His Trash Became His Obsession

Riley's POV

My boyfriend looks at me like I'm trash. Too fat. Too plain. My clothes are ugly. He never misses a chance to tear me down.

I thought he was just mean. Then his "good friend" Sophie spilled coffee all over our ten-thousand-dollar control board.

That board was three months of work. Three months of all-nighters, twice I passed out from low blood sugar. It was our entry for the National Robotics Competition. The deadline's tomorrow. Now it's gone.

I confronted Sophie, and he stormed in, pulled her into his arms, and pointed his finger in my face. "It's just a stupid competition. Did you really need to come at Sophie like that?"

Turns out he's not just mean. He genuinely can't stand me.

"I'm so sorry, Riley, I really didn't mean to..."

Sophie covers her mouth, eyes already red and watery. She's shaking like she's the victim here.

The wreckage sits at her feet. Our "All-Terrain Autonomous Explorer" control board, three months of work from our entire team, now soaking in brown coffee. Ruined.

I stare at the floor through my thick black frames. My hands shake at my sides, nails digging into my palms.

Three months. The hope of everyone in the club. The deadline's tomorrow. Gone.

"I just wanted to bring you guys coffee, everyone looked so tired." Sophie's tears fall faster. "I didn't know you couldn't put drinks there. I slipped, that's all..."

"Sophie, I literally said it in yesterday's meeting. No liquids within ten feet of the main workstation. Can you not understand English?" My voice comes out hoarse, shaking.

Sophie steps back, crying harder now.

"Riley, don't look at me like that... I was trying to help. It's just a machine. I'll pay for it..."

"Pay for it?" The VP shoots up from his workstation. "Do you have any idea how much calibration data was stored in that board? That's irreplaceable. What exactly are you going to pay for?"

Another team member points at the door. "There's a huge 'NO FOOD OR DRINKS' sign right there. Are you blind? Riley literally just said this yesterday, and today you waltz in here with coffee. That's not an accident."

"I... I just wanted to..." Sophie's sobs get louder.

The lab door slams open.

Bryce strides in, jaw tight, but when he sees Sophie crying, something softens in his eyes.

"Bryce..." Sophie throws herself into his arms, gasping through tears. "Please, talk to Riley for me. I didn't mean it, she's being so mean..."

Bryce wraps an arm around Sophie's shoulders. His cold stare cuts into me.

He takes in my face, puffy from too many sleepless nights, the oversized hoodie hanging off my frame. Disgust flickers across his expression, barely concealed.

"Riley, what the hell is wrong with you?" His voice is ice. "Sophie was trying to do something nice. She accidentally broke your project. Did you really need to be this aggressive? Look at yourself. You're acting like a psycho. Is this how a club president acts?"

The words hit me like a punch.

This is the man I've loved for ten years. The man I followed here, the reason I came to Riverside, the reason I took over this disaster of a club.

"Bryce, look at what she destroyed. Three months of our team's work. National competition deadline is tomorrow. And you're telling me I'm the one in the wrong?" My voice shakes. My eyes sting.

"So what? It's a stupid competition. What about Sophie's trauma? Who's responsible for that?" He cuts me off, impatient. "You boss everyone around in this club already. Sophie's fragile, and you're taking your anger out on her. Riley, you're disappointing me."

Stupid competition.

Those words carve into me.

I skipped his birthday for this competition. I wanted to win prize money to buy him that watch he wanted. And now, everything I worked for means nothing to him.

Bryce doesn't even glance at me again. He wipes Sophie's tears gently. "Come on, stop crying. Let's just go."

At the door, he stops. Doesn't turn around. His voice is cold, dismissive. "Riley, when you learn to control that vicious temper of yours, then you can come find me. Think about where you went wrong."

After Bryce leaves, I take a breath and turn to the team. "Everyone go home and rest. Nothing we can do now."

The team packs up in silence and leaves one by one. The VP squeezes my shoulder before he goes, voice tight. "Riley, this wasn't your fault."

When everyone's gone, I'm alone in the empty lab.

Cold air drifts in through the window. I stand in front of the ruined metal, vision blurring.

Bryce's last words replay in my head.

Where did I go wrong? Was it letting Sophie into the lab? Or was it falling in love with someone who never loved me back?