Gio teleported to the pod closest to the park a few minute jog from his house. His house could even be seen on top of the hill, surrounded by other houses. Viche and company weren't even there, but that didn't mean everyone was safe.
Gio rang the doorbell at three in the morning. His mom was a light sleeper, so she would definitely wake up. Stupid Gio forgot to bring a key, and the ladder was locked away in the garage. Furthering insult to injury, they were in no apparent danger, only perceived danger by Gio.
"Giovanni Jurgen!"
"I can explain," he lowered his head.
"Do you know what time it is? Your stepfather has to be up for work in an hour!"
"Then why are you shouting," Gio calmly replied as he quietly shut the door.
"Go to your room!" she shouted again almost to prove a point.
"Mom, we seriously need to talk. You're in danger. Callum may even be in danger. I don't know how severe you would be punished, but I may be killed."
"Wha..." she was dumbfounded, "what in the world are you blabbering about? Do you need to see a psychiatrist?"
"Mom, this is real world danger. I'm wearing a cloaking chip right now to hide from people who wish me harm."
The stairs creaked, and Callum was out and about, "honey, who are you talking to?"
"See, he can't even see me!"
"What was that? I have a bat. Should I go get my bat, Emile?" Callum weaseled.
"Honey, it's fine. Both of you, up to bed. Up! Up! Up!"
The off-season was well underway. He still had almost a full eight weeks to do as he pleased, and he still hadn't been able to convince his mom of the danger. It'd been three days since she caught him sneaking into the house, and she refused to be in the same room as him by herself. He would nag her about how they had to move from their perfect home. She didn't believe him, she couldn't.
The fault wasn't entirely hers either. When he was a bit younger, Gio had a horrible issue with crying wolf. Most of the time, it was to get rid of the men she was dating, but as much as Gio didn't trust Callum, he thought he was good for his mom. He was the first one he didn't feel like was just using his mom for finances, because his mother inherited two thriving soccer clubs and a lot of cash, stock piles of cash.
The fact Callum couldn't see Gio didn't raise any red flags to her, but it did to him. He found it quite peculiar that his own stepdad couldn't see him when he was wearing a cloaking device. It was a cause for concern.
Gio had a million theories. But he had to settle his mind. He hadn't been training as much, nor eating, nor sleeping. Stress was mounting higher than the Yedjak mountains on Krost, the highest point, in terms of being above sea level, in the universe.
Weeks would pass, and while he felt safe for the time being, he wasn't at ease. He'd dropped nearly twenty pounds. He looked unhealthy, but his mom refused to hear the threats at hand.
There was only one month left until it was time for him to go back to work. The only bright side was that he had time to get really far ahead on his academy schooling. He had already finished year thirteen, and he only had year fourteen remaining, and he'd have two full years to complete it.
Well ahead of schooling, he let his depression get in the way of training for that first goal. He wasn't even sure he wanted to score goals anymore. Was he really a true tally's man?
Emaciated and rather unhealthy, Emile finally had to say something. Just knowing she cared meant a lot to Gio. But it wasn't enough to get him out of the funk.
Gio now weighed less than one hundred pounds with only three days before the training sessions began. He had lost just over fifty pounds in seven weeks, and it wasn't looking good for him.
He could barely walk, let alone run for ninety minutes. It's amazing just how much not eating for a few months will do to the body. Dark circles closed around his eyes. He didn't look like a goal scoring machine at all, but he was already under contract, and much was expected of him. While he wasn't doing drugs, it looked like he was years into a secro binge.
Hard drugs have ruined many careers. But this was something different entirely. This was some sort of perverse depression inspired by difficult decision making.
Emile got him outside for the first time in the eight weeks. He'd hardly left his room. The soccer ball felt heavy to his feet. He couldn't kick as far or as powerfully as he did before. He had lost so much in only eight weeks, and he didn't even know if he'd get it back. He was unsure if the deal with the Zetats was just a huge waste of money. It seemed that way now. He could never score a goal in his current state. The Triwizards were as good as trillionaires already. He let them win the easy way.
"When was the last time you've eaten?" Emile asked as they kicked around the ball.
"Food gives me no comfort," Gio sulked.
"Seriously," she pressed.
"Five or six days ago I had a grape," he admitted.
"You need to eat. What's your favorite meal I can make?"
"I'm not hungry," he said as he stopped the ball.
"You can't lose too much more weight, baby," she said as he started back weakly towards the door. "You used to love being outside. Do you want me to schedule a doctor's appointment? We can use the Gorillas' team doctor... there won't be a wait that way."
He just shrugged.
"Baby, you need help."
He wanted to lash out, but he didn't have the energy, so he replied, "okay... but there's nothing wrong with me. I just can't eat, sleep, bathe. All I want to do is cry. You should've listened to what I had to say. Callum is bad news, mom. It's become evident."
"Callum? There's nothing wrong with Callum," she refused to believe him.
"I'm not saying he's a bad person, but he's up to something. There's a real reason why he can only hear me."
"What would you suggest?"
"Break up with him before it's too late," Giovanni suggested.
"I thought you liked Callum," she argued, not wanting to let go of the comfort of having a man who was great to her. He did all the basics well. He offered help around the house. He didn't mooch off her money. Callum seemed like the next step for them would have been marriage in a logical relationship.
"It's just a hunch, I've been wrong before, mom, but I think we should get this cloaking device off me. It was a paranoid move."
"We'll have the team doctor remove it today," she suggested, "it's still early, we can make it there by lunch. We can get Devetso's after," she said like it'd be some treat for him.
"Okay, mom."
The doctor was very concerned about Gio. He was less than 1% body fat. Should he lose a few more pounds, he could ultimately die.
Dr. Gravenberch advised he drink as much fatty liquids as he could and slowly begin to eat more. And he promised within no time, Gio could be back to his 145-pound self.
