SAVANNAH
"What are you doing here?" Blake's voice sliced through the gym like a knife.
I turned to find him standing just a few feet away, his face unreadable. Beads of sweat clung to his forehead, and his chest rose and fell beneath his black tank top. He looked... annoyed. But also kind of confused.
Before I could answer, Tyler stepped out of the gym behind me. His eyes immediately locked with Blake's.
"Oh, great," Blake muttered, his tone sharp and filled with disdain. "You brought company."
Tyler lifted a hand in a mock-salute, his lips curled in that infuriatingly smug smile. "Nice to see you too, champ."
I ignored both of them and pulled out the folded slip of paper from my pocket. I shoved it toward Blake, trying not to let my hand shake.
"We got this. It led us here," I said firmly.
Blake took the note and unfolded it. His eyes scanned the familiar handwriting, block letters, all caps. He nodded once. "Yeah. That’s this address."
I narrowed my eyes. "Did you put it there? Between my books?"
Blake looked up, his brow furrowed. "What? No."
"You weren’t at school today," I pointed out.
"Exactly," he said, gesturing to me with a touch of annoyance. "So how could I possibly sneak a note into your notebook when I wasn't even on school grounds?"
I hesitated. That was... a good point.
He tilted his head, his voice laced with sarcasm. "Don't be daft, Savvy."
Tyler immediately stepped forward. "Don’t call her daft."
Blake's eyes darkened, and he turned toward him. "Shut the fuck up, Ty. I wasn't talking to you. But if you want me to, maybe I should call you daft. Because only a pair of idiots would find a random note and go to a strange address without even knowing who sent it. What if it was a trap? What if someone wanted to hurt you?"
He stepped closer, jabbing a finger in my direction. "Next time, try using your brains. Don’t just go around looking for what isn't missing."
Then, with a final glance at both of us, he brushed past Tyler and walked back inside the gym.
I watched him go, my throat tightening. My feet remained frozen in place.
Halfway to the bench press, Blake stopped. He turned slightly, a mocking smile curling at the edge of his lips.
"On second thought," he said loud enough for us to hear, "whoever dropped that note did you a favor. You really need this gym."
Then he laughed—that laugh. The one he always used to make me feel like a joke.
My heart twisted. The sting of his words hit me harder than I expected. I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek, willing the tears to stay back.
Each time I expected better from Blake, he did this. Over and over again. And each time, it hurt more than the last.
Tyler gently reached for my hand. "Savvy... let’s go. Don’t think about what he said. He’s just a fool. A complete fool. If I knew we’d run into him, I wouldn’t have..."
He paused.
I turned toward him slowly, my eyes still wet.
He smiled sadly, finishing his sentence. "I wouldn’t have allowed us to come here."
His words were kind. Comforting, even. But something inside me snapped. I gently pulled my hand away from his and started to walk past him back into the gym.
"Savannah," he called after me.
I stopped.
He quickly stepped in front of me, blocking my path. "What are you doing? Where are you going?"
I smiled a not-so-happy smile. One of those sad, quiet, tired smiles.
"Isn’t it high time I stood up for myself?"
Tyler blinked. He didn’t respond.
"Whoever put this slip in my notebook, they did me a favor," I said quietly. "Because I’m going to use this opportunity to change history."
He looked completely lost. "What do you mean?"
I stepped around him.
"I’m signing up."
He gawked. "What?"
I didn’t respond. I just walked deeper into the gym.