Upstairs, Lena sat frozen on the staircase, her heart pounding.
She had only meant to grab her phone charger from downstairsânot to overhear Jaxon's entire argument with his dad.
She had never heard him sound like that before. Not cocky. Not sarcastic. Just... tired. Frustrated. Cornered.
She knew she should leave, pretend she hadn't been there. But as she shifted to stand, the step beneath her let out a loud creak.
Jaxon's head snapped up toward the stairs.
Lena winced, caught in the worst way possible.
His expression hardened. "Carter?"
She swallowed. "Uhâhey."
Jaxon took a slow step forward, eyes narrowing. "Were you eavesdropping?"
Lena hesitated. Lying seemed pointless. "Not on purpose. I was justâ" She sighed. "I heard everything."
Something flickered across his faceâannoyance, maybe. But also something else.
Jaxon exhaled, running a hand through his hair before looking at her again. "So?"
Lena blinked. "So... what?"
His jaw tensed. "You gonna give me some speech about how lucky I am? About how people would kill to be in my position?"
Lena frowned. "No."
That seemed to surprise him.
"I just... I get it," she admitted quietly. "Wanting to escape." She hesitated, then stepped off the last stair. "You don't have to explain it to me."
Jaxon studied her for a moment, something unreadable flickering in his expression. Then, without another word, he turned and started toward the stairs.
But before he passed her, he stopped just inches away. His voice was quieter this time. "Don't tell Ethan."
Lena met his gaze, steady. "I won't."
Jaxon held her stare for a second longer before nodding and continuing up the stairs.
Lena let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
She had come to Ethan's to hang out. She hadn't expected to see Jaxon like this.
And she definitely hadn't expected it to shake her this much.
Because for the first time, she wasn't just seeing Jaxon Walker, the cocky athlete.
She was seeing the version of him that no one else did.
And she had no idea what to do with that.
Taking a steadying breath, Lena made her way back to Ethan's room, trying to push the conversation she had just overheard out of her mind. When she walked in, Ethan was lounging on his bed, controller in hand, eyes glued to the screen as he mashed buttons furiously.
"Dude, where were you?" he asked, barely looking up. "I thought you bailed on our rematch."
Lena forced a laugh, dropping onto the beanbag beside him. "Had to grab my charger. You ready to lose?"
"Please," Ethan scoffed. "You wish."
They spent the next hour playing, their usual banter filling the room as Ethan remained completely oblivious to everything Lena had just witnessed. Eventually, they turned on a movie, something they had seen a dozen times before, and the night stretched on until Ethan, predictably, fell asleep in the middle of it.
Lena sat up, rubbing her tired eyes, realizing how late it had gotten. She should probably head home. But as she slipped out of Ethan's room and tiptoed toward the stairs, something caught her eyeâthe soft glow of light coming from under Jaxon's door.
She hesitated.
She should keep walking. She should just leave.
But something in her chest pulled her forward, like a magnet. Before she could talk herself out of it, she found herself standing in front of his door, hand hovering over the wood, debating whether to knock.