The breeze shifted. A bell pealed from somewhere off campus—church or clock, I couldn’t tell. For a second, everything quieted. It didn’t last. “Thank you for today,” I murmured again.
He took my hand and folded it into his. “Thank you for yesterday.”
“Yesterday?”
“For trusting me with the information you’ve shared. About what your mom learned while working for Dunn. About the drive she destroyed.” His grip tightened. “We’re going to figure everything out.”
A chime vibrated in my pocket. I pulled my phone out. A new email pinged at the top. From the vice principal. Subject line:Next steps.
I didn’t open it yet. I handed the phone to Luke. “You read it.”
He scanned fast. His shoulders dropped half an inch. “They’re officially clearing the threat to your scholarship and right to stay on campus.” He passed the screen back. “The email is just a formality.”
“Okay. Good.”
He glanced toward the parking lot. “Go home. There’s nothing more to do right now.”
“And you?”
“Practice.” His mouth flattened. “Then home. Then… a conversation.”
“With your father.”
“With Drew too.” His eyes found mine, steady.
I rose on my toes without thinking. He met me halfway. The brush of his mouth was quick. Anchoring. Enough to hold, not enough to feed the rumor mill another meal.
We broke apart. He touched my cheekbone with his thumb, gentle, then lowered his hand.
“Text me when you’re home,” he murmured.
“I will.”
He let me go, and I let him. He turned toward the rink. I turned toward the lot. I pulled up Avery’s contact info and pressed the call button.
She answered immediately. “You good?”
“Getting there.” I climbed into my car and pulled the belt over my shoulder. “Are you feeling better?”
“Better than last night.” She exhaled. “Still not great.”
I connected my phone so the audio spilled through the car’s speakers and then pulled away from the curb. The school slid by in a rush of brick and glass and banners advertising the donor gala.
“Tell me everything.” Avery sounded more like herself.
“I swear this day tried to break me,” I started. “Elise?—”
“Of course it was Elise,” Avery cut in, voice edged with annoyance.
“She nearly had them expel me with doctored screenshots. The system wanted the easy answer, of course, my name on it.”
Avery swore under her breath. “And?”
“It didn’t stick, thanks to Luke and Tori.”
Avery was quiet for a beat, just the sound of her breathing filling the car. “Good. Make her choke on that.” Her voice was raw, but there was steel under it. “She doesn’t get to win.”
Relief caught me off guard. “We’ll hold, Avery. No matter what she throws.”
