Winter's Mate: Fated on Ice

3

Rosie's POV

Christmas Day Evening

I took the communal bus back to Silverwestern, dreading what I would face when I got back.

God, I wasn't ready. I wasn't prepared for any confrontation.

I rubbed my face as the bus passed familiar roads, and I could feel my heart picking up at what was to come. I wanted to turn and run away, but I couldn't do that. I had a life here.

But even if I ran away, where would I go? Nowhere.

Then amber eyes flashed in my mind, and I felt a warm feeling sink into me and I wondered what that was. I'd stared at Jude's peaceful face this morning and felt something pulling at me not to leave him, but I couldn't do that.

That was why I left him a note : Thank you for everything last night. I'm sorry I can't stay-I need to figure things out. You're a good person, Jude Winters. I hope you have a Merry Christmas. - Rosie

I couldn't be more shameless in overstaying his kindness.

As the bus pulled up to my apartment building, I breathed deeply. If anyone had told me I'd be here alone when I'd traveled to enjoy a vacation with my twin sister and boyfriend...

I carried my duffel bag inside with a grunt as I entered the shared apartment. Sophia's room door was closed-either she wasn't back or she was keeping to herself. I unlocked my door and entered my room, dropped the bag down, then collapsed onto my crumpled bed and sighed.

God, what could I do now?

I rubbed my hands over my face and pulled out my dead phone. I grabbed my charger and plugged it in to see what was happening. When the phone lit up showing it was charging, I switched it on.

As soon as wifi connected, thousands of notifications bombarded my screen. My throat tightened. One message stood out.

A text from Josh.

My hands trembled, my throat bobbing at seeing his name. In one swift motion, I opened the message, and my heart plummeted. My phone shook in my hands.

Josh:

How's it feel to be famous overnight?

I read and reread the message before my phone rang out. I saw Kira's name flash on the screen. I wiped my sweaty hands and swiped to answer.

"Hello, Rosie, are you there?" Kira's frantic voice filled the phone, and I had to pull it away from my ear.

"Hi," I managed.

"Thank fuck!" she breathed out. "I've been trying to get to you since last night. Your number was unreachable."

"Oh, my phone was off. I'm just charging it now. I'm in my room."

"Good... Rosie," she called softly. "Have you seen it? It's everywhere."

My chest constricted. I could feel myself hyperventilating.

It was everywhere?

"Don't look at the comments. Please don't look," Kira's worried voice came through, but it didn't help. My brain went foggy as I rushed to the school forum.

It was everywhere.

Silverwestern subreddit, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter. Every platform had it-my face, my name, my shame.

My hands shook as I clicked the video.

There I was. Face flushed, eyes half-closed, mouth open. The sounds-my sounds-echoed from my phone speaker. Moans. Gasps.

The humiliation was unbearable, but what broke my heart apart was that Josh's face was blurred.

The betrayal cut deeper. I was the only one visible, fully exposed. I watched myself be violated all over again, as tears stung my eyes, my lips trembling.

When I scrolled down, my eyes caught the comments. With every word I read, blood drained from my face.

"Isn't that Josh Carter's girlfriend?? What a SLUT"

"She's cheating on Josh??? He's too good for her"

"Fat bitch doesn't deserve him anyway"

"Hope Josh dumps her disgusting ass"

"She really thought someone like Josh would stay with HER. "

"Yo if she needs another man I'm available."

"Fat girls are the freakiest"

"Hit me up I got time"

"She desperate enough, I'll volunteer"

"Know your place"

"Attention whore"

"Desperate fatty"

My stomach twisted. The room spun as I read those comments, and bile crawled up my throat. My stomach churned, and through hazy vision, I rushed out of the room to the shared bathroom. I barely reached the toilet before I vomited.

I sat on the cold floor, the disgusting taste of vomit in my mouth. The humiliation and betrayal overwhelmed me as I started crying, my body shaking.

At that moment, the front door opened. Sophia strode in, her face scrunched in disgust when she saw me on the bathroom floor surrounded by my own vomit.

My face burned with humiliation.

Sophia walked closer, her nose wrinkling as she chewed her gum nonchalantly, eyeing me with contempt.

"Oh, you're still here?" Sophia's voice dripped with mock surprise. "Thought you'd have run home by now." She examined her nails casually, as if this were the most normal thing in the world.

"Josh is mine now, by the way." she said casually, "and has been for a while."

My breath hitched, and she took in my shocked expression.

"Oh, you didn't know?" She laughed mockingly. "The whole thing? The bet? It was my idea."

Fresh tears threatened to spill from my eyes.

"Lasted three months. God, it was exhausting watching you make a fool of yourself." She laughed, waving her hand dismissively. "But so worth it."

"Why?" The word fell out. "You're my sister-"

"Sister?" She scoffed. "Please. We might share DNA but that doesn't make us the same. I'm the pretty twin, remember? The one Mom and Dad are actually proud of."

She blew on her nails, bored. "You're always so proud, Rosie. Walking around with your good grades like that makes up for how you look." She mocked in a high voice. "So pure. So innocent. So sweet." She leaned closer. "Well, look at you now. Not so pure anymore, are you?"

"Why?!" I screamed, body trembling. She was my twin sister. We'd shared a womb. We grew up together.

"I wanted to see all that innocence destroyed. You know what's funny? I hate you because you are always there to share mom and dad's attention but we both know that's a lie. They always loved me more. And now everyone else can see why." She flicked my forehead. "This is exactly where you belong-on the floor. Fat pig." she popped her gum, "It's so humiliating and embarrassing if people know you are my twin."

Sophia stood up with a disgusted expression and spat on the floor. "Clean up before you go. You're disgusting."

She slammed the door in my face, and the click of her heels receded down the hall.

Something inside me shattered-not just heartbreak, but everything. Even though the bond between me and Sophia was broken since childhood, I still held her close because she was my other half, even though I was always self conscious and hid behind her shadow and wished her good, I didn't think I would be planning to destroy my life. Used the revelation about my crush on Josh to break me.

The person who was supposed to understand me better than anyone had betrayed me in the cruelest way possible.

A sob tore through my throat. My ribcage squeezed my lungs, and I couldn't breathe. It was getting hard to breathe as I wheezed, my brain getting fuzzy, my chest heaving.

I didn't know how many minutes or hours passed while I sat in the bathroom, wallowing in self-pity, before Kira showed up and helped me up.

"Rosie?" Kira's frantic voice. "Rosie, where are you?" She appeared in the doorway, and her face shifted from shock to horror.

"Oh my God." She dropped beside me, not caring about the vomit. "Rosie. I've got you."

Her hands were gentle as she helped me up, half-carrying me past Sophia's closed door where cheerful music played. Into my room. She sat me on the bed.

"I'm going to clean you up, okay?"

I didn't respond. I couldn't, it was like my brain stopped functioning.

Kira wiped my face with a damp towel, helped me clean my pajamas and I barely registered it happening. She disappeared maybe to clean the bathroom and when she came back, she pressed a glass of warm water into my hands.

"Drink it. It'll help the queasy feeling."

I stared at the glass, but I didn't comprehend her words. The ringing of my phone pulled me out of the fog. With weak hands, I picked it up.

"Come home. We have something to discuss." My mother's voice was ice cold before she hung up.

And I smiled. No, I laughed maniacally without humor, tears streaming from the corners of my eyes, because I knew why they wanted me home.

They'd seen it.