Rhea Ripley- Masterpiece

Chapter 5

Months pass by after the I Quit match. There has been a rivalry between Demi and I. Well, not us technically. It's between Rhea and Parker. Behind the scenes, Demi and I have been working on ourselves separately and together.

Because I lost the match, I automatically had to stop fighting the soulmate bond. I didn't fully give in, but I did stop fighting all together. I haven't let my guard down though.

I gave more of an effort to hang out with Demi and to get to know her. We've got some things in common and some things we don't. I can say with confidence that we are taking things slow. That's pretty unusual since it's common to hear soulmates kiss within the first week of meeting. Within the first month they perform the mating ritual and within the first year they marry.

As much as people would want to see that with Demi and I, we won't do that. It's been months and we haven't even kissed or shared a bed yet. I don't think we've even held hands yet.

There's a part of me that wants to, but I'm scared. I'm scared of ruining this and getting hurt. There's also a part of me that cares for Demi. The piece of me that doesn't want to hurt her again.

It seems as of late, that is to be tested. Recently, I've been getting into arguments with my roommate. It's over stupid things like I'm home too often or the house needs cleaned or even about stupid things that shouldn't matter.

Today, he walked into a phone call I'm having with Rhea. "Yeah, I heard the new Ice Nine Kills song. Yeah, I liked it." There was a pause. "You need to calm down. It was good, but it wasn't that good."

I looked over and saw my roommate, Jake walk in the room. We waved at each other and I let them know Demi is on the phone. We finished up our conversation and I hung up. "Hey, bestie!"

I smiled at them. "Hey, bestie. Sorry, Rhea called me and wanted to talk about a new Ice Nine Kills song. She's obsessed with it."

"Oh, that's great. You've been talking to her a lot lately." He took a step closer and smiled bigger. "Does somebody have a crush?"

I rolled my eyes and chuckled. "No, not a crush. Ok, well, kinda." I rubbed the back of my head.

"Oh really? Well now you gotta give me details!" Now Jake and I are on opposite sides of the counter and he's leaning on it, showing nothing but pure interest.

"Well, Demi is kinda maybe my soulmate?" My voice cracked because of how high it went.

"She's your what?! Oh my God, bestie!" He hurried around the counter to engulf me in a tight hug. "This is great news! I'm so happy for you. Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Bestie, you've heard me talk about this before. I didn't even want a soulmate. I just wanted to focus on my career." They let go of me and backed up a step.

"Uh, excuse me? You're kidding, right?" I shrugged my shoulders in response. "You realize we're talking about your soulmate, right? The literal person that was created just for you. The person you are, I don't know, destined to be with!"

"Yes, I know, Jake. Nobody let's me forget that." I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"Then what's the problem, bestie?"

I took a sip of some water I grabbed while I was on the phone with Demi. "I don't know. I guess I'm scared." Jake threw a confused look my way. "This would be my first for everything, bestie. I've never been in a relationship before. I've never had my first kiss and I'm a virgin."

"That's not a bad thing, bestie. That just means you can learn along the way." He gave me a pat on the shoulder for support. I sighed and rubbed my face with my hands. "What's bugging you, bestie?"

"I'm terrified, Jake. I don't wanna get hurt. I don't want to hurt Demi either."

Bestie Jake sighed and shook his head. "I doubt you could ever do that. Soulmates are legit destiny. You're both written in the stars. How could that ever happen?"

My eyes widened and I took another sip of my water. "Yeah, uh-" I cleared my throat. "I may have already done that."

"Wait, you already hurt her?" Jake passed and rubbed their face dramatically. They sighed and mentally prepared themself. "Ok, what happened?"

I nervously chuckled. "I may or may not have fought the bond for like a week straight, maybe more, trying to sever it. I also considered rejecting Demi at some point."

"I'm sorry, what?" I shrugged, feeling very awkward about this. "You fought against fate itself, which I know would hurt both of you, and you thought it was a good idea!"

"I said I fought against it, I never said it was a good idea." This caused Jake to facepalm pretty hard.

"BESTIE!"

I cringed when they shouted. "Yes?"

"That isn't good, like at all." They took a step back.

"Like I said before, bestie. I didn't want a soulmate. That I Quit match we had was personal. If I won, we walk away and act like the bond never existed. If she won, I had to give in and not only accept the bond, but stop fighting and let things happen naturally."

Jake groaned with annoyance and gave me the biggest eye roll I've seen. "Ok, respectfully, you need to get your shit together, Ryder. Or else I might just swoop in and take Demi for myself."

I chuckled out of amusement. "Yeah right, bestie."

"I'm serious, I'll do it. If you dont want her, then why cant i make a move?" He crossed his arms, a serious expression on his face.

"Youre not even her type. You can't do that, Jake." I felt a wave of jealousy and possession wash over me.

"Oh? And why not?"

I took a step closer to them. "Because she's mine!" After those words came out of my mouth, I froze and my eyes widened. "Woah......that's new."

Jake put a supportive hand on my shoulder. "Bestie, I think you should go to her. Spend some time with your soulmate and let the bond grow on its own."

"What if I don't wanna go?" I said in a joking way.

"I can understand your nerves, however, you're going. I'm kicking you out of the house. Go be with Demi for as long as you need to."