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A diaboliCOLE desicion

When Cole Spritter opened the door, Karima rushed into his arms. Knowing not to question what happened he whispered into her ear "I didn't know you were that devastated about not making your home debut." Karima sniffed in laughter. "Fuck you Spritt." She whispered. Cole jokingly rolled his eyes."Fuck me too."
Now for the record, neither possessed romantic feelings for the other. Cole was gay in a matter of fact and the elder half brother of Emma so that would complicate any potential relationship.
However both shared an abusive past. Having been estranged from his younger sister for 15 years, Cole was raised by his mother and stepfather. Subjected to physical abuse by his mum, emotional abuse by his stepdad,mental and sexual abuse by his younger half brother and older stepsister respectively. Unlike Karima though, Cole was comfortable with sharing the horrors he went through as it got his mother and stepdad in jail and he knew it helped other people.
Both however were connected through their fear of love. Another barrier for any romantic feelings. When Cole came out to Karima last year, he burst into tears over how accepting he was.
After shutting the door, Cole invited Karima to sit on the couch which she gratefully accepted. While stroking the cat Mr. Fluffkins, Karima also accepted an offer for a chocolate milkshake, her favourite. After handing it to her, Cole sat down next to Karima and decided to address the elephant in the room. "I'm guessing the game didn't upset you." He spoke quietly. Wiping the tears off her face, Karima shook her head. "After the game...my family were there. Not all of them, but my siblings and my brother in law." Karima directly looked at Cole. "My uncle was also at the game." Nodding his head, Cole encouraged Karima to go on. So she did. "My sister...the oldest one had booked a dinner for us to go to." Her voice began to crack. "I didn't want to seem rude so I went." Instinctively, Cole handed her a tissue. After blowing her nose, Karima went on. "I didn't want to go, but Emma was there and I didn't want to seem rude in front of her." Cole frowned. "Emma was there?" Karima decided to add another bit of information. "She er...booked tickets for them to go." Cole rolled his eyes before sighing. "Thing is with Em is that...she always wants the best. But sometimes she likes to associate that with unity. So that means everyone getting along with priority. She truly does mean the best though." Karima felt bad. "I know Cole. I didn't mean to sound like a bitch." "You don't sound like a bitch." Cole interjected. After gratefully smiling Karima continued. "So you know...me and my Uncle don't exactly get along. He was just being so patronising so I...snapped." Raising his eyebrows Cole said "So what did you do?" "I yelled at him." Karima bluntly told him.
As she was expecting Cole to show some form of disapproval as he was a bit of a pacifist like his sister, Karima was surprised when he instead held up a hand. "Don't leave me hanging." He begged her as she stared at him in confusion. After watching some Netflix, Cole noticed something on Karimas mind. Switching off the TV, he looked to his friend and asked what was bothering her. Confused at first, Karima then admitted. "I don't know what to do about my club career. Like I've got to go to College at least to restore some dignity to my family it seems and not worry about the trend."
There seemed to be a trend of players opting to instantly sign for clubs instead of going to either college or uni. While it could be risky, players could have an extended career and get a more likely chance at playing for their national team. Cole seemed to find the choice obvious. "What choice do you prefer?" Karima found that obvious. "Well playing professionally." Cole wasn't surprised. "So go for that." "But my fam-" "I don't give a shit about your family Karima and to be honest, neither do you it seems." Karima gave the biggest nod possible. "I've got one last question." "Go for it." "I don't have a place-" Cole answered this quickly. "I've got a spare bed."