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All Chapters of The Rogue Next Door: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

88 Chapters

Chapter 51

Cole“I don’t look like those girls.”That’s the line that sticks.Not the yelling.Not the frustration.Not even the part where she told us to stop.That line.It hits harder than anything else she said.⸻I don’t move when the door shuts.I don’t follow her.Even though every instinct in my body is screaming to.Go after her. Fix it. Don’t let her walk away like that.But she asked for space.And I said fine.So I stand there.Jaw tight.Hands flexing at my sides.Trying to figure out why the hell that one sentence just got under my skin like this.⸻“She doesn’t believe it.”Logan’s voice cuts through the silence behind me.Calm.Too calm.I let out a slow breath through my nose.“No shit.”⸻I run a hand through my hair, pacing once across the porch.Because if I stand still, I’m going to knock on that door anyway.“And that’s your fault,” Logan adds.That stops me.Slow.Deliberate.I turn my head just enough to look at him.“My fault?”“Your reputation,” he says simply. “What yo

Chapter 52

MayaI stay on the floor long after the door closes.I don’t even realize how much time passes.Five minutes.Ten.Maybe more.All I know is my back is pressed against the door, my knees pulled to my chest, and my mind feels like it’s moving so fast I can’t keep up with it.Cole.Logan.Cole.Logan.Over and over until I want to scream.I press the heels of my hands against my eyes.“What is wrong with me?” I whisper.Because none of this feels real.It feels like I somehow walked into someone else’s life.Not mine.Definitely not mine.Girls like me do not end up caught between two guys like them.That’s the kind of thing that happens in movies or those ridiculous romance books Bree reads on the couch while drinking wine and yelling at fictional men.Not real life.Not my life.My life is classes.Work.Bills.Trying not to lose my scholarship.Trying not to think about the future too hard because the future terrifies me.That’s my life.Not this.Not two campus-famous athletes looki

Chapter 53

ColeI’m sitting on the hood of Jake’s truck when my phone finally buzzes.One simple message.Maya:I’m okay.That’s it.Two words.And somehow those two words calm something in my chest that’s been wound tight for the last hour.Which is insane.Actually insane.Because I’ve known this girl for what?A few weeks?And somehow she’s already affecting my mood more than football losses do.Jake walks out of the gas station carrying drinks and stops short when he sees my face.“That good, huh?”I glance up from my phone.“What?”“You got that stupid look.”I narrow my eyes.“I don’t have a look.”“You absolutely have a look,” he says, tossing me an energy drink. “It’s the same one Jimmy had before he got trapped in that psychotic relationship sophomore year.”I catch the can one-handed.“First of all, Kara keyed his truck.”“Exactly,” Jake says. “Love makes people stupid.”I snort.“This isn’t love.”Jake climbs into the truck bed, leaning back casually.“Sure.”I ignore him.Mostly beca

Chapter 54

MayaSomething is wrong the second I step onto campus.I feel it immediately.That weird shift in the air.Like people are noticing me before I even walk past them.At first I try to convince myself I’m imagining it.Because anxiety does that.It makes you think everyone is staring when really nobody cares.Except today?People actually are staring.And I realize that the second I walk past two girls sitting outside the student center.“That’s her.”I hear it clearly.Not whispered quietly enough.I keep walking faster.Don’t react.Don’t look.Maybe they’ll stop.But then another voice behind me says:“Cole Ryder’s girl?”And my stomach drops.Oh my God.No.No no no.This cannot be happening.I grip my coffee tighter and keep moving across campus, my heart beating harder with every step.This is exactly what I didn’t want.Attention.People talking.Being perceived.I hate it.I hate every second of it.By the time I reach the philosophy building, I already feel exhausted.And humil

Chapter 55

LoganMaya is avoiding people now.I notice it two days after the whole porch disaster.Not because she says anything.Because Maya rarely says what’s actually bothering her unless you corner it out of her slowly.No.I notice because she changes patterns.She starts leaving class faster.Keeps her head down more.Stops sitting in the center of the coffee shop and starts taking tables near walls instead.Small things.But I pay attention.And apparently that’s becoming a problem for me.I’m standing in the kitchen early Friday morning making coffee when I hear soft footsteps upstairs.A minute later Maya appears.Oversized hoodie.Messy hair.Tired eyes.She freezes slightly when she sees me.Not scared.Just cautious.Like she’s still emotionally recovering from the other night.“Morning,” I say carefully.“Morning.”Her voice is quiet.Sleepy.But strained underneath.I pour coffee into a travel cup before she can even ask.Two sugars.Small splash of cream.Because that’s how she d

