Desired by All and He Threw Away 47

Taylor’s pov 

The day drags itself toward evening heavy with the scent of sweat and disinfectant that clings to every inch of the training room. 

The faint hum of the ventilation system mixes with the muted thuds of weights being racked. muscle ache tempers fray and everyone moves with that sluggish kind of energy that comes after too many hours under fluorescent light. 

i gather my notes stacking them neatly against the clipboard.the paper edges stick slightly to my palms damp with the humidity that always lingers after back to back sessions. 

my water bottle rolls off the table and clinks softly against the tile. i bend to grab it just as someone brushes against my shoulder- hard enough to feel intentional. 

the folder slips from my hands before i can stop it papers scattering like startled birds across the floor. 

“oh sorry,” Vanessa says drawing out the word like honey over something rotten. She bends just enough to look smug about it. “Didn’t see you there, assistant.” 

My fingers curl before I force them still.i stand slow one page clinging to my shoe.my pulse drums in my ears low and steady like its warning me to stay calm. ” thats therapist,” i say my voice flat but firm. “you might want to remember the difference..” 

her lips twist into a smile that doesnt reach her eyes. “Right.the therapist who has gotten a little too close to the team’s star. Everyone’s talking, you know. It’s pretty shameless.” 

The words hit sharp, slicing through the air.the room seems to shrink around us- the clang of weights fades the hum of conversation dips.poeple glance over then look away too fast. pretending they didnt hear. 

i breathe in slow but the calm slides right off me.my hands shake once before i still them at my sides. 

“You want to talk about shameless?” My voice comes out quieter than I mean it to, but colder too. “From what I saw today, your fundamentals are weak. Your pressure’s sloppy. And if we’re talking professional standards- you shouldn’t even be on this team.” 

Her eyes widen, just a flicker, then burn red like someone struck a match inside her. The hit lands clean.she steps closer, slow and deliberate her heels clicking against the tile.i catch the smell of her perfume–sweet expensive too much. 

it fills the space between us like smoke. 

“you dont know who youre talking to,” she says voice low and sharp. 

the air turns thick tight enough that i almost taste it.my heart pounds hard in my throat steady and stupid but i dont move.Every nerve in me screams to take a step back but i dont give her that satisfaction. 

Then a voice slices through it. 

“Enough.” 

1/3 

Chapter 47 

+25 Bonus 

the Head Therapist walks in from the side room a clipboard wedged under his arm like he has been waiting for this exact moment.hisface already carries that look–tired disappointed the kind of look that says hes done this too many times before. 

his eyes move between us sharp as pins. 

“i wont have fighting on my team,“he says. 

“sir-“i start but he raises a hand shutting me down with one small gesture. 

“Taylor youre already on thin ice.Don’t cause more trouble,” 

That one lands deep. Deeper than Vanessa’s shove ever could. My mouth goes dry, tongue stuck to the roof. The words I want to throw out–my side, the truth, anything–die before they reach my lips. 

Doesn’t matter anyway. The look on his face says the verdict’s already been written. 

Vanessa’s smirk blooms just behind him faint and smug the kind of smile that feeds off someone else’s silence.she crosses her arms like shes just won something no one else even realized was a game. 

her nails tap against her sleeve slow deliberate a metronome of mock patience. 

i keep my face blank.my jaw tightens until it hums with pressure the ache crawling up toward my temples.the folder i dropped earlier still lies open on the floor pages scattered like a quiet accusation 

The air from the vent lifts the edges teasing them as if even the room is in on the joke. i crouch gathering them one by one careful deliberate.each page smooths beneath my fingertips- a small shaky reclaiming of order. 

my hands tremble and i press them flat against the paper to steady the lie that im fine. 

the overhead lights feel harsher now the kind that expose every flaw every twitch.i can sense the glances flicking my way the half hearted sympathy the eager curiosity people try to disguise by adjusting their chairs or pretending to check their phones. 

some where a treadmill starts up again humming with that sterile steady rhythm only machines can manage- 

untouched unbothered. 

By the time i stand the Head has already moved on absorbed back into polite conversation as if none of it happened. 

Vanessa lingers savoring the moment like a final bite she doesnt want to swallow.she brushes at her shoulder slow and theatrical wiping away invisible dust. 

“watch your step therapist,” she murmurs the word therapist dripping from her tongue like something sour. 

our eyes meet for half a heartbeat.theres triumph in hers- a cold gleaming satisfaction that comes from knowing shes drawn blood without lifting a finger. 

i want to tell her that her kind always burns out first that spite only looks like strength until it starts to eat itself.but the words stay trapped behind my teeth. 

i swallow them let the silence hang heavy between us and turn away. 

no point wasting breath on someone who already thinks shes untouchable. 

2/3 

Chapter 47 

+25 Bonus 

so i just gather my things–notes pressed tightly to my chest water bottle clutched too hard- and walk toward the door.each step echoes louder than it should like the sound of restraint. 

behind me Vanessa’s laugh floats faintly through the room.High, deliberate, victorious. 

I keep walking. My throat burns, but I don’t look back. Not once. 

outside the training room the hallway feels cooler quieter.the air carries the faint scent of cleaning solution and the metallic hum of the building settling into night.i pause by the window watching the reflection of the fluorescent lights blur across the glass. 

the anger simmers low and steady buried under the weight of humiliation. People like Vanessa always get special treatment.poeple like me- who work who care who earn it- get warned to behave. 

i close my eyes, steadying my breath.the ache in my chest tightens then dulls. 

Tomorrow i will show up again. Professional. Calm. Controlled.thats the promise i keep repeating like saying it enough times might make it true.my shoes click softly against the tile each step measured too careful as if balance itself might slip if i move too fast. 

but the echo of the Head’s words trails after me whispering down the hallway like something alive.Thin ice. 

The phrase bites at the edges of my thoughts. What does that even mean? what line did i cross? i replay every word every look searching for the moment it all tilted.Nothing fits. 

The evening swallows the noise behind me. All that’s left is the sound of my own footsteps, and a though keep popping up in my mind ‘that girl is getting daring by the minute‘ 

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