Most teenagers probably have to beg their parents to extend their curfew. When I told my mom that I wanted to go out with the guys from the swimming team, she just told me to text her where we were going and to have fun.

I think she is just worried that I would be lonely. It’s just the two of us at home and I don’t often go out. That might have been why she liked Adam straight away. He was taking me out of my comfort zone, I started to do things out of swimming, and now I have friends. Plural.

I think she also didn’t ask questions because I am serious. (Moms say serious, teenagers say boring). I am not about to do something crazy and I probably wouldn’t crack under peer pressure. Besides, we are all athletes here. At least three of us need a swimming scholarship if we want to get a chance at college. I know a couple of us would risk it, but as a group, we wouldn’t. Adam wouldn’t let us anyway.

And tonight was exactly that. It was far from boring, it was actually extremely fun, but it also wasn’t wild. We went for food – the type Coach wouldn’t approve of – and we just watched a movie. Adam says that it’s important that we would do things as a team outside of the pool to build our team spirit, and I don’t know how much I agree with that. I know we’re not a team like other sports have. But tonight, I definitely felt what he meant. It was nice.

We are walking away from the cinema, laughing and having fun, when Adam switches his phone back on. I can immediately see on his face that something is wrong.

“Is everything alright?” I ask him.

“I’m not sure. I have like twenty missed calls from my mom.”

The entire team stops and lets Adam takes a few steps forward so he can listen to his messages with some privacy.

I’m not gonna lie. I did think it was just his mother being a bit of a  helicopter mom. She does that sometimes. But even from a distance, I can see that it’s more than that. Adam’s face just fell and although I can’t hear the words, I can tell that he is speaking really fast.

He comes back less than a minute later, looking grey and nervous. Panicked, even. “Guys, I need to go.”

“Is everything alright?” Tom asks.

“Yeah, I… no? I have to go to the hospital. My brother has been attacked.”

His words punch me in the stomach, deep and hard. Liam… I feel panic rising in my chest. I want to ask a million questions I know Adam doesn’t have answers for and that I am probably not entitled to ask anyway.

“I need to go to the hospital,” he says, clearly confused, having a hard time processing all of this. So am I, I think. The hospital? Is it that bad? What happened to Liam? Is he going to be okay? And attacked for what? Was he robbed? Was it random? Was it a hate crime? Was it a fight? Would Liam even fight? Was he alone? Was the other person alone?

I focus back on what’s happening when Tom says: “You can’t be driving like this. We’ll take you to the hospital.”

“I can take an Uber.”

“Don’t be silly. We’re a team. We’ll go with you. We’ll stay with you until we know you’re brother’s alright.”

I couldn’t have phrased it better myself. I would have agreed with this statement for any of the team members, not just my best friend. And even if I wasn’t dying to get news of the boy in the hospital.

I always wondered which of the seniors would have been our captain if it hadn't been Adam. I now hope that it would have been Tom. He is just handling everything just right. In no time, cars are organized, Adam is reassured, and we are on our way to the hospital. All is calm and smooth.

I especially appreciate it because I feel terrified and I know that it can only be a fraction of what Adam is feeling right now. So it is important now more than ever for him to feel like his team has his back, that we are taking care of him, and that everything will be fine.

Because everything will be fine. It just has to.

When we arrive at the hospital, his parents are in the waiting room. They seem surprised to see the entire team here but they do not comment. I scan their faces and what I see is mildly reassuring. They seem tense, her eyes are red, his jaw is clenched, but they also don’t seem desperate.

But then I see Maisie and… She is sitting down, knee nervously jumping up and down like crazy, she is biting her nails, and she genuinely seems on the verge of crying. Adam and his parents step away. They won’t have this conversation in front of us, which is fair, but I need something to stay busy in the meantime, to not go crazy, so I go sit next to Maisie.

“Hey. Are you alright?”

She jumps and looks at me like she only now realizes that I joined her.

“I’m okay.”

“You don’t look okay.”

“It’s just… it was a lot, you know?”

“I don’t, actually. I have no idea what happened. Do you want to tell me about it?” Strangely, I sincerely asked for her, so she can get it out of her chest, and not because I am looking for answers.

Maisie looks at me and hesitates for a second. I get it. We’re not friends. I don’t think I’ve ever talked to her before, other than the meaningless ‘hey, how are you’ type of conversation. So I might not be the person she wants to confide in.

But her knee gets still and she whispers: “We weren’t even supposed to go out tonight.”

“It’s not your fault.” I have no idea what happened. But I know for sure it wasn’t Maisie’s doing.

“We always stay home. And tonight… Adam was out with the team and I wanted to do something different. Not just for me. I also thought it would be good for him. You know he’s been even more moody since he came out. Some people have been jerks with him.”

“I know.” I do know. So very painfully.

“It was supposed to be a good idea,” she says with a pleading tone, eyes wet. I take her hand to try to comfort her, show her that I am on her side. I am not good with words but maybe this would do. As I look down, I realize that there is blood on her white dress. My heart skips a couple of beats. Is it Liam’s?