"You sure you don't wanna join us?"

I looked up, damp hair dangling in front of my face as I stared at Jisoo's cheerful face. When she caught me looking, she gave me her best puppy dog eyes. A small giggle left my lips as I shook my head, going back to shoving my dirty clothes into my bag. "Sorry, Ji. I've got things to do."

She groaned, thumping onto the bench in the locker room and dragging my bag away from me. "Please, Eden. You can have sex with Christian some other day-"

"What?!" I squawked, eyes wide as I seized my bag back from her. Hunching over slightly, I peeped around to see if anyone heard what she said. Peering back at Jisoo, I saw she was smirking. My cheeks crimsoned. "That's not what I meant and you know it."

After I explained to the girls that Christian and I worked through our dilemma, they stopped glaring at him all the time. The next time Ximena saw him, she threatened to give him a black eye if he ever hurt me again.

"Sure," Jisoo shrugged, but the malevolent smirk was still on her face. I rolled my eyes before grabbing a bottle of water. "But it's getting closer and closer to our first game," she emphasised, and I shuddered. Every day my nerves grew more intense because of how close we were getting to the end of our training program. "I want us all to hang out as a team."

I sighed, gesticulating for her to move over so I could sit next to her. "That's really sweet of you, Jisoo, but I wouldn't be comfortable." She went to interrupt me, but I lifted a hand. "Ashley and her friends don't like me. I'll just be awkward the entire time and end up ruining your fun because you'd keep checking on me. You and the girls should enjoy yourselves."

Speaking of Ashley, it reminded me of what happened before practice. On my way to the field, I heard giggling and hushed whispers. Me being curious; I followed the sound to what looked like a broom cupboard. The door was slightly ajar and when I peeked through; I saw Ashley making out with Caleb.

It was painful to abstain from gagging out loud. They were half undressed, and I felt like they'd have gone all the way if Charlie hadn't rung the bell for us to run onto the field. I backtracked slowly before racing around the corner and to the rest of the team.

I needed to find out from Christian if he knew about his brother and Ashley. First, I wondered if Caleb had any remorse. Even though I didn't necessarily like Ashley, she was still an ex of Christian's. Wasn't there supposed to be like a bro code or something?

It made sense to me now why Ashley spoke so bluntly to Charlie in the shower room the other day. She was confident that she wouldn't get in trouble because Caleb would most probably back her up. I was curious as to how long they'd been together.

Luckily, neither of them knew that I witnessed their little lover's rendezvous and for that I was grateful. Ashley had toned down her blatant harassment of me, and I had a feeling it had something to do with her mother. Barbara must've admonished her after she spoke with Christian.

The sound of a locker closing snapped me back into reality, and I recollected that I was having a conversation with Jisoo. "I promise I'll be fine on my own," I assured her.

Jisoo frowned. "Okay. But next week you, me and the girls are going to have our own little party."

"Sounds brilliant," I beamed, and she punched my shoulder humorously. Just then, Kenzie rounded the locker and elevated a brow at me. "What?" I urged, causing her smirk to grow.

She crossed her arms and inclined against the wall. "Don't you 'what' me, Little Miss Eden." My brows rumpled in confusion and I pulled a face as Jisoo began snickering. "I just passed Chris in the hall and he's got a bandaged foot."

They ordered Christian to rest his foot, so he was unable to train Kenzie for the time being. Charlie had found a substitute for him. I pulled another face and Jisoo must've found it hilarious because she snorted. "So?" I sought. It'd been a week since I'd driven over Christian's foot and it was healing nicely. He refused to use crutches, but at least he wore the bandage.

Kenzie shook her head at me in bewilderment. "How wild are you guys in bed? Damn, you went and broke a whole foot!"

Jisoo ruptured into laughter, and soon Kenzie joined in. I sat on the bench, my face probably the same shade as a tomato. The two giggled in amusement whereas I wanted the ground to consume me whole. My brain started overthinking, and I began querying if those were the rumours going around. Jisoo must've discerned my trepidation because she threw an arm around me. "She's joking, babe."

Apprehensively, I looked around to see that we were the only ones left in the locker room. Everyone else must've left already. I let out a sigh of relief. "Oh."

Kenzie planted a hand on my shoulder. "Are you okay? You seem stressed."

She was on the right track. I was a little stressed. Last night I'd finished writing my speech for the Book Brain Festival. I was no longer that afraid to give it, but rather excited. What was actually the origin of my stress was the fact that the closer it got to the festival - the closer it got to the end of the training program. And that stressed me out for two reasons:

1 - It meant that we'd have our first match, and it had been a very long time since I played a proper game. Even with all the training Liam helped me with, I still felt like I was holding the team back and the last thing I wanted to do was disappoint Charlie. Add in the fact that I didn't want to prove Ashley right, that I was too weak.

