Chapter Text
Somewhere in the mess with El Tri, between realizing they'd been robbed and getting kicked off the team, Jona found five minutes to himself with his cell phone and an internal conflict about who to call. Gio would take it all in stride; it wasn't like he hadn't been there himself. (Though not with the national team, Jona reminded himself; Gio had never fucked up like this.) He might tell Jona he'd been stupid, but that would be the end of it. And Jona knew, knew bone-deep, that if he called Rafa and told him what had happened, every last bit of it, about Marc and the hookers and the way the coach had looked at them afterward, Rafa would forgive him. He wouldn't think twice about it. Rafa had never held a grudge in his life.
He texted Thiago instead.
i think i really fucked up. A second later, before Thiago could reply, he added, dont tell rafa please
It made him feel even worse that Thiago texted back immediately. what happened? r u ok???
One of the officials came to get him so the coach could tell him what he already knew, that he was getting sent home, and saved him from having to reply.