“I know.”

“When you called, all I could think was that I wasn’t there.”

Keira looked at him.

“You couldn’t have been.”

“I know that too.”

His voice softened.

“That doesn’t make it easier.”

She looked down at her hands.

“I was scared.”

“Good.”

Keira frowned.

“Good?”

“Fear tells you the situation matters. Training isn’t supposed to remove fear. It’s supposed to keep fear from making every decision.”

She leaned back.

“I almost hit him.”

Marcus glanced at her.

“Almost?”

“When Dylan got up the second time.”

“What stopped you?”

“You.”

He looked surprised.

“Not literally.”

She swallowed.

“I heard you saying, only enough to get away.”

Marcus looked back at the road.

For a long time, he said nothing.

Then his eyes filled.

Keira pretended not to notice.

The video spread that evening.

By midnight, one clip had more than eighty thousand views.

The caption read:

CHEERLEADER DROPS THREE BULLIES IN SCHOOL COURTYARD.

It was inaccurate.

Miles had never attacked her.

Keira had not “dropped” three people.

But dramatic captions traveled faster than careful ones.

Another video described her as a “secret martial arts champion.”

She was not.

A third claimed her father was special forces.

He wasn’t.

By morning, strangers were arguing about her.

Some called her a hero.

Others said she should have been suspended for fighting.

A few people slowed the footage down and analyzed her technique as if her fear were entertainment.

Keira shut off her phone.

At breakfast, Marcus slid a plate of eggs toward her.

“Don’t read comments.”

“I already did.”

“Then don’t do it again.”

“People think I enjoyed it.”

Marcus sat down.

“Did you?”

“No.”

“Then their opinion can’t rewrite your experience.”

Keira picked at her food.

“What if the school changes its mind because everyone’s watching?”

“Then we deal with what the evidence says.”

The investigation continued.

And this time, the school had more than videos.

Coach Ruiz pulled practice records.

Brooke had changed the stunt count despite an explicit instruction not to.

Lucy Grant’s parents confirmed Keira had been the first teammate to call them from the nurse’s office.

Several cheerleaders admitted they had been afraid to contradict Brooke because of Dylan.

Then Miles gave the administration his phone.

That was the turning point.

There was a group chat.

Most messages were ordinary teenage nonsense.

Memes.

Sports.

Parties.

Then Tuesday night, after Brooke’s suspension, Dylan wrote:

Tomorrow we make Monroe regret opening her mouth.