She Ruined Me, So I Loved Her / Chapter 1: The Bet That Changed Everything
She Ruined Me, So I Loved Her

She Ruined Me, So I Loved Her

Author: Elizabeth Baker

Chapter 1: The Bet That Changed Everything

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I took Carter Lang’s spot as valedictorian—yeah, I know, dramatic—and the very next day, the girl he’d loved forever confessed her feelings to me.

There was just something so unmistakably American about the way Savannah Pierce looked me straight in the eye, her face bright with that sunlit, West Coast confidence, and asked, “How about ditching all the pressure and just being a slacker with me?” For a second, I wondered if she was for real.

I was hooked instantly. Honestly, it wasn’t even a fair fight—she had me at ‘ditch.’ Pathetic, right?

From that moment on, I stopped reading, stopped studying, and hung out with her without a care in the world. I let myself spiral. With her, it was all recklessness, all the time.

We’d spend hours at the Dairy Queen, talking about nothing, skipping classes to drive out to the reservoir—windows down, music blasting. Sticky fingers from melting ice cream. Sunburn on my arm. I let myself get lost in her world—a little wild, a little dangerous, totally intoxicating.

Then came the day the SATs ended, and out of nowhere, she kissed me for the first time. Afterwards, she asked if I’d go to community college with her.

We were sitting on the hood of her old Mustang in the high school parking lot, summer heat shimmering off the blacktop. She leaned over, lips cool with cherry ChapStick. And in that moment, everything flipped. My heart felt like it was stuck between the past and something completely new.

That’s when I realized—yeah, that was her real reason for getting close to me. A little bitter, a little sharp.

But this time, I just held up my Columbia acceptance letter. “I mean, I had a great time, but...”

Columbia. My ticket out. It felt heavy as hell in my palm. For a split second, I almost wanted to rip it up. Almost.

“But my future’s too important. I can’t stick around.” My voice trailed off. Sorry, Savannah.

*

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