2 - I'd have to go back to London and say goodbye to everyone in California. Mainly Christian. I didn't even want to think about it because my right eyeball would start hurting, which would lead to me sobbing.

So instead of telling Kenzie the truth, I lied. "No, I'm completely fine." They stared at me as if I'd grown a second head, raising their brows to show that they didn't believe a word that left my lips. "Really. I'm fine, guys."

"No, you're not," Jisoo declared.

I poked her cheek, and she jokingly tried to chew it as I shrieked. "I'm telling the truth!" I chuckled. "I just didn't get the joke because it made little sense," I told them, and Kenzie hummed, still not believing me. "Truly! I was a little confused because if anything had to break during extremely rough sex it would be the penis."

They both froze. The silence felt as if it went on forever. Eventually, Jisoo slowly opened her mouth before saying, "what the fuck did you just say?"

Kenzie looked traumatised as she shook her head and waggled her finger. "You did not just say what I think you just said."

"What?" I giggled at their startled expressions. "You guys didn't know that penises could fracture?" More laughs shook me as they both winced, crossing their legs as if they were in anguish.

"I don't know if I want to ask you to explain it or whether I should run away," Jisoo grumbled, peeping to Kenzie to see her reaction.

Making myself more comfortable on the bench, I answered, "I'll just explain. Have a seat, class." They both scowled at me but sat down nonetheless. The two sat on the ground in front of me with crossed legs, looking like little children. "So a penis has no bones, which means it differs from other fractures."

"No bones?" Kenzie snorted to herself. "I could've sworn Ricky impaled me with an extra-long bone last night-"

"Shush!" Jisoo slapped a hand over Kenzie's mouth. "Nobody wants to hear that!" Instead of being disturbed, I grinned because I remembered Ricky as the guy who hit on Kenzie. I was glad that she found someone.

I cleared my throat. "Now, students. No fighting." I nearly suffocated on my saliva when Kenzie threw her bag at me, but I ducked in time. "Violence aside, let's continue. When an erection happens, the penis is engorged with blood that fills two cylinders - corpora cavernosa." They nodded in rapt interest and I snickered. "If an engorged penis is bent abruptly or forcibly, the trauma can tear the external lining of the tunica albuginea, which is one of the two cylinders. This can cause a penis fracture."

They flinched again and Kenzie spoke through clenched teeth, "sometimes I wonder how you know this shit. Like how the fuck do you just stumble across it?"

I shrugged before screaming when Jisoo wrenched my arm and yanked me from the bench, causing me to land on the floor next to them. "Tell us more," she pleaded. "Keep your questions for after class, Kenzie." The latter laughed.

"Most often the trauma is caused by sex." They both blanched and I shook my head quickly. "It only happens when the penis slips out of the vagina and thrusts against the pelvis. It results in a bulging penis that's a purple shade, looking somewhat like an eggplant." Jisoo sniggered. "It needs urgent medical attention. If left untreated, it could cause a curved penis or the inability to get an erection or keep one firm enough for sex."

"What's going on here?" A deep voice rumbled. Since the three of us were on the ground, we turned only to be at eye-level with someone's crotch. We gulped, glancing up to meet the icy eyes of Christian.

Kenzie spoke first, but her voice was tremulous. "P-p-p-penis," she stuttered.

Christian crossed his arms. "Back at it with the dick jokes, Kenzie? It got old a few weeks ago." Jisoo and I stared at them in bewilderment.

"No, um," Jisoo intervened. I'd forgotten she was frightened of Christian because of how intimidating he could be. "Eden was just teaching us about penis fractures."

His eyes darted to me, and I flushed red. "Was she now?" he drawled, a smirk towing the edges of his lips. They nodded, whereas I kept my gaze on the ground. "Jisoo." She sat upright as if she was a soldier being given orders. "Some girls are looking for you and Kenzie. Apparently, you're throwing a party?"

She slapped a hand to her head. "Fuck, Kenzie. We're supposed to buy the snacks." They turned to me. "See you later?" I nodded and then they were off, hurriedly seizing their bags before hastening out of the locker room.

There was silence for a beat before Christian pondered, "so, penis fractures, huh?"

"Stop," I whimpered as he helped me to my feet. He chuckled deeply and bound his arms around me, pressing a kiss to my head. "What are you even doing in the girls' locker room?"

"Looking for you," he returned, peppering kisses all over my face. "I've got to go somewhere with my brother, but I was hoping we could have a movie night afterwards."

I nodded, burrowing my face into his sweater. "Sounds like a plan."

Christian had been really patient with me since the hospital. He didn't pressure me to tell him about Ruben. I was ready to speak about it, but I didn't know how to approach a topic like that. It wasn't exactly a bedtime story. I was hoping to tell him sometime this week, but tonight sounded even better. I could tell him after the movie.

