Page 37 of Trade It All

She comes straight to me. “Mads—” And then she’s there, her arms wrapping around me tight enough that it pulls the breath from my chest for a second, her hands moving immediately like she needs to see everything at once, like she can’t settle until she knows exactly what she’s looking at.

“What happened? Are you okay? Does anything hurt?” Her voice is softer than it usually is, but there’s still that fire under it, that edge that never really leaves her, even when she’s trying to be gentle. Her hands frame my face, her thumbs brushing carefully along my cheek, her eyes scanning, taking in more than I want her to see and not looking away from any of it.

“I’m okay,” I say quietly, even though it feels too small compared to the way she’s looking at me, like it doesn’t cover everything she’s already figured out without me saying a word.

She doesn’t believe me. I can tell in the way her jaw tightens just slightly, in the way her eyes soften and sharpen at the same time, like she’s holding back and ready to burn something down all at once.

“You don’t look okay,” she murmurs, her voice dropping lower, closer to me, like she’s trying to keep this between us even though the room is still full.

“I am,” I insist, softer now, not because I need to convince her, but because I need her to stop looking at me like that.

Like I’m something fragile. Like I’m something that needs to be handled carefully. Her hands linger for another second before she lets them fall, but she doesn’t step away completely. She stays close, her body angled toward mine like she’s not done, like she’s not going to be done until she’s sure.

Then she turns toward Luka. And the shift in her is instant. “What are you doing about him?” The softness is gone. Sharper. Colder. The kind of question that isn’t really a question.

Luka doesn’t answer right away. He doesn’t need to. It’s in the way he stands, in the way something darker settles into his expression without him trying to hide it, something that belongs to a part of him most people don’t see. A part I don’t want touching this.

“Addy—” He starts.

She cuts him off without looking at him. “No,” she says, firm, already shaking her head. “Don’t ‘Addy’ me right now. What are you doing about Tyler?”

Something tightens in my chest. Not fear. Not exactly. Just… the weight of it. Because I know what she’s asking. And I know what that could mean.

“We’re not doing anything,” I say, stepping in before Luka can answer, my voice steadier than I expect it to be. “He’s leaving for Denver. He’ll be gone. That’s it.”

Addy’s head snaps back toward me. “That’s not ‘it,’ Maddie.”

“It is,” I push, holding her gaze, not letting her pull me into something I don’t want. “I don’t want anything else. I don’t want—” I hesitate for half a second, the words sitting heavier than I want them to. “I don’t want that on me.”

She knows what I mean. I see it in the way her expression shifts, in the way something in her pulls back just slightly, not agreeing, but understanding. It doesn’t mean she likes it.

“Fine,” she says after a beat, but there’s tension still sitting under it. “Then where are you staying until he leaves?”

I hesitate because I don’t have an answer that feels solid.

“Not at your place,” she adds immediately, not giving me the chance to pretend that’s even an option. “You can’t stay there. You’re coming home with me and Luka.”

My chest tightens again. Because part of me wants to. Part of me leans toward it instinctively. But before I can say anything—

“No.” Dean’s voice cuts in. It’s not loud. It doesn’t need to be. “She’s staying here.”

The words settle into the room like something already decided, like this is a conversation that already happened and I’m the only one who missed it. My shoulders square before I even realize I’m doing it. Because I’m not doing this again. I’m notstanding here while someone else decides what I’m doing, where I’m going, what’s best for me without asking.

“Thank you for last night,” I say, my voice steady even though something inside me is starting to push back harder than it has all morning. “But Addy’s right. I should stay with them.”

I don’t wait for him to respond. I move. Across the room. Toward my shoes. Because if I stand there any longer, I’m going to get pulled into something I don’t have control over, something that feels too close to decisions being made for me instead of with me. I bend down, slipping my foot into my shoe, focusing on something simple, something I can finish without anyone stepping in.

“Maddie.” His voice stops me for a second before I finish pulling my shoes on. Not loud. But sharper than anything he’s said to me before. I don’t look up right away. I finish tying my shoe first, my fingers moving slower than they should, like I’m giving myself a second before I have to face whatever is in his expression now. “You’re staying here with me.” The words land heavier this time. Not softer. Not negotiable. “You’re safe here,” he continues, his voice lower now, but no less firm. “And I’m not letting you walk out of here into something that isn’t.”

My hands still for a second. Just a second. Before I finish tying the other shoe. Because I hear him. I understand what he’s saying. But that doesn’t change what this is. I push myself up slowly, finally lifting my gaze to meet his.

“We can’t.” The words sit between us, heavier than they should be. “Because I work for you.” I don’t look away. I don’t soften it. “I’m the staff. You’re the coach.” The words echo back to him, exactly the way he gave them to me the first time I stood in this space and put something on the line that he didn’t hesitate to shut down. Something flickers across his face. I don’t stay long enough to look into it.

I turn to Addy instead, my eyes finding hers, something unspoken sitting there that I don’t have the energy to say out loud.

Please.

She doesn’t hesitate. Her hand closes around mine immediately, firm, grounding, and she doesn’t ask again. Doesn’t question it. She just pulls me with her. Out the door. Before anyone else can stop me.