The dormitory door clicked softly behind them as Maddie and Nina helped Lila go back to her room. The girls had individual bedrooms in the dormitory. It was free for scholarship students, and to top it off, the room exudes money with its furniture and size.
It had the softest bed Maddie had ever slept on. The couch screamed elegance in nude color, and the floor-to-ceiling window offered a view of the forest behind the university. The room was huge, probably half the size of her house.Despite this, the space felt smaller, as if the walls were closing in on the three girls. Maddie's mind raced, and her heart pounded on her chest crazily as she thought of Lila's current situation. Lila's pregnancy was like world-defining news to Maddie, and her friend wouldn't even say who the father was!Lila, pale and worn out, collapsed on the bed with a sigh. She still refused to talk about it, and Maddie didn't want to push, at least for now. But it didn't stop the burning questions from swirling in her mind.Who was the father? Why was Lila protecting him? And most importantly, the thing that hurt the most was why did she keep this secret from her best friends? Does Lila not trust them?A hand squeezed her heart at the idea. Maddie bit her lip, trying to reign in her emotions.Nina, who stayed quiet since they left the clinic, sat down at the foot of the bed weakly. Her eyes were full of silent worry. She wasn't her usual, dramatic self. Maddie, meanwhile, couldn't sit still.She paced back and forth as if she wanted to wear down the marbled floor. She felt like a balloon about to pop, bubbling in emotions she couldn't express."Damn it all!" Maddie cursed under her breath, scratching her fingers through her hair in frustration."Lila, please," Maddie began, her voice trembling slightly. "Just tell us who he is. We can help you, but we need to know."Lila, lying on her back and staring at the ceiling, remained quiet. Her eyes were distant, as if she were miles away from here. Maddie's heart ached harder at the sight of her best friend looking so... out of it."Lila," she tried again, her voice softer this time. "We're your friends. We love you. We just don't want you to go through this alone."But the only answer Lila gave was a quiet, almost defeated whisper. "I'm going to take a shower." She sat up slowly, as if the movement took effort, and padded toward the bathroom with her shoulders hunched.As soon as the bathroom door closed and the sound of water rushing through the pipes started, Maddie turned to Nina, her expression fierce. "We have to find out who did this to her."Nina blinked, taken aback. "Maddie, maybe we should wait. Lila's not ready to talk."Maddie's voice dropped into a furious whisper, her hands gesturing wildly. "He got her pregnant, Nina! And he's not taking responsibility! She's protecting him for some reason, but he needs to face the consequences. How can she keep this a secret? How can we let her keep this a secret? What will happen to our friend?"Nina wrung her hands together, looking conflicted. Her brows furrowed as she reasoned, "You're angry, and it's understandable. I'm angry, too. But forcing Lila to tell us won't help.""Who said about forcing her?" Maddie questioned and started opening her drawers."Maddie, this isn't right!" Nina grabbed her hand.Maddie clenched her fists and pulled her hand back. Her mind was a whirlwind of anger and frustration. "Not right? What's not right is that someone put her in this situation, and she's suffering in silence because of it. If Lila won't tell us, we have to figure it out ourselves."Nina hesitated, glancing toward the bathroom door. The sound of the shower continued, giving them a small window of time. "I don't know, Maddie."Maddie rifled through Lila's dresser, her movements quick and determined. "I'm not going to sit here and do nothing."Nina pulled her hand again. "Maddie, stop. Seriously. What if she finds out we went through her things? She'll never trust us again."Maddie paused, her hands gripping the edge of a drawer. Nina had a point. Lila would be devastated if she found out, but the anger bubbling inside Maddie wouldn't let her stop.She slammed the drawer shut and turned to face Nina, her voice low and trembling. "I just can't let him get away with this, Nina. I don't care who he is; he needs to step up. Lila's protecting him, and it's not fair. She's the one who's going to have to deal with this alone. And we don't even know who we're supposed to be angry at. If you won't help, go away."Nina sighed, her shoulders sagging. "I get it, Maddie. I do. But we have to be careful about this. Lila needs us now, and if she ever finds out... we'll lose her."Maddie's eyes softened for a moment, her frustration giving way to guilt. She wanted to help her so badly, but how could she do it if they didn't know the full story?Nina finally relented. "Okay, let's do this. But let's be quick. And if we don't find anything, we stop. Agreed?"Maddie nodded, swallowing hard. "Agreed."They moved quickly as they sifted