We pulled into the venue for a mandatory rehearsal. We didn’t speak as we grabbed our bags.
Inside, the ring was already set up. We ran drills, but it was mechanical. Cold. Every lock up was aggressive, every shove a little too hard.
Evan watched us from the apron, his arms crossed, his brow furrowed. When Cal stormed off to grab water, Evan leaned over the ropes.
“You okay? You guys look like you’re about to kill each other.”
“We got into it in the car,” I muttered, wiping sweat from my forehead, wincing as I rolled my shoulder. “I’m fine. He’s just… he’s pissed off.”
“He’s stressed,” Evan tried to reason.
“It’s more than stress,” I said, watching Cal across the arena. He was staring at the ground, looking like he wanted to punch a hole in the wall.
After drills, we went to the catering area where the weekend itinerary and hotel roster were posted.
I was grabbing water when I saw Cal talking to Lena. She had ridden in a separate car with a few friends, but she gravitated right to him. She looked tired, anxious.
“Here,” Cal said, handing her a spare key card. “I’m in room two ten. You know the drill. If you need anything, just let yourself in.”
I froze.
“Thanks, Cal,” Lena said, taking the key. “You’re the best.”
“Get some sleep,” he told her, his voice soft.
The blood drained from my face.
He was giving her a key. He was telling her to let herself in.
It felt like a confirmation of every dark, jealous thought I’d had since November. He wasn’t just mentoring her. He was sleeping with her. And he was doing it right in front of me, in the same state wherewestarted.
I turned on my heel and stormed toward the exit, blinded by a jealousy so potent it tasted like acid.
I was waiting by the car when Cal came out. I didn’t wait for him to unlock it; I yanked the handle the second the lights flashed.
We slammed our doors shut in unison.
“You really had to give her a key?” I spat, unable to hold it in as he started the engine. “In front of everyone?”
Cal looked at me, his eyes dead. “Shut the fuck up, Silas.”
“No,yoube a fucking adult and talk to me!” I yelled, turning in my seat to face him. “You act like I’m invisible until you want to scream at me, but you have plenty of time for everyone else!”
“You have no room to talk to me about being an adult!” Cal snapped, merging onto the highway with a dangerous amount of speed. “When it came down to it, whenweactually needed to communicate, you ran like a little bitch! So don’t lecture me on how to handle my business.”
“Fine,” I snarled, my hands shaking. “I hope you have fun fucking a twenty-year-old this weekend. Classy, Cal. Really classy.”
Cal’s face twisted in confusion, then pure rage.
“Go fuck yourself, Silas!” he roared.
He didn’t deny it. He didn’t say, “It’s not like that.” He just told me to go to hell.
The rest of the ride was suffocating. When we got to the hotel, a massive beachfront resort, I didn’t wait for him. I grabbed my bag and stormed off.
I needed to hit something. Instead, I went looking for Evan.
I found him chilling by the pool, scrolling on his phone, sunglasses on. He took one look at my face, the fury, the hurt, the sheer exhaustion, and sat up immediately.
