Chapter 4

The next morning, I opened my laptop to go through the onboarding paperwork for my new job.

A few folders were missing from the desktop. I checked the recycle bin, but they weren't there either.

My design drafts, contract, and project files that I'd spent several late nights putting together were all gone.

I opened the search bar and typed the file names in again. But all I got was the message, "No matching items found."

I walked out of my room with my laptop in my arms. Emily was brushing her teeth in the bathroom when I found her. "Did you use my laptop last night?"

With her toothbrush still in her mouth, she gave me a sleepy nod. "I had some urgent work to finish and didn't have my laptop with me. Julian said yours was fine to use, so I borrowed it."

"But why are my files missing?"

She spat out her mouthwash, seemingly more awake now. "I accidentally deleted them."

"Those were my onboarding documents for my new job, along with design drafts I'd spent ages preparing."

Emily froze. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you needed them today. The folders were just sitting there on the desktop. I thought they were old stuff from your last company."

Hearing the commotion, Julian came over from the living room.

He turned to Emily first, smiling as he said, "Emmie, how do you always manage to be so careless?"

Only after saying that did he turn to me. "Come on, Anna. Emmie didn't do it on purpose. You're good at what you do, so redoing a few documents will take you no time."

"They're due today."

"Didn't you just get laid off? You've got all the time in the world now. What's the harm in submitting them a day late?"

I just looked at him. "So you're saying it's no big deal that my files got deleted?"

Julian's brow furrowed. "I didn't say that. It's Emmie's first departmental presentation, and she just got promoted.

"She can't afford any slip-ups right now. You've always been good at handling this kind of thing, haven't you? Surely redoing it won't be too hard for you."

The sound of a key turning came from the front door. Francis and Henry walked in with breakfast, just in time to hear his last sentence.

Francis set the bags on the table. "What's going on? What's with all the arguing this early in the morning?"

Julian briefly explained what had happened. Francis turned to me, grabbing a cup of coffee. "Anna, have something to eat first. It's just a few design drafts. You work fast, so you'll redo them in no time."

Henry opened the breakfast boxes. "Emmie didn't do it on purpose. Stop holding it against her. Eat first, then look for the files after."

As I looked at the breakfast spread, I abruptly asked, "Did you get the pastries that I like?"

When no one answered, I gave a small laugh. "Let me guess—you only got bagels, because those are Emmie's favorite, right?"

Julian's face darkened. "It's just breakfast. Do you really have to make such a big deal out of it?"

Francis added, "Just eat for now. Don't get worked up over something so trivial."

Henry frowned as well. "If your files are gone, then just redo them. If we're out of food, we can always just go get some more. Why are you being so difficult today?"

I stared at them, the frustration I'd been bottling up for days finally rising to my throat. "You people always say it's just this or just that to me."

I picked up my laptop. "But when have any of you ever thought that the things that matter to me deserve to be taken seriously?"

No one said a word. I turned and walked out the door. At the repair shop, the technician took my laptop and spent a long time checking it.

"If the files were accidentally deleted, don't save anything else to the drive for now. We should be able to recover some of them."

I sat nearby and waited. Two hours later, most of my files had been recovered.

By the time I got home, they'd all left for work. I packed my clothes, documents, and laptop into a box. I then left the spare house key on the dining table.

When I got to the airport, my phone buzzed again.

Julian had sent me a message. "Did Emmie leave her USB drive at home? Drop it off at her office for her."

I stared at the message for a moment, then blocked him without another thought. Next, I removed Emily, Francis, and Henry from my contacts.

Last of all, I left our five-member group chat.

As the plane climbed above the clouds, the city slowly grew smaller in the window. From now on, I'd never have to squeeze myself into their group photos again.