Total pages in book: 186
Estimated words: 176552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 883(@200wpm)___ 706(@250wpm)___ 589(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 176552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 883(@200wpm)___ 706(@250wpm)___ 589(@300wpm)
Cade shoved Dennis forward the second they reached us.
“Apologize,” he ordered, voice flat.
“I’m sorry,” he croaked, hollow and pitiful.
Nick scoffed. “That was the weakest apology I’ve ever heard.”
Ryder grabbed a fistful of Dennis’s sweat-matted hair and pushed him down to his hands and knees. “Start over, and sound like you fucking mean it.”
Dennis hissed through his teeth, face twisting in pain. Everyone went silent. Glances were exchanged, but no one stepped in. I took a step forward, instinct more than intention. I didn’t want him to go too far—not in front of an audience. Brooke beat me there, sliding right into the space she belonged.
I stepped back, and Cloe was there silently offering comfort without making it obvious. Ryder’s eyes found mine and held. I knew he wanted me to remember all that was said between us, but that didn’t make this any easier or sting any less.
“I don’t hear anything,” Roxxi prompted.
Pulling my gaze from Ryder, I looked down at our mascot. Dennis was a wreck. He was red-faced, lip split, his cheek swelling like a rotted peach.
The padded suit sagged around him, feathers bent at broken angles like even the costume didn’t want to be associated with him anymore. I didn’t know what I was feeling anymore. I was just over it. Over the week I’d been having. Over the whiplash of the Hunt ramping up and the whiplash of Ryder Voss. I didn’t want to be standing under cold campus lights with a crumpled coward and a crowd that felt more like a jury than a student body.
I wanted to go home.
I needed some normal before Monday hit and dragged us all further into this twisted game. My last few hours of semi-sanity were being wasted on this asshole who meant nothing to me. I stepped forward, focusing on Dennis. My girls shifted behind me, ready to move without hesitation if he so much as flinched my way. I didn’t think he’d be that stupid when there was a group of guys right behind him looking for another excuse to start swinging.
“I don’t think I need to accept your apology, but I’m not going to lose any more sleep over you either.”
He blinked, and his jaw clenched. For a second, I thought he’d stay silent.
“I’m sorry,” he said again, hoarse and weaker than before. “I really… I am.”
It was more pitiful the second time around. Xander stepped forward, turning slightly.
“Coach,” he called, bored and impassive.
Coach Crane and Wiseman both jogged over like a pair of well-trained retrievers, each grabbing one of Dennis’s arms. They hauled him to his feet and made assurances in front of everyone lingering that this would be dealt with accordingly.
“You’re with us now, Matheson,” Crane barked as they dragged Dennis off.
I watched them silently.
Where the hell was the other one? Dennis hadn’t acted alone. There were two of them in that locker room. Two masks. Two sets of hands. Only one distorted voice that spoke like one of the people behind all our texts. Once they disappeared, the crowd started to break apart, voices lowering, movements slower now that the adrenaline had worn off. Mrs. Gale appeared beside me, handing over my cheer bag. Her face had softened from coach to something closer to human.
“Cade brought this out to me before heading this way,” she said gently. “Figured you wouldn’t want to go back in there.”
I took it with a quiet, “Thanks.” Roxxi had brought my satchel out when she went in to grab her things earlier.
Mrs. Gale didn’t give me a speech or ask questions. Just touched my arm, gave it a firm squeeze, and said, “If anything feels off again, come to me. Don’t wait.”
I wasn’t sure what she could do, but I nodded anyway.
A few football and hockey players lingered with Ryder, Cade, Nick, Rook, and Xander, offering quiet nods of approval or comments about handling business. Brooke slid right up to Ryder’s side again, her hand curling around his bicep. I turned away and faced the girls.
“Do you want me to head back across town with you?” Roxxi asked.
“I can come too,” Ari added quickly.
“And—” Cloe started, but I shook my head, laughing softly under my breath before she could finish.
“No,” I said firmly, glancing at all three of them. “I’m fine, I promise. I’m more pissed than anything, and I know I’m going to be sore as hell tomorrow.”
I would’ve loved nothing more than to sink into a night with them—movies, junk food, and another few glasses of Moscato. But I wasn’t going to let one incident derail our lives more than they were already about to be. If I needed normal, then so did they. Roxxi needed her weekend with Gigi at the Port—her grandmother had been planning it for weeks. Ari had a presentation she’d been stressing over since midterms. As for Cloe, I knew she wanted to finish work on her project, the one Lindsey had completely dropped the ball on.