Chapter 3

Kaitlin's POV

At the new guesthouse, Julian carried Sophie inside first. Lucas carried her bag, and Tyler walked ahead to open the door.

Julian carried Sophie straight into the innermost bedroom. Lucas followed with her bag to help set her things down, and Tyler took his keycard to the room next door.

Julian turned and glanced at me. "You can sleep on the living room couch."

I said nothing.

Sophie poked her head out from Julian's arms and said softly, "Sorry, Kaitlin. My cat isn't used to sleeping on a couch, so you'll have to put up with it."

The cat wasn't used to the couch, so I had to be.

It had always been like this.

When there wasn't enough room in the car, they stuffed me into the trunk.

When we went to the beach, they brought four inner tubes for five people—forgetting only mine—leaving me to guard their bags on the sand all afternoon.

When we went to the night market and bought sausages, they ended up one short.

Julian said I didn't like them, even though I had never once said that.

I was used to it. It was always me.

And they were used to it, too.

Even Julian's confession to me only happened because Sophie had said, "Julian, you're so good to Kaitlin. You two might as well just date."

He thought about it for a second and agreed.

There were no racing heartbeats, no careful plans, not even a simple "I like you". Someone had casually suggested it, he didn't object, and I agreed. Just like that, we ended up together.

Julian put Sophie down and turned to walk toward his room.

I blocked his path. "Give me my passport."

He stopped and looked back at me. "Tomorrow."

"Why?"

"It's late, and it's in my room. I'll give it to you tomorrow."

"Go get it now," I said.

He frowned. "Are you serious? It's not like I'm going to lose it."

"Give it to me," I repeated.

Julian stared at me for two seconds, then dragged his bag toward his room without looking back. "Tomorrow."

I dragged my suitcase into the living room. The couch was so short I couldn't even stretch my legs out.

I sat down and watched as their four bedroom doors shut, one after another.

Whatever. I was leaving the day after tomorrow anyway.

As I sat on the couch, my phone screen was still glowing.

Sophie had posted on Instagram.

Julian, Lucas, and Tyler were sitting around the coffee table while Sophie sat in the middle holding her cat, wearing a sweet smile.

The caption read, "Thanks, guys. Even in a foreign country, this feels like home."

I barely slept all night.

The couch was too short for my legs, and every time I turned over, it creaked loudly.

Just as dawn was breaking, I drifted off for a bit, only to be woken by noises coming from Sophie's room. "Julian… I feel so sick…"

Julian was the first to rush in, with Lucas and Tyler close behind.

Sitting on the couch, I listened to them showering her with concern.

Julian said, "It's my fault. I didn't take good care of you."

When he came out and saw me, he said flatly, "Sophie's not feeling well. Go buy some medicine."

"Where's the pharmacy?" I asked.

"Use your GPS."

I walked over 20 minutes to find a pharmacy, struggled to explain what I needed in broken Elarian and gestures, then walked all the way back with the medicine.

When I returned, the place was empty.

All four bedroom doors were wide open, and no one was inside.

The luggage was gone, too.

I called Julian. It rang three times before he picked up. "Kaitlin, Sophie isn't feeling well. It might be the change in environment. We're heading home now. Just catch up on your own."

As I stood in the middle of the empty living room holding the medicine, my heart sank. My voice trembled as I asked, "Home where?"

"Back to Celandor, of course. We'll wait for you at home."

"My passport—"

Before I could finish, he cut me off. "Alright, I have to go. We're boarding."

The line went dead. I gripped my phone and stood frozen as a loud buzz filled my head.

Boarding?

They were boarding the plane. They had stranded me in a foreign country and taken my passport with them.

I had nothing left—no passport, no luggage, no money.

I rushed to the front desk, but with the language barrier, I spent minutes gesturing while the clerk looked at me with a completely blank face.

I collapsed onto the floor, my hands still shaking.

I pulled out my phone and dialed Julian, but his phone was powered off.

Lucas and Tyler were unreachable too.

The last message in the group chat was sent by Sophie. "Thanks for taking me home, guys."

The photo showed her leaning against Julian's shoulder inside the plane, flashing a peace sign.

As I stared at that photo, tears finally spilled over.

I sent Julian a text. "Let's break up."

With that, I left the group chat.