INICIAR SESIÓNColeThe closer we get to Maya’s dad’s apartment, the quieter she becomes.She hasn’t said more than a dozen words since we left my house.She just sits in the passenger seat wearing my hoodie, twisting the sleeves around her fingers so tightly I’m surprised the fabric hasn’t torn.Every few minutes she looks down at her phone, hoping for another message.There isn’t one.I keep glancing over at her whenever we stop at a light.She’s pale.Too pale.Like she’s trying to prepare herself for something she already knows is going to hurt.“You okay?” I ask softly.She lets out a humorless laugh.“That’s becoming everyone’s favorite question.”“I know.”She turns toward the window again.“I don’t know how to answer it anymore.”Neither do I.I reach across the center console and lace my fingers through hers.She squeezes my hand immediately.Not hard.Just enough to remind herself I’m here.We drive another fifteen minutes before my GPS announces we’ve arrived.The apartment complex isn’t
MayaI don’t move.I can’t.The words stay frozen on my phone screen while my brain stubbornly refuses to understand them.They came this morning. Everything’s gone.Everything.What does that even mean?Furniture?Clothes?Pictures?The apartment?My childhood?The room suddenly feels too small.Too warm.I can hear my own heartbeat pounding inside my ears.Cole says my name quietly, but it sounds far away.“Maya.”I blink once.Then twice.Nothing changes.My father’s text is still there.Everything’s gone.“I have to go.”The words leave my mouth automatically.Like breathing.Like instinct.I start climbing off the bed before I even realize I’m moving.I need my shoes.My purse.My keys.I need to get to my dad.I need to…I don’t even know what I need.I just know I can’t sit here.“I’m going with you.”Cole’s voice is calm.Steady.Certain.I shake my head immediately.“No.”“Maya.”“No.”I grab my hoodie from the chair and shove my arms into it so fast I almost put it on backwa
ColeI wake up before Maya does.For a second, I have no idea where I am.Then I feel the weight of her curled against my side, her head tucked beneath my chin, one hand fisted in the front of my T-shirt like she grabbed hold of me sometime during the night and never let go.My heart does that stupid thing again.The one it keeps doing around her.The one that reminds me I’ve completely, irrevocably fallen for this girl.Sunlight spills through the crack in my curtains, painting soft gold across the room. Somewhere downstairs, I hear a cabinet slam followed by Jake loudly arguing with someone over cereal.Normal.Everything outside this room is completely normal.Inside?Nothing about this feels normal anymore.Maya shifts in her sleep, her nose brushing lightly against my chest before she lets out the tiniest sigh I’ve ever heard.Jesus.She’s adorable.I brush a loose strand of hair away from her face as carefully as I can, trying not to wake her.She looks different asleep.Younger
MayaI don’t remember deciding to go to Cole’s house.One second I’m sitting in my car outside Po Folks, gripping the steering wheel while my father’s words replay in my head.Four months.He had lost his job four months ago.Four months of lying.Four months of pretending he was fine.Four months of me believing every crisis was just another bump in the road instead of the entire road collapsing underneath us.The next second, I’m pulling into my driveway with my chest so tight I can barely breathe.The house is mostly dark, except for the kitchen light and the soft glow coming from Bree’s bedroom upstairs. Logan’s truck is in the driveway, but I don’t go inside right away. I just sit there with my hands still on the steering wheel, staring at the football house next door.Cole’s house.Lights are on.Of course they are.The football house is never fully asleep. Even from my car, I can hear faint music, laughter, male voices yelling about something that sounds vaguely competitive and
MayaThere are two versions of my life.There’s the version where I’m with Cole.Where we laugh over miniature golf, argue over who cheated, text each other during the day, and somehow make an ordinary Wednesday feel like the best day I’ve had in months.And then there’s…This.“Table twelve needs drinks!” Andrea shouts from across the restaurant.“I got it!” I call back, grabbing two sweet teas before balancing them on my tray.The familiar smell of fried chicken, biscuits, and gravy wraps around me as country music hums through the speakers. Boots clack against the hardwood floor while conversations blend together into the same comfortable chaos I’ve worked in since freshman year.Po Folks hasn’t changed.Neither have the customers.Neither have the tips.For a few hours every shift, it’s almost easy to pretend nothing outside these walls exists.Almost.“Evenin’, sugar,” an older man says as I refill his coffee.“Can I get y’all anything else?”He smiles.“Another basket of biscuit
Chapter 106ColeCoach Daniels has a rule.Leave your bullshit in the locker room.The second you step onto my field, I don’t care if your girlfriend dumped you, your dog ran away, or you failed an exam. Football comes first.Normally, I don’t have a problem with that.Football has always been the one place where everything else disappears.Once the whistle blows, my brain shuts off. Reads become simple. Routes become instinct. The noise fades until all that matters is the next play.Today?Not a damn chance.“Ryder!”Coach’s voice cuts through the afternoon air just as the football whistles past my fingertips.It smacks into the turf behind me.“Again!”I curse under my breath and jog back toward the huddle.Jake falls into step beside me wearing the biggest grin I’ve ever wanted to punch off someone’s face.“You okay there, Romeo?”“I’m fine.”“Liar.”“I’m having an off day.”Jake laughs.“No, you’re having a girlfriend day.”I shoot him a look.“You ever stop talking?”“Nah.”Coach







