Over the next few days, I debate how and when to approach Auden. I keep convincing myself he has a perfectly reasonable excuse for walking out of Box Inc with a hand full of cash, but deep down, I know it's something sinister. Either he's planning on jumping ship after everything Coach did for him, or he's the one who betrayed us in the first place; my instincts tell me it's the latter.

My first thought is how he could be so selfish. Coach went above and beyond trying to help him, only for him to turn around and strike a deal with our opposition. But part of me gets why he did it, even if I disagree. Auden has had it rough growing up, and if he made a deal with Box Inc for money, it'd be because he was desperate.

It's why, even if it turns out my theory is correct, I'm reluctant to say anything to Hayden. The second the others found out what he did, Auden would be kicked out of the gym and ostracised the way Nico was, his only safe place gone; I'm not sure I have it in me to do that to him, even if he does deserve it.

I mull over my options with Daisy at lunch, deciding whether to get involved or pretend I never saw anything. I know which would be the easier option, but it's not in my nature to sit back and do nothing, especially over something like this. As sympathetic as I feel toward Auden, if he did this, he was wrong.

"Maybe it's something completely innocent," Daisy says. We're sitting in the cafeteria, picking at today's choice of vegan lasagna and people-watching the rest of the students, the way we're prone to. From our spot in the corner, we have a clear view of the rest of the cafeteria, including a cackling Danny. Daisy glares at him and adds, "Maybe one of the guys at Box Inc owed him money or something. Either way, this isn't something you should be stressing about a week before your fight."

"I know," I say because she's right. The only thing that should be on my mind right now is fighting Katarina, but I can't silence the nagging feeling that everything is about to implode. "Are you still going to watch me?"

"Of course," she says, stealing one of my fries. "Who wouldn't want to see their best friend get punched in the face?"

"I think many people," I say and swat her hand to stop her from descending on my fries.

After lunch, as we head to my locker, Danny and his friends walk past and say, "How's your mom doing, Cassie? I haven't seen a bikini pic in a while. Is she okay?"

Daisy braces herself like I'm about to start a brawl in the hallway, but I don't. I grab her arm, calmly lead her to my locker, and get my things for class. When I close the door again, Daisy is wearing the biggest grin.

"God, I'm proud of you," she says.

I can't help it – I smile; I'm proud of myself, too.

***

Later, I take Daisy's advice and arrive at the gym earlier than usual to pull Auden aside. As luck would have it, he's nowhere to be seen, so I make my way to the weights while watching Wiley and Hayden in the ring, their punches and grunts echoing through the gym.

The two men circle each other warily, their eyes locked in intense concentration. They're both shirtless, and I can see the sheen of sweat on their taut muscles. Clearly, they've been at this for a while.

It's almost therapeutic watching them. I analyze their techniques, scanning for strengths and weaknesses to use. Wiley is a strong fighter, with the power to end a fight with one punch from either hand, but it gets him into trouble, especially with Hayden. He relies too much on it, always looking for that perfect spot, but sometimes there isn't one.

Briefly, I think of Nico and smile. Conservative is the last thing you'd call him, but maybe that drew me to him. He has a recklessness about him, a wild streak that can't be ignored or contained. Deep down, I relate.

I head toward the heavy bag, now focused on my fight with Katarina, which is probably the cause of the sudden knot in my stomach. It won't be easy: I'll only have one round to determine her weaknesses and adapt accordingly. If her fight style relies on the same techniques as mine, I'm in trouble.

Still, Nico says there's no point worrying about that, and he's right. I don't know what I face until I stand in that ring. All I can do is make sure I've prepared, and between training with Hayden and Nico, I've covered all bases.

When I've finished on the heavy bag, I stretch and grab my water bottle, downing its contents. Then I move toward the speed bag, stopping dead when Auden walks in.

My throat burns, and I'm marching toward the entrance before he pulls down his hood. I grab his arm without saying a word, leading him down the steps and into the narrow hallway between the last step and the entrance.

Auden leans against the wall, cocky as ever, and grins. "Finally giving into your urges, Cass?"

"Sure," I say, "if my urge is to beat you into something resembling a squashed tin can."

He laughs and folds his arms as if I'm joking. "What did I do?"

My eyes narrow. His jovial attitude is only irritating me further. "I saw you coming out of Box Inc the other day holding cash. I'm allowing you to explain yourself before I go to Hayden."

For a good solid minute, I watch his expression shift from disbelief to alarm to downright aggression. He straightens up, leaning into my face. "Must have been somebody else."

