บททั้งหมดของ RIVAL'S TO LOVER'S: My Step Brother Is Now My Roommate : บทที่ 81 - บทที่ 90

STEPHEN’S POV:I barely slept and it was not because I couldn’t but because I didn’t want to admit why I couldn’t.The ceiling above my bed had become way too familiar by the time my alarm finally went off. My arm was thrown over my eyes, blocking out the early morning light, but it didn’t stop my thoughts from looping towards the motherfucker next door….Hayden. Of course, it was him. It’s always him.I exhale slowly, dragging my hand down my face before forcing myself up. My body feels heavy, like I didn’t rest at all, but I push through it anyway. I don’t have the luxury of being off today.Today matters a lot to me.It was the tournament selections.Coach had made that very clear all week that today decides everything. Who starts, who gets benched, who even travels and I’m not about to let anything or anyone mess that up.Especially not Hayden.The thought tightens something in my chest, but I shove it down as I pull on my training gear. By the time I step out into the main area,

HAYDEN’S POV:For a second, neither of us moves.The air in the restroom feels too thick, like it’s pressing in on my lungs, making it harder to breathe. Stephen is still looking at me like he’s trying to solve something—like I’m a problem he doesn’t have the answer to.Maybe I am.“Say something,” he finally mutters, voice rough.I don’t because if I do, I might say the wrong thing or worse—the right one.His jaw tightens. “Yeah. That’s what I thought.”He pushes off the wall, brushing past me toward the door.I won't stop him this time.The door swings shut behind him, and just like that, I’m alone again.The music hits me the second I step back into the party, it is loud and overwhelming, but it doesn’t drown anything out. If anything, it makes everything louder inside my head.I run a hand through my hair, exhaling sharply, trying to get a grip.That was a mistake.Everything about that was a mistake. Except… it didn’t feel like one.“Hayden!”I don’t even have to turn around to k

HAYDEN’S POVI didn’t wait.The second the words leave my mouth,what the hell did we do?—something inside me snaps into overdrive. Panic, sharp and suffocating, crawls up my throat before Stephen even has the chance to answer because I know exactly what we did and I can’t….I won’t….let it mean anything.I push off the bed so fast it makes my head spin. My pulse is hammering, my chest is tight, like the walls are closing in on me.This is wrong. This is so fucking wrong.“Don’t,” I say quickly, dragging a hand through my hair, pacing a few steps away from him like distance will fix this. Like it’ll undo it. “Don’t say anything.”Behind me, there’s a pause. I can feel his eyes on me, heavy and searching.“What?” Stephen’s voice is rough, confused. “Hayden….”“I said don’t.” My voice comes out sharper this time, harsher than I meant it to.I hear the shift immediately. The way his breathing changes and the way the confusion starts turning into something else.But I can’t stop now.If I

STEPHEN’S POV:I didn’t sleep, not even for a second.At first, it was just noise like muffled laughter, the creak of the door, the low murmur of voices drifting down the hallway. I’d rolled over in bed, pressing my face into the pillow, telling myself to ignore it.Hayden bringing a girl back wasn’t new.It shouldn’t have mattered but then the sounds changed.The laughter faded into something else. The kind of sounds you couldn’t mistake, no matter how hard you tried.My jaw tightened as I stared into the darkness of my room, every muscle in my body going rigid.No.I squeezed my eyes shut, dragging the blanket higher over my shoulder like it could block it out.It didn’t. It only got louder.A low groan, the creak of the couch. A breathless voice that wasn’t his and then his voice, rough and unrestrained in a way I’d never heard before.Something twisted hard in my chest.I turned onto my back, staring up at the ceiling now, my pulse pounding in my ears.This was normal. This was wh

HAYDEN’S POV:Coach didn’t call players over after practice unless something goes wrong.So the second I heard, “Hayden. Stay back a minute,” I already knew this isn’t about my performance on the field.Because that part? I’m still killing it.I drag a hand over the back of my neck, sweat cooling against my skin as the rest of the team jogs off. My chest is still heaving from drills, adrenaline not quite gone yet—but there’s something heavier sitting underneath it.Coach watches me approach, arms crossed, expression tight.Yeah, it's definitely not about soccer.“What’s up?” I ask, keeping my tone casual, like I don’t already feel the tension creeping in.He didn’t answer right away. He just studies me for a second, like he’s deciding how much patience he has left.“Your grades,” he says finally.There it is.I exhale through my nose, glancing away. “I’m handling it.”“No,” he cuts in sharply. “You’re not.”My jaw tightens. “I’ve had two professors email me this week,” he continues.