Page 148 of Tag

“Coach,” he called, bored and impassive.

Coach Crane and Wiseman both jogged over like a pair of well-trained retrievers, each grabbing one of Dennis’s arms. They hauled him to his feet and made assurances in front of everyone lingering that this would be dealt with accordingly.

“You’re with us now, Matheson,” Crane barked as they dragged Dennis off.

I watched them silently.

Where the hell was the other one? Dennis hadn’t acted alone. There were two of them in that locker room. Two masks. Two sets of hands. Only one distorted voice that spoke like one of the people behind all our texts. Once they disappeared, the crowd started to break apart, voices lowering, movements slower now that the adrenaline had worn off. Mrs. Gale appeared beside me, handing over mycheer bag. Her face had softened from coach to something closer to human.

“Cade brought this out to me before heading this way,” she said gently. “Figured you wouldn’t want to go back in there.”

I took it with a quiet, “Thanks.” Roxxi had brought my satchel out when she went in to grab her things earlier.

Mrs. Gale didn’t give me a speech or ask questions. Just touched my arm, gave it a firm squeeze, and said, “If anything feels off again, come to me. Don’t wait.”

I wasn’t sure what she could do, but I nodded anyway.

A few football and hockey players lingered with Ryder, Cade, Nick, Rook, and Xander, offering quiet nods of approval or comments about handling business. Brooke slid right up to Ryder’s side again, her hand curling around his bicep. I turned away and faced the girls.

“Do you want me to head back across town with you?” Roxxi asked.

“I can come too,” Ari added quickly.

“And—” Cloe started, but I shook my head, laughing softly under my breath before she could finish.

“No,” I said firmly, glancing at all three of them. “I’m fine, I promise. I’m more pissed than anything, and I know I’m going to be sore as hell tomorrow.”

I would’ve loved nothing more than to sink into a night with them—movies, junk food, and another few glasses of Moscato. But I wasn’t going to let one incident derail our lives more than they were already about to be. If I needed normal, then so did they. Roxxi needed her weekend with Gigi at the Port—her grandmother had been planning it for weeks. Ari had a presentation she’d been stressing over since midterms. As for Cloe, I knew she wanted tofinish work on her project, the one Lindsey had completely dropped the ball on.

Roxxi swooped in and hugged me tightly.

“We’ll keep in touch the whole time.”

“Group chat’s going to be blowing up,” Cloe followed up with a small smile.

“Call me at any time,” Ari said softly.

They turned toward Cloe’s car, and I turned to Noah, who was being followed by Layla and Sydney. Noah folded me into a warm, grounding hug like he thought he could absorb the worst of how I was feeling. With his unruly copper curls still and boyish, freckled charm he never quite outgrew, Noah always looked like summer held on a little longer for him.

“I expect a phone call this weekend to spill tea,” he murmured into my hair.

Sydney was next, arms already open. With her delicate features and soft curls, she looked like she belonged in candlelight, pretty in an old-soul kind of way, but her hug was solid, and for a second, I let myself lean into it.

“Glad you’re okay,” she said quietly against my shoulder.

Then came Layla.

I couldn’t bring myself to hug her. I could fake it like a Grammy winner, but I wasn’t up to the task tonight. I gave her a tight smile and said something along the lines of catching up later. She blinked, confused, her hand twitching halfway up before falling to her side since I was already walking past her. Kellan reached me, eyes scanning my face in that quiet, observant way he never quite shook. He ruffled my hair like I was still the girl who dared him to eat six Warheads without water back in middle school.

“You better text me later.” His tone was light but laced with real concern.

“I will,” I half-laughed, shoving his hand away.

I turned and circled to the other side of Ryder’s truck. He’d unlocked it at some point, and it was already running, so I climbed into the back instead of my usual spot in the front. He was still standing off to the side, talking to a few other players. I placed my bags on the floor and settled in, leaning my head lightly against the window. I fished out my cell phone and typed a quick text to my parents:

Just leaving campus now. Be home soon. Love you!

I checked over my notifications and saw two new texts from my Huntsman.

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