Bullied By My Fated Mate

CHAPTER 3

THE BATHROOM INCIDENT

I spent the entire night convincing myself the old woman wasn’t real, or at least not normal. That I'd just been imagining things

By morning, I had already decided she was probably some mentally unstable stranger who enjoyed saying creepy things to vulnerable girls wandering around alone at midnight. That explanation made sense.

Far more sense than magical potions that granted success and love.

But I still stared down at the two tiny glass bottles sitting inside my desk drawer, gold and crimson. Even in the pale morning light slipping through my curtains, the liquids shimmered strangely like it was alive. A chill crawled down my spine again and I slammed the drawer shut immediately. Nope, absolutely not.

The grounding I'd received after running away last night hadn't exactly improved my mood either. By the end of it, I was officially grounded for two weeks with loads of house chores and labour.

By the time I arrived at school, I was already regretting staying up half the night thinking about everything.

"Morning."

I looked up to find Veronica falling into step beside me.

"Morning," I greeted back.

She immediately stopped walking. "That's it?"

I frowned. "What?"

"You ignored my calls and texts. Then show up this morning looking like you fought a war and that's all I get?"

Guilt twisted inside my stomach and I looked away. Veronica has been my best friend since first grade, and ignoring her that way wasn't right.

Veronica folded her arms. “You look terrible, Abbie.”

“I know.”

She sighed slightly. “What happened?”

I considered telling her everything. The argument. Running away. The old woman and the portion bottles. But even thinking it sounded insane. So I settled for the truth she could actually understand.

“Ronnie, I had a huge fight with my adoptive parents about Crestfall University last night.”

Veronica’s expression softened immediately.

“Oh, that bad?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

A bitter breath left me. “They said they won’t sponsor Crestfall even if I got in, and they won’t be sponsoring cheap schools either.”

My fingers tightened slightly at my sides. “My father says I’m to be married off after high school.”

Veronica froze, then her face shifted instantly into anger.

“That’s bullshit,” she snapped, voice sharp enough to turn heads if anyone else had been nearby.

I shrugged weakly, forcing a small smile that didn’t reach me. “It’s fine, Ronnie. I’m fine.”

She frowned at me immediately. “You’re absolutely not.”

I didn’t respond.

Veronica stepped closer, lowering her voice now, but it was no less intense. “Abbie, that is not fine."

She studied me for a moment longer, eyes narrowing slightly like she was trying to read everything I wasn’t saying. “You’re hiding something.”

“No, I’m not.” I rolled my eyes.

“You absolutely are.”

Before she could interrogate me further, the first bell rang again, slicing cleanly through the tension.

“Saved by the bell,” I muttered.

Veronica pointed at me, her expression firm, almost warning. “This conversation is not finished. I don’t care how many bells ring, Abbie. You and I are going to finish this.”

Then she turned and walked toward her classroom.

My luck didn't improve because the moment I stepped into English class, I spotted Thomas Jettro, my day one bully. He sat near the back of the room with his best friend Archibald Jones like always as if they were attached at the hip.

Archibald looked up first and offered me a small smile and my heart immediately betrayed me, and Thomas noticed with darkened expression. Archie has always been my secret crush but a girl like me belonged nowhere near him.

The entire lesson passed painfully slowly, and I desperately needed a break by lunchtime. Which was exactly why I headed toward the girls' bathroom. The hallway was unusually quiet as most students were already in the cafeteria.

I pushed open the bathroom door without thinking and immediately froze. My brain stopped working completely as I take in the sight in front of me.

Thomas was standing against the sinks and Cheryl Pierce was kissing him. Not just kissing him, but making out with him.

My eyes widened as I watched Cheryl's hands tangled in his ash-gray hair while Thomas had one hand in between her legs and the other on her breasts. For one horrifying second, nobody moved. Then panic punched through my chest.

"Oh my God." I spun around instantly.

"Nope. Absolutely not, I had not seen that."

I was already heading for the door before I heard my last name.

"Parker."

My entire body locked up, because of course he noticed me. Slowly, I closed my eyes. Maybe if I pretended hard enough, I'd disappear. But Thomas Jittro had never been that kind to me.

I turned reluctantly and he was staring directly at me. Cheryl remained beside him, looking equally annoyed by my existence as she adjusted her hair and dress.

Heat rushed into my face so fast it hurt.

"I didn't see anything."

Thomas's expression remained completely blank. "Then why are you still standing there?"

I opened my mouth. Close it, then opened it again. "I was trying to leave."

Thomas chuckled. "You're doing a terrible job."

My face burned hotter and I wondered why this was this happening to me. Out of everyone in this school, why did it have to be him?

Thomas folded his arms across his chest.

"You look like you're about to pass out."

"I'm fine."

A cold smirk touched his lips. "Could've fooled me."

Everything about him was infuriating. The way he talked. The way he looked at people. And the way he always somehow managed to make me feel stupid.

My fingers curled into fists. "It's a bathroom."

His eyebrow lifted. "Really?"

I glared at him. "I thought so."

"Funny," he said flatly. "I thought you were stalking me."

I stared at him. "You seriously think I'd stalk you?"

"No." His gaze swept over me dismissively.

"You'd have to be more committed for that."

The insult landed exactly the way he intended it to and Cheryl laughed.

I wasn't doing this. I had seen enough, and

my face was still burning from embarrassment and all I wanted was to get out of there. So without another word, I turned toward the door.

But before I could reach it, a hand slammed against the door and my breath caught.

Thomas had moved so fast I hadn't even seen him cross the room. Now he stood between me and the exit, blocking my way.

I stared at him. "What are you doing?"

His expression remained unreadable, then his gaze swept over me slowly. "You're not leaving so soon, Parker."

Dread unfurled slowly in my chest as I took a step back.