Chapter 3

Tom helped me find a ride.

Three hours later, I arrived at the scenic area.

The four of them were having lunch.

There were four sets of meals on the table.

Edmund was the first to notice me.

“Everett, you finally made it!”

Faye glanced down at the time.

“You took forever. Any later and we wouldn’t have had time to do anything this afternoon.”

I stood by the table and asked, “You didn’t order anything for me?”

The four of them froze at the same time.

Lily spoke first.

“I figured you ate on the way.”

Edmund quickly pushed his meal toward me. “Here, take mine. I barely touched it.”

Eleanor reached out and stopped him.

“You’re just starting to feel better. Eat your food.”

She then looked at me and said, “There’s a convenience store nearby. Grab something to tide you over.

“I’ll take you somewhere nice tonight.”

Back when she used to say she would make it up to me later, I could never stay mad at her for long.

I nodded. “Okay.”

The convenience store only had two cold sandwiches left.

I sat by the window and finished them.

By the time I came out, they were already urging me to hurry up.

In the afternoon, Edmund wanted to shoot a set of highway photos.

When he said the sun was too harsh, Eleanor took off her sunglasses and tossed them to him.

Lily crouched beside him, smoothing out his wrinkled pant leg.

The photographer, Kai Eastman, said with a smile, “Let’s get one with all five of you.”

The four of them instinctively stood together.

I walked over and stood at the very edge.

After the shot, Edmund pulled them over to look at the photos.

Eleanor turned back and said to me, “Everett, which one do you like?”

I was in the middle of replying to a work message on my phone.

“Either one’s fine.”

She shot me a sharp glance. “Why are you so out of it today?”

“I’m just tired from all the traveling.”

“Oh.”

Edmund called out to her. She quickly turned and walked off.

On my phone was a message from the company that had offered me a job two weeks ago.

The hiring manager, Ryan Sterling, had texted me.

[If you change your mind down the road, feel free to reach out again.]

I did not reply and just stared at it for a long time.

I just left the chat window running in the background.

That night, we arrived at a hotel in town.

The front desk told us that one family room and one king room were the only rooms left.

I thought it would be easy to sort that out.

Eleanor, Faye, and Lily could take the family room, and I could share the king room with Edmund.

Eleanor spoke up first.

“Let’s give Edmund the king room.”

I looked at her as she said, “He has been unwell for the past couple of days, and he hasn’t been sleeping well at night. Let him have a quiet room for himself.”

Edmund waved his hand. “No need. I can just share with Everett.”

Faye frowned. “You two grown men sharing one bed? How are you both supposed to sleep?”

Lily chimed in, “Don’t you have trouble sleeping in unfamiliar beds anyway? Stop making things complicated.”

Eleanor looked at me.

“Everett, isn’t there a motel nearby?

“It’s just a ten-minute walk. Just tough it out for one more night.”

I stared at her for a couple of seconds and said, “Okay.”

Even the front desk clerk was taken aback.

Edmund said awkwardly, “Maybe I should go instead.”

Eleanor had already passed the room key to him. “Don’t wear yourself out.”

She looked at me again. “Text us when you get there.”

I did not say anything else and dragged my suitcase outside.

Halfway there, it started to rain.

In the past, I would have texted the group chat and asked them to bring me an umbrella.

When I pulled out my phone, I saw that Edmund had just posted a photo of the room.

Eleanor was adjusting the air conditioner for him.

Faye was asking if the blanket was thick enough.

Lily was standing in front of the cabinet looking for the kettle.

I stared at it for a while, then turned off my screen.

I stood under the eaves waiting for the rain to let up, then kept walking.

There were a few stairs at the entrance of the motel.

A guy saw how heavy my suitcase was and helped me with it.

“Hey man, are you traveling alone?”

“I’m with my friends.”

He looked confused.

“Are they staying somewhere else?”

“Yeah.”

He glanced at me but did not ask anything more. Then, he tossed me a bottle of water he had just bought.

“Here, take it.”

At 11 p.m., I was lying in bed when I remembered I had not told them I had made it to the motel.

I picked up my phone, but I put it back down again.

The next morning, I checked the group chat.

There were no new messages in the group.

No one even bothered to ask if I had made it to the motel safely.