The Betrayal

I froze. I couldn't even breathe. There was Jamie on my bed. My bed where I sleep every night with my purple blanket. My stuffed animals were all over the floor. And Madison Price was on top of him, making out with him. Her blonde hair was everywhere. He had his hands all wrapped up in it.

They heard the door and pulled apart. Madison looked back at me over her shoulder. She wasn't even surprised. She looked... satisfied. Like when you beat someone at a game and you want them to know it.

Jamie's face went white. "Sophie! This isn't—wait, I can explain—"

"My room?" It came out as a whisper. "It's my birthday. You're in MY room?"

People were pushing up behind me trying to see. The music had stopped. Everyone was watching. Great. Now everyone gets to see this.

"We were talking and it just—" Jamie started. His hair was sticking up everywhere.

"Don't." I was getting louder. The hurt was turning into anger. "Just don't even try."

Madison got up and straightened out her dress, taking her sweet time. "Sophie, seriously? You thought Jamie would actually want to be with you? Look in a mirror. You're a nobody. You just study all the time. Jamie needs someone who matters."

"Madison, come on," Jamie said. But he said it really weak, like he didn't mean it.

"What? She should know. Jamie, tell her about all those texts. How you said she was boring. That she was just someone safe to mess around with until you found something better."

It felt like getting punched. I looked at Jamie. Say it's not true. Say something. But he just stared at his shoes.

"Leave," I said.

"Sophie, wait—" Jamie moved toward me.

"GET OUT!" It came out so loud I scared myself. "Get out! Both of you! This is my room! LEAVE!"

Emma was suddenly there, grabbing my arm. "She said get out. Move it."

Madison walked by me like she was on a runway. Jamie followed. He stopped right in front of me.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this—"

"You mean you didn't want me to find out," I said. The tears were coming now and I hated it.

Emma tried to kick everyone out of the apartment after that but I had to leave. The walls felt too close. Everyone saw everything. Tomorrow I'd be that girl. The one who was dumb enough to think a hockey player actually liked her.

"I gotta go," I said, grabbing my jacket.

"Let me come," Emma said.

"No. I just... I need to be alone."

I left before she could stop me. Ran down all the stairs and just started walking. Didn't even know where. Just away.

I ended up at The Grind after walking around for twenty minutes. It's this coffee place that's kinda far from campus. Most students don't know about it. Perfect.

Hardly anyone was there. Some old guy with a newspaper. A woman on her computer. I got hot chocolate and went to the booth in the very back corner where I could cry in peace.

Madison's words kept playing in my head. Was I really that stupid? Now that I thought about it, yeah, all the signs were there. Jamie only hung out with me alone. Never invited me anywhere with his friends. Sometimes he'd ignore my texts for days.

"This seat taken?"

I looked up ready to tell whoever to get lost. But then I saw who it was and forgot how to talk. Nathan Cross. The actual captain of the hockey team. Everyone knew Nathan. Super tall, light brown hair that was always kinda messy, and these green eyes that were looking at me like... like he actually gave a crap.

"Lots of empty tables," I said.

"True," he said. "But you look like you could use some company. Even if we don't talk."

"You know who I am?"

He slid in across from me. "Sophie Chen. Pre-med. We have Bio 301 together. You sit in front, I'm in the back. You're the one who asks questions that make Martinez actually stop and think."

My mouth fell open. Nathan Cross knew who I was?

"You're also the girl whose boyfriend is the biggest moron at this school," he added.

"You heard?"

"I was walking by when Jamie came flying out of your building. Madison was with him looking all proud. Tyler filled me in." He shook his head. "Jamie's an ass."

"He's your teammate."

"Still an ass. I keep telling him to quit playing games."

"You knew?" Now I was getting pissed again. "You knew he was cheating?"

"Not exactly. I knew he was being shady but I didn't know about you. He never said he had a girlfriend. If I knew, I would've warned you."

We sat there quiet for a minute. I drank my hot chocolate. He had black coffee. Weird thing was, it wasn't awkward. Sitting with the most popular guy in school and it felt... normal.

"Why him?" Nathan asked suddenly. "You're smart. How'd you fall for his crap?"

Good question. "He noticed me. In high school I was invisible. Braces, bad skin, always had my nose in a book. College was supposed to be different but it wasn't. Then Jamie started talking to me after chem class. He made me feel... I don't know. Pretty. Special. Stupid, apparently."

"Not all of it was fake," Nathan said. "In the locker room, he'd mention this girl. Never said who, but he'd talk about how she was different. Smart. How she liked him for real, not just the hockey thing." He paused. "Maybe that's why he hid you. He knew he didn't deserve you."

"He talked about me?"

"Yeah. Just never used your name."

I stared at my marshmallows melting.

"Know what you need?" Nathan asked.

"What?"

"To remember that Jamie Rivera is a tool and you're going to medical school. You're brilliant. I've seen you in class - you care about stuff that matters. Don't let some dumb jock make you forget who you are."