Chapter 31

Chapter 31
Amelia's POV

"I'll be on the sidelines. I'll be watching you."

Samuel's mouth opened into a brilliant smile.

"That's enough!"

A staff member appeared beside me. "Ma'am, you need to leave the field."

I slowly stood up. Cassidy appeared next to me, using her elbow to pull me steadily backward, the force just short of painful.

"You impulsive thing," she said, but her voice was soft, and her hand never loosened until we crossed the barrier. She unobtrusively positioned her body between me and the cameras. Another teammate whose name I couldn't recall said nothing, just stuffed a spare uniform into my arms.

"You okay?" Susan asked.

"I'm fine." I said gratefully, ducking into the equipment room to change.

When I emerged, Evelyn was already waiting on the sidelines.

She must have jogged all the way down from the stands—her hair was disheveled, her cheeks still flushed from squeezing through the crowd, half a bottle of unfinished soda still clutched in her hand, staring at me with an expression like she'd just experienced some kind of shock and hadn't recovered yet.

"I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me," she said. "I thought some foolish girl had rushed out, and then I looked closer—"

"Evelyn—"

"It was you." She shoved the soda into my hand, grabbed my arms with both hands and looked me up and down, as if checking whether I was missing any pieces. "Are you okay? Your hands are shaking, you know that?"

I looked down at my hands. They were indeed shaking, just barely.

"He's fine," I said. "He said so himself, superficial injuries."

"I know he's fine, I'm asking about you."

I didn't answer. She didn't press, just placed her hand on my shoulder, the pressure just right, gentle.

We stood like that for a few seconds, watching the medical staff on the field methodically clean up.

Then Evelyn took a deep breath, patted my back. "Okay, now. Where are your cheerleading sisters?"

I turned my head. Several teammates were gathered not far away, their expressions carrying vague curiosity and uncertainty, unsure whether they should come over.

Evelyn had already strode over.

"Hi!" She flashed a smile brighter than the sun at them. "I'm Amelia's friend, Evelyn, the kindergarten kind."

She unhesitatingly linked arms with Susan. "Tonight Amelia's treating, shall we go to the cafeteria together? I'm dying for a proper meal! The hot dogs at the stadium are really—my God, that's not food, that's some kind of punishment—"

Susan froze for a second, then laughed.

I swallowed the "I didn't say I was treating" that had reached my lips.

The second half was harder to endure than the first.

I stood among my teammates, following the ball's movement, which meant constantly watching Samuel. He moved normally—no, more than normally, he looked more fierce.

Whatever the team doctor had done in those four minutes, he'd held up.

Fourth quarter, forty seconds left, down by three points. Before the snap he'd already read the opposing defense formation, changed the play call at the line of scrimmage, then—executed. Clean advance, thirty-two yards, the game-winning touchdown.

The cheers surged like a tsunami.

When he turned around, I was already watching him. Across thirty yards of turf, through half a team's wall of bodies, he found me. His lips moved slowly, carefully, making sure I could read them clearly.

My victory goddess.

I will win, as long as you're here.

Something behind my ribs quietly cracked open.

I gradually became aware of eyes falling on me. Three feet to my left, someone was holding up a phone. Above at the barrier's edge, someone was adjusting angles to take photos.

I turned my back to the field and walked out in the opposite direction.

Dinner at the cafeteria was impeccably normal—largely because Evelyn was present.

She sat beside me, ordered two servings of fries and an extra-large Coke, befriended everyone on the team at a speed that made me suspect she'd received training at some secret social academy.

Before our chicken sandwiches arrived, she already knew Susan's hometown, two veteran members' majors, and how utterly worthless a girl named Jade's ex-boyfriend was.

The discarded uniform top was in a bag under my chair. I'd let my hair down to cover the side of my neck. No one gave me a second glance.

"Samuel was taken to the campus hospital," a veteran member said. "The chief physician required him to stay overnight for observation."

"Just a precautionary measure," another person said. "Apparently he was walking and talking the whole way there, and obviously kept arguing about not wanting to stay."

That sounded like him.

I silently memorized the room number.

"Wait," Susan looked at me, her tone not malicious but clearly curious. "When you rushed out to find Samuel... do you two know each other? It didn't really seem like a stranger's reaction—"

"High school classmates."

Half a second before I could speak, Evelyn had already taken over. She turned her whole body toward Susan, her expression sincere yet gossipy, perfectly simulating the look of a friend simply sharing ordinary past events.

"Same year, knew each other since high school," Evelyn said. "Amelia used to study first aid, occupational hazard, you know? Saw all that blood, muscle memory just kicked in—" She winked at me. "Right?"

"Right," I said. "Didn't think much, just rushed over. Feel pretty embarrassed about it in hindsight."

I lifted my shoulders slightly, my tone casual. Cassidy glanced at me from across the table, said nothing, and lowered her head back to her salad.

"Oh—" Susan nodded thoughtfully, then looked regretful. "Do you have any high school photos of him? You know, those awkward old photos—"

"Don't have them with me."

"Shame." She sighed, turning to Evelyn. "So when you all knew Samuel together in high school—"

Evelyn immediately perked up, seamlessly transitioning into a story I had absolutely no memory of, about some high school sports day, making several people at this end of the table laugh.

I lowered my head and bit into my sandwich, letting the laughter pass by my ears without listening closely.

As dinner neared its end, people gradually dispersed from the table. Evelyn watched the last few people leave, and only after confirming there were no extra ears around did she turn back, propping her elbow on the table and raising an eyebrow at me. "Are you going?"

I nodded.

"After everyone's gone."

She always understood me so well, had already noticed I'd memorized Samuel's room number.

I sat in my chair a while longer, turning my phone in my hand, watching the cafeteria gradually empty.

Then I picked up my bag, walked into the warm night, heading toward the campus hospital.

I wasn't sure what I would say when I got there. I wasn't even sure if I needed to say anything.

But I wanted to go.

I wanted to see him, see him sitting safely in bed, flashing that signature foolish grin of his again.

That would be enough.

I walked in the darkness for ten minutes, until I saw the campus hospital lights shining not far ahead.

Then—

"Amelia."

A voice stopped me.