Dumped My First Love Outside the Dorm

I break up with my childhood sweetheart, Daphne Hogan, right outside my dorm. She doesn't even look up from her phone. "Just because I ditched you for him at dinner the other night?" "Yes." Daphne figures I'm just throwing a tantrum. Her fingers fly across her screen as she replies to a freshman's texts. Whatever message he sends makes her rush off. Before leaving, she gives me a fond, exasperated sigh. "Don't be silly. Get some sleep tonight. You have a hiking drill tomorrow. I'll be there." Daphne walks away without looking back, completely missing the finality in my eyes. It's time to put an end to this childhood romance. Chapter 1 I called Dad and told him that I'd finally agreed to go abroad. Then, I headed over to my girlfriend Daphne Hogan's off-campus apartment and packed up every last bit of my stuff. I couldn't help but think back to yesterday. She had promised to be my plus-one for my dorm's dinner party, only to completely ghost me. At the restaurant, I dialed her number over and over again under the judgmental, mocking stares of my roommates. "Hey Jenson, looks like your girlfriend doesn't care all that much about you after all," said a roommate who always loved pushing my buttons. He shot me a loaded, smirking look. I bit my tongue and lied, claiming that Daphne had a sudden emergency. They burst into laughter and pointed behind me. I turned around, and the scene before me made my mind go completely blank. Daphne was sitting by the window, right across from another guy. He was carefully feeding her a piece of steak on a fork. "Thanks for helping me out so much, Daphne. I honestly don't know what I would've done without you." Trembling with rage, I marched straight over to their table. Daphne's expression instantly softened when she saw me. She grabbed my hand and offered a casual smile. "Nate messed up today and got chewed out by the drill leader. He was pretty bummed, so I brought him out for a nice dinner to cheer him up." After explaining, she switched to her usual sweet tone to soothe me. "Come on, babe, it's just a dorm dinner. There'll be plenty more. I'll make it up to you next time." It was always Nathan Baxter. Ever since she became the freshman orientation advisor, that name had been on her lips constantly. Without me even realizing it, he had gone from "that clueless freshman" to "Nathan", and now, to the cozy nickname of "Nate". Before I could say anything through my gritted teeth, Nathan chimed in, grinning, "Hey there, Jenson. I'm just a slow learner, you know? Thank goodness Daphne is patient enough to walk me through everything." Looking at his perfectly styled hair, practically plastered in gel despite us being in the middle of orientation training activities, I couldn't help but sneer. "If you know you're slow, maybe spend less time on your hair and more time practicing. That way, you won't be the only freshman in the entire department who can't even remember the basic drills." Nathan's grin instantly vanished, and his eyes welled with tears. Daphne snapped at me. "Jenson, why do you have to be so mean? Apologize to Nate right now!" I didn't give her the chance to berate me any further. I just turned and walked out. That night, I curled up in my bed. My roommates' muffled jeers kept drifting through my bed curtains. My tears silently soaked into my pillow. Swallowing the bitterness, I stubbornly clutched my phone, waiting for Daphne to text and comfort me. Since childhood, even when we argued, we never gave each other the silent treatment for more than an hour. Daphne would always act cute to cheer me up until she made me laugh through my tears. But this time, there was no text from her. Instead, I saw an Instagram post from Nathan. "Feeling totally spoiled by my senior! She's staying out super late to help me practice, and she even bought me drinks! She's the best!" The attached photo showed Daphne's beautiful profile under the dim streetlights. I stared at the picture for a few seconds. The anxiety that had been crushing my chest all night finally settled into a heavy ache. It was a lingering, bitter taste of reality. Chapter 2 Back then, just because Daphne had said that she wanted to see me every day, I had foolishly rejected my parents' plans for me to study abroad and made up my mind to attend the same university as her. Even though I didn't care for the school or the major, I was naive enough to believe that as long as I could be with Daphne every single day, it would all be worth it. I clenched my fists, overwhelmed by how worthless that choice felt now and how pathetic I had been to give everything up for her. Just then, a notification from my study-abroad agency snapped me back to reality. Sitting in the empty room with my head hung low, I methodically gathered all the necessary documents and hit send. … By evening, I had just finished packing when the front door clicked open. Daphne walked in, laughing and chatting with a few of her friends. Nathan was with them. I heard his sheepish voice carry into the apartment. "This is so embarrassing. I didn't see the rock. I tripped and fell right into the lake. I'm totally soaked. It's a good thing I left some clothes with you last time, Daphne." Those words hit me like a bucket of ice water, leaving me completely numb. Daphne had rented this apartment because her schedule didn't align with her roommates'. I usually stayed in my dorm and only came over occasionally. How could she let Nathan come here, let alone leave his clothes? Unaware that I was in the room, they continued talking without a care in the world. "Impressive, Daphne. Not only did Jenson give up going abroad for you, but now, Nathan is totally head over heels for you too." "Honestly, Jenson might have the looks, but he's