NEW CAMERA ANGLES RENDERED.MATCH INCONCLUSIVE.MORE TONIGHT.
Just a routine update.
Nothing dangerous.
But I can feel the way their attention spikes like I’ve just yelled fire.
“I’m fine,” I say to nobody in particular.
Finn: “We know.”
Atlas: “Still.”
Kael: “Let me see.”
I show him.He reads it fast, jaw ticking once.“Nothing new.”
“Good,” I say, because someone should.
But the unease creeps in anyway.
Not because of the message.
Because of the night I chose.
My night.
My apartment.
My choice.
God help me, I feel proud of that.
And terrified of it.
And both feelings coexist without canceling each other.
Finn appears at my side.“Hey.Hey.Look at me.”
I do.
His eyes soften.“You’re doing great.”
Atlas stands close enough that I feel the heat of him at my back.“Too great.It’s suspicious.”
“I hate to be the reasonable one,” Kael mutters, “but shut up, both of you.”
Finn snorts.Atlas grunts.Kael rubs his forehead like we’re children.
And for one fleeting, impossible moment—
I am okay.
***
The walk to my apartmentis scheduled for after I shower in the trainer’s office and finish my post-practice logs.They insist on staying with me until then.
They don’t say it out loud.
