Chapter 2

Kaitlin's POV

The motel receptionist saw me and asked why I was heading back down.

I gave a forced smile and said my friends needed me for something.

She glanced at the luggage behind me, then at my hands, before turning around to hand me a pair of gloves.

I took them and thanked her.

With eight suitcases, I could only haul four at a time. I dragged the first four ahead, set them down, and doubled back for the rest.

Back and forth I went, moving like an ant transferring its nest.

The GPS showed 11 miles to go.

About ten minutes into the walk, my phone buzzed with a few text notifications.

Julian: "Where are you?"

Lucas: "Hurry up. Do you know what time it is?"

Tyler: "Sophie's already showered, and you're still not here."

I stopped to catch my breath. Even through the knit gloves, my palms throbbed with a sharp pain.

There were ten miles left on the map.

Julian: "When you get here, just come straight upstairs. Leave the bags in the lobby."

Lucas: "Sophie's white dress is in the pink suitcase. Treat it with care."

Tyler: "Can you step on it? We have an early start tomorrow."

I stared at the screen without typing a single word back.

After a while, the blisters on my heels burst, sending sharp pain through my feet.

My phone buzzed again.

Julian: "Why aren't you replying?"

Lucas: "Stop dawdling and get over here."

Tyler: "Are you seriously still on the road? It's been so long."

I dropped my live location into the group chat. "I'm walking. Still got around ten miles left."

I barely took two steps before my phone vibrated again.

Sophie: "Kaitlin, you're taking forever. I'm so sleepy."

Julian: "Why are you moving so slowly?"

Lucas: "Seriously, we told you to come earlier, but you wouldn't. What are you dragging your feet for now?"

Tyler: "Sophie can barely keep her eyes open. Move it."

A second later, more messages popped up.

Julian: "Forget it. Stop walking and wait there. We'll come pick you up."

Lucas: "Yeah, stay put. We'll drive over."

Tyler: "Send a clear location so we don't have to hunt for you."

I stared at those three messages.

They felt bad that Sophie was tired, so suddenly, they were more than willing to drive out.

After about 20 minutes, headlights cut through the darkness in the distance.

I tried to get up, but my legs had gone completely numb. I had to lean against a lamppost for a few long seconds to steady myself.

The car pulled up to the curb, and the passenger window rolled down.

Julian asked, "Why are you crouching there? Where are the bags? Why are there only four?"

"The other four are further back. I could only haul four at a time," I replied.

He looked at me and said nothing.

Lucas stuck his head out from the back seat. "Well, go grab them then. We'll load these four into the trunk."

I dragged the remaining four suitcases over, popped the trunk, and heaved them in one by one.

"Hurry up," Tyler chimed in from inside. "Sophie fell asleep waiting."

Julian glanced over at me. "What happened to your hands?"

I pulled my gloves down. "I was carrying the luggage—"

Before I could finish, Julian started the engine. "Whatever. Get in."

Before we started this trip, I had crouched on the floor labeling all eight suitcases with everyone's names.

Sophie had four all to herself. Mine was the smallest, yet it was jammed all the way at the bottom.

The heater was blowing warm air inside the car.

Wrapped in Julian's jacket, Sophie was sound asleep, resting her head on Lucas' shoulder.

Tyler had his head down, scrolling through his phone.

Not a single soul bothered to ask how I was doing.

I opened a travel app on my phone. The earliest flight back home was the day after tomorrow, with just one ticket left.

I tapped confirm.