Chapter 4

Nina's POV

A gust of wind swept through, drowning out my words before anyone could hear them.

Shane said jokingly, "Good thing Nina has us. She would be so lonely otherwise."

Only then did I understand the truth. Being with a lot of people didn't necessarily mean you wouldn't be lonely.

Lucas walked over and put an arm around my shoulders. He said, "Alright, stop talking about her like that. She has her strengths, too."

My hand paused as I rubbed my aching legs. I looked up at him hopefully.

"Nina is obedient. That's her strength."

He was wrong. That wasn't my strength. That was simply what they wanted me to be.

As we headed down the mountain, a dark cloud rolled in with a rumble of thunder. The rain came without warning, pelting us in a relentless downpour.

Lucas snatched the jacket from my hands and held it over Lindsay's head. "Lindsay is weak. She'll catch a cold if she gets wet."

Chad and Shane supported Lindsay from either side. As they passed me, they just said one thing. "Run!"

By the time I got back to the car, I was soaked from head to toe. My light-colored dress clung to my body, and goosebumps rose along my arms.

I glanced at Lindsay in the passenger seat. She was draped in the jacket, and not a single strand of her hair was even wet.

Back at the hotel, I showered and changed out of my wet clothes. When I turned on my phone, a notification popped up from the ticket-booking app. I had successfully booked my ticket.

At the same time, an email written entirely in a foreign language appeared in my notification bar. It was the final confirmation letter from the overseas university I had applied to.

Three months ago, I had received my admission offer. It was the program I had always wanted to study, and the university I had dreamed of attending since high school.

However, Lucas and the others had all decided to stay in the country. They said that since we had grown up together, we should all study together at Narthton University.

Chad said no one would look after me if I went abroad alone. Shane said that friendships were bound to fade once people went their separate ways. Lucas held me in his arms and asked if I could bear to leave him behind.

Even Lindsay had teary eyes as she said that if I left, the five of us would never be able to get together again.

I couldn't bear to leave them, so I kept putting off confirming my acceptance, burying the admission email at the bottom of my inbox. Tomorrow was the deadline.

I opened the email, my finger hovering over the confirmation button.

Then, I heard laughter from the room next door. I couldn't make out what Lindsay had said, but Chad laughed and called her his little troublemaker.

Shane told her to keep her voice down before she laughed so hard she lost her breath.

Then I heard Lucas say, "What's there to worry about? Nina's asleep. She can't hear us."

I pressed the confirmation button. The page refreshed, and a message appeared on my screen. "Your admission has been successfully confirmed."

As it turned out, making the choice to leave wasn't nearly as hard as I had thought.

Lucas pushed the door open and walked in. "Don't be upset about the change in plans today. Just let it slide for Lindsay. Next time, we'll do what you want."

Next time, they would do what I wanted, they had said. Next time, they would include me, they had said. Next time, they would let me come first, they had said.

They would forever say things like that.

I said, "I'm not upset."

He gave a small smile. "I knew you were obedient."

Little did he know that I wasn't being obedient. I had simply stopped expecting anything from them.

That night, I didn't join them for dinner and turned in early. But at 4:00 am, I woke up with a dry, aching throat. I touched my forehead and found it burning hot. I instinctively reached for my phone and opened the pinned group chat with the five of us.

"I have a fever. Can anyone take me to the hospital?" I typed.

Shane replied first. "I'll take you once it's daylight."

Chad quickly replied after him. "Lindsay played games all night and just fell asleep. If we go out, we'll definitely wake her up."

Lucas replied, "There's hot water in the living room that we boiled for Lindsay earlier. It's probably still warm. Drink some of that for now."

I stared at the group chat for a long time. The light from the screen made my eyes ache. No one asked how bad my fever was. No one asked how I was feeling. All they cared about was whether Lindsay was sleeping well. My suffering didn't matter to them.

I pulled the covers tighter around myself and drifted into a restless sleep.

When I woke up again, it was already 8:00 am. There were still five hours before my train departed. I pushed aside my sweat-soaked blanket and got out of bed.

As I passed the bedroom next door, I noticed the door was open. The hotel room was deathly silent. The only sound was the water dispenser gurgling as it refilled.

I stood in the doorway for a moment, then pulled out my phone and messaged the group chat. "Have you all gone out?"

But no one replied.

Since that was the case, I wouldn't wait for them.

I packed all my belongings into my luggage. My white shoes, which were still stained with blood, lay by the door. I picked them up and tossed them into the trash.

Shoes that didn't fit weren't worth keeping. Neither were the people who didn't belong in my life. At 10:00 am, I wheeled my luggage downstairs.

At 1:30 pm, Lucas called. He asked, "Nina, are you up yet?"

I watched the trees whiz past outside the train window. "What do you want?" I asked impassively.

Maybe Lucas wasn't used to my tone, because he went quiet for two seconds. Then he said, "I just wanted to tell you that we went to the trendy breakfast spot Lindsay mentioned earlier this morning."

I heard Lindsay's voice in the background. "Too bad you slept in and missed it."

Lucas chuckled, "We're heading back now to pick you up. We're going to the beach. You've always wanted to go—"

"Lucas." I cut him off.

"What's wrong?"

"Do you remember what I said in the group chat in the middle of the night?"

Silence came from the other end of the line. Maybe Lucas was trying to recall it or scrolling back through the chat history.

An announcement sounded over the train's PA system. Having heard that, Lucas asked, "Nina, are you on a train?"

"Yeah."

"Where are you going?" he asked.

I replied, "Home. To get my passport and sort out the paperwork for going abroad."

His breath hitched at my words. "What do you mean by that?"

"I've accepted an offer from a university overseas. I won't be going to Narthton University with you all. I'm leaving to study abroad next month."

Lucas called out my name on the phone. However, I didn't let him finish. I said, "Also, we're over."

With that, I hung up and turned off my phone.

…

Third-Person POV

Lucas stared at his phone, feeling a sudden wave of panic. He called Lindsay, Chad, and Shane over. "Get in the car. We're going back to the hotel."

They soon returned and pushed open Nina Jones' bedroom door. The luggage beside the bed was gone. A pair of white shoes stained with blood lay in the trash can by the doorway.

The four of them rushed downstairs and questioned the hotel receptionist. "Have you seen the young lady who was with us?"

The receptionist nodded. "She left ages ago. Didn't you know?"