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‘That’s a bloody disgrace,’ the angry father hissed. ‘He should get dropped.’

Oh, God, Lucy tasted bile in her mouth. Drinking all night with Taylor. What had got into him?

‘Champagne?’ oneof the women tutted. ‘He’s obviouslygetting carried away. The scholarship boy’s getting ahead of himself, I’d say.’

Lucy went from shame to rage. How dare they call her son ‘the scholarship boy’? How dare they imply Dylan wasn’t good enough for this school? How dare they say he was ‘getting ahead of himself’? These people were like Gabriel, looking down on everyone, thinking they were betterthan her and her kids.

Just as Lucy was about to speak up, Conor’s mother Teresa said loudly, ‘Come on now. Dylan is the best thing to happen to this team. He’s got us this far. He’s human, he has the occasional bad day. But ninety-nine per cent of the time he’s absolutely brilliant. Conor says Dylan trains harder than any of the others. So, he went out last night, big deal. He’s no doubt learnthis lesson. Give him a break.’

Lucy could have hugged her. One of the mothers turned to reply to Teresa and saw Lucy. She gave her a fake-smile and indicated to the other parents that Dylan’s mum was standing behind them. They all stopped slating her son. But it was too late: the insults had stung Lucy deeply.

Jordan pulled Dylan off the pitch and benched him. What would he do if he found outDylan had been drinking? He would probably drop him. Lucy fiddled with her scarf and tried to control her breathing. She was panicking. If the headmaster found out about the drinking, would Dylan be expelled? Oh, God. She tried to count five breaths in, five breaths out. It didn’t help. Panic was consuming her.

If Dylan got expelled, would Kelly too? Oh, the shame of it. Gabriel was bound tofind out about the scholarship twins getting expelled – they’d be the talk of the school. Everyone on the board would hear of it. Gabriel would see photos of the terrible twins and then he’d know. He’d know the instant he saw Kelly – she was so uncannily like Tom. He’d knowthat they were his grandchildren and he’d know that Lucy had failed. That she had failed as a mother, just as he’d said shewould.

For the first time in her life, Lucy felt ashamed of her son. Her beautiful, wonderful son had let himself and her down. And she knew why. Taylor. Lucy set her mouth in a determined line. They had to break up, and they had to break up for good.

Dylan sat at the kitchen table with his head in his hands. Lucy was furious. She’d told him that he had made a show of himself and everyone knewabout the drinking.

‘They’re all talking about you and that girl, Taylor. They all saw you, Dylan, drinking champagne last night in a nightclub. Have you lost your mind?’ she shouted.

Kelly came in from the shop where she was helping Billy. Lucy turned on her. ‘Did you know about this?’ she shrieked. ‘Did you know your brother was out getting drunk with his girlfriend last night?’

‘No,’ Kellylied, not knowing what Dylan had admitted to or denied.

‘Well, apparently it’s all over Instagram. All the parents were chatting about what a disgrace your brother is, how irresponsible. In all my life, I have only ever been proud of you until today. You let us all down, Dylan. You let your family down, your team, your coach and yourself.’

Kelly went over and sat beside Dylan. She put a handon his shoulder. ‘Are you okay?’ she asked him.

He shook his head. ‘I messed up badly.’

Kelly looked up at her mother. ‘It was one mistake, Mum.’

Lucy put her hands on the table and tried to control the quiver in her voice. ‘It was a mistake that could cost him, and you, the scholarship. Some of the parents were saying youshould never have got it. Don’t you see, Dylan? Your mistake could costthis family everything.’

Tears flowed then. Lucy couldn’t hold them back any longer. She was as angry as hell, but she was also terrified. Had Dylan blown it? Would the twins be kicked out of school? Outcast because they weren’t good enough – didn’t fit in.

‘Don’t cry, Mum,’ Kelly said. ‘Everyone makes mistakes. There’s no way Dylan will lose the scholarship. He’s the best player on the teamby miles. He’ll score loads of goals next week and they’ll all be saying how great he is again.’

Lucy shook her head. She wasn’t sure. If the parents made a big fuss, maybe there would be no second chance. Scholarship kids weren’t the same as fee-paying kids. They had to be better. They had to live up to all the expectations and even beyond them.

‘I’m sorry, Mum,’ Dylan said miserably. ‘I knowI let you down, but I’ll make it up next week, you’ll see.’

Lucy looked at her son. She knew what she had to say would upset him, but she was going to have to hold firm. ‘You have to, Dylan, otherwise it’ll all be ruined. You have to break up with that stupid girl, who is leading you astray, and keep your head down. There is no other choice.’

‘Break up with Taylor?’

‘Yes, Dylan. That girl istrouble.’

‘No, Mum, she isn’t. I was the idiot.’

‘Listen to me carefully now. This is not a request. You are to dump that silly airhead and put an end to all this. I know you want to defend her, but the plain fact is that you never got into trouble before you met her. You are not to see her again, do you understand me?’

Kelly had never heard her mum like this before. She’d never spoken to Dylanlike that, never ordered him about,never doubted him. She could see that Dylan was going to fight back, but with Lucy in this mood, it was madness.

‘Yes, he does,’ Kelly interjected, putting her hand over his to tell him to be quiet. ‘It’s all right, Mum. He knows what he has to do.’