“Call Keiran,” he ordered to Siri and put the phone to his ear.
"Yes?” he asked in bored tone.
“Fine, but that doesn’t mean I’m driving you there or back, you’ll have to take the bus or get Seamus to drive you or something, I don’t really care how you get there.”
“Deal.”
Staying cooped up in his tiny room, Tobias ignored the frustrated shouts from his best friend. Every half an hour, Seamus would come back to his room, knock, yell and then apologize about yelling. The vicious cycle lasted until practice rolled around.
"Okay, Tobias, I can’t keep doing this. I know you’re upset about this whole situation but I can’t just let you go and feel shitty about yourself when you can’t play like you usually do. This is for your own good. I’ll be back around nine-ish, so don’t go and do something you’ll regret. Bye, I guess,” Seamus said as he rested his arm on the door separating him from his best friend. He breathed out slowly through his nose, and finally left, looking back at Tobias’s door as he left their flat.
***
Getting out of the Uber car, Tobias carefully made his way to the gym, hoping that none of his teammates were there to lecture him about how he wasn’t being safe. Moving the cane around in a half moon shape, Tobias felt the end of it hit something solid. Guessing that it was the entrance to the gym, Tobias grazed his hand over the cold metal door and felt his fingers slip into the handle. Pulling on the heavy door, he felt the humid air of the gym hit his face and the smell of air Salonpas enter his nose.
He sighed and felt his muscles relax. This was where he should be. The gym was his haven, and that’s where he belonged, not in a cramped apartment. No matter where he lived, the gym would always be his true home.
Tobias walked toward a blue blob in the corner of the gym, knowing exactly what it was. Next to the bin that held the volleyballs were two silver poles around eight feet tall and also a net hung on the wall. He dropped his white cane on the floor with a clang and picked up one of the poles gently. He gripped it tightly and walked steadily towards the side of the court.