Chapter 26: All the Things I Never Said May 8, 2025 Jakes POV Two nights ago, I had the dream again.
It wasnt the old one I had grown used to; it was something new.
This time, Lily stood on the bridge.
The same wind whipped through the air, the same heavy silence pressed around us, and the same eerie stillness hung there stillness that never really felt still.
My brother stood next to her.
They didnt look at each other.
They didnt speak a word.
But somehow, I knew exactly what was about to happen.
They stepped off together arms at their sides, no hesitation, no struggle, no second thoughts.
They were just gone.
I woke up gasping, choking on the air like it was too thick to breathe.
My fists were tangled in my blanket, and sweat soaked the back of my neck.
My heart pounded so hard it felt like it might break out of my chest.
It wasnt real.
But it felt real.
Because it could have been.
My brother died on that bridge.
That isnt a nightmare my mind made up; that is a fact.
He was supposed to come home.
He was supposed to graduate college, get drafted, and carry our family name on his back all the way into the end zone.
But he couldnt carry it anymore.
And one day, he didnt come home.
He left his shoes at the edge and disappeared into the river, and ever since then, I have lived with the same relentless questions: Why didnt he call me? Why didnt I notice he was slipping away? Then Lily came along.

The same bridge.
The same sadness hidden in her eyes.
But this time, I got there in time.
And it broke something open inside me.
Because I saved her.
But I didnt save him.
And that guilt lives under my skin like a second heart always beating, always reminding me of what I lost.
I never told Lily.
I didnt want her to see how dark it really was inside me.
Before the game, I barely heard Coachs words.
His voice was distant, swallowed by the noise inside my head.
I barely felt the claps on my shoulder from my teammates.
Their encouragements slipped off me like rain off glass.
My focus was fractured like a shattered windshield, splintered too deeply to fix.
Then I saw her.
Lily stood near the tunnel, arms crossed, her hoodie pulled up high around her face.
She didnt wave.
She just watched me.
And for a moment just a moment everything inside me settled.
I could finally breathe again.
Until Leo tripped Mike.
It wasnt an accident.
It was cheap.

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It was petty.
It was deliberate.
And before the play even ended, I was already in Leos face.
You think thats funny? I snarled, my voice low and dangerous.
Leo shrugged, the picture of careless arrogance.
Maybe watch where your guys going.
Mike got up slowly, brushing dirt off his shoulder, his jaw tight with pain.
And then Travis walked over, casual as ever, like he was strolling straight into a fight he had been craving.
Relax, Travis said, smirking.
Dont pop a vein, Roberts.
Control your players, I snapped back at him.
You sure youre the one who needs to be talking about control? Travis shot back, voice dripping with condescension.
I stared him down, refusing to blink, refusing to back off.
And then he said it loud enough that only I could hear: Still kissing whats already been passed around? I didnt flinch.
But something inside me split wide open.
Travis leaned closer, and I caught the sharp, artificial smell of his cologne, thick with his cockiness.
You think shes special? he whispered.
Shes just another girl who cried to get what she wanted.
Still, I didnt move.
And then He dropped the bomb.
Youre just like your brother.
All that pressure.
And no backbone.

My vision blurred, edges going soft and angry.
Everything else around me disappeared.
He knew.
He knew about my brother.
And he used it like a weapon.
That was the moment I lost it.
I dont remember throwing the first punch.
But I remember the sickening crack of bone against my knuckles.
I remember the warm smear of blood across my skin.
I remember the rage searing, white-hot, blinding.
I remember screaming.
Everything around me dissolved into a blur flashing lights, shrieking voices, hands clawing to pull me back.
I didnt hear Lilys voice.
I didnt see her running toward me.
I didnt even know where she was.
I had no idea what was happening outside the circle of fists and fury I was trapped inside.
I just kept hitting.
Because for one terrible second, I wasnt fighting Travis.
I was fighting myself.
Fighting the guilt.
Fighting the pain.
Fighting the voice that whispered in my ear: You let your brother die.
And now youll lose her, too.