BIANCA I don’t know how he did it, but I didn’t wait long enough to hear the conversation. While Kieran tried to convince Ellie that his busted lip, broken nose, and fractured jaw were from a “painful slip,” Max helped me wash the dishes. For a while, neither of us said a word. But between rinsing plates and stacking them, I stole glances at him. His eyes were empty and hollow. Not once did his gaze drift my way. It felt like he didn’t even want to look at me. And yes, after what happened in the boys’ locker room earlier, I’d been the one avoiding him. But now… I didn’t want that silence. I needed it broken. The thought clung to me like damp fabric, sticky and impossible to shake. I needed him. Not just his protection. Him. After he stacked the last plate in the rack, he reached past me for a towel, and His arm brushed mine. Warm skin tracing heat over my flesh, a subtle current raced up my spine, pooling low in my belly. “Oh. Sorry, I didn’t—” “Thank you,” I whispered, the w
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