You Had It Coming by B.M. Carroll (best fiction novels .TXT) 📕

Her breath catches in shock. An AVO? A familiar name jumps out from the closely spaced text: Thomas Malouf. Oh God, oh God, oh God!

The document is dated more than a year after the trial. What did Seb do to Thomas Malouf? Does this mean her brother has a criminal record?

How did she not know about this? Does she really want to know now?

APPREHENDED PERSONAL VIOLENCE ORDER – SEBASTIAN LOWE CRIMES (DOMESTIC AND PERSONAL VIOLENCE) ACT 2007

Sebastian Lowe you must follow the orders below. It is a criminal offence not to follow these orders.

The Orders have been made to protect Thomas Malouf.

Orders about Behaviour

1. You must not do any of the following to Thomas Malouf:

A) assault or threaten him

B) stalk, harass or intimidate him

C) deliberately or recklessly destroy or damage anything that belongs to him

2. You must not approach Thomas Malouf or contact him in any way, unless the contact is:

A) through a lawyer, or

B) to attend accredited or court-approved counselling, mediation or conciliation, or

C) as ordered by this or another court

D) as agreed in writing between you and Thomas Malouf

Orders about where you cannot go

You must not go within 100 metres of:

A) any place where Thomas Malouf lives, or

B) any place where Thomas Malouf works

44

JESS

It’s youth class, and hooray: Tyler finally remembered his mouthguard.

‘I’m proud of you,’ Jess tells him. ‘Don’t ask me why, but I am! Come on, I’ll pair you with Andy.’

Alarm registers on his face. Andy is older and bigger. Tyler wouldn’t know that Andy is more puppy fat than muscle, or that his coordination and reflexes aren’t exactly razor-sharp. What Andy does have is a kind heart; Jess can rely on him to go easy on Tyler.

‘Okay, mate, this is how it works. One of you hits and the other catches the hit. That means you’re practising hitting and, just as important, you’re practising defence, but we don’t do both at the same time. Now, I want you to hit first. Come at Andy. That’s right. Push off the right foot. Jab from out there. Long arm. Great work.’

Andy isn’t moving around that much, making it easier for Tyler to connect. The younger boy is warming to the task, bouncing, trying to push off his feet, throwing with intent. The best things about boxing are right here on display. A kid who lacks motivation suddenly finding it in the ring. Another kid, with a poor self-image and more to prove than anyone else, taking a back seat so the other can succeed. Respect. Mateship. Physical satisfaction.

‘Go on, Tyler. Shove it at Andy, he’s not going to hit you back. Power comes from your hips. If you rotate, you get more power … Twenty seconds left … Jab, jab … Hands up, Andy, protect your head … Time.’

Jess gives them a couple of minutes to catch their breath, then the roles are reversed.

‘Just practising your catching now, Tyler. See him coming, catch. Don’t try to push it away, catch the hit like a ball … Catch, turn … Catch, turn … Don’t forget to move … You can’t stand in front of him like that, mate. He’s too big!’

Defence is harder to teach. Tyler keeps dropping his left hand and needs reminding it’s just as good as his right when it comes to protecting himself. He gets left and right mixed up, too, something that happens across all age groups.

When the round is finished, Jess calls Jayden into the ring to be Andy’s next opponent.

‘Tyler, come over here with me and watch Andy’s next round.’

Andy stands tall while he waits for Jayden to get his gloves on. He isn’t often held up as an exemplar to others; Jess can practically see his self-confidence inflating.

‘I want you to keep an eye on two things, Tyler. Andy’s feet. See how he keeps them below his shoulders all the time? Now watch how he catches the punch. Jayden has a really long reach, so Andy can’t afford to let one hand slip. See?’

Andy does another round with Jayden, and Jess sends Tyler to practise on the tear-drop bag. She finishes the class with the usual core work on the mat.

‘Well done, everyone. Really great session this afternoon. Now don’t forget to get around to the community hall on Saturday night. The boys need your support, you’ll learn heaps from watching and it’s a really fun night.’

Andy and Tyler are beaming and nodding. This is one of those days when Jess loves her job more than anything in the world.

Her shift finishes after youth class. She walks briskly to the train station, sits on one of the benches. The next train is in four minutes. Her attention is caught by some teenagers on the far platform – the city-bound side. They’re in formal wear, the girls in sleek dresses and high heels and the boys in slimline suits. It’s that time of year: school formals and socials. Young people fretting about who to ask and what to wear. This lot are probably on their way to a harbour cruise or some other city-centre venue. The train is a practical solution: no point hiring a limo only to get stuck in rush-hour traffic. Jess didn’t attend her Year 12 formal, neither did Megan. The dresses they’d bought (too far in advance) hung unworn in their wardrobes. The boys they’d planned to ask never got invited. Jess could barely motivate herself to shower and brush her hair; attending the formal, or any kind of social event, seemed impossible.

Thomas Malouf and Dylan O’Shea went to theirs. Jess accidentally came across photos on social media, and there they were: wearing trendy suits and standing alongside girls who she immediately wanted to warn off them. Thomas and Dylan had been charged at that point, but it was still up in the air if the case would proceed to prosecution. But there they were, all suited up for a rite-of-passage in which she and Megan felt unable to participate. It stung. Resentment