I shoved the photos back into his pocket.
Steven didn’t flinch. He just held my gaze, steady as stone.
“Please,” he said. “Just wait.”
“If you hurt her,” I whispered, leaning in close enough that no one could hear, “I will make sure you regret breathing her name. Do you understand me?”
She had no idea. No idea what was in his pocket.
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He shook his head, slow and sad. “You don’t understand. Not yet.”
Then he let go of my wrist and walked away from me, straight toward the stage.
I rose halfway out of my chair, my heart hammering against every bone I owned.
Across the room, Rosie stood by the dance floor, fanning her flushed cheeks with one hand. She caught my eye and waved.
She had no idea. No idea what was in his pocket. No idea what he was walking toward that microphone to do.
And I, her mother, the one person who was supposed to keep her safe, could not make my legs move fast enough to stop him.
They moved before he’d even finished the nod.
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I shoved forward, my shoulder catching someone’s elbow, my eyes locked on Steven’s back as he climbed the stage steps. He paused at the top and glanced back into the crowd, just once, his chin lifting toward two boys near the edge of the dance floor. They moved before he’d even finished the nod.
“Move, please, move.”
Two of his teammates stepped into my path, their hands raised, gentle but firm.
“Ma’am, please.”
“Get out of my way.”
“He told us to watch for you,” the taller one said quickly. “Just wait. Please. Trust him for one minute.”
“Trust him? To do what? Break my daughter’s heart? Turn her into a joke in front of everyone?”
He looked me in the eye. “Please. Wait.”
Then he pushed the flash drive into the laptop.
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I thought of Rosie at the kitchen table three weeks ago, with the invitation in her hand.
“Steven’s always been nice in the hallway, Mom,” she’d said. “He told Madison to leave me alone once, in ninth grade.”
I had heard “nice boy” and translated it into something else.
The music cut. The gym fell into that strange, breathing silence only crowded rooms can make. Steven tapped the microphone once.
