Rooming With My Alpha Nemesis

Nova

My crush of ten years was having sex with a girl, and I was forced to listen to every second of it from the other room.

I pressed a pillow over my ears, but it barely muffled the sounds coming through the wall. The hostel apartment was small, with two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a shared living area, which meant there was no place I could escape to without still being close enough to hear them. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to think about anything else, but Angel's voice kept breaking through, followed by the unmistakable sound of the bed against the wall.

"Fuck, go harder," she moaned, and I felt my face burn with embarrassment and anger.

I had followed Jaxon to Wintercrest Hockey Academy because I couldn't bear the thought of losing him, even if staying close to him meant pretending to be someone I wasn't.

Today was my birthday—and Jaxon's too. We shared the same date, and I'd spent the entire morning convincing myself that this would finally be the day I stopped hiding. I would tell him how I felt, tell him who I really was, and confess that I was the person behind the anonymous messages he had been receiving. But instead of spending the evening with me, Jaxon had snuck Angel into the hostel on our very first day.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

That was enough. I threw the pillow aside, stormed across the small space, and knocked hard on their door.

"Can you two keep it fucking down?" I snapped, my voice shaking with fury.

The sounds stopped, and a moment later, Angel opened the door. She wore nothing but Jaxon's shirt, the fabric hanging loosely over her body, and she casually ran her fingers through her hair, while her eyes travelled over my face before she gave me a slow, knowing smile.

"Just say you're jealous and wish it was you," she said."

I nearly choked on my own breath. Before I could respond, Jaxon appeared behind her, shirtless and wearing only his boxers, his hair slightly messy, a faint flush still across his skin. For one humiliating second I forgot why I was angry. I had loved him for so long that even seeing him like that could still make my heart stumble. Then Angel shifted closer to him, and the feeling turned sour.

She looked back at me. "I knew it. The way you keep looking at him with so much love in your eyes, and now you even insisted on staying in the same hostel as him. Don't tell me you're gay."

"That's absurd," Jaxon said immediately, his expression tightening. "How can he be? He's very straight."

I stared at him, forcing my face to remain calm while the truth pressed painfully against my ribs. If only he knew that I was actually a girl. I had spent my entire life pretending to be a male omega because my father said it was the only way I could stay alive.

"Then why does he..." Angel began, but Jaxon cut her off.

"Just go inside."

Her smile disappeared. She glanced at him, clearly annoyed that he had interrupted her, then turned and walked back into the room. Jaxon waited until she was gone before facing me again, his expression softening.

"I'm sorry about that," he said. "I know I should have walked away, but... she called and apologized. I couldn't just ignore her."

He rubbed a hand over his hair, looking almost ashamed. I stared at him, unable to understand how he could say those words with a straight face. This was the sixth time Angel had cheated on him and apologised, and somehow he still loved her.

"It's okay," I said, even though nothing about it was okay.

Jaxon's eyes widened. “Ah, shit. I'm sorry. I completely forgot it was our birthday today. I'll make it up to you tomorrow.”

I swallowed the disappointment rising in my throat and forced a small smile. "Sure."

"Babes, come back. Let's go for another round."Angel called from inside the room.

Jaxon glanced toward the door, then gave me an apologetic look. "I have to go."

He hurried back inside, and the door closed behind him. A few seconds later, moans filled the whole apartment again.

Maybe I had made the wrong choice by picking the same hostel as his. I had thought being close to him would make everything easier, but all it had done was put me close enough to watch him choose someone else.

"First thing tomorrow, I'm requesting a room change," I whispered, wiping the tears from my cheeks. "I can't keep doing this."

I rushed back into my room and shut the door, but the moment I was alone, the little control I had left disappeared. I looked at the cake sitting on the table, at the things I had bought and arranged so carefully, and suddenly I couldn't stand the sight of any of it. I grabbed everything and tossed it aside, sobbing so hard that my chest hurt. Then I reached for the brown wig covering my hair and pulled it off, letting my white hair fall around my face. I removed the contacts from my eyes and stared at my reflection, finally seeing the person I had wanted Jaxon to meet for once.

I had wanted to tell him that I was the girl behind the anonymous account, the one he had been talking to without knowing who she was. That account had been the only place I could speak to him as myself, where I could flirt with him, laugh with him, and pretend that maybe he could love me if he ever knew the truth.

My phone beeped. I looked down at the screen and froze when I saw the name.

It was Jaxon, messaging me with the anonymous account. The noise from his room had stopped, and now he was writing to me instead.

[ Hey. Are you there? ]

I stared at the screen until my vision blurred. I had been planning to surprise him tonight, to tell him everything, but now the entire thing felt ridiculous. I was done with him. I tossed the phone onto the bed and turned away.