AMY'S POV
The silence in the lobby was suffocating, the air thick with an unspoken violence that threatened to shatter at any second.
Cole and Ryder stood chest-to-chest, their eyes locked in a silent, freezing war. Cole's jaw was clenched in a hard, white line, his hands resting loosely near his pockets but his shoulders coiled to strike. Ryder looked like a predator who had finally been pushed past his limit, his chest rising and falling in shallow, heavy breaths as his knuckles turned white at his sides.
Around us, the whispers of the senior players had died down, replaced by a tense, watchful dread. The assistant athletic coordinator looked back and forth between them, his face pale, completely out of his depth.
"Enough."
The voice was sharp, dry, and filled with absolute exhaustion.
Briar stepped into the space between them, her clipboard clutched to her chest like a shield. She looked at Cole, then at Ryder, her dark eyes flashing with a look of supreme irritation.
