The Silent Deceivers

Chapter 27

Joining the Dots

Roxy and I made plans to go into town and try and track down the football team Saturday after I finally confessed the reason I had been acting strangely. She was just as shocked as I was but could now fully rationalise my bitchy and odd behaviour. I apologised and thanked her for putting up me which she waved away. After begging for approval from Lisa and finally winning we walked down the drive and waited for the bus into town. It came ten minutes late which to the other random members of the public seemed to make now difference but to us time was of great essence. As soon as the bus pulled up at the bus stop at the top of town we were running towards the football pitch at full sprint. We reached the football pitch which was all the way across town just as the final whistle sounded and the game came to an end. Roxy and I stood casually at the gates and watched as the athletes grabbed their bags, poured water down their necks and strolled over to us.  It was the captain who reached us first with an inquisitive look on his face.

Roxy took the lead before I could even think about forming a sentence, "We need to speak with the friends of David Collings" she said getting straight to the point. "We need to ask you some questions."

"We were all friends of David's, or at least we thought we were." The brown haired captain said.

"What do you mean you thought?" I jumped in.

"Why don't we go for a coffee and explain there?" he suggest.

"Great." Roxy agreed.

We settled in the window seat at Costa. Roxy, me and two members of the football team who could spare the time to stay and who luckily for us had once been David's closest friends.

As I stirred my hot chocolate round and round while Roxy explained our connection to David and why we were searching for answers; part of closure she said.

"We knew David, he was a great member of our friendship group, even though he lacked the athletic and football skills, we'd been friends since we were little kids and none of us were going to give it up just because he didn't like sports." the captain began.

"He used to come and watch us play football every Saturday morning but then that jerk Aden started to bully him and he started to come to the pitch and pick a fight with him so he stopped watching, only coming after practice was finished and the jerk and his pathetic posy were out of sight." one of the other guys called Mark told us.

"We stuck up for him to that Aden guy but it always seemed to make it worse and that's when David started drifting away from us. He stopped talking to us he never came to watch us play. It's like we suddenly became invisible to me." The captain continued.

"He used to come shopping with us, his Cousin Grace, me and my friend Abby. Before he came over to you." I said back tracking.

"When did he stop coming to hang out after practice?" Roxy asked.