Page 44

SANJANA

My eyes locked on the amber-streaked sky. The late afternoon sun had dipped just enough to cast everything in a warm golden glow and creeping shadows.

“One, two, down! ” Roxxi’s sharp call cut clean through the blasting beat of our cheer anthem.

My core tightened instinctively as the ground surged up.

Kellan and Noah caught me with perfect timing, their grip solid as they dipped into a cradle.

The distorted guitar faded as the portable speaker cut out.

My feet met the turf again, my heart still racing from the routine and adrenaline.

We’d been running this for the past hour.

The visuals were sharp, unapologetic, and loud, our formations in sync with every beat drop.

The pyramid drills had tested everyone’s stamina, and the basket tosses had been the centerpiece, mine especially, launched hard and clean, with the wind slicing past my skin before I was caught in familiar hands.

Across the field, the football team’s warm-ups bled into the atmosphere.

The sound of their pads colliding. The low growl of voices as the coaches shouted like drill sergeants, each command layered beneath the echo of our music.

“Nice job, everyone!” Roxxi exclaimed, clapping her hands once as her eyes scanned the squad. “Way to push through.”

“You nailed it today,” Mrs. Gale echoed from the sideline, standing beside Mr. Kruger, who had reappeared today like a barely functioning ghost.

His too-bright eyes and jittery energy gave away more than he probably thought they did.

The rumors about his cocaine use and marital issues weren’t anything new, though.

Layla and Brooke bumped fists nearby, their laughter breathless, cheeks red from exertion.

I bent to grab my water, still buzzing myself.

“You flew, girl,” Roxxi praised, nudging my arm as she came up beside me. “You never let me down.”

“Thanks,” I rasped with a smile. “But you know I couldn’t do it without Noah and Kellan, and our amazing team captain.”

“I am pretty damn amazing, huh?”

I laughed and turned to watch the football team, already knowing exactly where my eyes would land.

Ryder stood near the 40-yard line, helmet tucked under one arm, barking out instructions to his offense.

His voice carried: firm, focused, completely in command.

His dark practice jersey clung to him, and for once, he wasn’t wearing sleeves underneath.

The ink on his arms was on full display, all sharp lines and significance I probably knew too well.

“You look like you’re about to combust,” Roxxi leaned over and whispered.

“Shut up,” I hissed under my breath.

She gave me a slow, knowing grin. “Not a single girl or guy here would blame you. He looks like a sin and salvation rolled into one today.” She swept her eyes over the guys on the field and the benched players. “A few of them do.”

“Don’t go getting our players in trouble, Roxxi,” I warned jokingly.

Layla strolled up and stood on my other side. “Checking out your boy again?”

I opened my mouth to reply when Brooke’s voice carried from a few feet away. “Ashton?”

“Who else?” I responded smoothly, careful to keep my expression neutral.

“Ryder,” Layla corrected slowly. “Number twelve. The one who throws sixty-yard passes and still manages to check if you’ve stuck your landings.”

“It isn’t like that,” I argued quietly.

“Isn’t it?”

I stiffened, my eyes cutting toward Roxxi. She was standing like a statue beside me, arms folded, gaze trained on Layla like she was seconds away from removing her head from her shoulders.

Brooke frowned. “They’re friends, Layla. Relax.”

I smiled through my discomfort. “She knows that, so I’m not sure what the point of acting like this is.”

Layla didn’t respond, her gaze still fixed on the field.

I didn’t know what her deal was, or where this sudden burst of boldness and passive-aggressive energy came from, but I wasn’t in the mood.

She’d spent the whole day being apologetic, right up until I texted her about the unlocked door and told her she couldn’t come and go freely anymore.

I would’ve said it to her face, but I hadn’t seen her since the bird incident.

In hindsight, I should’ve known she would take it personally.

Layla wasn’t one to start drama, but her emotions ran deep.

When she got overwhelmed or too caught up in her own head, it bubbled over.

I was used to that. What I wasn’t accustomed to was it being directed at me, especially over a simple safety boundary, and after what happened the night prior.

I hadn’t even brought up her leaving me this morning.

At this point, I wasn’t sure it mattered.

