[BOOK2]
Friendship built their world. Love will break it open. ❤️
*****
I want her.
I want her more than I've ever wanted anything.
But I can't have her. Because the moment I admit that out loud, the moment I risk everything we've built, I could lo...
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The office smelled like stale coffee, floor polish, and the quiet rot of dreams turned to ash. I sat on a cracked vinyl chair across from Coach Daniels, who looked like he'd aged twenty years overnight. Beside him, the assistant coach pretended to study a folder. Dr Gillian, the vice chancellor's, perfume was sharp and clinical, like she'd stepped out of a courtroom instead of a campus.
And my dad, who I'm wondering why is here— stood behind me, arms folded, face straight.
No one spoke. The silence was a bomb waiting to go off.
Coach cleared his throat. Once. Twice. His jaw worked like he was chewing on nails.
"Theo," he began, voice low, careful. "Your drug test came back positive."
The words were wrong. They sat in the air like static. Unreal.
I stared. My brain refused to process. I could hear the second hand on the clock, the hiss of the radiator, my own pulse banging in my ears.
"No," I said, flat, mechanical. "That's not possible."
The Vice Chancellor sighed, pity bleeding from every pore. "The results were confirmed by two independent labs. There's no error."
I gripped the edges of my chair, trying to anchor myself. I felt like I was sliding off a cliff.
Coach shifted forward, his elbows on the desk. "Theo, until we can get more answers... you are benched and will not attend any training."
The words detonated in my chest. I swore I felt something inside me rip.
"Benched?" I forced a laugh, brittle. "You're pulling me because of a test? A piece of paper? You think I'd risk this?"
No one answered.
"The scouts have been informed," the Vice Chancellor added, almost apologetic. "They're... pulling back their interest for the moment."
I swallowed a scream. It clawed at my throat, burning.
"You think I did this to myself?" I managed. "You think I'd throw away everything? This is all I have."
Coach looked at me like a man watching a kid drown. "I don't want to believe it either," he said, rough. "But the results—"
"Are wrong!" I shot to my feet, fists clenched. "Someone set me up. This is bullshit."
"Theo," my dad's voice cut in, warning.
I spun on him. "You think I'm lying too?"
He didn't answer, just tightened his jaw, gaze flat.
"Unbelievable," I spat. "I'm standing here telling you I'd never touch that shit, and you're all acting like I'm a goddamn criminal."
Coach stood too, hands out like he might calm me. "I believe in you, Theo. But I can't fight the evidence. You need to clear your name. Until then... you're benched."
