Page 86 of Twisted Violet
I thought I was fixing shit between us, but I think I just made it worse.
I pace down the hall,not really thinking about where I’m going until I hit the elevator. I need to move. Do something. Let my body burn so my head can shut up for a while.
I make it to the gym and push the door open.
The place is empty, but the lights are on, and the scent of rubber mats, steel plates, and disinfectant clings in the air.
I toss my hoodie on the bench and grab the nearest barbell, rolling my shoulders back like that’ll shake off the ache crawling under my skin.
I don’t warm up. I don’t stretch. I just load the bar, lie back, and press until my arms are screaming. Until the regret in my chest gets drowned out by something physical.
The door opens halfway through my third set.
Niko walks in, shirtless, silent, rolling his neck like he has a lifetime of tension in his shoulders. He doesn’t say anything, just nods at me once and starts setting up at the cable machine.
A minute later, Rome slips in too. He heads for the treadmill without a word, pulls his hood up, and starts running.
I drop the bar with a sharp exhale, sit up, and wipe my hands on my shorts.
“She’s not talking to me anymore,” Niko mutters finally.
I grab a towel and pat my brow. “Same.”
He exhales through his nose. “She won’t even look me in the eye.”
“She does with me,” I say. “But it’s not the same.”
Niko grunts. “She smile at you?”
I hesitate. “Yeah. But not the genuine kind. It’s polite, like she’s trying to prove she’s fine.”
“But she’s not,” he says.
“No. She isn’t.”
Niko paces a bit, dragging a hand through his hair. “She was opening up again. I could feel it. And now? Nothing.”
“Something changed,” I say. “I just don’t know what.”
“You think something happened with Stevie?”
I’m about to answer when the treadmill slows down behind us. Rome hops off and pulls back his hood. “She was awake that night.”
Niko and I both turn.
“What?” I ask.
Rome keeps his voice flat. “The night Stevie came by. I didn’t see her, but I know she was awake.”
Niko narrows his eyes. “How?”
Rome exhales slowly. “Because when I left, she was in my bed, and when I came back, she was gone.”
The silence is instant.
Niko’s arms fall to his sides, his brow pinched. Not angry, just processing.
My hand tightens around the edge of the bench.
