Mismatched

Chapter 2

"What?" Yvette hollered. "You got paired with Jace Leighton? Are you serious? That guy is an asshole! How is it possible that he is your soulmate? How did the app algorithm even assign you two together? I bet his dad created this app to bring you two back together."

I rolled my eyes. "I don't think even the creator of the app can do something like that. Besides, his dad doesn't even handle apps or any form of technology in the first place. I chose to tap on his heart. It's on me. I was just trying to make friends."

"Little did you know..." she sighed.

"Little did I know that I had dug my own grave by doing that," I completed with a sigh. "Can you believe I tapped his heart after some consideration? I only wanted to tap on the hearts of those in the wolf team but he seemed like a good player so I tapped on his too!"

"Any regrets?" she asked.

I rolled my eyes. "A shit ton of regrets. Gosh, this is a total mismatch. This whole app is rigged. Why did I download it?"

She shrugged. "Too bad," she said. "But maybe it's a sign from Heaven for you two to give it another shot. I mean, it's been five years. Perhaps he has changed for the better. Maybe he's a good man now."

"Why are you siding with him all of a sudden?" I asked, giving her a disgusted look.

"I'm not. I'm just trying to give a new perspective," she replied. "If he ever asks you out to talk about your past or something, I think you should agree just to see how much he has changed from high school. You never know. He may be husband material now."

I rolled my eyes once again. "Jace Leighton? Husband material? Those two things don't go together. Like ever. Do you have any idea what you're suggesting?"

"Yes, I do. I believe that everyone deserves a second chance," she said firmly.

"I thought you hated Jace!" I hollered.

"That's just you, Bella," she deadpanned. "I never said I hated him. Sure, I'm upset with him for hurting you so badly, I think he's an asshole, but I don't have a specific reason to hate him. I'm just neutral. Still, everyone deserves a second chance. He does too."

I thought for a moment. "I'll think about it," I muttered. Maybe she's right. Maybe he's changed. Maybe he's no longer the old Jace Leighton I knew, loved and hated. I shook those thoughts away. I can't let myself fall for him again.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I would be really stupid to fall for the same tricks again. Forgiving him is giving him a chance to hurt me again.

"Do you want to check his texts?" she asked.

I looked at her for a few seconds before nodding. "Okay," I replied as I took out my phone. There were a lot of notifications from GameSetMatch. A few of them were from the app itself, prompting me to use it. Most of them were from Jace.

I opened our chat and read his texts: I'm so sorry for what I did. I know I'm in no place to ask for your forgiveness but I just want to let you know that I'm very sorry. I hurt your feelings and I feel very bad about it. I was a coward. The most cowardly coward in the world for hurting you. The dumbest of the dumbest for leaving you. I'm sorry, Belle.

A long message? That's something you will never see from Jace Leighton... unless he actually spent some time thinking through his words and wrote them down. He actually poured his heart and soul into this message.

Did he say that he regretted leaving me? What was that supposed to mean? I felt my heart beat a little faster. Gosh, why is my heart racing over him? Stop it. He hurt you, Belinda. Stop thinking about the hidden meanings behind his messages. Stop!