The Girl He Wanted Was The Girl He Dumped Chapter 05
Sophie must have been desperate, because somehow, she came to me for help.
She showed up at the suite looking pale, “Can we talk?”
“I’m busy.”
“If you help me get Carter back, I’ll admit everything to Residence Life. I’ll take whatever disciplinary action they give me. If you report what I did, I’ll cooperate. I’ll pay you back for everything too.”
I finally looked up.
She was really this far gone over a guy?
I put my phone down, “Fine.”
And so I got her entire life story.
At first, Sophie really had thought Carter was looking for her when he posted that photo in GroupMe.
She’d rushed to message him.
It wasn’t until he pointed out the girl he meant that she realized—
He’d been looking for me.
But she couldn’t bring herself to give up the chance.
What Carter didn’t know was that Sophie had had a crush on him, ever since prep school.
She’d even found out which college he planned to attend and applied here because of him.
Back then, she’d been overweight and too shy to ever tell him how she felt.
So over the summer, she’d lost nearly ninety pounds.
But the dramatic makeover she’d dreamed of never happened.
She’d gotten slimmer and prettier, but she still wasn’t the kind of girl who turned heads without trying.
So she’d convinced herself that if Carter fell for her personality first, she could keep working on her appearance—and by the time they finally met, he’d care about her too much to walk away.
She’d been wrong.
Their first meeting had shattered that fantasy.
As she spoke, her eyes slowly drifted to my face.
Envy flickered there. Then resentment.
“Audrey, when I first saw you, I honestly admired you.”
“I liked you.”
She gave a bitter little laugh.
“But I should’ve known I wouldn’t be the only one.”
“Carter noticed you too.”
Her gaze tightened.
“I’m so jealous.”
“If I looked like you, I probably wouldn’t have any problems at all.”
That envy had eventually curdled into hatred.
“Why did it only take one look for him to become obsessed with you?”
She still couldn’t understand it.
After all the time they’d spent talking, all the affection and attention he’d given her—
Had none of it ever been real?
I listened until she finished.
Then I said, “None of that gives you the right to hurt me.”
Allergic reactions weren’t harmless.
Whatever her reasons were, they didn’t excuse what she’d done.
Sophie smiled bitterly.
“He won’t see me now.”
“But if you ask him to come, he will.”
“Please help me.”
I nodded.
“Then apologize.”
“I’m sorry.”
“To the other two roommates too.”
She hesitated, then pulled out her phone and did it.
“And you’re going to tell Residence Life the truth.”
“That we never bullied you.”
“And that you deliberately exposed me to peaches.”
She bit her lip.
After a long silence, she nodded.
“Fine. I’ll do all of it.”
I unblocked Carter.
Then I sent him one line.
“Main quad. Seven tonight. Come alone.”
He sent back message after message.
I didn’t read them.
And, obviously—
I didn’t go.
Apparently Carter misunderstood what the invitation meant.
By seven, he’d turned the quad into some over-the-top confession scene covered in flowers.
One of my roommates happened to pass by and immediately started texting me updates.
“You should’ve seen his face when Sophie showed up instead of you.”
“He looked ready to kill someone.”
“He walked out on the whole setup, and Sophie chased after him calling ‘baby’ over and over.”
My phone immediately started blowing up with messages from Carter.
“Why wasn’t it you?”
“Why won’t you see me?”
“Do you really hate me that much?”
After that, Carter became impossible to avoid.
Somehow, he got hold of my class schedule and started showing up everywhere I went.
He followed me around campus like a shadow.
When I stopped to feed one of the campus cats, he reminded me how I used to send him pictures of my fat orange cat back home.
When I ate, he’d sit across from me and tell me he still remembered my favorite foods.
He talked endlessly about before.
Until one day, I finally set down my fork.
“You said it yourself.”
“That was before.”
Carter went still.
Then, almost ridiculously, his expression brightened just because I’d finally spoken to him.
“I liked you before I ever saw your face.”
“You know that, Audrey.”
“You had to have felt it too.”
He paused.
“I only got so interested in Sophie because I thought she was the girl in those photos.”
His voice tightened.
“I’m sorry.”
“I hurt you because I believed something that wasn’t true.”
“That was never what I wanted.”
I looked at him.
“But you still threw me away because of my face.”
“That’s who you are, Carter. Shallow.”
“Sophie did horrible things, but you’re not exactly any better.”
“You dumped me before she ever even entered the picture.”
“Do you want me to read back what you said to me that day?”
His face went quiet.
I continued, “As far as I’m concerned, you’re just a spoiled asshole who can’t handle being wrong.”
“And anyone who dates you is asking for trouble.”
For once, Carter had nothing to say.
His lips pressed into a tight line.
When he finally spoke again, his voice had lost all its arrogance.
“Is there really no chance you’ll give me another shot?”
“No.”
Sophie moved out of our suite.
Residence Life disciplined her after she admitted what she’d done.
The whole thing was bizarre enough that it spread all over social media, and for a while, practically everyone on campus knew about it.
People whispered whenever she passed.
Eventually, Sophie couldn’t take the stares anymore.
She moved out of campus housing.
After that, I barely saw her again.