Chapter Twenty-One
MILA
Iwoke in my room to the scent of paint and lavender, sketchbooks stacked, canvases leaning against the wall—but the air felt different.
It carried traces of him. The memory of his hands, his mouth, his weight braced above me.
Mom didn’t know I’d slipped out last night or crept back in.
I’d spent most of the night on the arena roof with Luke, the stars laid out like a ceiling over us, and let myself be his.
Being in his arms, being with him—it was everything.
Safe. Wanted. Desired. Loved. Every touch a tether that steadied me and set me free at the same time.
And sex with him… there weren’t words. It left me hungry in a way I hadn’t known before Luke—every time different, better, as though we were relearning each other from the inside out.
I padded barefoot through the house, the floor cool against my soles. A hoodie hung over the back of a chair, the familiar gray cotton worn soft. Luke’s. I pulled it on, the sleeves too long, the weight of it an armor I didn’t want to take off.
Coffee in hand, I stepped out into the backyard. The sky was that hazy pre-sunrise blue, morning clinging to the edges. I sat on the old bench swing, phone in my lap, and scrolled.
His messages waited. From last night.
Made it home safe. Still thinking about you. Can’t stop.
My chest ached in the best way.
Friday blurred by in pieces. Classes slid one into the next. Elise kept her corner, her minions flanking her, but she didn’t make a move. Logan stayed quiet too. Too quiet. It didn’t feel like victory, more like the pause before another round.
Art with Avery was the only part of the day that felt truly mine.
Charcoal dust smeared across my hands, graphite catching under my nails.
Avery leaned over her paper, hair slipping loose from its braid, and shot me a grin when the teacher wasn’t looking.
We didn’t need words to share the relief—that here, at least, we could breathe.
By the final bell, I wasn’t ready to go home.
Avery wasn’t either. So we ended up at the Grill Shack, the burger place near the highway with cracked red booths and a jukebox in the corner that cycled through old rock tracks on repeat.
The place was packed—families, a few kids from our school, a couple of old guys at the counter nursing coffee—but somehow, we snagged a booth in the back.
The vinyl seat squeaked as I slid in. I set down the red plastic basket, grease already blotching the paper liner beneath the fries. Avery didn’t wait—she swiped one before I even unwrapped my burger.
The question I’d been circling pushed to the surface. I toyed with the corner of the paper then glanced at Avery. “What about Tori?”
Avery’s fry froze halfway to her mouth. “What about her?”
“Is she serious about Theo?”
Her expression turned thoughtful, the grin fading. “Hard to say. It’s clear she has feelings with the way she looks at him. But I think she’s afraid of Elise.”
“Do you think she’ll ditch Elise? Possibly to our side?” Elise still had tricks up her sleeve, and I bet Tori knew more than she was letting on. If she broke ties, would she give those potential plans up?
Avery shrugged, finally chewing the fry. “If she thought she’d survive it? Maybe.”
Maybe. The word stuck like grit lodged in my throat. Maybe was dangerous. Maybe could be betrayal. But for now, maybe was all we had.
I pushed the fry basket back toward her, a small smile tugging at my mouth. “Then we’ll take maybe. Until we can make it more.”
Avery nodded, and the hum of the diner rose around us again, the world moving on.
But beneath the chatter and the grease and the flicker of the neon sign in the window, I felt it—the ground shifting.
We were in the calm before the storm. And somewhere out there, Elise was waiting for her chance to make it break.
To somehow claim Luke for herself and take down as many of us—me, Avery, possibly my mom—when she did.
By the time the fries were mostly gone, Avery leaned in, voice lower than the buzz around us. “Okay, so I have to tell you something.”
My brows rose. “That’s never not ominous.”
Avery rolled her eyes, but her cheeks flushed pink. “I snuck out.”
I smirked. “With Jax.” And it must’ve been the theme of the night.
“Shut up.” She bit into a fry, chewing as though it bought her time. “We just… walked along the shore. Talked. He was weird about me sneaking out, but not in a bad way. He just wanted to make sure I was safe. He said he’s going to talk to Chase this weekend. After the game.”
My stomach flipped. “That’s going to go well.”
She groaned. “Yeah, I know. But he has to so they don’t mess up their friendship. And…” Her lips twitched into a smile she couldn’t hold back. “We kissed.”
I leaned in, grinning despite myself. “And?”
“And it was… good. Really good.” She pressed her hands to her cheeks, muffling her laugh. “I feel ridiculously giddy.”
Warmth bloomed in my chest for her, but it was tangled with unease. Chase wasn’t going to take it lightly—his best friend with his sister. It could split everything wide open.