I'd expected him to deny it, but what I didn't expect was the flash of guilt that sits behind the irritation. "It is you," I say, stepping closer. "You're the mole. That's how you knew about me fighting like Nico. You've probably seen him training at Box Inc."

Auden tries to push past me without a word, but I block his way to the stairs, shoving him back against the wall. "After everything Coach did for you," I say. "You'd betray him like this?"

His eyes darken. I think we might actually fight here in the stairway when he steps back, defeated. "It's not like that, all right?" His voice is low and barely audible, but I don't miss the shake of emotion.

Calmly, I say, "Then what's it like?"

He looks away, his eyes soft and childlike in a way I rarely see, like a kid about to get scolded by his parents. I unfold my arms, my heart sinking when I think of how disrupted his childhood has been.

"Look," he says, running a hand along his face, "the owner said he'd pay me cash for every member I got to switch. I needed the money, Cassie." His voice cracks, and I've never seen him this close to tears. "Please don't tell Hayden. He'll kick me out."

The glassiness of his eyes reminds me so much of Cody that I have to look away. I don't say anything – I don't know what to say – so I head back upstairs and go to town on a heavy bag, needing to release my frustration.

For the next hour, I have plenty of opportunities to tell Hayden about Auden, but I can't – not just for Auden, but because something inside me won't let me kick Hayden while he's down. From what I've heard, Hayden has always been like Auden's big brother, and knowing he went behind Hayden's back is the last thing he needs after Coach.

It's the last thing any of us need.

By the time Nico arrives for closing, I'm still torn up about what to do with Auden. He takes one look at me as he drops his bag and frowns before closing the distance. "What's wrong?"

I don't speak, so he leads me to the bench and sits beside me, waiting until I'm ready. I take a deep breath and stare at the ring, remembering all the times I'd sparred with Auden. Part of me still doesn't believe it could have been him, but maybe that's why it hurts so much. When you're wronged by the people you least expect, it cuts twice as sharp.

Eventually, I say, "I found out that Auden was the one poaching members from GymCon," Anger surges inside me when I think back to how the others treated Nico. If it weren't for Auden, Nico wouldn't have had to leave. He could have stayed and shadowed Coach the way he wanted to. "You took the blame, but it was Auden this whole time."

I glance at Nico as his eyebrows furrow. "Which one is Auden?" he asks.

"Fifteen," I say, "kinda small. Cocky." I wondered how Nico didn't see Auden around Box Inc, but it makes sense that he wouldn't recognize him. He'd only been to GymCon a few times before he was kicked out – for something Auden did. 

His eyebrows furrow harder, trying to place him before he shakes his head. "Did he say why he did it?"

"He looks after his siblings, so I guess he needed money for them, which I get, but how could he betray Coach like that after everything Coach did for him?"

Nico remains silent as he stares at his hands, lost in thought. I trace his profile, starting with his eyes and following his cheekbones and nose down to his downward tilted mouth.

"I'm not defending him," he says finally, "but it's not always easy to take the moral high ground when you've got mouths to feed. At his age, there aren't a whole lot of ways to make money."

I shake my head, thinking about how disappointed Coach would be if he knew about this. "Coach would have helped him," I say. "If he'd just asked, Coach would have helped him. Instead, he let you take the fall for something you didn't do, and he stabbed us all in the back to do it. Now I'm stuck with the hard decision of keeping lying to everyone or turning him in."

Nico turns toward me properly and tucks my hair behind my ear. "My advice?" he says. "Tell Hayden. He has a right to know, but ask him to remember that Auden had his reasons. Maybe he'll forgive him."

The lump in my throat appears out of nowhere. I lean into his hands, wondering when I became so comfortable that just his touch calms me. "Coach would have. He'd have given Auden a second chance."

Nico gently strokes my hair, pulling me closer until our noses brush. I kiss his jaw, lightly at first, moving ever closer to his lips. Just as our mouths touch, my phone pings.

I sigh and pull it from my bag, glancing at the screen to see Dad has messaged for the millionth time. He's been apologizing over and over since I turned up at his apartment, but part of me is reluctant to forgive him.

Turning to Nico, I say, "I know the fight is next week, and I need to train and yada, yada, yada, but–" I put my phone down and pull him closer by the front of his t-shirt.

He smirks and leans closer, using one hand to cup the back of my head while the other grabs my waist. "All right, no training," he says and kisses me.

A/N

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! ❤️

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