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Chapter 23
publish date:
2026-04-25 16:52:31
Latest chapter
THE QUARTERBACK NEXT DOOR Chapter 38: The Punch
Lena’s POVI was halfway across the parking lot when shouting from the football field made me stop.At first I ignored it because football practice at Ridgewood sounded violent even on normal days, but then I heard Derek’s name and suddenly everyone started running toward the field like free money had fallen from the sky.My stomach tightened immediately.By the time I got closer, Coach Thompson was yelling, players were crowding around the benches, and Derek was sitting down with blood running from a cut above his eyebrow while the medic argued with him.“I said I’m fine.”“You’re bleeding through your uniform.”“I noticed.”“You probably need stitches.”“I probably need everyone to relax.”Even injured, he sounded irritated instead of concerned, which honestly felt very Derek.Bryan spotted me first and walked over quickly.“You missed the drama,” he said. “Derek punched Carter Mills.”I looked at him. “Why?”Bryan gave me a look. “Because Carter apparently doesn't know what to say
THE QUARTERBACK NEXT DOOR Chapter 36: The Problem With Defending Her
Derek’s POVBy the end of the day, I have officially become Ridgewood High’s favorite topic against my will.Which is saying something considering last month people thought Coach Thompson was secretly having an affair with the cafeteria manager because they were seen buying oranges together at a grocery store.This school survives entirely on delusion and WiFi.The second the final bell rings, my phone starts vibrating like it has developed a personal vendetta against silence.Messages and notificationsFootball group chats exploding.Social media posts already dissecting my “public defense” of Lena like sports commentators analyzing national tragedy.Mason appears beside me while I shove my phone back into my pocket with growing irritation.“You know,” he says thoughtfully, “when people said senior year would be memorable, I do not think they imagined you defending a girl accused of theft like a divorced father in court.”“I hate you.”“No, seriously,” he continues, barely holding ba
THE QUARTERBACK NEXT DOOR Chapter 35
Derek’s POVHmmmm….There are very few things more exhausting than walking into Ridgewood High at eight in the morning and immediately sensing chaos before anyone even opens their mouth.Unfortunately, Vanessa Blake has perfected that atmosphere over the years.She does not create scenes loudly anymore because she learned long ago that subtle cruelty survives longer than dramatic cruelty, and the second I spot her near the lockers surrounded by her usual audience of emotionally unemployed cheerleaders, I already know somebody’s day is about to get ruined for entertainment purposes.Then I see Lena.And suddenly the problem becomes predictable.She is standing near her locker quietly adjusting the strap of her bag, expression calm in that careful way she has when she is trying not to attract attention, and for reasons I do not entirely understand, watching her exist like that while people constantly look for ways to tear at her nerves irritates me more every day.Bryan is beside her ta
THE QUARTERBACK NEXT DOOR Chapter 35
Derek’s POVHmmmm….There are very few things more exhausting than walking into Ridgewood High at eight in the morning and immediately sensing chaos before anyone even opens their mouth.Unfortunately, Vanessa Blake has perfected that atmosphere over the years.She does not create scenes loudly anymore because she learned long ago that subtle cruelty survives longer than dramatic cruelty, and the second I spot her near the lockers surrounded by her usual audience of emotionally unemployed cheerleaders, I already know somebody’s day is about to get ruined for entertainment purposes.Then I see Lena.And suddenly the problem becomes predictable.She is standing near her locker quietly adjusting the strap of her bag, expression calm in that careful way she has when she is trying not to attract attention, and for reasons I do not entirely understand, watching her exist like that while people constantly look for ways to tear at her nerves irritates me more every day.Bryan is beside her ta
THE QUARTERBACK NEXT DOOR Chapter 34:
Lena’s POVThere are places inside the Hayes mansion that feel like they exist on a different frequency from the rest of the house, spaces where the air is too controlled, the silence too deliberate, and the instinct to turn away arrives long before logic has time to explain anything.The restricted corridor is one of those places.I should not be here again, not after what I overheard, not after the way Mr Hayes said that name like it belonged to something dangerous enough to bury, but curiosity is not always loud or reckless, sometimes it is quiet and persistent, the kind that follows you until you stop pretending you can ignore it.So I am here..not inside fully.Just close enough to hear.Close enough to feel the difference in the house as the hallway narrows and the temperature seems to drop without reason, like even the walls are careful not to breathe too loudly.That is when I hear him.Mr Hayes.His voice is controlled the way powerful men always sound when they believe they
THE QUARTERBACK NEXT DOOR Chapter 33
Lena’s POVThere are certain things inside the Hayes mansion that nobody talks about directly, the kind of things that exist quietly beneath polished floors, expensive furniture, and carefully controlled smiles, and ever since I arrived here, I have noticed small details that feel insignificant on their own but deeply unsettling once they begin collecting inside your mind long enough.Locked doors that nobody explains…and I was strongly told not to approach.Since the Hayes came back there's been late-night conversations that stop immediately whenever footsteps approach.And then there is the restricted corridor near Mr. Hayes’s office, a narrow hallway on the second floor with a dark door at the end that somehow always feels colder than the rest of the house, as though even the air around it understands it is not supposed to belong to anyone else.Nobody goes there.At least not openly.Which, unfortunately, only makes me more curious, because telling an observant person not to wond
THE QUARTERBACK NEXT DOOR Chapter Five
Chapter 5Derek's POVThe cafeteria here at Ridgewood High always made a fuss whenever I walked in. The first thing that happened was it got noisy. The second thing was it got quiet. It started with people whispering, then chairs moving, then everyone pretending they weren’t staring at me before.
THE QUARTERBACK NEXT DOOR Chapter Four
Lena's POVYou know… there are moments in life when things go terribly wrong. Like when I trip while delivering food to football players. Or when I bump into the same really handsome quarterback the next morning. Or when my chair makes a loud noise in class and everyone laughs.Those moments are th
THE QUARTERBACK NEXT DOOR Chapter Three
Derek's POVThe place Tyler picked for the night looked like a palace that someone decided to turn into a hangout spot for rich people. It had open ceilings, stone floors that probably cost more than a semester of school, and a pool glowing blue under the lights. Right in the middle of it all was a
THE QUARTERBACK NEXT DOOR Chapter two
LenaToday is a masterpiece of awkwardness. And I am the main exhibit. I mean the exhibit that looks so weird on the wall but in a way you keep staring at it trying to figure out what the hell is this?I wake up feeling like a spoiled burger someone left in the fridge a little too long. My hair…oh,
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