CHAPTER 96: "YOUR TURN TO DRIVE."

The players, running on nothing but adrenaline and the ghost of their half-time oranges, staggered towards the small, delirious pocket of traveling Apex fans.

"I think I need a lie-down," Kenny McLean gasped, leaning on a triumphant but exhausted Viktor Kristensen. "For about a week."

"Was that a football match or a fever dream?" Jonathan Rowe asked, his face a mask of joyous confusion.

"I’m not entirely sure."

Ethan walked onto the pitch, a slow, wide, immensely proud grin on his face.

He felt like the owner of the world’s most beautiful, chaotic, and utterly unpredictable puppy.

The away dressing room at Vale Park was a strange and wonderful place.

The players were scattered, replaying the game’s most insane moments.

"The best part," David Kerrigan was saying with the authority of a seasoned philosopher, "was my tackle for the penalty. It was a tactical masterpiece of psychological warfare. I took one for the team, lulled them into a false sense of security, and then BAM! Emre’s free-kick. It was all part of my master plan."

"Your master plan involved getting a yellow card and nearly costing us the game?"

Ben Gibson asked, shaking his head, but he was smiling.

"Details, details," Kerrigan waved a dismissive hand.

In the corner, Josh Sargent was talking to Viktor.

"That chip, kid," the veteran said, a look of genuine admiration on his face. "To do that, in that moment, after everything that had happened... that takes guts. Real guts."

Viktor just shrugged, a shy but confident smile on his face.

"The gaffer told me to have fun."

Ethan clapped his hands, and the room turned to him. "I’m not even going to try and analyze that," he said, a helpless, happy laugh in his voice. "That wasn’t a football match. That was a story. A ridiculous, nonsensical, and absolutely brilliant story that we will all be telling for the rest of our lives."

He looked around at his team of misfits, heroes, and lovable idiots. "You were down, you were being humiliated, and you didn’t just fight back. You got weird. You got creative. You played with a joy and a freedom that no system, no algorithm, can ever account for. You were magnificent."

He brought up the league table on the main screen.

Apex United was still sitting proudly at the top, their points total now a healthy 18.

Their ’Goals For’ column, after the madness of the last two games, was starting to look ridiculous.

"We are still the team to beat," Ethan said, his voice filled with a quiet, unshakeable pride. "We’ve shown this league that we can win with tactics, and we can win with chaos. We’ve shown them that we have the best players. And most importantly, we’ve shown them that we have the most heart. Get showered. Get rested. You are all legends."

He logged off, the sound of his players starting a cheerful, off-key chant of "We are top of the league!" echoing in his ears.

He sat up in the pod, the silence of his bedroom a peaceful, welcome blanket. He felt a deep, bone-deep contentment.

He was tired, but it was the satisfied exhaustion of a man who loved his job, in all its frustrating, beautiful, chaotic glory.

He checked his phone. There was a single, simple text from Maya.

Maya: You are an absolute menace to sensible football, Couch. And that was the most entertaining thing I have ever seen. Well played. ;)

He grinned, his heart doing a familiar little flip. He was about to type a reply when he heard the sound of the front door opening and closing downstairs, followed by his dad’s cheerful, booming voice.

"I’m home! And I come bearing gifts!"

Curious, Ethan got out of bed and padded to the top of the stairs.

He peered down to see his mom and sister in the hallway, looking towards the front door with confused expressions.

His dad was standing on the doorstep, beaming, holding a set of car keys which he jingled with a theatrical flourish.

"What’s this?" his mom asked, a smile playing on her lips.

"Did you finally win the lottery?"

"Even better!" his dad declared. He stepped aside, revealing the view of the driveway.

Sitting in their usually empty driveway was a car. It wasn’t a brand-new, flashy sports car. It was a simple, sensible, second-hand family car, a dark blue hatchback that looked reliable and safe.

But it was gleaming, as if it had just been washed, and it was the most beautiful car Ethan had ever seen.

Ethan’s jaw dropped. He walked down the stairs, his eyes wide.

"Dad? What... what is this?"

"It’s our car!" his dad announced proudly. "Well, technically, it’s a ’Certified Pre-Owned Vehicle with a Full Service History’, but it’s ours!"

"But... how?" Sarah asked, her voice a mixture of shock and dawning joy. "We couldn’t afford... I mean..."

His father looked at Ethan, a deep, profound pride in his eyes that made Ethan’s throat tighten. "Your brother," he said, his voice thick with emotion, "has been working hard. He’s been contributing. And your mother is feeling better. The shop had a good week. It just... it felt like it was time. Time for us to start moving forward again."

He tossed the keys to Ethan. "Your turn to drive."

Ethan caught them, the cool metal a solid, tangible weight in his hand. He looked at the car.

It was a sign that the long, hard winter his family had been living through was finally, truly over.

He looked at his dad’s proud face, at his mom’s tearful smile, at his sister’s look of pure, unadulterated relief.

The virtual victories were thrilling. The secret world was a grand adventure.

But this? This was real. He had helped do this. He had helped his family buy a car.

And in that moment, standing on his doorstep with a set of car keys in his hand, surrounded by the three most important people in his life, Ethan Couch felt like he had just won the World Cup.