Robert was apoplectic. He stormed out of the building, got into his car and peeled out of the parking lot. He ran a red light and didn't give a fuck. He missed the usual turn towards his neighborhood but who fucking cared. He needed to cool off somewhere else anyway. He couldn't go back to his family home in the state he was in. His wife would know right away that something was very wrong.
How to even begin to parse the clusterfuck of a conversation he just had with his teammate? It was bad enough that Gavi admitted his stupid crush but to accuse Robert of even remotely entertaining similar thoughts was preposterous. Where did that kid even get the idea that Robert was gay? He had a wife and kids for fuck's sake! Or was that little shit so self-obsessed he just assumed anyone would reciprocate his feelings?
He sped past other cars on a random highway to god knows where. He blasted some music to overtake the noise in his head. After a long while, he pulled into a rest stop. There was a vending machine and he bought a bottle of Coke as a small act of rebellion. He took out his phone and saw a few missed calls from his wife along with a bunch of 'where are you' texts. He was about an hour late coming home. Jesus, why did that woman keep tabs on him like he was a child? Couldn't a man go off and do his own thing without getting fucking permission?
He sighed angrily and ran a hand through his hair. This wasn't him. His wife was understandably just worried. He shot off a text to her saying that he was staying late training. He realized with a wince that this was the second time he'd lied to her in order to keep this Gavi business away from her.
Speaking of...it would probably be a good idea to block his number. Not that he expected Gavi to contact him after their argument but it would be a good precaution just in case. His wife was not only known to borrow his phone but sometimes Klara got a hold of it to play music on Spotify or one of those weird little app games.
His phone pinged with texts back from Anna immediately:
'Ok, don't overdo it!
See you soon.
Love you <3'
Robert stared at the last words for a while. He wondered for a few seconds if this thing with Gavi was something he should share with Anna. After all, they told each other everything. Maybe she would bring a different perspective and know how to handle it better than he did. He started typing.
'Love you too
Hey can we talk about something when I get back?
It's not that serious. Just something with a teammate'
His finger hovered over the send button, hesitant. He then considered the possibility that maybe Gavi didn't want anyone knowing about his sexuality. Plus, a part of him really didn't want to bring this sordid little crush to her attention. It made him uncomfortable to even think about. He deleted almost everything he wrote and just sent back a 'Love you too'
There was only one person he could talk to about this now. He called Sergio and was relieved when he answered after only two rings.
"Hey, Robert. What's up?"
"I spoke to Gavi," Robert said without preamble.
"Ah," Sergio said, understanding. "Is everything alright?"
"I don't know," he answered truthfully.
"Well, I hope you let him down easy," Sergio said.
Robert snorted. "That kid has some real nerve. He admitted to it, acting like... like it was normal or something."
"He's just a kid, Robert," Sergio said. "At that age, everything means so much more. When you don't get what you want it seems like the end of the world. He'll be okay."
Robert was still too annoyed by the accusations Gavi made to even care whether Gavi would be alright over the whole thing. But he didn't want to bring that up with Sergio either. "Anyway, I did the right thing. He won't disrespect me anymore, I can guarantee that."
There was a short silence on the other end of the line before Sergio said, "You'll be nice to him still, right? Things will be amicable? You didn't get into a fight or anything, right?"
Now it was Robert's turn to pause. He chose his words carefully. "Look, I just told him that he better know his place. I had to be firm with him."
"Okay," Sergio said. "It's getting kind of late, where are you?"
"Don't worry, I'm headed home," Robert said, not having any idea where he was either.
"You'll be alright?" Sergio asked, concern in his voice.
"Yeah," Robert said. "Just thought you should know I guess."
"You're a good man, Robert. You did what had to be done."
Robert wasn't sure why but he didn't feel particularly good right now. But he didn't admit that to Sergio. "I'll see you tomorrow then."
"See you. Take care."
Any semblance of things being normal among the team faded immediately. Gavi was reticent and downcast. He hardly spoke and it was strange to see him put in low effort when he was usually the most energetic and combative of the team. Even the coach pulled him aside and asked if something was wrong.
Robert himself was distracted over the ordeal but tried to pass off as if things were okay. But Gavi's morose demeanor and avoidance of him made everything awkward. People could tell something was wrong and soon accusatory looks were sent Robert's way. It put Robert in a worse mood. He hadn't done anything wrong! If they only knew that he'd been the one to act appropriately and Gavi was at fault.
After a few days, Sergio spoke to Robert when they were separated from everyone on the field.
"Things can't continue like this. It's affecting the whole team."
"How is that my fault?" Robert complained, keeping his voice low.
"Robert, be honest. Did you let Gavi down easy?"
Robert didn't appreciate how blame was headed his way again. "I had to be firm, Sergio. You yourself said people would talk if I didn't stop things right away."
"I know that. But I didn't expect you two to not be on speaking terms at all."
"Well, isn't it better this way?"
"Clearly it's not. Gavi looks miserable. Pedri said he's hardly slept in days. Talk to him, as a mentor."
Robert ran a frustrated hand over his own face. He glanced across the field and saw a downcast Gavi looking at him. The boy quickly turned his head away, almost as if in shame that he'd been caught looking at Robert.
Robert sighed. He knew there was truth in what Sergio said. Gavi was just a kid. Robert shouldn't have lashed out at him like he did. He would speak to him and try to make amends.
Robert meant to talk to Gavi in person. But the kid avoided him so much, he never found the right opportunity to do so. So he cowardly resorted to sending him a text:
'Hi. I wanted to say sorry for getting mad at you in our last conversation
I'd like to invite you to dinner with my family this Friday as a way of making things up to you
Let me know'
Robert chewed on his bottom lip. There, an olive branch. If the kid told him to fuck off then there really was nothing else he could do. Teammates didn't have to like each other. As long as they got the business done on the field then it didn't really matter.
He was about to go to the kitchen to fetch some water when a response from Gavi came:
'ok'