"Stop planning everything," Christian growled, biting my ear, and I squealed. He tapped my forehead. "I can hear the gears turning. Don't plan when you're going to tell me, baby. When you're comfortable enough, you'll know it's the right time."

I pouted at him, convinced he could read my mind. "Okay, fine." He pecked my nose and my angry facade melted away. "When are you meeting with Caleb?"

"Only later," he acknowledged, picking up my bag and escorting me out of the locker room. Even though there was a thick bandage shrouded around his foot, he marched as if there was nothing wrong with him. "We have to go pick up the new nets we ordered."

Encircling an arm around his waist, I allowed him to pull me along. "And Charlie?" Truthfully, I was a bit worried about her. She and Liam were on speaking terms again, but I knew they had a lot to talk through. During my practice sessions with Liam this week, he still appeared gloomy about the fact that Charlie thought he cheated.

Hopefully, I helped a little by saying that if I were in her position, I'd think the same. All the evidence was there. It may not have given her the right to spy on him, but she was emotional and it didn't help that Liam wasn't speaking to her.

Both of them were partly to blame, but the main culprit was communication - or the lack thereof. When I told Liam that, the first genuine smile appeared on his lips and he promised that he'd take her out on a date and speak about everything properly.

"Liam's taking her out," Christian responded, and I couldn't refrain from fist-pumping the air. He looked down at me. "Of course, you had something to with that." I nodded with an innocent smiled and he leaned down to kiss me. When he pulled back, he spotted the watch on my wrist and swore. "Shit, Caleb and I were supposed to pick up the supplies five minutes ago. I think the time on my phone is wrong. Do you mind-"

"Go ahead," I grinned at his frazzled expression and took my bag from him. "I'll take a shower and then pick a movie and some snacks. Once you're back, we'll have our movie night."

He kissed me again before rushing down the corridor, swathed foot and all. As he vanished around the corner he hollered, "thanks, baby!"

I giggled, recommencing my journey to my room. My guess was that the entire place would be tranquil since the girls would attend Jisoo's party. I halted suddenly, cursing my stupidity. I'd forgotten to tell Christian about his brother and Ashley. I made a mental note to tell him when he came back.

As I continued my trek, hushed whispers greeted me, and I panicked. Those were never a good sign because I always ended up seeing something or hearing something I wasn't supposed to. Usually, I'd be curious, but after this morning, I preferred to stay in the dark.

Grabbing the handle of a random door, I skidded inside. When I looked around, I apprehended it was the lunchroom.

"Did they leave yet?" I heard Ashley's voice through the door and I grimaced.

The next voice that spoke sounded like Harper. "Yeah, they just pulled out of the parking lot."

It seemed that my curiosity hiatus lasted for all about two minutes because the next thing I knew; I was pressing my ear against the door to hear better. "Good," Ashley murmured. "Can you tell the rest of the girls I'm not feeling well? You can still go ahead to the party. It'll be suspicious if both of us are sick. Monique will be with you."

I furrowed my brows because their conversation made zero sense. "Are you going to go now?" Harper inquired. "Because Charlie's out with Coach Finn and Caleb and Christian are supposed to be gone for two hours. You have enough time."

"What are you saying, Harp?" Ashley pressed.

"I'm saying that it'll look weird that you were fine at practice and then suddenly you're sick. Why don't we both show up at the party and you'll eat something before pretending to be sick? Then you can leave. That way, you'll have witnesses that'll be able to vouch that you were at the party."

Ashley was quiet for a moment. "I'll stay for about an hour and then leave. When I get to the office, make sure the power goes off. Do you have the key?"

There was more silence, and I assumed Harper was giving Ashley the key and nodding. "Stole it from Caleb's bag while you were keeping him busy this morning."

"Awesome," Ashley rejoined, and the two giggled. Part of me felt bad for Caleb because it sounded like she was using him. "So I'll just get into the office, take what I need, and then I'll slip out again. Easy." I stifled an angry gasp.

"Eden," Harper whispered suddenly, and I froze, thinking that they knew I was behind the door.

Ashley snapped, "what about her?"

"Didn't you overhear in the locker room?" Harper urged. "She's not going to the party. If people do find out that something was stolen from the office - you can just blame it on her."

"Nah," Ashley retorted, and I heard Harper questioning her. "She's not worth our time. I just wanna get this over with. I couldn't give a fuck about Chris and his slut."

They then began shuffling away with Harper still whining about how they should pin everything on me. The racket of their footsteps withered away, and I sagged against the door. So it turned out that Christian's threat against Barbara worked because Ashley was trying to dodge all contact with me. The old her would've done whatever she could to get me in trouble.

But I couldn't help but play her words repeatedly in my head. Ashley was intending on breaking into the office while the three siblings were away. I had no idea what her reasons were or what she wanted to steal, but I knew one thing.

I needed to be there when it happened and stop her.