Chapter 4

The day before I left, Ethan invited me to Lena's birthday dinner.

By the time I arrived, the five of them were already seated.

Lena sat in the middle. Callum was unboxing her new camera for her, while Vincent and Nicholas leaned in from either side to show her how to adjust the settings. Ethan held the menu and asked if there was anything else she wanted to order.

A lone extra chair had been placed at the far end of the table.

When Ethan saw me, he casually pointed to it. "We saved you a seat. If you'd been ten minutes late, I'd have told the waiter to take it away."

As soon as I sat down, Lena handed me her new camera.

"Zara, you're the best at taking pictures. Can you help me with the settings? Everything I take looks so dull."

I adjusted the settings and handed the camera back to her.

She beamed, then turned to Callum and asked him to take her picture.

Halfway through dinner, the five of them started talking about next year's Javelle trip again.

They'd already planned everything out—when to book the flights, which rooms to stay in, where to go for their first meal, and even what kind of rental car to get.

Vincent finally remembered to ask me, "Zara, your passport is still valid, right? Lena wants you to take a bunch of great group photos for us."

I looked at him and gave a quiet nod. "It's still valid. Don't worry about it."

Callum picked up a deviled egg and put it on my plate.

"Just don't let work get in the way this time," he warned. "We need everyone there for group activities."

I looked down at the egg and said nothing.

My train was leaving the city at 9:00 am the next day. Not a single one of them knew. They hadn't even asked me why I'd been so busy lately.

After dinner, Lena suggested we take a group photo.

The waiter took the phone to snap the picture, and for the first time, all six of us finally stood together in the frame.

Just before the picture was taken, Lena suddenly squeezed closer to Ethan. Vincent and Nicholas followed suit and leaned in toward her as well.

Callum stood beside me, but he turned toward Lena and reminded her, "Lena, don't blink when you look at the camera."

The moment the picture was taken, all five phones on the dining table lit up at once.

I instinctively looked over.

They'd all received a notification from the same group chat. Only my phone remained completely silent.

Lena picked up her phone and looked through the photos, clearly pleased with how they turned out.

"This one's perfect! We can use it as the new group chat profile picture for The Misfortune Squad," she blurted out.

Only after saying that did she remember I was there. She stuck out her tongue sheepishly.

Ethan laughed and playfully tapped her on the head. "You really can't keep a secret, can you?"

The five of them went back to picking out photos. No one paid me any attention again.

Strangely, I didn't feel hurt anymore. I realized that when someone was truly ready to leave, they no longer felt the need to fight even if they felt wronged.

"Enjoy the dinner," I said, picking up my bag. "I have to get up early tomorrow, so I'm heading home."

Callum didn't even look up from his screen. He simply replied, "Okay. Don't forget about the movie this weekend. We won't change the plans at the last minute this time."

A faint smile crossed my face. For the very first time in my life, I didn't say yes.

"We'll see," I said quietly. "I'm not sure if I can make it."

…

Early the next morning, I wheeled my suitcase out the door while Callum was still asleep. I left my key card on top of the shoe cabinet without waking him.

At 9:00 am, the high-speed train slowly pulled out of the station.

Ethan had just sent a message in the group chat.

"Meet at our usual place at noon. Zara's in charge of the reservation. Whoever shows up late is paying for everyone."

Vincent and Nicholas quickly replied with a couple of memes.

Then, Callum tagged me.

"Are you awake? Reply when you see this."

I didn't respond to any of them.

Outside the window, the familiar skyline grew smaller and smaller. I reached down and switched my phone to silent mode.

This time, I wasn't going to book the restaurant or send everyone the location like I always did. I wasn't going to show up last and clean up everyone else's mess, either.

If I was just the odd one out, I might as well leave.