My phone buzzed and buzzed on the nightstand, Alex’s name flashing over and over like an alarm I couldn’t face. I flipped it over, pressed it down into the sheets, and finally let myself collapse.
The tears came fast, hot and unstoppable. I buried my face into the pillow and cried until my chest ached, until my body gave out under the weight of it all. Alone in that unfamiliar room, I let my heart break in private.
ALEXANDRA
I paced the length of my hotel room like a caged animal, hair still dripping from the shower. My phone kept ringing out, voicemail after voicemail, and every one of them went unanswered. She wasn’t picking up.
“Bobby,” I said, voice sharp as I cornered him near the desk. He’d been avoiding my eyes ever since he came back from chasing her down. “Where is she? Tell me where she went.”
He shook his head, calm in that maddening way he always was when I was about to break. “She asked me not to tell you.”
I stepped closer, heat burning in my chest. “You don’t get it. I need to explain.” My words tangled, breath jagged.
“I do get it,” Bobby cut in, firmer now. “That’s exactly why I’m not telling you. She doesn’t want to see you right now. She’s wrecked, Alex. Let her breathe.”
“I can’t just… sit here while she thinks—”
“You don’t have a choice,” he said quietly. “What she needs isn’t you barging in with half an explanation. What she needs is space. And you..” he fixed me with that steady look “You need to stop before you burn down whatever’s left.”
His words hit like a punch, but I knew he was right. I just hated how much it felt like losing her.
I wanted to scream, throw something or anything to make the knot in my chest loosen. Because the truth was so far from what Olivia saw.
Cassandra had shown up before sunrise, banging on my door like the hotel was on fire. I’d barely slept, my body was fried from our training yesterday.
She was shaking when I opened up. “Alex, I need help,” she blurted, voice so small it almost didn’t sound like her. She’d gone out for a recovery jog, but somewhere along the way she’d noticed someone trailing her, same man from the stands, same face she’d clocked before. Panic had spiked, and she’d rushed straight here, fumbling her way through the lobby only to realize she’d dropped her keys. No phone either.
“Okay, sit down. You’re safe here,” I said quickly, steering her inside. “I’ll call the front desk.” I dug out her coach’s number, rang reception, explained what happenedin clipped and urgent words. They promised to send someone up with a spare key right away.
So there she was, perched awkwardly on the edge of my bed, still damp from the jog and the swim, clutching the bathrobe I’d shoved into her hands, a faint tremor running through her as we waited for staff to arrive.
Meanwhile, my muscles ached, my skin felt sticky, and I thought,screw it. “I’m gonna jump in the shower while you wait, Don’t steal anything.” I told her, half-laughing at how absurd it all was.
She rolled her eyes, still pale and shaken, muttering something about me being ridiculous, and I ducked into the bathroom.
And that’s the exact moment Olivia walked in.
She didn’t hear Cassandra’s rushed explanation about the stalker, or the panic in her voice when she’d realized she’d lost her keys. She didn’t see the way Cassandra sat stiffly on the edge of the bed. All she saw was Cassandra, in a robe, on my bed and me stepping out of the shower behind her.
It looked bad. Worse than bad. It looked like betrayal.
“Olivia, wait—” The words barely left my mouth before the door slammed, the echo ricocheting in my chest like a punch.
I froze, dripping water down my back, heart pounding harder than any race finish I’d ever pushed through. By the time I yanked a shirt over my head and made it to the hall, she was gone. All that was left was Bobby, chasing after her like his life depended on it.
Behind me, Cassandra shifted on the bed. When I turned, she looked… wrecked. Her hands were clenched around the towel, knuckles white, eyes flicking toward the door Olivia had stormed through.
“I should’ve said something sooner,” she whispered, voice trembling. “About the man following me… about losing my key… maybe then none of this would have—”
I shook my head, cutting her off gently. “No. She wouldn’t have understood it like that. Not now. Not like this.”
Cassandra’s shoulders slumped, but her eyes stayed sharp. “She looked… shattered. Like I’d just blown her world apart.”
I swallowed hard. “This is on me. I should’ve handled it better.”
Cassandra hesitated, then leaned forward slightly, her tone quiet but steady. “Don’t let her walk away thinking the worst, Alex. If you don’t stop this spiral now, you’ll lose her.”
Her words landed like a punch. Because that’s exactly what I was terrified of, that one wrong step and everything I’d built with Olivia would collapse.
