Chapter 36 After the Noise
Chapter 36 After the Noise
POV: Valeria Cruz
The noise doesn’t die all at once.
It fades.
Slow.
Uneven.
Like nobody wants to be the first one to admit the moment is over.
Phones are still lighting up.
Nico is pacing now, one hand dragging through his hair while he talks too fast for anyone on the other end to keep up.
“I’m available, yeah—no, I mean, I’m very available—yeah, that works—no, I’m not committing yet—relax—”
Elena grabs his arm mid-sentence and yanks him back toward the table.
“You’re not signing your life away in flip flops.”
“I’m not signing anything,” he says, covering the phone. “I’m just… talking.”
“You don’t ‘just talk,’” she shoots back. “You spiral.”
“That’s a personality trait.”
“That’s a problem.”
Maya and Sofia are sitting closer together now.
Shoulders touching.
Not clinging.
Not making a thing out of it.
But closer.
Like they both feel it.
That quiet shift.
Dylan and Matteo are off to the side, comparing messages, half laughing, half stunned.
“Did he actually say starting lineup?” Dylan asks.
Matteo shakes his head.
“I don’t even know what’s real anymore.”
Rafe hasn’t moved much.
He’s still next to me.
Still steady.
Still calm in a way that doesn’t feel forced.
Like he’s processing everything without letting it take over.
I wish I knew how to do that.
I lean back in the chair.
Look up at the sky.
It’s darker now.
Not fully night.
But close.
And for the first time all day—everything slows.
Not because things are settled.
But because the chaos already happened.
And now we’re left with what it means.
“You’re quiet,” Rafe says beside me.
I glance at him.
“I think I used all my words earlier.”
“That’s a first.”
I nudge his shoulder lightly.
“Don’t get used to it.”
That gets the smallest smile out of him.
But then it fades.
Not completely.
Just enough for me to notice.
“What?” I ask.
He exhales slowly.
“Nothing.”
“That’s not true.”
He looks at me.
Really looks.
Like he’s deciding something.
Then—
“This is good,” he says.
It’s simple.
But it’s not.
“And?” I press.
“And it’s a lot.”
That part lands.
Because it is.
“Yeah,” I admit.
We sit there for a second.
Not talking.
Not needing to.
Because the silence isn’t heavy.
It’s just… real.
“Elena’s right,” he says after a moment.
“That doesn’t happen often,” I mutter.
He huffs a quiet laugh.
“She’s right about us.”
I don’t ask what he means.
Because I already know.
We’re not losing each other.
Even if everything else changes.
Even if people leave.
Even if distance becomes a real thing we have to deal with.
“Still us,” I say quietly.
He nods once.
“Still us.”
“Okay, no,” Maya suddenly says, sitting up straighter. “We’re not just going to sit here and pretend this isn’t happening.”
Everyone looks at her.
“What isn’t happening?” Nico asks.
“This,” she gestures between all of us. “Us not being in the same place.”
There it is.
Out loud.
No avoiding it now.
Sofia exhales slowly.
“I knew it was coming,” she says.
“Yeah,” Dylan adds. “But knowing and seeing it are different.”
Matteo nods.
“Way different.”
Elena crosses her arms.
“Okay, and?”
Maya blinks.
“And what do you mean ‘and’?”
“I mean,” Elena says, leaning forward slightly, “are we done? Are we just going to sit here and act like that’s the end of it?”
“No,” Sofia says immediately.
“Then what are we doing?” Elena presses.
Silence.
Because no one actually has an answer.
Because this isn’t something you plan for.
This just… happens.
“We figure it out,” I say quietly.
Everyone looks at me.
“We always do.”
Maya’s expression softens.
“Yeah,” she says. “We do.”
“Visits,” Nico adds. “We rotate. Different cities. Free food at all locations.”
“That’s your priority?” Elena asks.
“Always.”
Dylan laughs.
“He’s not wrong.”
“Game schedules,” Matteo adds. “If we’re all playing different places, we can still show up.”
“That’s actually a good idea,” Sofia says.
Elena nods once.
“See? Not that hard.”
“It’s still hard,” Maya says quietly.
And that—
that’s the truth.
No one argues it.
Because it is.
But it’s not impossible.
And somehow—
that feels like enough.
Later, people start moving again.
Not leaving yet.
Just… shifting.
Nico ends up in the pool fully dressed after Elena “accidentally” shoves him.
“It slipped,” she says, not even trying to sound convincing.
“You’re evil!” he shouts, pushing his wet hair back.
“You love me.”
“That’s debatable.”
Dylan and Matteo follow right after, jumping in like it’s the only logical next step.
Maya and Sofia stay back.
Watching.
Laughing.
But closer now.
Leaning into each other without thinking about it.
I sit on the edge of one of the lounge chairs.
Watching everything unfold.
And for once—
I don’t feel like I’m waiting for something bad to happen.
I don’t feel like I have to brace myself.
I just…
exist in it.
Rafe walks over a few seconds later.
Drops into the chair beside me.
Close.
Not touching.
But close enough.
“You’re doing that thing again,” he says.
“What thing?”
“Thinking too much.”
I smile slightly.
“Can’t help it.”
“Try.”
I glance at him.
“Is that an order?”
“Suggestion.”
I look back at the pool.
At all of them.
Loud.
Messy.
Still here.
Still ours.
I take a breath.
Then another.
And for once—
I let it go.
Just a little.
“You staying?” he asks.
I look at him.
“Yeah.”
“Good.”
Because I’m not ready for this night to end.
Not yet.
Not when everything finally feels like it’s starting.