MATT

"How do you want to play this?" I ask Jack. We're sat on the sofa in a living room by my study waiting for dad and Rob to come and give us the 'chat'. "Do you want to just get it over with and tell them everything?"

"No, I can't tell dad, he will freak." Jack says with a look of panic.

"Jack this isn't your fault. You were groomed. He needs to pay and personally I think jail time is too good for him." I say. "Look I made a promise to you not to tell anyone so this has to come from you."

"You don't know what dad's like." He mutters as both our dads walk in and sit on the sofa opposite us. Fuck they look serious. I put my head down. I can't look at them.

"So which one of you wants to start." Rob says in a cool voice. I look up and immediately gulp as they are both staring at us. I glance quickly at Jack, it looks like he's completely zoned out as his eyes look glazed over. "Matt why don't you start? Why did Coach Cal attack you this morning? There must be a reason."

"I.I..I..don't kn..know." I stutter. Shit this is worse than facing Christian. I want to tell them but I can't with Jack sat next to me.

"Don't lie. You do know" dad says quietly. l look at dad and then back at Jack.

"Dad please. I made a promise. I can't break it. Im sorry." I say.

"OK, let me reason with you. We can sit here all night. You'll be shattered in the morning and won't do as well as you hoped in the economics exam thus ruining your chances of graduating early so you will still be at school when the babies arrive which will put a strain on your relationship with Hannah. I know you made a promise to Jack and this could affect your friendship but you need to choose. Hannah and the babies or Jack." Dad says in full lawyer mode. I look at him with wide eyes. I gulp. I can't breathe. Shit, I thought dad might help me out. This isn't even about me, why aren't they asking Jack these questions and putting the pressure on him. Focus.

"Dad please that's not fair." I manage to say.

"Friendship or family." dad says and he knows he's got me. It's always been drilled into me, family comes first.

"Jack I'm sorry." I say quietly as I look at him. "Please don't hate me for this."

"Go ahead." Jack says as he finally turns to look at me. "I knew you would crack."

"Jack that's enough." Rob says loudly, making me jump. " Do you really want to throw away what could be your best friend for life over this? You could also ruin his marriage to Hannah as he will be wracked with guilt about breaking the promise he has made to you by choosing her. Do you want to live with that hanging over your head?" Jeez both dads are going in for the kill and trying to make us feel guilty.

"I don't want to go to court." Jack says.

"Jack, I will represent you in court or one of my partners will." dad says gently. "You don't have to worry about that now."

"But the cost..." Jack starts to say.

"That's not something you have to worry about either." dad says gently.

"I'm sorry dad. Please don't hate me." Jack says. "I'm gay." Rob stares back at him then closes his eyes. I take Jack's hand to reassure him everything will be ok. Rob opens his eyes and looks at us and then ours hands.

"Are you two more than friends?" Rob asks.

"No" we both say as I drop Jack's hand and we spring apart so there's now a gap between us.

"I'm married." I say. "There's no way I would break my vows, I love Hannah. I wouldn't do anything that would risk my marriage."

"So you really would have gone with family first?" dad asks with a small smile.

"Always." I say quietly with a slight nod at him. I then look at Rob. "The incident at the pool today was because the old coach had seen me at the burger bar with Hannah last night and thought I was cheating on Jack. Hang on a minute why does everyone assume we're together, even Christian asked that this morning?"

"Maybe because you're so close and the friendship developed so quickly. Not many people have a friendship as close as yours." Rob says.

"I had it once." dad says and looks straight at me.

"With my daddy." I say and he nods then looks away. Wow, I want that with Jack, a friendship so strong and full of trust.

"So did you have a relationship with the coach?" Rob asks bluntly. I gulp and look at Jack.

"Dad it wasn't like that." Jack says quietly. "I'm so ashamed, please forgive me."

"I'll fucking kill him." Rob says.

"Dad." Jack says in fear as Rob starts to pace. Jack looks at dad and adds quietly. "I can't tell him the rest, he'll probably kill me as well." Dad looks at Rob and he stops pacing.

"Would you tell me if we went in a different room, just us two?" dad asks Jack gently. Jack nods. I look at dad in a mild panic, shit he can't leave me here alone with Rob, I'll crack and blurt out everything. Dad stands and waits for Jack to do the same and then they leave the room. Rob sits back down opposite me. I wait for him to speak but he just watches me. I crack first.

"Please don't blame Jack, that fucking coach groomed him." I say.

"Continue." is all Rob says. I then tell him all I know, which actually isn't that much, from finding them in the office at the pool to Jack breaking down and telling me parts of what went on and that I'd reported him to the authorities so that he wouldn't coach again. I also mention that Jack had spoken to Christian yesterday and he might know more than me. "Thank you for telling me."

"That's ok. I just hope that Jack doesn't hate me for it." I say.

"He won't." Rob says with confidence. "Now tell me, what do you know about Hannah's mom? Is she called Helen?" I look at him in surprise so he continues. "When I was 18 I had a blazing row with my dad, I left home and joined the navy but after the basic training I tried to make contact but they'd moved and changed their surname so I couldn't trace them. I've looked for years but never found them. Helen is my younger sister."

"Is that why you were staring at Hannah earlier? I didn't notice but she said it gave her the creeps." I say.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to upset her or freak her out." Rob says. "It's just Hannah looks so much like my mom."

"Her mom's name is Helen." I say. "Wow you could be her uncle, and that means Hannah and Jack are cousins so we're related."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Rob says but smiles at me as I grin at him. "And it's probably best not to mention this to anyone just yet until I can make contact to confirm."

"OK." I say still grinning as I give him the details of the florists and the home address. "Please don't mention me though when you see her, Hannah isn't talking to her at the moment and has been living with my parents. Helen hates me for some reason and thinks I'm a bad influence." Rob bursts out laughing.

"You a bad influence. That has made my night. You've certainly been a force for the good with Jack and what you've achieved over the last 3 months has been amazing." Rob says and looks at me proudly.