“You’re happy,” I murmured, watching the way her cheeks flushed, the way she practically vibrated with excitement. “Not just surface happy—lit up from the inside.”
Her smile softened, her expression glowing under the flicker of neon from the window. “I am.”
“Then I’m happy for you.” My voice dipped, quieter. “Even if Chase is going to lose his mind.”
Avery sighed, slumping back against the booth. “Maybe Luke can smooth it over. Chase actually listens to him.”
“Sometimes.” I dragged a fry through a smear of ketchup on the paper. “Depends on if Chase is in a mood.” I met her gaze. “And Jax? Is he still pretending to be your bodyguard?”
The pink returned to her cheeks. “He’s… protective. But not in a suffocating way.” She rolled her eyes for effect, but the smile gave her away.
“So you like it.” I arched a brow at her, watching her blush give her away.
“Maybe.” She shoved the fry basket at me. “Eat before I finish them all.”
We both laughed, the sound cutting through the hum of the diner.
“Jax, huh?” Nina’s condescending voice dissolved our laughter.
We hadn’t even seen Nina slip in—as if she’d been waiting for the moment. My stomach turned to ice. She stood from a booth behind Avery. Her smile was wicked as she came around to stand in front of where we sat. “Didn’t think you had it in you, Avery. That’ll cause a stir, won’t it?”
Nina winked, tucked her phone away, and turned on her heel as she headed out the door, high blond ponytail swinging with every step.
Avery’s face went chalk white. “No. No, no, no—”
I shoved out of the booth, my heart pounding. “We have to get to the rink.”
We didn’t stop to clean up, didn’t look back. We bolted into the humid air, sprinting through the parking lot until our lungs burned. Every step drummed with panic. We took my car. Once inside, I peeled out.
Neither of us spoke. The hum of the engine drowned out everything—our panic, our questions, the words we couldn’t take back. By the time the rink’s lights came into view, my chest was hollow with dread.
We stumbled into the rink. Sweat slicked my palms, and my pulse clawed at my throat. The place was quiet except for the muffled echo of blades on ice. No Elise. No Nina. For half a second, hope sparked. Maybe Nina was bluffing. Maybe she’d just wanted to rattle us.
Then Avery’s phone buzzed. Her hands shook as she fumbled it out, eyes darting across the screen.
“Goddammit.”
I leaned over. The post was already up, spreading fast: Avery + Jax. Sneaking behind the Elites’ backs. How long before Chase finds out his best friend is hooking up with his sister?
The blood drained from my face.
“They’ll hear it from us first.” Avery’s voice broke. “We have to tell them.”
The guys were still practicing so we had no other option but to wait. We stood where they would exit, our nerves raw, until the guys exited the ice. Steam rising from their skin, jerseys clinging, all of them laughing—still in that bubble where the world hadn’t yet shifted.
Avery stepped forward. “Chase—we need to talk.”
He slowed, grin fading when he saw her expression. “What’s wrong?”
Her lips trembled, but she squared her shoulders. “I like Jax, and you don’t have a say in it. I don’t care about the bro-code pact between you guys.”
The words detonated.
Chase’s head snapped toward Jax. The laughter in the passway died, players freezing mid-step.
Jax didn’t move. Didn’t deny. His eyes held Chase’s. And Chase’s fist flew.
Chase’s fist cracked against Jax’s face, the sound echoing down the hall.
Jax staggered back into the bench gate, the clang reverberating as the arena exploded with shouts.
Bodies scrambled between them. But Jax didn’t raise a hand.
Didn’t strike back. He just wiped the blood from his mouth and stood there, chest heaving, while Chase came at him again.
The second hit landed harder. Jax’s head snapped sideways, blood streaking his jaw. His hands clenched, body coiled as if he could break Chase in two if he wanted—then loosened again. He took it. Silent.
Chase roared, shoving against Luke and Theo who were trying to hold him back. Rage poured out of him, hot and jagged. “You—my sister? My best friend?!”
Luke’s voice cut low, steady—the kind of tone that usually reached Chase when no one else could. For half a second, I thought it might work. But the rage in Chase’s eyes burned right through it, like even Luke’s leadership couldn’t touch him anymore.
Avery’s voice cracked through the chaos. “Chase, stop!” She lunged, fingers gripping his arm, but he shook her off so violently she stumbled back into me.
I caught her. Barely. My chest rattled with every shout, every metallic bang as Chase slammed Jax against the lockers again.
“Hit me back!” Chase spat the words in Jax’s face. His fist drew back a third time.