Chapter 1: F*ck You, Liam

I stomped along the deserted pavement, my mood as dark and brooding as the fast approaching storm clouds overhead. The library had been my escape from the overhyped Mating Celebration, but even the quiet rustle of pages and the familiar smell of old books hadn’t been enough to calm my irritation. The pack's obsession with this archaic tradition grated on me more than I cared to explain. That, and the fact that my family had booted me out of my home in Colorado and shipped me off to stay with my aunt here in Oregon almost a week ago now.

The distant sounds of laughter and music from the celebration drifted through the air. It annoyed me. I couldn’t understand why everyone put so much stock in finding their 'destined mate.' The whole concept felt oppressive, like we were all just pawns in some preordained plan. The idea of 'mates' meant that there was no room for freewill, and that was something that just never sat well with me.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, pulling me out of my thoughts. It was a message from Jenna, my friend from back home. She had sent a screenshot of Liam’s latest I*******m post.

There he was, cozying up with some girl I’d never seen before, their heads close together, smiling. Just beneath, the image was captioned with a heart emoji. I felt my stomach tying itself in knots and a lump formed in my throat. 

"Unbelievable," I muttered, feeling a surge of betrayal. I needed to confront him… immediately. 

I couldn't bear the thought of some random eavesdropper listening in on my humiliation, so I looked for a private spot where I could shout and scream without having to restrain myself. I saw a public restroom near the park entrance just a little distance away from me and stormed over, clutching my phone so tightly I'm actually surprised it didn't break.

I dialled Liam’s number, my fingers trembling slightly. As the phone rang, I closed the stall and leaned against the cool white tiled wall, bracing myself. 

"Hey, Kate," Liam's voice came through, casual and unsuspecting.

"Who's the girl, Liam?" I asked, cutting to the chase. My voice was steadier than I felt. 

There was a pause, a moment of silence that spoke volumes.

"What girl?" he asked, playing dumb. 

"The girl on your I*******m, Liam! The brunette with her arms wrapped around you!" I replied, frustrated by his stupid game.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about," he replied, sounding genuinely clueless. 

"I'm not sure whether you're dumb enough to think I'll believe you, or whether you're trying to gaslight me. Either way, cut the bullshit. I've got the picture right in front of me. What the fuck, Liam!?" I rattled off, my anger and frustration taking over.

I heard him sigh before he replied, "Look, Katelyn... I'm sorry, I should have told you. It's just—" 

"Just what? You thought a heart emoji was a better way to break it to me?" The words spilled out, tinged with sarcasm and hurt.

"I don't want to do long distance, okay? This doesn't work for me," he explained matter-of-factly.

"I've been gone a total of five days, Liam! FIVE DAYS!" I exclaimed, furious with him now.

"Yeah, and in those five days I realised this wasn't for me and met someone else," he went on, sounding cool and calm, which did nothing but infuriate me even further.

"And instead of calling me to have an adult conversation about this, you let me know over I*******m?!" I blurted in disbelief.

"No, I actually blocked you on I*******m so that you wouldn't see it. I figured it wouldn't be right for you to find out that way," he explained, his voice tinged with remorse.

"No, you're right. Better to string me along," I replied sarcastically before blurting, "Fuck you, Liam. Have a nice life," and dropping the call.

Tears welled up, and I let them fall, the sound of my stifled sobs seeming loud in the empty restroom. With my back pressed against the cold tiles, I slid down to the floor, resting my head against my knees as I cried my little heart out. Liam and I had only been together 5 months, but he was my first serious boyfriend. I wouldn't say that I loved him, but we'd said the words to one another, even if we hadn't truly meant them.

As I sat there, sobbing quietly in the brightly lit, stark white restroom, I started to feel a weird pull in my chest as my heart rate started to speed up. I figured I was having an actual heart attack, thanks to Liam and his bullshit.

That's when I heard an unfamiliar male voice call out. "Hello?" The voice echoed off the tiled walls and I froze, going silent as I held my breath.

The restroom was shrouded in absolute silence for a moment and all I could hear was the pounding of my own heart.

"Is someone there?" the voice called again. I don't know why, but I replied,

"Yeah." A simple one word answer, which was as much as I could muster for fear of bursting into hysterical sobs once more.

I heard footsteps now as he entered the restroom, stopping right outside the closed door of the stall I was hidden in.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly.

"No..." I murmured, my voice trembling as I held back sobs.

"Are you crying?" he pressed, sounding a little nervous.

"Yes..." I mumbled, allowing a sob to escape now.

"Can I get you anything? You want some water or something?” he offered.

“No. I’m fine. Thanks,” I replied. I let out a deep breath as I tried to pull myself together.

“You don’t sound fine, if I’m being honest,” the voice said with an underlying hint of humour.

Somehow I managed to give a teary chuckle at the remark before responding, “I’m just having a crappy day.”

“Oh yeah? You wanna talk about it?” he offered.

I was quiet for a moment before I replied, “I don’t think so. Thanks though.”

The offer was kind, but there was no way I was about to pour my heart out to a complete stranger. The weird thing, though, was that I had considered it.

The restroom fell into silence once again, but then I heard him shuffling around, uncomfortable or agitated.

“Um… Do you feel weird?" he asked curiously. "Yeah. I'm either having a heart attack or I'm going to throw up," I replied as I unrolled a length of toilet paper to dry my eyes. 

"Same..." the voice outside my stall replied, sounding contemplative.