Brooke laughed lightly, but her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “It’s fine, really, Sanj. I get it. You two have always been close.”

Something in her tone hit off-key. Not quite jealousy, but fragile resignation.

Like she knew she wasn’t imagining things and didn’t want to believe it.

One more careless comment could blow this whole moment up, and I wasn’t about to be the one to light up the match. Brittany must’ve felt the tension too.

She sent me a look, her brows pinched as if silently asking: You okay?

I gave a faint shake of my head to convey: Yeah. I’ve got it.

That’s when Roxxi stepped forward, which was never a good thing. Roxxi didn’t raise her voice. She didn’t need to. She’d cut you open with kindness, smiling sweetly the whole time.

“I’m not sure why this is a topic up for debate,” she said, her voice light, almost gentle.

“I’ll be the first to say it, though. He’s mine.

And Ari’s. Cloe’s too.” She paused, eyes glinting.

“Ironically, he was Sanjana’s first, but I’ve never felt the need to compete with her.

I mean… that would be setting myself up for some pretty harsh humiliation, don’t you think?

Because if it came down to it, he’d always choose her.

” She turned her gaze directly to Layla. “Do you get what I mean by that?”

Layla’s face stayed impassive at first. Then came the tiniest flicker of emotion.

Her shoulders tensed, chin dipped, and suddenly she found the turf to be the most fascinating thing on earth.

I realized then I was missing something.

There was an entire subtext playing out here, one I wasn’t privy to.

Roxxi hadn’t said that by accident. Whatever it was, Layla understood perfectly.

I stood there, sandwiched between them, trying to act like I wasn’t completely out of the loop.

Brooke took a small step back, as if she felt the shift in the air too.

Roxxi turned away to address the rest of our squad, her tone snapping everyone back to attention. “Alright, ladies and gents, cool-down stretch before we grab our gear. Let’s go!”

No one questioned her; we knew better.

I found a space and dropped into a deep lunge. My muscle memory took over while my mind wandered somewhere far away. Kellan and Noah were on one side of me, and Brittany was on the other. She shifted into a seated straddle and leaned in to speak to me. “You sure you’re okay?”

“I don’t know what the hell that was,” I confessed under my breath.

Brittany gave me a sad smile. “You’re a better friend than most people deserve, Sanj. Not everyone’s issues are on you.”

I wasn’t sure what or how to respond to that.

She made it sound like I was a pushover or something.

I didn’t see myself that way. I leaned into my stretch and happened to look up, catching sight of Ryder standing across the field, helmet still tucked under one arm, dark hair pushed back, his practice jersey clinging to his frame.

His hand was raised mid-command, voice sharp as he directed his line.

It wasn’t the shouting that had me freezing in place, but the way he stared when he turned his head in my direction.

I didn’t know how to describe what I was seeing.

His face wasn’t closed off or blank in a distant or preoccupied way.

It was total emptiness, as if something had vacuumed out everything human inside him. Why was he staring at me that way?

Ashton watched him watch me, his own expression tightening, like he was trying to read something and not liking what he saw.

The moment broke when Cade jogged across The Pit with Xander on his heels, both of them grinning as Cade tried to trip Dougie with a sneaker tap.

Ryder turned, said something to Cade, and just like that, he was smiling again.

Effortless. Charming. Familiar.

Fake.

“The fuck was up with that?” Noah asked softly, his concern evident.

“I…I don’t know,” I murmured.

Roxxi caught my eye from further down. Her usual resting bitch face had shifted, brow furrowed.

She’d seen the same thing I just did. We finished stretching in silence, then gathered our things and started across the turf.

The sky was darker now, the breeze sharp against our skin.

A few conversations resumed around us, casual and easy, while tension clung to me like a second skin.

Sydney reached the locker room first. She pulled the door open and froze. “Uh, why are the lights off?”

That was weird.

They were always motion-triggered. I squeezed past her and reached for the switch that manually controlled them. The fluorescents buzzed awake overhead. Everything seemed to stop for a full minute after that.

Polaroids.

Dozens, if not more.

Taped to our lockers. Strewn across benches. Lined up like sick little trophies all over the walls.