My eyes scan the bleachers while I jog in place. Hunter is seated right behind where Oliver is standing, and he smiles at me. Without thinking, I wave, and Oliver points his whistle at me with his stern coach expression. I roll my eyes and start to stretch.

It's already mid-season, and we're still in first place. For as competitive as Oliver and I are, we would like to keep it that way. I'm about to take my place on the line when I spot our typical crowd plus one person who shouldn't be here. Judah has a ball cap pulled low on his head with a hood over top of it. He must really think I'm an idiot not to recognize him.

Oliver jogs over to me. "Okay, Elle. You got this."

I nod toward the bleachers. "Judah's here."

He turns to look behind him and then back to me. A scowl forms of his face as he places his hands on my shoulders. "Don't let him distract you, okay? I'll be right here the entire time. I will walk you out when we leave. He won't get near you if you don't want him to."

I shake my head. "I'm not afraid of him. I just don't know what to say anymore."

"You said what you needed to say, right? It's up to him to accept it now."

"He's so broken because of me. I feel terrible."

Oliver scoffs. "He'll be fine. He's just having a hard time with all of the changes this year. I'll talk to him again tonight. Make sure he's okay."

I nod as I release a shaky breath. "Okay."

He gives me a smirk and pats my shoulder. "Hunter's here, too. We got this."

Even though I smile back, guilt swirls in my stomach. I would never forgive myself if Oliver lost his relationship with Hunter over this.

He releases me, and I go to the starting line. I exchange one last glance with Hunter before I take my mark. There's something about that moment before the starting gun goes off. Everything seems to fade out around me, and my vision becomes singular. The only thing I can see is the finish line, and the only thing I can think about is how fast I need to cross it.

The shot rings loudly, and I take off down the track. I never hesitate; it's such a natural reaction for me to surge forward when something is chasing me. My lungs are barely warmed up as I easily take first place several seconds before everyone else.

Ollie cheers louder than all the others. He also shouts some language that would typically get someone in his position fired, but for some reason no one ever questions him. I guess it wouldn't seem right if he didn't.

He raises his hand to me as I jog back to his side. "Elle, you fucking smoked them! Good job."

I laugh and return his over enthusiastic high five. He turns to verbally assault the rest of the team as I grab my water bottle.

Hunter winks at me from the bleachers, and I can't hide my smile. It's cut short as I watch Judah stroll down the stairs toward me. He's flanked by most of the current football team, which surprisingly includes Dylan.

Judah doesn't take his eyes off of me as he casually swaggers to the parking lot. It's like he's almost taunting me now. They are still his friends, but there's no reason for him to be home so much. That worries me. As disturbing as he's acting lately, I don't want anything to affect his performance at college.

My eyes drift over to Hunter who is visibly on edge. I think back to the conversation I had with Ollie the day I decided to go after him in the first place. The warning he gave me is still so prominent in my mind even though I have no idea what it means. I need to know what Ollie's not telling me if I have any chance at protecting him.

***

My palms are sweaty as I close my hand to knock on his door. I wouldn't just enter Oliver's room unannounced. You never know what you'll find.

He answers with a stupid grin. "What's up?" His smile fades. "Elle, why are you crying?"

I shake my head and another sob rips through my chest. He opens his door wider and pulls me inside. He guides me to the chair next to his bed. "Sit down. Talk to me."

The tears keep falling even though I try so hard to compose myself. "I'm sorry," I choke out.

He kneels in front of me, his face scrunching up in confusion. "Elle, what are you sorry for?"

I pull at the torn fabric on my jeans, unable to meet his eyes. "You have to tell me—I need to know."

My sentences are coming out short and clipped, but I can't help it. I start to cry harder.

"Elliot, you are seriously scaring the shit out of me." He shakes my knee back and forth. "Just tell me. I won't be mad whatever it is."

I shake my head again. "You—you don't mean that."

He clenches his teeth. "Yes, I do. I can't promise I won't hurt the person who did this to you, but I won't be angry with you."

My eyes lock on his. "You can't hurt him either."

I watch Oliver's throat bob as he swallows. "Hurt who?" The ominous tone of his voice almost makes me flinch.

I close my eyes. "Hunter."

I can practically hear all of the air escape from his lungs as he stands in one quick motion. "You've got to be fucking kidding me?"

"Ollie, you promised—"

He slams his fist into his chest. "I didn't think you were going to tell me that!" He runs his hand through his hair. "Jesus, Elliot. What were you thinking?"

His words make my tears fall faster, and he sighs loudly and then walks back over to me. "Elle, I'm sorry."

"No, I deserve this."

He shakes his head in determination. "No, you don't. I overreacted. A lot of thoughts are going through my head right now. I can't process them all."

I sniffle loudly and wipe my face on my sleeve. He sighs again and stands to get me a box of tissues. "Here, now calm down and explain this to me."

Oliver sits on the edge of the bed facing me while I try once again to collect myself. He folds his hands in his lap, plastering a falsely serious expression on his face. "Okay, what exactly is the nature of your relationship?"

I give him an irritated look. "Seriously, do you even have to ask—"

He stands abruptly from the bed again, cutting me off. "Nope. I'm gonna kill him."

My reflexes kick in, and I leap from my chair to grab his arm. He's much stronger than I am so he drags me with him a couple steps. "Ollie, you can't!"

He looks down at me with a murderous expression. "Elliot, let me go. He should have known—"

"Oliver, I love him!"

Instantly, Oliver stops pulling away from me and his eyes widen. "What did you say?"

I take in a deep breath, releasing my grip from his arm. "I said, I love him. I love him so much that it physically hurts." I rub the throbbing spot on my chest, and it starts to beat faster. "And I can't go one more day not knowing. You have to tell me what he's hiding from me. I can't be the one who breaks him—I just can't." I lower my face into my hands when the sobs start all over again.

Oliver's arms come around me, pulling me into his chest. "Elliot, I'm the only one who knows," he says softly.

My hands grip his T-shirt as I look up at him. "That's why I'm asking. Please, Ollie."

His expression is conflicted. He stares down at me for the longest time, contemplating what to say. He takes another deep breath. "What do you want to know?"

I take a step back to prepare myself. "What happened to him? Something happened that he won't talk to me about. I know it has to be really bad, but I need to know."

Oliver starts pacing. If there is one quality that I know for sure my brother possesses, it's loyalty. Selfishly, I also know that if it comes down to a choice between us, Ollie would choose me.

He pauses for a moment and runs his hand down his face. "Did you ask him about it already?"

I nod.

"And he didn't want to tell you?"

I shake my head.

He lets out a frustrated grunt, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. He motions with his head to the chair. "Sit down. This is going to take a minute."

On unsteady legs, I walk over and sit across from my brother. His eyes meet mine with a sadness I've never seen before from him. I inhale one more uneven breath and prepare myself for the worst.