Luke’s thumb brushed over my knuckles once, slow and steady, and I felt my chest loosen with something dangerously close to relief.
We turned and walked out.
Avery exhaled as soon as we hit the steps. “You’re either becoming fearless or completely insane.”
“Both,” I answered, and Luke’s mouth curved by a fraction.
His hand shifted to my waist as we reached the parking lot, thumb moving once through the fabric of my shirt. “Text me when you get home.”
“You too.”
His gaze held mine for a second longer. Then he stepped back and turned toward practice.
I watched him go, irritation still buzzing under my skin from Elise’s performance, but something steadier anchored me beneath it.
He wasn’t walking away from me. He was walking toward what he wanted.
And I was choosing to stand there when he came back.
That night, I lay in bed and stared at the ceiling until the shadows lengthened.
The day replayed in pieces. The unrest in Luke’s family business. Elise’s words. Nina’s guilt. Luke’s steady touch under the table. Avery’s quiet protection. Tori choosing our side with her presence.
Nothing had exploded. No threats shouted down the hallway. No police at the gate. No dramatic confrontation.
And still, my chest felt tight. Because I understood something now.
The war was not going to start with violence. It was going to start with positioning. With people deciding where they stood. With Elise deciding who she could isolate. With Logan deciding who he could blame. With Luke’s family deciding what mattered more: control or truth. And with me deciding whether I would keep living as if safety meant silence.
I reached for my phone and stared at Luke’s last text from earlier.You good?
My fingers hovered over the keyboard.
I typed one sentence and sent it before I could talk myself out of it.
Me:Absolutely. I know where I stand, and I’m not moving.
The response came a minute later.
Luke:Good. Stay there. I’m coming for you.
I read it twice. Then I pressed my phone against my chest and let my eyes close. Fear would have been smart. But tonight, I felt resolve instead.
Elise’s voice returned in my head, calm and confident.“People gravitate toward what feels secure.”
I had spent too long letting fear shape my world. Now it was my turn. And Elise was going to learn what happened when I wouldn’t move out of her way.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
LUKE
Blackwood could make anything feel staged if you let it. The halls. The lunches. The way people watched without turning their heads, and how rumors moved faster than truth. Even a Monday night could turn into a performance if the wrong person decided it should.
I refused to give them that.
By the time practice ended, my shoulders had locked into the familiar tension that came with keeping too many plates spinning at once. Coach ran us hard, then even harder when he sensed we were distracted. I didn’t blame him. Crestwood had been Friday’s victory. Today was about discipline and control, regardless of the binding written offers we had accepted for college.
The locker room buzzed with excitement from seniors who knew what their collegiate future held. I’d known for a long time, regardless of what my family wanted for me. Today, Jax, Chase, Logan, and I had finalized our plans and signed our agreements. It wouldn’t be smooth sailing, not for me. I anticipated hurdles, but none of it mattered. I would get what I wanted—with Mila at my side.
