Chapter 16 : The silence in the dark
ELLA’S POV
The words hung there…. heavily. I straightened, folding my arms. “You think this ends with a little competition for captain?”
She didn’t answer.
“I’ve been captain for two years,” I continued. “I built this team’s reputation. I made it what it is.”
“And you think that gives you the right to treat people however you want?” she asked.
“It gives me the right to protect what’s mine.”
She stood up slowly.
Mrs. Carter looked up again. “Sit down,” she commanded.
“In a minute,” Lilian said, eyes still on me.
My pulse started pounding.
“You don’t own Hayden,” she said quietly. “And you don’t own this team.”
I laughed softly, though it didn’t feel real. “We’ll see.”
“You’re not mad because I stole something,” she added. “You’re mad because he chose to stand next to me.”
That hit me, hard. For a second, I didn’t have a comeback.
Because part of me knew……..She was right. Hayden didn’t look at me the way he used to, he didn’t wait for me after practice anymore. He didn’t defend me in the hallway or he didn’t chase and I hated that I missed it.
“I will win that competition,” I said finally. “And when I do, you’ll go back to being exactly what you were before.”
“And what was that?” she asked.
“Invisible.”
Her expression didn’t crumble as I expected. Instead, something in her eyes sharpened. “I’m not invisible anymore,” she said. “And I’m not shrinking just because you’re uncomfortable.”
Mrs. Carter stood up fully this time. “Both of you, sit down……now.”
We did but the damage was done. This was war and for the rest of detention, neither of us spoke. But the words lingered in the room, echoing louder than anything we could have said. I stared at my reflection in the darkened window as the sun dipped lower.
She thinks she’s brave but she is not and she must be dreaming if she thinks that I would actually let her take what's mine.
I don’t lose……not my title or my team. And when this competition happens, I’m going to remind everyone, including Lilian exactly who I am.
This isn’t over……It’s just getting started.
The bell finally rang.
Mrs. Carter dismissed us without another lecture, but she didn’t need to. The silence between Lilian and me had said enough. We walked out of the classroom without looking at each other, the hallway buzzing with end-of-day noise. Lockers slammed. Someone laughed too loudly. It all felt distant.
She walked a few steps ahead of me and didn’t turn around.
That annoyed me more than anything.
By the time we reached the dorm building, the sky had turned a soft orange, campus lights flickering on one by one. She pushed through the glass doors without holding them open.
Petty.
I followed her up the stairs to our suite. The familiar hallway suddenly felt smaller. Ten steps later, she unlocked the door and went straight inside.
Jess was sprawled on the couch with a bag of chips and her laptop balanced on her knees. She looked up immediately.
“Oh. This looks bad,” she muttered, eyes flicking between us.
Lilian didn’t say a word. She walked straight into our shared bedroom and shut the door. She did not slam it, she just shut it which somehow felt worse.
Jess slowly closed her laptop. “Okay… what happened?”
I dropped my bag onto the armchair. “Nothing.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Ella.”
“She thinks she can just waltz in and take everything I worked for.”
Jess blinked. “Is this about the captain thing again?”
“It’s not just about the captain slot,” I snapped. “She stood there acting like I’m some kind of villain for protecting what’s mine.”
Jess sat up straighter. “Protecting? Or controlling?”
I shot her a look. “Whose side are you on?”
“I’m on the side where we don’t burn down our dorm rooms,” she said calmly. “What exactly did she do?”
“She’s been flirting with Hayden and undermining me in practice. And now she wants my position.”
Jess frowned slightly. “She signed up for the competition, I think that’s allowed.”
“That’s not the point.”
“Then what is the point?” she asked gently.
I hesitated. Images from detention flashed in my head. Hayden was standing next to her and the way he didn’t move away or even try to look at me.
“She didn’t steal anything,” Jess continued carefully. “If Hayden is standing next to her, that’s his choice. And for the competition? Mrs. Carter opened it to everyone.”
“You don’t get it,” I said, my voice rising. “I built this team. I made us champions, without me, we wouldn’t even have sponsors.”
“No one is erasing what you’ve done,” Jess replied. “But maybe people just want a chance too.”
A drawer slammed in the bedroom and both of us froze……Then another.
Jess stood slowly. “Maybe you should talk to her instead of…..”
The bedroom door flew open. Lilian stepped out, dragging a small suitcase behind her. Her face was pale, but her eyes were steady.
“What are you doing?” I demanded.
“Packing,” she said simply.
Jess looked between us. “Guys……”
“I’m not staying somewhere I’m called invisible every five minutes,” Lilian continued, folding clothes with quick, precise movements. “I’ll talk to Mrs. Carter about switching rooms.”
“You’re being dramatic,” I scoffed.
She laughed once, humorless. “Am I?”
“You knew what this team was when you joined.”
“And you knew it wasn’t yours to own.”
Jess stepped forward. “Okay, this is going too far. Lilian, you don’t have to move out. Ella’s just upset…..”
“I’m not upset,” I cut in.
Lilian zipped her suitcase sharply. “That’s the problem.”
My chest tightened. “You think walking out of this situation makes you the strong one?”
“I think staying somewhere I’m constantly diminished makes me stupid.”
The words hit harder than I expected. “This is my room too,” I shot back. “You don’t get to storm out and act as if I chased you away.”
“You didn’t have to chase me,” she said quietly. “You made it clear I don’t belong here.”
Jess looked like she might cry. “Please don’t do this.”
Lilian slung her bag over her shoulder. She paused at the door, just for a second. “You don’t lose because someone else shines, Ella,” she said. “You lose when you’re too scared to share the light.”
My hands curled into fists. “Don’t pretend you’re above this. You want my spot.”
“Yes,” she said honestly. “Because I earned the right to try.”
The silence that followed was suffocating, then she opened the door and walked out. The click of it closing echoed through the suite.
Jess turned to me slowly. “You pushed her.”
“No,” I said, staring at the door. “She pushed first.”
But even as I said it, the room felt emptier and for the first time, I wasn’t sure who had actually started this war.