about you.' Tom added hectically. 'Tommy, chill out,' Felix said calmly as he took the newspaper off him to continue to read the article, 'you have many friends in the German team who play in different clubs.' Tom jumped up and faced the boys. 'She is calling him my best friend, there aren't that many.' Tom grunted frustratedly. 'With all sympathy for Alex, it's more you we should worry about at the moment.' Kai said and stood up to try and calm him down. 'You don't understand,' Tom was pacing up and down the room, 'Alex couldn't warn his family, his friends, his agent. We thought it would be about me. And only about me. This changes everything!', he looked at Alex, who just stared, 'Alex,' he sat down next to him and put his arms around his shoulders. 'I will just deny that whole bit. I will protect you, I swear,' he said almost desperately, 'I'll get Stefan to add it to the statement. We will declare it as ridiculous and utter nonsense, okay?', Alex looked at him, 'okay?' Tom asked him again.

Alex slowly stood up and grimaced in pain again. He walked to the window, where Tom was stood earlier, and watched the snow still falling heavily outside. The boys stared at him silently. Alex’s mind was racing as he was considering what to do. Then he turned around and looked at Tom.
'No,' he said quietly and smiled at his friend, 'I won't let you deny it.' Tom frowned at him in disbelief. 'What?', he muttered, 'Alex, are you insane? Think of your family, think of your career. I'm not letting you go through this! There is no way.' Alex sat down next to him again. He took his hands and looked into his shocked eyes. They had both forgotten about Kai and Felix staring at them. 'You know,' Alex smiled, 'I happen to also have someone who it's worth being brave for.' Tom shook his head in disbelief. 'You do realise that there is no turning back afterwards.' He gulped and looked at him seriously. Alex just silently smiled at Tom, who cursed, and then grabbed his head and kissed him.

'Love sick puppies.' Felix sighed and walked into the kitchen to make him and Kai some tea as well. 'Love sick idiots more like,' Kai shook his head, 'I still think you should both just deny it all. For God's sake, your careers are at stake here.' 'There is no point,' Tom said exhaustedly as he was clutching Alex’s hand, 'now the spotlight is on me it's better I'm honest than lie and then someone will talk anyway. Like our friend Markus, for example,' Tom kissed Alex’s cheek, 'but you could still get out of this. If you want to.' Alex shook his head determinedly. 'No Tommy, I would have to stay away from you. And I can't.' Tom hugged him. 'You idiot.' He whispered in his ear and kissed him again. Kai was watching them in despair. 'Yep, definitely love sick. And totally insane.' He stood up and joined Felix in the kitchen.

Tom looked at Alex intently. 'You have to tell Em, your sister, your parents, your agent, Alex, we have no time to prepare for any of this. The story is already out there.' He sounded stressed. Alex nodded and kissed him. 'I think I'll make a few phone calls this morning, hmm?' He said and smiled. 'I really thought I had managed to protect you,' Tom shook his head, 'she promised me, she swore it Alex.' 'Shh,' Alex stroked his cheeks, 'it doesn't matter now. We'll have to just deal with it. But not by lying. I don't want to deny what we have. It just feels so wrong,' Tom looked at him and smiled sadly. Alex took a deep breath, 'time for the world to sit up and listen. And just accept it. They won't bring us down. Not us.' Alex said defiantly. Tom laughed and hugged his friend tightly. 'Thank you.' He quietly whispered into his ear.

Felix came back into the lounge and switched the television on. 'Okay,' he said and threw himself onto the sofa next to Tom, 'let's see how fast it's been spreading. Kai, get the laptop fired up, will you?' The boys watched silently in shock as most news channels and websites mentioned the exclusive story in the paper. It was the same headlines and reports everywhere.

'Good morning ladies and gentlemen. One of the national tabloid newspapers published an exclusive story this morning by Christine Koch, actress and ex-girlfriend of football star Tom Stiller, which reveals that the footballer has allegedly been having a homosexual relationship with another unnamed team colleague for months, which had allegedly led to the couple's break up earlier this month. The football star himself has not commented on the allegations yet. We will of course keep you up-to-date on any developments.'

Alex held Tom's hand as Felix was flicking through the channels and Kai gave updates from the web. 'All the big news sites have picked up on it in their top three news articles,' he shook his head, 'your Facebook page looks rather busy too,' he frowned as he was scanning the posts, ‘and not too friendly either.’ Tom was breathing hard with stress. Alex put one arm around him and tried to keep him calm. Felix jumped up and went onto the balcony to check what was happening down on the street. He quickly ran back inside and shut the balcony door behind him. 'Bloody hell, it's freezing! Tommy, I can see quite a few news vans out there already.' Tom nodded and the boys exchanged anxious looks.

In the course of the morning, Tom's mobile became a hotline for his agent and his managers as they agreed an action plan for the day. Alex also spent his morning on the phone in Tom's bedroom. He called Emma first of all and explained that he would reveal his identity given the whole world could guess it anyway. She cried and tried to change his mind for Max's sake but Alex stuck by his decision. He then rang his sister, who had already been stressed about the story all morning. When he explained his position to her, she was terrified. 'Have you lost your mind?', Anna screamed into the phone, 'that is irresponsible of you! Have you just for one second thought of Max or our poor parents?' Alex took a deep breath. 'Of course I have,' he tried to stay calm, 'I have no choice Anna. Tommy and I are in this together. I might as well take responsibility, it's pretty much obvious anyway.' 'What about your career?', she urged him, 'you were the one who said you'd be finished if it comes out.' Alex gulped. 'Yes, I know. And if we had had the choice of course none of this would have ever come out,' he took a deep breath, 'but things have turned out differently now and I will not just walk away from this. And I certainly won't walk away from him.' 'You are an idiot, do you know that?' Anna snapped at him in frustration. Alex laughed quietly. 'Yes. Tommy has mentioned this once or twice before.' 'What about mum and dad?' Alex ran his hand through his hair. 'I need to tell them now.' He said quietly. 'Alex, dad will have a heart attack. At least let me drive to their house now so I can be there when you speak to them.' Alex nodded. 'Okay, thank you Anna. You're the best sis in the world.' She forced a laugh. He quickly told her how the visit to Tom's parents ended and she gasped on the phone. 'So you're hurt,' she said worried, 'my God, Alex. You boys are playing with fire.' Alex laughed. 'Yeah. I would say we are way beyond playing with it. We have set everything