Chapter 69 Not An Accident
Elara Pov
I looked back at the Silverthorn runner one more time. He was still jogging. Still smirking. Still completely unpunished for what he did.
"I'm going to file a complaint," I said. "I'm going to make sure everyone knows what he did. I'm going to make sure he faces consequences."
"Don't," Maddie said. "Please. It will just make things worse."
"How could it make things worse?" I demanded. "He assaulted you Maddie. He deliberately hurt you during a race. That's against every rule in the book."
"It won't work," Maddie said. "He'll deny it. His teammates will back him up. It will just draw more attention to me. Please Elara. Just let it go."
I wanted to argue. I wanted to fight for her. But the desperate look in her eyes stopped me. She was scared. Really scared. Not just of the Silverthorn runner but of something else. Something bigger.
"Fine," I finally said. "But if he tries anything else I'm not staying quiet. I don't care what you say."
"Thank you," Maddie said. "For helping me. For being here."
"Always," I promised. "That's what friends do."
We made it off the field and toward the medical tent. But Maddie refused to go inside. She kept insisting she wanted to go back to her dorm instead.
I didn't understand why. Her knees were bleeding badly. She needed proper medical attention. But she looked so desperate that I finally gave in.
"Okay," I said. "But if those cuts look infected tomorrow we're going to the health center whether you like it or not."
"Deal," Maddie agreed.
We walked back to her dorm slowly. She was still leaning on me. Still breathing hard. But I noticed something strange. The bleeding seemed to be slowing down. Already.
That was faster than normal. Way faster than normal. But I didn't say anything. I just helped her walk and tried not to think about it.
When we got to her room I grabbed the first aid kit from her bathroom. But when I came back Maddie had already wiped away most of the blood. And the cuts looked different. Smaller. Shallower. Like they were already healing.
"Wow," I said. I couldn't help it. "Those healed fast."
"Good genes," Maddie said quickly. "My family always healed quickly."
I stared at her knees. At cuts that should have taken days to heal but looked days old already. At evidence that something was different about Maddie. Something she was hiding.
But I didn't push it. I just cleaned the remaining blood and put bandages on even though they clearly weren't needed anymore.
"That Silverthorn guy is going to pay for this," I said. I made my voice fierce. "I'm going to make sure everyone knows what he did."
"Don't," Maddie said again. "Please. It will just make things worse."
"How?" I demanded. "How could it make things worse?"
"It won't work," Maddie explained. "He'll deny it. His teammates will back him up. It will just draw more attention to me. That's the last thing I need right now."
There it was again. That fear of attention. That desperate need to stay invisible. I knew Maddie had secrets. I knew she was hiding something. But I didn't know what. And she clearly wasn't ready to tell me.
So I let it go. For now. But I made a mental note to watch that Silverthorn runner. To keep track of him. To make sure he didn't get another chance to hurt Maddie.
"Fine," I said. "But if he tries anything else I'm not staying quiet. Friend or not. I'm not going to watch someone hurt you and do nothing."
"Thank you," Maddie said. "For everything. For being here. For helping me."
"That's what friends do," I said. "We help each other. We protect each other. Even when things get complicated."
I stayed with Maddie for another hour. We talked about nothing important. Just normal stuff. Classes and homework and campus gossip. Anything to distract her from what happened.
But I could see she was still scared. Still looking at her phone nervously. Still jumping at every sound. Something was going on. Something bigger than just a fall during a race.
"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked one more time before I left. "You can tell me if something else is wrong. You know that right?"
"I know," Maddie said. She tried to smile. "But I'm fine. Really. Just shaken up from the fall."
I didn't believe her. But I nodded anyway. "Okay. Text me if you need anything. Anything at all."
"I will," Maddie promised.
I left her dorm and walked back toward campus. The sun was setting. The sports events were over for the day. Tomorrow would bring new competitions. New opportunities for something to go wrong.
I pulled out my phone and looked up the roster for Silverthorn's team. I found the runner who had tripped Maddie. His name was Derek Chen. Junior. Track and field specialist.
I memorized his face. His name. Everything about him. Because if he tried to hurt Maddie again I would be ready. I would document it. I would make sure he faced consequences even if Maddie didn't want me to.
Nobody hurt my friend and got away with it. Not on my watch.
I also noticed another name on the roster. Jace Ryder. Team captain. I looked at his picture and felt something cold settle in my stomach. He looked familiar. Like I had seen him before.
Then I remembered. He was the guy from the dining hall. The one Maddie had run away from. The one who made her so scared she couldn't eat.
I pulled up more information about Jace. Found his social media. Found pictures of him with a girl who looked like Maddie. From before. From when they were together.
So that was it. Jace was Maddie's ex. The one she ran away from. The one who hurt her enough that she transferred schools to escape him.
And now he was here. At Keane. Close enough to hurt her again. Close enough to orchestrate attacks like what happened today.