Chapter 2

I walked back to the hotel alone. On the way, my social media feed kept updating.

Blake had posted another collage. Every single picture had been taken by Tiffany.

She was always complaining that taking pictures was a hassle and that she was terrible at it. She almost never taken pictures of me. There were barely any photos of the two of us together in my camera roll. Yet the pictures she'd taken of Blake were beautifully composed, with carefully chosen lighting and angles.

Blake left a comment beneath the post.

[Thanks to my favorite photographer for these amazing shots!]

The comments were full of praise.

[So good-looking!]

[These are incredible!]

So Tiffany wasn't bad at taking pictures. She just didn't want to take them for me.

I ate the food that had gone cold, but it tasted like cardboard.

…

Six hours passed, and my phone remained completely silent.

Tiffany hadn't sent me a single message. She was too busy showing Blake around all the tourist spots, taking pictures of him, and shopping with him.

The graduation trip that was supposed to be ours had completely turned into a sweet getaway for the two of them.

When Tiffany finally came back, she was carrying some late-night food.

"Nicholas, I got your favorite spicy chicken wings. Don't be mad at me."

She held the chicken wings out to me, her eyes unusually gentle. The strong smell of chili flakes hit me, and my stomach began to ache again.

I couldn't eat spicy food. Whenever I did, my stomach hurt. And spicy chicken wings weren't even my favorite. They were Blake's.

Yet Tiffany always ordered them spicy. Even the chicken wings she'd brought back were leftovers from what the two of them had already eaten.

"Tiffany, I can't eat spicy food."

A flicker of embarrassment crossed her face. "I'm sorry. I forgot. I'll order something else..."

She pulled out her phone to place another order, but I pressed down on her hand. "Don't. I don't want anything. Tiffany, we..."

The words "break up" had barely reached my lips when my phone rang.

Blake was shouting on the other end, "Nic, someone's pounding on my hotel room door. They're trying to get in..."

Before I could even react, Tiffany jumped to her feet and rushed out. She didn't even bother closing the door behind her.

By the time I reached the floor above, Tiffany was standing in front of Blake, shielding him behind her.

She planted her hands on her hips and glared at the hotel staff. "How does your hotel even handle security? Those drunk guys were banging on his door so loudly. How could you not hear them?"

The staff apologized repeatedly and promised to upgrade the room for free as compensation.

Blake stood behind Tiffany, his face pale with fear.

When he saw me, he called out softly, "Nic..."

I patted him on the shoulder. "You okay?"

Blake shook his head. "I'm fine. Thank goodness Tiffany got someone right away. I'm just easily scared. Sorry for causing trouble for you guys..."

Tiffany immediately turned to him. "What trouble? You're younger. Taking care of you is the least we can do."

Then she glanced at me. "Go back and pack your things. We're moving into the room next to Blake's."

It took me forever to move all the luggage into the new room. Not long afterward, another message from Tiffany popped up.

Tiffany: [Blake's scared to sleep alone. I'm going to stay with him for a while.]

I stared at the message and let out a cold laugh.

Scared? Blake had gone to extraordinary lengths to compete with me for Tiffany.

I lay awake on the king-sized bed until 3:00 a.m. Tiffany still hadn't come back.

My phone screen suddenly lit up.

Blake had sent me a picture.

Tiffany was leaning against the headboard of his bed with her eyes closed, their fingers intertwined.

Blake: [Nic, Tiffany's exhausted. Let her sleep here tonight. Don't worry. I'll sleep on the couch.]

It wasn't a request. It was a notification.

Ever since we were kids, Blake had always tried to take everything from me. Our relatives always told me to give in to him. They said he was younger. He was my little brother. They said I was adopted, so I should be more understanding than to compete with him.

Hence, when he started getting close to Tiffany, I stayed silent. When he insisted on joining us on our graduation trip, I didn't object.

But what did I get in return? Tiffany and Blake only grew closer, while I became an invisible third wheel they could discard at any moment.

I didn't reply to his message. I simply turned off my phone.

When I woke up the next morning, Tiffany was sitting at the vanity, putting on her makeup.

As she applied her lipstick, she asked, "Nicholas, what was it you wanted to tell me yesterday?"