way too cold. He's nothing like Nathan. Nathan is so sweet and considerate." Her friends started egging Daphne on, telling her to just dump me and date Nathan instead. Daphne did absolutely nothing to stop them. She just offered a faint smile and said, "Don't talk nonsense. I only see Nate as a younger brother." That affectionate tone immediately drew a chorus of teasing groans. "Oh, please. You're so close to him. Doesn't Jenson throw a fit?" "Let him." She let out a dismissive scoff. "He loves me so much that he gave up studying abroad. He's never going to break up with me. He'll throw his little tantrum and then come crawling right back." That scoff was the final straw that shattered what little sanity I had left. Why? Why did my unyielding devotion to her become nothing more than bragging rights and leverage to manipulate me? As they joked about how well she had me wrapped around her finger, I felt like a humiliated clown. With tears pricking my eyes, I stormed out into the living room. The laughter died instantly. Just as I wanted to open my mouth to speak, I noticed the Ragdoll cat cradled in Nathan's arms. My voice instantly carried a barely perceptible tremor. "Who brought a cat in here? Get it out now!" I had asthma, and cat hair was one of my worst triggers. Daphne knew this perfectly well, yet she still allowed Nathan to bring it over. "Sunny is the cat Nate keeps in his dorm. The dorm manager has been cracking down lately, so I told him I'd look after it for a bit." Smiling, Nathan shoved the cat directly toward my chest. "Do you want to hold it, Jenson? It's adorable!" The moment the long cat hair brushed against my cheek, my airways violently constricted. It felt as though an invisible hand had clamped around my throat. "Get it away…" I gasped like a fish out of water. Every single breath sent sharp stabs of pain through my chest. Driven by pure survival instinct, I used every ounce of my remaining strength to shove him away. Nathan and the cat went tumbling to the floor, and I collapsed right after them, completely drained. "How could you do that?" Nathan whimpered, instantly playing the victim. "You're just mad because Daphne bought me dinner, aren't you? But Sunny didn't do anything wrong…" His shoulders shook, and Daphne's friends immediately jumped to his defense. "What is wrong with your boyfriend? It's bad enough that he's petty, but now he's bullying people?" "How could anyone be this cruel to hurt such a cute little cat? Honestly, Daphne, I don't know how you've put up with him for so many years!" Their accusations only made my breathing tighter. The suffocating pressure brought a sudden rush of tears to my eyes. Humiliated and helpless, I reached a trembling hand out toward Daphne. "My inhaler…" Chapter 3 Whenever my asthma had flared up in the past, Daphne would always be the first to shove my inhaler into my hand. She had even made it a habit to carry one with her everywhere she went. But now, she stood there with her arms crossed, making absolutely no move to help. "Jenson, you've been taking things a bit too far these past couple of days. Haven't you thrown enough of a tantrum? Stop using this same old trick to manipulate me. Honestly, I've been meaning to ask. Does your asthma really flare up that easily?" With that, Daphne didn't give me another glance. She turned around to softly comfort a crying Nathan, telling him that they were taking the cat to the vet. I wanted to beg her to stay, but all that came out was a wheezing rasp. I could only watch helplessly as she walked away. The apartment fell dead silent, save for the ragged sound of my own gasping. Gradually, as the last bit of oxygen in my chest drained away, my consciousness began to slip. Just then, a fair hand reached out and pressed the inhaler into my grip. Once my breathing finally stabilized, I dragged my exhausted body back to my dorm and crashed. I kept telling myself to just endure it for a little while longer. As soon as my university offer from abroad arrived, I could leave all of this behind. When I woke up, all the freshmen were rounding up to head into the mountains for a mandatory hiking drill. Right as we set off, Daphne, who was accompanying us as a student council member, blocked my path. "Move," I said, glaring at her coldly. She acted like she didn't hear a single word. As she had countless times before, she familiarly snatched my backpack from me. "Like I'd ever let you carry all this heavy weight. You just focus on walking light." That affectionate tone made it seem as though the ugly scenes from the past two days had never happened. After saying that, she even reached up to playfully pinch my cheek, her gaze full of warmth. Keeping my face expressionless, I tried to take my bag back, but it was no use. Frustrated, I brushed past her and stormed ahead. Looking pleased, she hugged the pure black backpack that didn't match her image at all and leaned in toward me. "Okay, fine. I'm apologizing, alright?" She expected to completely erase all the agony and humiliation she had caused me yesterday with one casual sentence. In the past, whenever she put on that pitiful look, I would have immediately smiled and pulled her into my arms to make up. But now, it only made my stomach turn. How could she lead two guys on so shamelessly and act like it was second nature? How could she give Nathan the very favoritism that once belonged only to me, then have the nerve to stand here and beg for my forgiveness? "We're broken up. And I'm not forgiving you." I dropped the words coldly and picked up my pace. This time, Daphne didn't chase after me. The mountain trail grew steeper, and the line of students moved at a crawl toward the summit. Just as I braced myself to push up a sharp incline, a sudden gasp echoed