IRON STRIDE — Season 2, Episode 56: "No One Walks Away Clean"
The locker room was silent. Not the heavy, tense silence of before a match — this was after. The kind of silence where sweat still clings to the skin and everyone is afraid to speak first.
Jaden sat at the end of the bench, unwrapping his taped knuckles slowly, like peeling off a second skin. His jaw was bruised. Blood still clung to the corner of his mouth.
They'd won.But it wasn't a win worth remembering.
Today's match had gone wrong from kickoff. The other team played dirty — not just fouls, but hits meant to injure. Jaden's own teammate, Darrin, had been taken off the field unconscious. There was a moment, mid-game, when it didn't feel like sport anymore — it felt like war.
And somewhere during that chaos, Jaden had snapped.
He hadn't blacked out — but he remembered almost nothing between the elbow to his chin and the red card flying in front of his eyes. What he remembered most wasn't the punch, or the ref's whistle.
It was the look on Abby's face from the stands.
Not fear.Not anger.Just... disappointment.
Later That Night:
Jaden knocked on her door in the residential wing. Once. Twice. No answer.
He sat outside, legs folded, staring at the ground. Minutes passed. Maybe an hour.
Finally, the door opened. Abby stepped out, hoodie pulled tight over her frame. Eyes tired.
"I'm not mad," she said softly.
He looked up. "Then why won't you look at me?"
She sat beside him. Close, but not touching.
"You told me Iron Stride wouldn't change you," she whispered. "You swore."
He wanted to explain. That it was heat-of-the-moment. That it was defense. That he wasn't that guy.But the words stuck in his throat. Because part of him wasn't sure that was true anymore.
She looked at him, voice barely audible."Don't make me choose between you and who you're becoming."
Then she stood, and went back inside.
The door didn't slam. It didn't need to.