Chapter 4

Kaitlin's POV

Looking down at my phone, I scrolled through my contact list until I found a number I hadn't dialed in a long time—Mom.

She answered on the second ring. "Kaitlin? What's wrong? Why are you calling at this hour…"

"Mom," I rasped out, my voice so hoarse it didn't even sound like me. "I'm overseas. I can't get back."

Mom went silent for a second. "Where are you? What happened?"

"Julian left me behind and took my passport. All I have is my phone, and the battery is almost dead."

The line fell dead quiet for a couple of seconds.

Then Mom's voice sounded, firm and steady. "Send me your address. Stay right where you are. I'll figure this out."

Crouching on the floor, I texted her the guesthouse address.

Then I sat with my back against the wall, listening as Mom flipped through her contact book, searched for flights, and contacted the embassy on the other end of the line.

Her voice was calm and composed, laying out instructions one by one as if she had always known this day would come.

When day broke, Mom said, "I got in touch with the embassy. Go get an emergency travel document issued. It should be ready by tomorrow at the earliest."

"Okay," I replied.

"Do you have any money?"

"No."

"Kaitlin."

"Yeah?"

"Don't be scared. I'm here."

Clutching my phone, I broke down sobbing.

Mom was quiet on the other end for a few seconds. "Kaitlin, do you still remember the year your dad passed away?"

I did remember. I was 13 that year. After Dad passed away, Mom wanted to take me abroad with her. All the paperwork had been processed, and the plane tickets were booked.

When I told Julian and the others, they crowded around me, pleading for me not to go. They said they couldn't live without me.

Julian had said, "If your mom goes abroad, you can live at my house."

Lucas had reassured me. "Stay here. We'll take care of you."

Tyler had promised, "The four of us will be together forever."

And I had believed them.

I told Mom I wasn't going.

Mom just looked at me and didn't say a word. She canceled my plane ticket and boarded the flight all by herself.

Before leaving, she hugged me tightly and said, "Kaitlin, I respect your choice. But just remember, I will always be here for you."

After that, I went to boarding school and spent my weekends at Julian's house.

His mom cooked for me, Lucas saved up his allowance to buy me snacks, and Tyler waited for me after school every single day so we could walk home together.

They were so good to me back then.

That was until Sophie showed up.

Sophie had transferred to our school in eighth grade. She was petite, fair-skinned, and soft-spoken.

When she failed her first monthly exam, she collapsed on her desk crying. Julian was the first to run over and comfort her, Lucas handed her tissues, and Tyler told jokes to make her laugh.

From that day on, whenever Sophie cried, they rushed to surround her.

Whenever Sophie fell ill, they panicked. Whenever Sophie felt upset, they forgot I even existed.

At first, I used to ask them why.

Julian would say, "Sophie's the youngest. We have to look after her more."

Lucas would remind me, "You're stronger than she is."

Tyler would brush it off with, "Come on, you're not the petty type."

And I got the message. I stopped asking after that because I realized that every time they showed me any attention, Sophie would suddenly get sick.

The moment she was in pain, they would drop everything and run to her side.

So I stopped competing.

I learned to haul my own luggage, walk home alone, spend my birthdays alone, and eat New Year's Eve dinner by myself.

Every year, Mom would call to ask if I wanted to move over to live with her. I always said no and that I was doing just fine.

She never asked twice, only saying, "Alright. I'm always here."

As I clutched the phone, my voice rasped. "Mom, I'm sorry."

Mom paused for a second. "Silly, why are you apologizing to me?"

"I didn't go with you back then."

"I know."

"I dumped you all alone abroad just for them," I choked out.

"Kaitlin, you didn't dump me. You just chose the path you wanted to take back then. Being genuine is never a crime. I don't blame you. I've been waiting for you all along."

…

Third-Person POV

When the plane landed and Julian turned his phone back on, he saw Kaitlin's text and the notification that she had left the group chat.

Frowning, he replied, "Are you seriously doing this?"

The message failed to deliver, marked with a single gray tick.

He had been blocked.

He stared at the screen for two seconds, his expression darkening, but he ultimately brushed it off.

At immigration, he handed over the passport, only to freeze mid-motion.

It was Kaitlin's.

He stood nailed to the spot, completely paralyzed.

Panic finally set in as he whipped his head around to look at Lucas and Tyler. Both of them pulled out their phones, only to realize they had been blocked too.

The three of them stood in the middle of the airport, clutching Kaitlin's passport, their faces drained of all color.