All Chapters of THE QUARTERBACK NEXT DOOR: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Derek’s POVI know I should stop.That’s the irritating part.I know exactly what I’m doing, know it’s immature, unnecessary, and probably proving every single point Lena has made about me recently, but every time she walks past me acting calm and unaffected like I don’t exist anymore, something in me immediately wants to ruin that composure just enough to get a reaction.Any reaction.Because apparently my brain has decided peace is unacceptable.Dinner starts relatively normal, which in this house usually means everyone is pretending not to notice the tension sitting at the table like an uninvited guest.Mom is calm as always, elegant even while drinking water somehow, Dad is asking clipped questions about school and football like he’s interviewing employees instead of speaking to family, Chloe is busy trying to stack peas on her fork for reasons known only to her, and Lena sits quietly beside her, composed in that frustrating way she always is when she’s trying not to draw attentio

Lena’s POVThere are places inside the Hayes mansion that feel like they exist on a different frequency from the rest of the house, spaces where the air is too controlled, the silence too deliberate, and the instinct to turn away arrives long before logic has time to explain anything.The restricted corridor is one of those places.I should not be here again, not after what I overheard, not after the way Mr Hayes said that name like it belonged to something dangerous enough to bury, but curiosity is not always loud or reckless, sometimes it is quiet and persistent, the kind that follows you until you stop pretending you can ignore it.So I am here..not inside fully.Just close enough to hear.Close enough to feel the difference in the house as the hallway narrows and the temperature seems to drop without reason, like even the walls are careful not to breathe too loudly.That is when I hear him.Mr Hayes.His voice is controlled the way powerful men always sound when they believe they

Derek’s POVHmmmm….There are very few things more exhausting than walking into Ridgewood High at eight in the morning and immediately sensing chaos before anyone even opens their mouth.Unfortunately, Vanessa Blake has perfected that atmosphere over the years.She does not create scenes loudly anymore because she learned long ago that subtle cruelty survives longer than dramatic cruelty, and the second I spot her near the lockers surrounded by her usual audience of emotionally unemployed cheerleaders, I already know somebody’s day is about to get ruined for entertainment purposes.Then I see Lena.And suddenly the problem becomes predictable.She is standing near her locker quietly adjusting the strap of her bag, expression calm in that careful way she has when she is trying not to attract attention, and for reasons I do not entirely understand, watching her exist like that while people constantly look for ways to tear at her nerves irritates me more every day.Bryan is beside her ta

Lena’s POV I was halfway across the parking lot when shouting from the football field made me stop. At first I ignored it because football practice at Ridgewood sounded violent even on normal days, but then I heard Derek’s name and suddenly everyone started running toward the field like free money had fallen from the sky. My stomach tightened immediately. By the time I got closer, Coach Thompson was yelling, players were crowding around the benches, and Derek was sitting down with blood running from a cut above his eyebrow while the medic argued with him. “I said I’m fine.” “You’re bleeding through your uniform.” “I noticed.” “You probably need stitches.” “I probably need everyone to relax.” Even injured, he sounded irritated instead of concerned, which honestly felt very Derek. Bryan spotted me first and walked over quickly. “You missed the drama,” he said. “Derek punched Carter Mills.” I looked at him. “Why?” Bryan gave me a look. “Because Carter apparentl

Lena's povMy phone buzzed itself right off the nightstand. I fumbled for it in the dark, my heart already pounding from the sound. It was 6:17 a.m.It wasn’t a text. It was a storm.My screen was a flood of notifications. Instagram tags. Twitter mentions. A string of texts from numbers I didn’t know. At the top, a message from Chloe, sent three minutes ago: LENA. WAKE UP. YOU’RE INTERNET FAMOUS. IN A BAD WAY.I sat up, the cold morning air hitting my skin. I tapped the first notification.It was a photo. Posted by an account called ‘Gridiron_Gossip’. It had over five thousand likes already.The picture was from last night on the field. The stadium lights made everything look sharp and dramatic. There I was, kneeling in front of Derek, holding that stupid, bloody cloth to his eyebrow. My face was all serious concentration. His face… his face was looking down at me with this weird, soft expression. I’d been too focused on the cut to see it then. But in the photo? It looked intense. It