Ava
The black rose she threw into my palm felt heavy, like a warning from the grave. I stared at the card until the blood-red words blurred together.
SEE YOU TONIGHT, AVA.
IN THE LOCKER ROOM.
Jaden brushed his hand against mine, warm and steady. "Don't go. This is a trap."
I met his eyes, my voice shaking but firm. "I have to."
"Ava..."
"I'm done hiding." The words tasted like steel on my tongue. I had spent days shrinking away from everything.
Marcus's touch. The endless messages. The suffocating weight of my own mistakes. No more.
"We end this tonight."
Jaden studied my face for a long moment, worried clearly in his expression. Finally, he let out a sigh.
"Fine. But if anything feels wrong, you run. No heroics. Promise me."
"I promise."
The gym looked like a tomb in the dar