Chapter 56

MayaI should not be here.That’s my first thought the second Bree and I walk toward the football stadium.Too many people.Too much noise.Too much attention.And absolutely too much possibility for public humiliation.“This is fun!” Bree says excitedly beside me.I stare at her.“How?”She gasps dramatically.“Maya. It’s college football.”“Yes,” I say flatly. “Exactly.”The stadium is already packed with students dressed in school colors, music blasting through the speakers while groups crowd around the entrances laughing and yelling.Normal people probably love this atmosphere.I feel like I’m walking into a social death trap.Especially because now people know who I am.Or worse—They think they do.“Relax,” Bree says, looping her arm through mine. “You’re acting like we’re heading to your execution.”“You don’t understand,” I mutter.“Oh I absolutely understand,” she says. “You’ve got the quarterback and the hockey king fighting over you.”I nearly choke.“Please never say that

Chapter 57

MayaI want to disappear.That’s the only thought in my head as I stand there between Cole and Logan while half the stadium concourse openly stares at us.Or more specifically—At me.My chest feels tight.Too tight.Like I can’t fully breathe.Savannah and Trisha finally walk away after Logan’s comment, both looking furious and embarrassed, but honestly that doesn’t help much.Because now everyone else is still staring.Whispering.Watching.And somehow that feels worse.“Oh my God,” I whisper, covering part of my face with my hand.Cole immediately looks down at me.“What?”“Everyone is looking.”“They were already looking,” he says flatly.“That is not helping!”A tiny smirk almost pulls at his mouth.Almost.But then he notices I’m genuinely panicking and it disappears immediately.“Maya,” Logan says calmly beside me, “breathe.”“I am breathing.”“You’re breathing like someone being chased through the woods.”I glare at him.Which unfortunately makes him look slightly amused.Trai

Chapter 58

ColeThe locker room is absolute chaos after the game.Music blasting.Guys yelling.Pads getting thrown around.Half the team riding the high from the win while Coach screams at everyone to enjoy tonight because Monday he’s making us suffer again.Normal post-game energy.Except apparently tonight I’m the entertainment.Because the second I walk into the locker room, Jake points at me dramatically and shouts:“There he is!”Oh no.Absolutely not.Several heads snap toward me instantly.Jimmy grins like an idiot from across the room.“OUR BOY IS IN LOVE!”The entire locker room erupts.Groans.Yelling.Someone actually starts fake crying.I immediately turn around like I’m considering walking back out.“Don’t you dare,” Jake laughs, throwing a towel at my head.I catch it one-handed and glare at him.“You’re all annoying.”“Oh we’re annoying?” Markus says loudly. “You publicly claimed a girl in front of half the school tonight.”“That was insane,” another teammate says.“You basically

Chapter 59

LoganI realize Cole Ryder is serious about Maya three days later.Not at the game.Not at the porch.Not even when he publicly defended her in front of half the stadium.No.I realize it Monday morning at seven thirty when I walk downstairs and find him sitting on our porch steps.Holding coffee.What the hell?I stop halfway down the stairs.Cole looks up immediately.Neither of us says anything for a second.Mostly because this is weird.Very weird.Quarterback of the football team sitting outside my house before sunrise looking like he hasn’t slept enough.“For you?” I ask finally.Cole glances at the coffee in his hand.Then toward the front door.“Maya.”Ah.There it is.I lean against the railing crossing my arms.“You know she lives here, right? You can knock.”His jaw flexes slightly.“She had a rough weekend.”Interesting.Not I wanted to see her.Not I missed her.He’s worried about her.That’s different.Dangerously different.I study him carefully now.Because this whole

Chapter 60

MayaI can’t sleep.Again.At this point I’m pretty sure sleep and I are no longer in a relationship.I lie in bed staring at the ceiling while my brain replays the last seventy-two hours like some kind of emotional torture montage.The football game.Savannah humiliating me.Cole defending me.Logan defending me.Campus whispers.Girls staring.The way Cole looked at me on the sidewalk afterward like I was something important.I groan and drag my pillow over my face.“What is happening to my life?”No answer.Rude.I throw the pillow aside and sit up.The digital clock beside my bed glows 1:17 AM.Perfect.Fantastic.I have class tomorrow and instead of sleeping like a normal person, I’m spiraling over two athletes who suddenly decided I exist.Actually—Not just exist.Apparently matter.That’s the terrifying part.I swing my legs over the side of the bed quietly, trying not to wake Bree in the next room. The house is silent except for the hum of the refrigerator downstairs.I grab

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