Push Back
I spent the entire day convincing myself that I had done the right thing. By the end of the day, I was no longer convinced. The problem wasn’t that Jace had argued. The problem was that he hadn’t. After I told him we should keep things professional, he had simply accepted it. No fight, no sarcasm, no stubborn persistence. Just one quiet word. Fine. And somehow that had made everything worse. Because now he was treating me exactly the way I had asked. Professionally. At practice, he only spoke when necessary. During drills, he followed the coach’s instructions and ignored everything else. Even at lunch, he sat with Mason and the rest of the team instead of stopping by my table. It should have been a relief. Instead, I felt strangely annoyed. “You’re staring again.” Kiara’s
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