The Girl’s Exit Was Louder Than Silence Chapter 05
By halftime, what happened between Madison and me in the locker room had spread through the entire team.
“Guess Dylan saw through her before the rest of us.”
“If we’d known what kind of person she was, we never should’ve brought her onto the team.”
“She always talks so sweetly. Who knew she acted like that when nobody was looking?”
I finally snapped.
“What kind of person am I?”
Whenever we traveled for games, managers from other schools had seen me running around carrying cases of water and replacing towels.
They’d even tried to stop me.
“Why are you working yourself this hard?”
“Make the guys carry the heavy stuff.”
I’d only looked at Dylan’s back and smiled like an idiot.
“It’s my job.”
“What if one of them twists an ankle carrying the water and it affects the game?”
I’d worked for this team for two years with almost no pay beyond a token stipend.
I had never complained about being tired.
I had never complained about how much work I did.
I didn’t need them to remember everything I’d done for them.
But I sure as hell wasn’t going to let them frame me for something I hadn’t done.
I pointed straight at one of the guys I knew best.
He’d sprained his ankle playing basketball the previous month, and I’d brought meals to the hospital for him every day for two weeks.
“Did you personally see me bully Madison?”
His expression stiffened.
He stubbornly shot back, “Dylan saw it. He wouldn’t lie, would he?”
I let out a cold laugh.
“So you didn’t see anything.”
“If you didn’t see it, what gives you the right to accuse me?”
I pointed at them one by one.
“You?”
“You?”
“Or you?”
“Did any of you personally see me push her?”
Everyone on the team knew me for having a good temper.
I’d never fought with anyone.
I’d barely even argued with anyone.
So the first time they saw me truly furious, they all went silent.
Logan came back from the restroom and found everyone crowded together.
“What happened now?”
I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down.
“I’m not part of the team anymore.”
“I only came here today to find those jerseys as a favor to Logan.”
“Logan should already know Madison replaced me as manager.”
Everyone turned toward him in shock.
Logan laughed.
“Why do you all look so surprised?”
“Weren’t you the ones who went over my head and signed a petition to Coach Anderson?”
I didn’t care anymore.
“If the team needs anything from now on, don’t call me.”
“And if Madison thinks I bullied her, there are security cameras in the locker room.”
“I’d be more than happy to pull the footage and confront her face-to-face.”
“When did we get cameras in the locker room?”
Logan answered, “They were just installed. I hadn’t had a chance to tell everyone yet.”
The room fell silent.
All the confidence they’d had seconds earlier disappeared.
My fever hadn’t broken, and losing my temper had drained whatever strength I had left.
My knees went weak.
I steadied myself against the wall and slowly started walking out.
Logan noticed my face and grabbed my arm, his expression turning serious.
“You look awful. Are you sick?”
When I didn’t answer, he put a hand against my forehead.
He immediately jerked it back.
“You’re burning up! Why the hell are you still forcing yourself to stand?”
“I’m taking you to the Health Center.”
He practically dragged me there and made sure I got an IV.
My dad finally saw the message I’d sent him and called.