Chapter One Hundred And Thirty Eight
The heavy sound of the arena doors slamming shut behind us felt like a gunshot in the quiet, dim underground parking garage. The game was finally over, the screaming crowds had emptied out into the city streets, and the celebratory music had faded into a cold, suffocating silence. I walked a few steps behind Khalid, my high heels clicking sharply against the cold concrete floor, while Mateo quietly slipped away to take a cab back to our apartment, sensing the dense, toxic tension that had settled between my boyfriend and me the moment we met outside the locker room.
Khalid was still wearing his team track jacket, his massive shoulders hunched forward as if he were carrying the weight of the entire stadium on his back. His right hand was wrapped in a t
