Chapter 3 He Already Knew

Fred and I had met through a competitive online game during my senior year of high school.

I weighed 200 pounds at the time.

The boys in my class had nicknamed me "the double-door fridge."

The girls never joined in openly, but they weren't much better. I could still recall how their conversations would suddenly become quieter whenever I walked past them, and how giggles would break out behind me a few seconds later.

I knew what they were laughing about.

Our teacher made us run half a mile one day during gym.

I finished dead last, struggling for air so badly that I genuinely thought I might pass out before reaching the finish line.

The boy I had a crush on happened to be standing nearby.

When I stumbled in his direction, he immediately backed away from me with a disgusted look on his face. "Don't fall on me."

His friends started laughing.

"There might be an earthquake if you hit the ground. Who could possibly catch you?"

The entire class burst into mocking laughter.

That night, I logged into the game because I didn't feel like talking to anyone in real life. I'd much rather lose myself in a few matches than think about what had happened at school.

That was the night Fred added me.

He seemed surprised by how I sounded the first time we spoke through voice chat.

"Your voice sounds so sweet! Are you sure you're not a voice actress?"

He asked me the same thing more than once, but his reaction made me laugh every single time.

After that night, we started playing ranked matches together almost every evening.

Whenever one of our teammates blamed me for something or started insulting me, Fred was usually the first person to turn on his microphone.

"It's only a game. Why are you getting this worked up?"

He was just as patient whenever I was having a bad day. Sometimes, we would stay online long after we had stopped playing, and he would talk to me until I felt better.

"Who decided that being bigger means you can't be pretty? Chubby girls can be cute too."

One day, he told me something I remembered for months afterward.

"Lauren, I don't care what you look like. I'll like you anyway."

I had foolishly believed him.

For the first time in my life, those words made me wonder whether someone might actually like me without caring about my weight.

I thought that maybe I deserved something that pure.

It was such a small thought, but it had meant everything to me back then.

Alas, things changed six months ago.

Fred accidentally found an old social media account that was still connected to my gaming profile. The account showed my real name, the high school I attended, and several old photos of me.

His attitude toward me began to change soon after.

Before that, we could easily exchange dozens of messages in a single day. When he found that account, our conversations became shorter until most days consisted of nothing more than a good morning message and another one before bed.

I asked him more than once whether something was wrong.

He would use SATs as an excuse every single time.

I'd bought that excuse, never questioning him.

Now, the truth seemed painfully obvious.

It wasn't college.

He saw my pictures.

The realization made everything else fall into place.

Fred had known what I looked like for six months.

He simply hadn't wanted to admit that my appearance bothered him.

He didn't break up with me.

I could think of the top of my head as to why he kept me close.

I was skilled at the game and helped him improve his rankings.

I shared my school notes whenever he asked.

He would call me whenever he felt anxious, frustrated, or down. I was a good listener, willingly comforting him and staying with him until he felt better.

He hadn't been holding on to our relationship because he loved me. He simply didn't want to give up a useful tool.

Regardless, that dice game before orientation day had given him the perfect excuse to end things between us.

He didn't have to break up with me himself. Instead, he could laugh it off as part of the game and pass me to someone else.

My phone rang again.

Fred's name appeared on the screen.

This time, I answered.

His irritation came through immediately. "What was that little act between you and Oliver in the group chat?"

I frowned. "He defended me once. How does that make it an act?"

Fred let out a cold laugh. "Do you seriously think a guy like Oliver would defend some random girl for no reason?"

I didn't bother responding.

He continued, "Don't assume that having a pretty voice means you can actually get Oliver interested in you. His standards are even higher than mine. You're only going to humiliate yourself if you show up tomorrow."

I stayed quiet for a couple of seconds before finally asking the question that had been sitting in the back of my mind. "So, you think I'm not good enough for you?"

Fred hesitated. "That's not what I mean."

"Then, why did you bet 10,000 dollars that I wouldn't show up?"

He had nothing to retort.

The silence stretched between us until he finally let out an irritated breath. "Fine. Is this what you want? Do you want to force me to say it?"

My fingers tightened around the phone.

Fred continued, "Lauren, I already know what you look like. What we have online is fine, but real life is different. We're not a good match in real life. You can't blame me for that. Guys are attracted to pretty girls."

Then, he added something that almost made me laugh out of sheer anger, "I haven't blocked you. This is me trying to save you some dignity."

For a moment there, I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

The dull ache that had been lingering in my chest seemed to disappear into a wisp of smoke as something cold took its place.

I loosened my grip on the phone. "Wow. Thank you. What a gentleman."

Fred missed my sarcasm by a mile and more.

His tone actually softened, as though he thought I had finally understood how reasonable he was being. "Just don't come tomorrow. I'll give you back the 3,000 dollars."

He paused briefly before continuing, "Rita is going to be there as well. It's only going to make things worse for you if you stand next to her."

I waited a moment before asking, "You know Rita pretty well, huh?"

The line went completely silent.

His answer took just a little too long.

"Don't overthink things. There's nothing going on between us."

A slow smile spread across my face. 'Is that so, Freddie ol' boy? It looks like tomorrow night is going to be a lot more interesting than I thought.'