ahead. Nathan, who had somehow gotten ahead of me in the line, suddenly lost his footing. His body lurched backward, and he fell straight toward me. I instinctively reached out to steady him, but Nathan used the momentum to grab a fistful of my shirt. Before I could even register what was happening, I also lost my balance, and we both crashed hard onto the gravel. A sharp sting flared in my palms as they scraped open. "Babe! Are you okay? What happened?" Daphne rushed to my side first, looking anxiously at my bleeding hands. "Daphne, it hurts so bad…" Nathan's weak whimper from the ground instantly drew her attention away. He was clutching his ankle, his eyes brimming with tears as he looked up at Daphne. He shot a glance in my direction, as if he were silently accusing me. But he didn't say a single word. He just bit his lip and let the tears well up. Daphne immediately shot me a reproachful look. Her voice was laced with anger as she demanded, "Jenson, it's one thing to be mad at me, but why would you deliberately push Nate down? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?" I pushed him down? The sheer absurdity and injustice of it sent a sharp pang through my chest. It hurt a hundred times worse than the scrapes on my hands. I struggled to my feet and raised my voice. "He grabbed me and dragged me down with him! Why are you blaming me? Nathan, why don't you tell her what actually happened?" Faced with Daphne's questioning look, Nathan shrank back as if terrified, pressing his lips tightly together and keeping his head down. Chapter 4 Nathan's silence only made Daphne more certain of her assumptions. The look she gave me was filled with utter disappointment and exhaustion. "Enough, Jenson. Stop bullying him. There needs to be a limit to your jealousy. I honestly didn't think that… you'd ever turn into someone like this." With that, she carefully helped Nathan up and guided him over to a flat patch of ground nearby to rest. I stood there frozen, watching her walk away. Memories from high school flooded my mind. At that time, another guy had framed me for stealing money. She had stood firmly by my side without doubting me for a single second. "Babe, you don't have to explain anything. I will always believe you, no matter what." It turned out that "always" had an expiration date. After hours of nonstop trekking, we finally reached the summit. The group was only staying briefly before heading back down. The scorching sun had left my throat parched. My water bottle was in my backpack, so I tracked Daphne down in the crowd and asked her for it in a raspy voice. But when I pulled the zipper open, my heart sank. My water bottle was gone. Seeing my stunned expression, Daphne offered a detached explanation. "Nate ran out of water, so I gave him yours. Just consider it an apology for dragging him down earlier." She paused for a brief moment, then her tone softened as she relented. "Look, he's fine, so I'm not going to blame you anymore. Just don't do it again. I'll have him give your water bottle back to you now." A short distance away, under the shade of a tree, Nathan was taking small sips from my bottle. "Ugh, this hike completely ruined my sneakers," he grumbled. Then, right before my eyes, he tipped the bottle and poured the remaining water all over his mud-stained shoes. "What the hell are you doing?" I roared and lunged forward to grab it. He let out a startled cry and let go. The bottle crashed onto the muddy ground, empty. My eyes flared with rage as I yelled at him, "What is wrong with you? You used my drinking water to clean your shoes?" "Babe, calm down…" Daphne tried to intervene as she caught up, but I fiercely shoved her back, causing her to stumble. "I already told you that his fall had absolutely nothing to do with me! Why should I apologize to him? What gives you the right to just hand my stuff over to him? Who are you trying to play the saint for?" My throat was so dry that it felt like it was on fire. Daphne looked at my bloodshot eyes and sighed. "Nate just likes to be clean. He didn't do it on purpose. Don't be so petty. The student council logistics team has spare bottled water. I'll grab you one. Just stay here and wait for me." With that, she turned and hurried off. Nathan's eyes darted back and forth, as if he were plotting something. The next second, he followed after her. The blood from the scrapes on my palms had dried into an uncomfortable, sticky crust. I hadn't had a single drop of water in hours. My vision was beginning to blur, darkness creeping in at the edges. With no other choice, I sat down on the spot, waiting for Daphne to bring the bottled water. But even when the crowd gradually packed up and began their descent, there was still no sign of her. With a grim expression, I pulled out my phone to message her, only to see a photo someone had just dropped into the freshman group chat. "Why are we getting hit with couple goals even during a hiking drill?" Scrolling through the chat, I realized that Nathan had suddenly gotten dizzy from heatstroke. Daphne had hooked his arm around her, pulling him close so their bodies pressed tightly together. They had hurried into the car waiting halfway up the hill and left ahead of schedule. A profound sense of grief and misery washed over me. The Daphne I'd known for over a decade seemed dead to me. The woman who could discard me so easily felt like a stranger. The sun beat down mercilessly overhead. Dizzy and lightheaded, I helplessly buried my face between my knees. If I passed out from dehydration right here, I wondered how long it would take for someone to notice and drag me back. As my mind spiraled, a familiar voice drifted into my ears. "Jenson, the news says there will be a Perseid meteor shower tonight. Want to watch it together?"