Practice ended with a whistle and a muttered curse under Mia's breath. I barely heard any of it.

My eyes were on Maya.

She hadn’t come back after storming off. Her stuff was still sitting near the benches. Her water bottle half full. Her bag unzipped.

I waited, letting the rest of the team filter out slowly—laughing, gossiping, brushing past me like I didn’t exist.

When Maya finally showed up again, she moved fast. Her eyes didn’t meet anyone’s. She just grabbed her bag and turned to leave.

I took a breath and moved quickly.

“You’re Liliana’s friend,” I said.

She froze.

Then turned slowly, brows raised, guarded. “Excuse me?”...