Maddox:
I was used to being awake before sunrise. It had become second nature, the alarm going off at exactly five every morning, followed by the routine I'd built over years of football practice: roll out of bed, quick shower, throw on my favorite training hoodie, then head to the gym while campus still slept.
But today felt different. Today, I wasn’t just heading to the gym for my usual solitary grind—today, I'd have company. **Juliette Warner** had actually agreed to meet me, and something about that had me more energized than usual, a restless anticipation humming beneath my skin.
I reached the gym a bit earlier than usual. Maybe because I wanted to scope out the space, ensure we'd have a corner of the place to ourselves. It wasn't a secret that Juliette was uneasy—hell, downrig
