By the time I got home

By the time I got home I was soaked from head to toe My phone chimed Marcus never posted on social media But he just dropped one In the photo his arm was slung around her shoulder She had her arms crossed glaring up at him The comments were a feeding frenzy THREE YEARS of shipping this and it FINALLY happened to lover, real! omg enemies to lovers real?? the it couple we deserve Then I scrolled to the newest comment guess the poor Bella's gonna be in her flop era now that he's official Bet she's crying right now! she doesn't even get to be in feling sad, to be honest she doesn't even get to be sad tbh Why? She never stood a chance. She never stood a chance Someone pasted an awful candid of me at last year's track meet More people piled in spamming awful photos of me I locked the screen and dropped onto the couch Tears streaming down my face Doesn't deserve him I'd been hearing those words for years Marcus was the golden boy the future elite—beautiful and untouchable I was nothing special The invisible one in the back of the room The girls hated that I had grown up with him They froze me out The guys made a sport of mocking me sticking me at the top of the school's "Plain Janes List" Marcus never got close to me at school But the second someone went after me he was always the first to step in The worst time he got into a fight with a pack of guys over me and almost got expelled Then sophomore year Selena transferred in Gorgeous and smart She knocked Marcus off his spot as top student the week she arrived Marcus wasn't willing to let it go and started picking on her They competed in grades and in tournaments The loser had to obey whatever the winner said The whole school shipped them and Marcus cursed about it every single time I'd never seen him like that before Later I figured it out That's just what a teenage boy looks like when he's falling for a girl He picked fights with Selena to get her attention When she gave a speech his eyes followed her across the stage If she caught him looking he'd snap his gaze away and pretend he didn't care When she got cramps he'd quietly leave painkillers and chocolate on her desk When she bombed a test he'd needle her into doing better The thing that finally hit me with real fear happened after our first midterms Selena dropped several places For the first time Marcus didn't brag about finishing first Instead he spent all his free time tutoring her He canceled our plans skipped our dates Spent every afternoon with Selena in the library One day I asked him to take me with them Bella, you're not at our level You won't follow what we' re working on Not at our level That single line carved out the gap between us Be a good girl, study at home After graduation we'll go public But the words "go public" kept me waiting like a fool I could ignore everything as long as he came back to me in the end Until tonight, it hit me It was never only the other students looking down on me Marcus was one of them I cried myself to sleep on the couch When I woke up the rain had stopped The doorbell rang Marcus stood outside Bella, I deleted those comments The post wasn't serious He reached for my hand He forced a smile My mom wants you over for dinner Let's go When we got to the Reed estate Selena was already there She handed me my umbrella Bella, thanks for the umbrella Marcus forgot to return it Mrs. Reed appeared Bella's here! This kid has been hiding his girlfriend for this long Marcus shot me a look don't say anything I forced a stiff nod Over dinner Mrs. Reed found out Selena was a top student You two are made for each other My son deserves a girl this impressive Mrs. Reed, you're too kind My fingers tightened around my fork Marcus changed the subject I applied to Yale Selena, you? Yale, obviously I'm not about to let you beat me Bella, what about you? Yale might be difficult for Bella But she can try for the same city Before the breakup that had been my plan Now not anymore I haven't decided yet Marcus's expression dropped What do you mean? We agreed to go to New Haven. We'll get back together. I didn't reply After dinner Mrs. Reed handed him a fat allowance Take Selena out And don't come home until you've spent every cent Bella, come too We're all friends That look, arrogance laced with pity You coming? No You two have fun His brow smoothed He took Selena's hand and walked out I watched their fingers laced together And suddenly thought of that heart rate challenge Maybe I'd already lost from the very beginning