Do Not Fall For The Baseball Captains novel Chapter 103

103 /105

Victoria’s POV

The diner was packed with crowd, the air thick with the scent of grease, maple syrup, and the collective relief of students who had just survived another round of testing.

Jace was busy stealing fries from Leo’s plate, while Adele and Miles were locked in a quiet conversation about a question on the back page of the booklet.

I sat next to Elijah, my hand resting casually on the vinyl booth seat between us. Everything felt normal. It felt safe.

Then Alison leaned across the table, wiping her mouth with a napkin before looking directly at Elijah.

“Oh, by the way, Eli, my mom mentioned she saw the Graysons at that charity dinner last weekend. She said Lexi looked completely miserable. Lexi never looks miserable at events like that. I wonder what was going on with her.”

The entire table seemed to drop a few degrees.

1 paused, my fork hovering inches from my plate. I looked at Alison, my chest tightening.

“What do you mean?” I asked, my voice coming out a little too quiet. “Lexi Grayson?”

“Alison.” Elijah warned. His voice sounded entirely deflated.

I caught the tone instantly. My eyes darted to him. noticing the way his jaw had locked tightly.

He wasn’t looking at Alison; he was looking straight ahead at his water glass.

“What are you trying to hide, Elijah?” I asked, turning my whole body to face him.

He didn’t answer right away. Instead, his eyes flicked across the table, locking onto Miles for a split second.

It was a brief, heavy look, filled with a silent, agitated understanding that made my blood run cold.

My heart began to thud against my ribs, a slow, loud beat that echoed in my ears.

Alison looked around the table, her brow furrowing as she realized the atmosphere had completely changed.

“Wait… what’s going on? Did I say something wrong?”

“Alison,” I repeated, keeping my voice entirely controlled despite the heat rising under my skin. “You all know Lexi Grayson?”

“Well, yeah.” Alison replied, glancing uncomfortably at Elijah before looking back at me. “I mean, she doesn’t really hang out with us. But our families have been friends for years. Eli’s dad and her dad go way back.”

The room seemed to shrink. The ambient noise of clinking silverware and distant chatter faded into a dull roar.

I turned my head slowly, looking at the man sitting next to me.

The man who had held my hand through every turbulence in the last month, who had stood in my corner when nobody else did.

“Elijah, I called, my voice eerily calm. “What is she talking about?”

For the first time since I’d known him, Elijah looked genuinely nervous.

The supreme confidence that usually defined every breath he took was entirely gone.

He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he finally turned his head to look at me.

“Victoria,” he breathed, his voice incredibly soft.

He reached across the table, his fingers stretching out to cover my hand where it rested on the laminate surface.

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The moment his skin brushed mine, a jolt went through me. I pulled my hand back, tucking it into my lap, away from his touch.

“Don’t.” I told him. “Just explain it to me.”

My mind was racing, throwing out a thousand different scenarios. I didn’t want to just react. I didn’t want to accept a horrible truth until I heard the words come out of his mouth.

I needed him to tell me it was a misunderstanding. I needed him to fix it.

Across the table, Miles shifted uncomfortably, clearing his throat.

He looked around at Nate, Jace, Leo, and Adele, who were all watching the exchange with varying degrees of confusion and growing awkwardness.

“Hey, uh,” Miles started, his usual sarcastic edge completely missing, replaced by a forced, joking tone that couldn’t quite hide the strain in his voice.