All Chapters of The Rogue Next Door: Chapter 101 - Chapter 110

Cole Something is wrong. I know it before I even see her. That’s probably the first sign that I’ve completely lost my mind over Maya Bennet. Three months ago, I couldn’t have told you what her favorite coffee was. Now? I can tell when she’s upset from a single text message. Apparently that’s who I am now. A guy who analyzes punctuation because he’s worried about his girlfriend. Pathetic. My phone sits on the table in front of me while Jake and Markus argue about something incredibly stupid involving fantasy football. I haven’t listened to a single word. Because Maya’s last text keeps replaying in my head. I’m okay. Just tired. Normally that wouldn’t mean anything. Except Maya never uses periods when she’s texting me. And she definitely doesn’t answer a question with four words. Something happened. I know it. The problem is she’s avoiding me. Not in an angry way. Not in a relationship-problem way. In a Maya way. The kind where she decides sh

ColeI don’t like feeling helpless.It’s probably one of my worst qualities.Give me a football game? I can fix that.A bad practice? I can fix that.A problem with a teammate? Usually fixable.Hell, if Jake decides to become a public nuisance for the fifteenth time this week, I can usually solve that too.But this?Standing in a parking lot while Maya cries because her entire life feels like it’s falling apart?I have no idea what the hell I’m doing.And I hate it.I keep one arm around her shoulders as we walk back toward my truck, but neither of us says much.The conversation feels heavy now.Not awkward.Just heavy.Like we opened a door neither of us can close again.Maya is quiet beside me.Too quiet.Her eyes are focused on the ground as she walks.Lost in her own head.Which is dangerous.Because when Maya gets stuck in her own head, she starts carrying the weight of the entire damn world.I unlock the truck.She climbs in without a word.I walk around to the driver’s side and

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

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

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