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Chapter 31
publish date:
2026-05-07 15:16:57
Latest chapter
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 32
Derek’s POVI know I should stop.That’s the irritating part.I know exactly what I’m doing, know it’s immature, unnecessary, and probably proving every single point Lena has made about me recently, but every time she walks past me acting calm and unaffected like I don’t exist anymore, something in me immediately wants to ruin that composure just enough to get a reaction.Any reaction.Because apparently my brain has decided peace is unacceptable.Dinner starts relatively normal, which in this house usually means everyone is pretending not to notice the tension sitting at the table like an uninvited guest.Mom is calm as always, elegant even while drinking water somehow, Dad is asking clipped questions about school and football like he’s interviewing employees instead of speaking to family, Chloe is busy trying to stack peas on her fork for reasons known only to her, and Lena sits quietly beside her, composed in that frustrating way she always is when she’s trying not to draw attentio
THE QUARTERBACK NEXT DOOR Chapter 31
Lena’s POVBy the time I get to school the next morning, I have already made a very important decision for the sake of my remaining sanity, my emotional stability, and my ability not to throw a textbook directly at Derek Hayes’s perfectly shaped head.I am done trying.Not dramatically. Not emotionally. Not in a “standing in the rain while sad music plays” kind of way.I’m simply done wasting energy on someone who clearly wakes up every morning and chooses confusion as a personality trait.Which means if Bryan Miller wants to publicly announce to half the school that I’m his crush like he’s submitting a declaration to the government, then honestly… fine.At least Bryan acts like he actually likes me instead of treating basic human feelings like they’re illegal.The second I walk through the front entrance, I can already feel eyes turning toward me, whispers moving through the hallway like people here survive exclusively on gossip and overpriced cafeteria fries, but for once, it doesn’
THE QUARTERBACK NEXT DOOR Chapter 30
Derek’s POVFor a brief moment, I actually consider stopping her, saying something that makes sense, something that doesn’t immediately ruin whatever fragile, already broken thing is left between us, but the moment slips away too quickly, replaced by something sharper, something defensive that rises in my chest like it has been waiting for this exact opportunity, and before I can filter it, before I can pretend to be even slightly reasonable, I speak.“You think you’re some kind of star now,” I say, my voice cutting through the room in a way that feels deliberate, even if I didn’t fully plan it, “because someone has a crush on you?”The words land, and I see it, the way her movement pauses just slightly, the way her shoulders still for a fraction of a second, and instead of stopping there like I should, I push further, because apparently making things worse is a decision I’m committed to.“I don’t care if you talk to me or not,” I continue, colder now, sharper, like I need to convince
THE QUARTERBACK NEXT DOOR Chapter 29
Derek’s POVThere is a specific kind of silence that doesn’t behave like silence at all, the kind that lingers in the air like it has something to prove, stretching itself into moments that used to feel easy and now feel like walking through something invisible but heavy, and I would genuinely prefer being yelled at, insulted, or even publicly embarrassed again if it meant not dealing with whatever this is.Because Lena isn’t ignoring me.That would have been simple…but it's really not.No… she sees me, acknowledges me, responds when necessary, and then gives me absolutely nothing else, which somehow feels worse, like being politely erased from existence while still standing in the room.It’s impressive.Deeply annoying… but impressive.I lean against the kitchen counter, arms crossed loosely like I’m relaxed even though I’m very much not, watching her move around like I’m just another object that came with the house, useful but not worth attention, and the worst part is that she’s no
THE QUARTERBACK NEXT DOOR Chapter 28
Lena's POVIgnoring someone is easier when they don’t notice, when the absence of your voice blends into everything else and no one stops to question it, but Derek notices in the worst possible way, not directly, just in the small pauses that stretch a little too long when I don’t respond the way I used to, and that makes it harder than it should be, because now it feels intentional even when I don’t say anything at all.I don’t speak to him unless I have to, and even then it’s reduced to the bare minimum, short responses that answer the question without opening anything else, polite in a way that creates distance instead of closing it, and he hasn’t said anything about it yet, which somehow makes it more noticeable, because the silence between us doesn’t feel empty anymore, it feels like something that’s being observed.In the kitchen, I move around him like space naturally exists between us, not avoiding, not rushing, just adjusting without thinking too much about it, and when he sa
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