Chapter 2 The Final Straw

My fingers loosened, and the scrapbook slipped from my hands. The photos inside scattered across the floor.

Forrest immediately bent down to pick them up.

Charlotte's expression darkened. "If you don't want to look, then don't. Why'd you have to throw them? Forrest spent four years putting all this together."

I stared at the photos scattered across the floor.

"What about me? What about the time I had a fever and was all alone? I called you more than a dozen times. You didn't answer because you were with him taking these pictures, weren't you?"

Charlotte's hands paused for a moment. Then, she frowned again. "How long ago was that?"

She crouched down to help Forrest gather the photos.

With their heads lowered, they sorted them out one by one. Neither of them looked at me again.

Just then, my phone vibrated.

My mother had sent me a message. "Once your graduation trip is over, it's time to make a decision. Are you coming home with us, or are you still relocating to another city with Charlotte?"

I'd already drafted my answer two weeks ago. "Charlotte and I have already agreed to live together after graduation. We're going to be happy!"

The message had been sitting in the text box ever since.

I stared at it for a long time before deleting it, one word at a time.

The train pulled into the station, and everyone stood up at once. The aisle quickly filled with people.

As soon as Forrest got to his feet, someone behind him bumped into him.

Charlotte immediately reached out to shield him, keeping him between herself and the seat. "Don't move. Let's wait until the crowd thins out."

The crowd pushed me backward. My shoulder slammed into the luggage rack, leaving it numb with pain.

She saw what happened, but all she did was remind Forrest, "Hold on to me. Don't fall."

…

By the time I finally got off the train, I remembered that both suitcases were still in the car we'd been in.

One of them was full of clothes and toiletries Forrest had packed last minute. His own suitcase was too full, so he made me carry his things the entire journey.

I fought my way back through the crowd and hauled both heavy suitcases off the train.

…

By the time I made it out of the station, it was pouring.

Charlotte and Forrest were nowhere to be seen.

There was only one message from her on my phone. "Forrest is so hungry his stomach hurts, so we've headed to the restaurant first. You're taking too long. Just get a cab here."

Rain streamed from my hair.

I stood outside an unfamiliar train station with a suitcase in each hand.

My phone lit up again. My mother was asking if I'd made up my mind.

I looked down at the empty text box where my message had been.

This time, I didn't hesitate. "I'll come home with you after the trip, Mom."

Still, I'd been wanting to visit this city for a long time. I wasn't going to give up a trip I'd been looking forward to for three months just because of Charlotte and Forrest.

I called a cab outside the station and went to the hotel alone.

The suitcases were so heavy that the driver helped me unload them. He couldn't help asking, "Where are your friends? Why are you carrying all this stuff by yourself?"

I didn't answer.

The hotel restaurant was right beside the lobby.

Through the glass, I spotted Charlotte and Forrest immediately. They were sitting side by side in a booth.

Forrest snatched the drink out of Charlotte's hand and took a sip through the straw. Charlotte shoved his head away in annoyance, but he kicked her feet playfully.

Laughing, he leaned against her shoulder, but she didn't push him away.

I dragged my suitcases inside.

She saw me first, and the smile vanished from her face.

He straightened up too. He put the drink back in front of her and deliberately put some distance between them.

Just then, the elevator doors opened.

A few classmates came down, laughing and chatting.

When they saw how deliberately far apart Charlotte and Forrest were sitting, they immediately started laughing. "What's with the act? He's not even here."

The speaker turned around and finally noticed me standing at the entrance. His smile froze.

Another guy hadn't caught on yet. "Weren't you two practically glued together at every get-together he missed? Remember New Year's Eve? Charlotte got drunk, and Forrest slept with his head on her arm all night."

His friends frantically tugged at him. He finally realized something was off and fell silent.

Charlotte's expression darkened.

Forrest scooted back over to her and slung an arm around her neck. "There's no point pretending anymore. He's already found out, so we might as well lay it all out."

He jerked his chin toward me. "Actually, I told Charlotte when you two first started dating that we should all just treat each other like buddies and keep hanging out like we always had.

"But she insisted you were sensitive and would get the wrong idea if you saw us messing around, so I played along with her for four years."

He patted Charlotte on the shoulder. "There's nothing going on between us. We've done nothing wrong. Are we supposed to stop being friends just to spare your feelings?"

A few of our classmates chimed in, trying to smooth things over.

"They've always been like this throughout college. Don't make such a big deal out of it."

"Forrest is just an easygoing guy. If there were something between them, he wouldn't be acting like this now."

I looked at all those familiar faces.

Whenever they got together in the past, they always had an excuse for leaving me out, whether it was claiming there weren't enough seats or saying the plans had changed at the last minute.

On our dates, Charlotte would tell me she hadn't gone either.

Now, I finally realized she'd been at every single gathering I'd been left out of.