Betrayal

After what felt like forever, Leah set her phone aside and turned to Mia again. "So," she said, "I was thinking tomorrow morning, we could go over some assignments together before class."

Mia shook her head, still distracted. "Can't. I have cheer practice."

Leah blinked, confused. "Wait, you're still going? I thought... aren't you done with all that?"

"I can't just quit," Mia said, her voice small. "It's not that simple."

"What do you mean it's not simple? You joined up for Natalie, and now there's no reason to go anymore."

Mia's heart hammered, cheeks hot with guilt and panic. She scrambled for some kind of excuse that would be plausible. Under her skin, her craving for Natalie was a persistent, bitter ache, and the thought of never seeing her again felt like a punch to the gut.

"I just have to go back," Mia answered. "I can't quit. Not yet."

Leah stared at her like she was insane. "Why, Mia? She humiliated you. She's not going to stop. You know that, don't you?"

The words cut, but Mia swallowed them. "I know, I just... don't want to let the team down."

Leah shook her head, disbelief etched across her face. "Bullshit. This isn't about the team," she said, "this is about you wanting to go back to her. You're addicted to her, even though she treats you like garbage."

"I'm not addicted," Mia protested, but the word echoed in her mind. Addicted. Was that what this was? This constant craving, this desperate need to see Natalie even though it hurt so much?

"You're unbelievable," Leah said. "I thought--" She shook her head, biting back words, and then looked at Mia with a kind of pleading disgust. "I thought we were going to be friends again. I thought you were done being her fucking toy. But you're just going to crawl back for more, aren't you?"

Mia wanted to scream at Leah for seeing through her so easily. Instead, she stood up from the chair and snapped, "Why do you even care, Leah? You act like you're my mom or something. I'm not a child; I can make my own decisions."

Leah's jaw clenched. "You're right, Mia." She turned away, breaking eye contact. "I don't care anymore. Go get your heart broken again. See if I give a shit."

The words hurt more than Mia expected. "God, why are you so obsessed with who I see? Is it because you're jealous? You can't stand to see me with someone when you're still alone?"

"Get out." Leah's voice was chilling.

The words hung in the air for a second before Mia's hurt turned to anger. "Fine. You want to be a bitch? You can be one all by yourself." Her voice cracked. She grabbed her phone, keys, and a crumpled sweatshirt and left the room, slamming the door just loud enough to prove she could.

Mia was so angry she could barely see. She had no destination, just the need to be somewhere else. As she walked out of the freshmen dorm, Mia realized it was after midnight, and the cold air bit at her legs. After a few minutes of walking, her anger at Leah had mostly cooled down, but she couldn't go back and face her friend, not after what she had said. So she kept walking, but as she cut across the quad, she realized with a sick certainty where her feet were taking her.

She entered the senior dorm trying to convince herself that this was the wrong decision. But in the moment, she felt that there was a sort of inevitability about what was happening. As if she was always going to do this. Like Natalie was a black hole that inexorably pulled her in.

Mia walked up a staircase and found herself in front of Natalie's door. She watched her hand raise up, and then knock. The sound echoed in the hallway for a moment before the door swung inward.

"You've been a very bad girl, Mouse," Natalie said with a smile.