Chapter 64 Watch You Break
Jace Pov
The bus ride from Silverthorn to Keane took three hours. Three long boring hours of listening to my teammates talk about the upcoming competition. About how we were going to crush Keane. About how we were the superior school.
I didn't care about any of that. I only cared about one thing. One person. Maddie.
I stared out the window and watched the landscape change as we got closer to Keane. Trees and fields gave way to buildings and roads. We were almost there. Almost at the place where Maddie had been hiding for months.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw a message from Simone.
"Everything is ready. The trap is set. All we need now is for you to do your part."
I smiled and typed back quickly. "Don't worry. I'll do my part perfectly. By the time I'm done Maddie will wish she never left Silverthorn."
The bus finally pulled into Keane's campus. Students were gathered outside waiting to see us arrive. Some looked excited. Some looked hostile. All of them were ready for competition.
I stepped off the bus and looked around. The campus was nice enough. Not as impressive as Silverthorn but decent. Trees and pathways and old brick buildings. Normal college stuff.
Then I saw her. Maddie was standing near the edge of the crowd with another girl. The girl was talking but Maddie wasn't listening. She was staring at the bus. At me.
Our eyes met across the distance. I saw recognition flash in her eyes. Then fear. Then anger. A whole range of emotions passed over her face in seconds.
I smirked and pulled out my phone. I kept my eyes locked on hers while I typed out a message to Simone.
"I'm here. She looks scared already. Let's make her suffer properly."
Maddie's face went pale. She grabbed her friend's arm and started pulling her away from the crowd. She was running. Already running before I even got close.
Perfect. Let her run. Let her be scared. It would make everything that came next so much sweeter.
My teammate Marcus clapped me on the shoulder. "You ready for this? Ready to show Keane what we're made of?"
"More ready than you know," I said. I put my phone away and picked up my bag. "This is going to be a week to remember."
We followed our coaches toward the dorms where we would be staying. I walked slowly and took in everything. I noted which buildings were which. Where the training fields were. Where the dining hall was located. Where Maddie might try to hide.
Because she would try to hide. I knew her well enough to know that. She would avoid me. She would stay away from anywhere I might be. She would try to make it through the whole week without having to face me.
But I wouldn't let that happen. I would find her. I would corner her. I would make sure she understood that running away didn't solve anything.
Simone had given me Maddie's class schedule. Her dorm location. Her training times. Everything I needed to orchestrate the perfect accidental meetings.
And then when the final event came. When the obstacle course happened. When Maddie was forced to reveal what she really was. I would be right there watching. I would see the white fur. I would see everyone's reaction. I would see her world fall apart.
Just like she made my world fall apart when she left me.
We reached the dorms and started unpacking. My room was small but clean. A bed and a desk and a window that looked out over the training fields. Good enough for a week.
I pulled out the old photo of Maddie in her white wolf form and set it on my desk. I stared at it for a long moment. She looked so happy in that picture. So free. So completely unaware of what was coming.
"Soon," I promised the photo. "Soon you'll understand what it feels like to lose everything. To have your secrets exposed. To be helpless and scared and alone."
A knock on my door interrupted my thoughts. I put the photo in my desk drawer and called out for whoever it was to enter.
Marcus stuck his head in. "We're heading to dinner. You coming?"
"Yeah," I said. I grabbed my jacket. "Let's go."
We walked toward the dining hall in a large group. Silverthorn students moved together. Stayed together. Showed unity and strength. It was intimidating to watch. That was the point.
The dining hall was packed when we arrived. Keane students filled most of the tables. They got quiet when we walked in. Watched us carefully. Evaluated us like threats.
I scanned the room looking for one specific person. There. In the back corner. Maddie sat with the same girl from before. They were talking quietly. Maddie's back was to the door. She hadn't seen us come in yet.
"Let's sit over there," I said to Marcus. I pointed to a table that had a clear view of where Maddie was sitting.
"Why there?" Marcus asked. "That's kind of far from everything."
"Just trust me," I said.
We sat down and I positioned myself so I could watch Maddie without being obvious about it. She was picking at her food. Not really eating. She looked nervous. Uncomfortable. Like she was waiting for something bad to happen.
Good. She should be nervous. She should be uncomfortable. Because something bad was definitely going to happen.
Her friend said something that made Maddie look up. Then Maddie's eyes swept across the dining hall. Checking for threats. Checking for me.
When her gaze landed on our table she froze. Our eyes met again. This time I didn't smirk. I just stared at her. Let her see that I wasn't going away. That I was here for the whole week. That there was nowhere she could hide that I wouldn't find her. I gave her a friendly smile.