The Girl’s Exit Was Louder Than Silence Chapter 01
After practice, Madison—the most popular girl on campus—and I both brought my boyfriend a drink at the same time.
I’d picked out his favorite blueberry Gatorade.
Madison had casually grabbed a bottle of water from the vending machine.
But Dylan walked right past me, took the water from Madison’s hand, and drained it in one go.
Logan, the team captain, noticed me standing there alone with my head lowered in embarrassment. He took the drink from my hand to save me from the awkwardness.
“If Dylan doesn’t want it, I’ll take it. I’m practically dehydrated after that scrimmage.”
But the second I handed it to Logan, Dylan snatched it out of his hand and tossed it straight into the trash.
He was always like this.
He did whatever he wanted without caring about my dignity, what anyone else might think of me, or even the disappointment written all over my face.
At that moment, something inside me finally clicked.
There was no reason to keep our relationship a secret anymore.
Because there was no reason to keep the relationship at all.
…
The teasing look disappeared from Logan’s face.
“That was way out of line, Dylan.”
“Ava already gave it to me. What gave you the right to throw it away?”
Then he turned to me.
“Dylan’s just got a shitty temper. Ignore him.”
He apologized on Dylan’s behalf, then bent down and pulled the bottle out of the trash without a trace of disgust.
I stopped him.
“It was in the trash. Don’t drink it.”
Logan twisted off the cap and took a long swig.
“It’s fine. The seal was intact.”
Dylan, sitting nearby, let out a scoff.
“How do you know it was?”
“You trust her that much?”
“Aren’t you worried she might’ve slipped something weird in there to mess with you?”
He deliberately left the rest unsaid.
The guys around us immediately erupted.
“Wait. Has Ava pulled something like that on Dylan before?”
“No wonder I always thought Dylan had it out for her.”
“Even when Dylan hates someone, he usually doesn’t humiliate them in front of everyone.”
“But Ava? He’s never once been nice to her.”
“He won’t even take a drink from her. Hell, he doesn’t even let her touch his basketball.”
I stood there helplessly, unable to get a single word out.
Because everything they said was true.
Dylan didn’t want people thinking I’d gotten my position on the team because of him, so whenever outsiders were around during practice, he never spoke to me first.
Everyone thought we barely knew each other.
Now they thought he outright hated me.
“If someone like her stays on as team manager, aren’t the rest of us in danger too?”
The entire gym went silent.
Logan’s hand froze.
He swept an icy look over the guys who’d been talking, and they immediately shut their mouths.
Madison, on the other hand, looked delighted by the drama.
She raised an eyebrow at me before deliberately provoking me.
“You should be careful, Logan.”
“Regionals start next week.”
“If something happens to you, what’s the rest of the team supposed to do?”
I was so furious my head spun, but I still forced myself to defend myself.
“I literally just bought that drink from the campus store. If you don’t believe me, go check the security footage.”
“I never touched it after I bought it.”
Madison didn’t even blink.
“I was just giving Logan a friendly warning.”
“If you’ve got nothing to hide, why are you getting so worked up?”
I knew exactly how rumors worked.
One sentence could start one, while disproving it could take forever.
I was about to argue with her again when Logan stopped me.
“I believe you.”
He turned toward Madison, visibly irritated.
“If you don’t have proof, then you’re making a false accusation.”
“This is a closed team practice. We didn’t invite guests.”
“So I’m going to ask you to leave. Now.”
Dylan stood up with an impatient click of his tongue.
“It was a joke, Logan. Do you seriously have to make such a big deal out of it?”
“I invited Madison today.”
“A few days ago, I suggested to Coach Anderson that we add another team manager.”
“He agreed.”
“Starting today, Madison’s part of the team too.”