through Lila's belongings. Most of it was just the usual dorm stuff: clothes, books, and random souvenirs. But it wasn't long before Nina pulled out a small leather-bound journal from the lowest drawer; it was hidden under piles of miscellaneous items."Her journal," Nina whispered, holding it up.Maddie's heart pounded in her chest. "That's it. That has to have something."Nina hesitated for a split second, then opened the journal, flipping through the pages. Maddie leaned over her shoulder, her eyes scanning the scribbled handwriting. At first, it was just normal entries—class notes, random thoughts, doodles. But then, they came across a series of increasingly cryptic entries."Met him again today. Can't believe I'm doing this. It's dangerous, but I can't stop.""How can he be so handsome? I can't believe that a guy like him is talking to me.""The races are insane. How can anyone control a bike at that speed? It's terrifying... and thrilling."Maddie's stomach dropped. "Handsome? Races?"Nina's eyes widened as she continued reading. "What is this?"They flipped through the pages, and the more they read, the clearer it became. Whoever the baby daddy was, he was a part of something called Velocity Club. The name showed up over and over in Lila's journal. It was always tied to the mysterious man she was seeing."Velocity Club?" Maddie asked, her voice barely audible. "What the heck is that?"Nina shook her head, her expression just as confused. "I don't know. I've never heard of it. Have you?"Maddie's mind ran a mile a minute, piecing together the clues. "No, but it sounds like some underground racing thing. And it's definitely connected to the student council. Look here."She pointed to an entry where Lila had written about overhearing something about the student council and Velocity. "This is bad, Nina. Really bad."Nina frowned. "How did she even find out about this?"Maddie's eyes narrowed, her voice hardening. "I don't know, but it doesn't matter. What matters is that this... Velocity Club is connected to whoever got her pregnant. And the student council is certainly involved with this thing. We can find this man through them."Nina looked worried. "Maddie, hold on. This sounds crazy. We don't know anything about this club. What if it's more than we can handle?"Maddie's jaw tightened. "I don't care. I'll do whatever it takes to get this guy. Whoever this person is, he's not getting away with it. He's going to take responsibility."Nina placed a hand on Maddie's arm, her voice calm but firm. "I get that you're mad, Maddie. But don't go charging in without a plan. We need to be smart about this."Maddie's eyes burned with determination. "I'll be smart. But I'm not going to just sit here and do nothing."Nina sighed; there was no way to stop Maddie when she was like this. "Fine. But let me do some digging first. I'll figure out what the Velocity Club is, and we'll go from there. Just... don't go crazy yet, okay?"Maddie nodded, but the fire in her eyes didn't dim. "Okay. But we put the journal back first. Lila can't know about this."Nina agreed, and they carefully returned the journal to its place in the drawer, making sure everything was the same as before. Just as they finished, the bathroom door opened.Lila came out with a face so pale it looked like she bathed in white powder instead of water. Exhaustion oozed from her, physically and emotionally.Maddie forced a smile, her heart breaking all over again for her friend. "Feeling any better?"Lila nodded lightly, then went to lie down on her bed. "A little. Just... tired."Nina, sensing the tension in the room, quickly spoke up. "Are you hungry? We can grab you something from the canteen if you want."Lila shook her head. "No. I'm not hungry."Maddie wasn't willing to let Lila retreat entirely. "I'll bring you your favorite coleslaw salad later, okay? You need to eat something."Lila didn't argue and agreed quietly. Maddie and Nina exchanged a glance, the guilt of their snooping weighing on them. They discovered parts of what happened, but it felt wrong and only added more mystery. They even had to keep it from Lila."We're going to head out," Maddie said gently. "Just... rest, okay? We'll cover for you if anyone asks."Lila nodded again, curling up on her bed as she buried her face in the pillow. Maddie sighed as they left the room. As soon as the door clicked behind them, Maddie's anger burst out like a volcanic eruption.Maddie's calm facade crumbled. "That's it. I'm going to the student council. I'm going to storm in there and demand answers about this damn Velocity Club!"Nina grabbed her arm, her voice sharp. "Maddie, stop. Think for a second. Didn't we agree that I'd dig about this first?"But Maddie's mind was already made up. "No! They're hiding something, Nina. And I'm going to find out what it is."Nina opened her mouth to argue, but Maddie was already storming off. She was so worried about Maddie making things messier. She was as warm as the sun, but so was her temper. It was more like a solar flare."Wait up!"