The team bus idled outside the house like a steel beast waiting to swallow us whole. I climbed the steps last, ribs still protesting every movement, the bruises hidden beneath layers of compression and my hoodie. The scrimmage footage had already gone viral on the university’s internal channels—Coach had made sure of that. “Trailblazer stands tall” was the headline they were pushing. I felt like a prop in someone else’s story.
Caleb had saved the seat next to him.
He didn’t say it out loud. He simply left the spot empty, eyes fixed on the window as the rest of the team filed past. Riot gave me a knowing smirk but said nothing. Tank clapped my shoulder—gentle for once—and moved on. I slid in beside Caleb without a word, the narrow bench forcing our thighs to press together from hip to kne
