I winced as it hit with a crash, and that wince stayed a permanent fixture as Coach Toons appeared in the doorway. He looked concerned, which was never a good sign. “What did the boss say?”

River stomped to his locker, pulling out his gear and stuffing it in his duffel bag. I shook my head and looked back at Toons. “He basically put us on probation.”

Toons slid a hand down his face with an exasperated sigh. “Fucking players. Can’t keep your dicks out of the limelight.”

River turned on the spot and glared. “You got something to say, old man?”

Toons raised an eyebrow. “Watch your fucking mouth, Cooper. I legitimately don’t give a fuck who you sleep with. In fact, I wish more of you would date one girl, because then I’d only have to worry about one tell-all story in the fucking tabloids, instead of Ludo’s fuck buddies gushing how big his dick is in the damn gossip column every other week. That shit is a nightmare.” He looked between us, shaking his head. “If you get benched because of this shit, I’ll do what I can. I know it seems unfair, but if you could keep your shit out of the public eye for just a little longer, I’d appreciate it.”

I grunted out a noncommittal noise. I wasn’t hiding Nova away like she was a fucking dirty little secret. But I wasn’t going to push her into the public eye, either.

Toons shook his head. “Go home. Sort shit out. I expect to see you back here tomorrow for the game.” He strolled out of the dressing room. “Don’t forget to train,” he yelled back, and I shook my head.

Packing up my shit, I grabbed my phone. River’s was in pieces inside my bag. He’d thrown it at the wall after someone had made a joke and Ludo, who’d been uncharacteristically solemn, had shown him an article. He’d doom-scrolled through his own phone, finding all the articles, and then tossed the expensive piece of hardware at the wall.

Let’s just say, the jokes stopped after that.

My phone had dozens of voicemails, including a message from my mom and one from my dad—which must have meant they were worried, because he hated phones—but hundreds of text messages.

When I opened the message thread from Dev, I resisted the urge to do the same thing River had done.

She saw. She’s locked herself in her room.

He’d sent the message over two hours ago. Fuck. This was bad. Would she run? Would I blame her if she did?