Sage
I didn’t answer him. Just looked away, sucking my tongue against the roof of my mouth to keep the words locked in. The gym noise filled the silence—clanging plates, grunts, music thumping from someone’s headphones—but it all felt distant.
“Are you going to talk or what?” Alex pressed, still staring straight ahead.
I didn’t reply. I just stood up, grabbed my towel, and walked back to the squat rack. Another set. Another burn. Something I could control.
Alex sighed behind me, deep and frustrated, then followed. “What was that about?”
“What?” I grunted, loading more plates, eyes on the bar, not on him.
“You said something… back then.”
“What?” I racked the bar harder than necessary, the clang echoing.
“Come on. Don’t act like this. I clearly heard what you said.”
“And what did I
