Saving Lotte Sullivan | Collingwood/Carlton

70: moore v grundy

'WHAT THE FUCK, GRUNDY?!'

Rachael Werthiem suddenly screamed in fright as the front door broke open and a tall, hideously angry man barged in. She ran for cover, towards her boyfriend.

'Darcy, Darce - what's wrong?' Brodie asked, rushing to his feet and immediately putting his hands up. Christian Petracca and Bella Beischer sat on the other end of the sectional couch, watching on terrified.

'YOU'RE SPEAKING TO HER? YOU KNOW?' Darcy Moore yelled, shaking with rage. Jamie Elliott stepped in, narrowly pushing past the broken door. His girlfriend Catarina Bayley followed.

'Jesus Christ, Darce. I didn't choose to know, she just decided I was the one person she'd-'

'YOU ARE A FUCKING LIAR!' Darcy yelled, jabbing his finger into his chest. Brodie gently swatted his hand away.

'Come sit down and talk to me' he said calmly.

'YOU KNEW! ALL THIS TIME, WHILE WE'VE ALL BEEN RUNNING AROUND STRESSING LIKE CRAZY ABOUT HER, YOU'VE HAD CONTACT WITH HER AND YOU COULDN'T EVEN TELL US SHE WAS ALRIGHT' Darcy continued, shaky hands balling into fists.

'Cat, what the hell is going on?' Rachael asked, wiping away her tears of shock and fright. Cat shrugged. 'Brodie texted Darcy, Darcy ran to ours, Darcy called Brodie, Darcy began getting angry and made Jamie drive around here' she whispered.

'Darcy, this isn't you. You're never angry' Brodie said, worriedly glancing over his former teammate's shoulder at Jamie, who looked drunk. Cat looked and sounded drunk, too.

'We should probably get going' Christian mumbled, reaching across and grabbing his things. Bella quickly finished her glass of wine.

'I'm so sorry, guys. We didn't know they were coming over' Rachael said regretfully. Christian smiled and nodded, understandingly and left. Bella placed her hand on Rachael's arm. 'It'll be okay' she whispered, offering her a warm smile and following her fiancé outside to their car.

'Thanks mate, you've officially terrified our guests' Brodie said, a little spitefully, most unlike him. Darcy folded his arms over his chest and cocked his head back, smirking. 'They're not your guests. We are' he said.

'What the hell is going on with him, Brodie?' Rachael asked, trying to step in between the two athletes. Darcy's body language was so hostile that she immediately stepped back.

'It's about Lotte Sullivan' Brodie said tiredly, like he'd already had to explain it a million times. Darcy looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to say more.

'It's always about fucking Lotte Sullivan. I don't even know the woman, but she's caused problems with you two, problems with Daicos, problems with Bianco, problems with Ginnivan, she's the sole reason both Callum and Tyler lost their jobs, I mean - why does anybody still care about her?' Jamie asked angrily, stepping forward. 'She's broken our team up completely within one year' he added, looking upset, like he might cry.

'I told you keeping the secret from your friends and her friends was dangerous' Rachael said quietly, looking over at the wall with shades of guilt portrayed across her features. Jamie shook his head, it's like he wasn't even heard.

'I was worried if I didn't keep her secret, she'd cut me off too and then she'd really have no one at all' Brodie said quietly, covering his eyes and looking down.

'What the fuck do you know? Where is she? Is she okay? What about the-'

'She's been homeless in the outer suburbs of Perth for months, since late January, and just recently she's moved into her colleague's apartment or condo or something in the city. She always tells me she's okay, but I know she's not. She's been living in her car. She hasn't been seeing any medical attention, she's had ongoing pain, and um...she found out she's having twins. That's right, she went into early labour and the hospital stopped it. She called me at the bar earlier to tell me, and then she abruptly hung up. I'd had enough by that point so I'd left. Was driving down the road when she called again and told me she can't go on anymore, she wants to...then I texted you because I don't fucking know what I'm supposed to do with that' Brodie explained, getting upset at the end of his recap. Darcy sighed and covered his mouth, thinking.