Chapter 4

There was only one day left to accept the job offer from the studio in Fordham.

HR had already sent me two reminder emails, but I still hadn't clicked the link to accept it.

It wasn't because the job wasn't good enough. It was because I couldn't bring myself to leave the people I cared about back home.

Ethan had been by my side since we were kids. Yohan had been my friend for over a decade. I'd been with Connor for four years.

Human nature was a strange thing. Even after being let down so many times, a small part of me still couldn't let go of one foolish hope. What if they chose me next time?

So, that afternoon, I sent a message to the group chat.

"Dinner at our usual place at 8:00 pm tonight. I have something important to share. Can all of you make it?"

It was the first time I'd ever made an invitation sound so serious.

Ethan replied instantly, "Sure."

Yohan replied a moment later, "Eight o'clock, right? I'll make sure to be there."

Connor called me directly.

"What's so mysterious?" he asked.

"I'll tell you when we meet tonight," I said.

He chuckled. "Alright. I'll come pick you up at 7:30 pm."

When the call ended, I actually felt relieved. I thought that as long as they showed up tonight and listened to what I had to say, maybe I could still reconsider leaving.

At 7:30 pm, Connor didn't show up.

At 7:40 pm, he sent me a message.

"Something came up at work. Go ahead without me."

Ethan texted next, saying he was stuck in traffic. Yohan said there was an emergency at home and asked me to wait.

I sat alone at the diner where we'd been eating together for seven years.

By 9:00 pm, the three place settings on the table were still untouched.

Even the owner couldn't help asking, "Are they still coming?"

Before I could answer, my social media feed refreshed. It was a post by Willow.

In the photo, she sat on her suitcase in the airport waiting area. Beyond the massive glass window behind her, lightning streaked across the dark night sky.

The caption read, "My flight got delayed by a thunderstorm. I casually mentioned that I was a little scared, and somehow these three idiots all showed up."

Below it was a group photo showing Ethan, Yohan, and Connor in it.

I stared at the photo for a long time without moving.

The most ironic part wasn't that they had chosen her over me again. It was that they hadn't even planned to show up together.

Ethan lied about being stuck in traffic. Yohan lied about a family emergency. Connor pretended he was stuck at the office.

All three of them had made their choices independently. Somehow, they had all ended up at the exact same place.

Even after I had clearly told them that I had something important to share, when each of them had to make the choice for himself, they still chose Willow.

The group chat quickly came alive again.

"I'm fine, really," Willow insisted. "The forecast says there's a thunderstorm, but that doesn't mean the flight can't take off."

Ethan replied, "But what if it doesn't?"

Yohan chimed in. "Why are you freaking out at the airport by yourself?"

Connor replied, "We'll leave once you're on the plane."

I stared at those words on my screen. Then, with trembling fingers, I dialed Connor's number.

"Zelda?" he picked up almost immediately. "I'm not done here yet. Go ahead without me. I'll come over later."

Instead of confronting him, I asked, "What's the weather like in Halston tomorrow?"

After a brief pause, he answered without hesitation.

"It's eighty degrees with scattered showers in the afternoon. It'll cool down to seventy-five the day after tomorrow. It'll be sunny on the day of Willow's training, but the winds will be pretty strong that night."

He didn't need to look up a single detail.

A bitter laugh escaped my lips.

"What about Fordham?"

The line went quiet.

A few seconds passed before Connor finally asked, "What do you mean by Fordham?"

Those six words were enough to make the last shred of hesitation holding me back from leaving disappear.

I scrolled back through our group chat.

A month ago, I'd posted, "The studio in Fordham just sent me an invitation for a final interview."

Not a single person had replied.

Two weeks ago, I'd posted, "I passed the final interview."

Ethan had been busy chatting with Willow about apartment rentals.

Three days ago, I'd posted, "The official offer came through."

Connor had replied right below my message, "Pizza or barbecue tonight?"

The problem wasn't that I hadn't told them. It was that they never cared enough to listen.

Connor finally seemed to realize what I was talking about. His voice suddenly changed.

"Wait. The job you mentioned before… Was that the overseas one?"

"Yeah," I replied coldly.

"Are you really going to Ivoria?"

"Yeah."

He suddenly sounded anxious. "How could you wait until now to tell me something this important?"

I lowered my head and let out a quiet laugh.

"Connor," I whispered. "I told you three times."

There was complete silence on the other end of the line.

Then the airport announcement echoed faintly through the phone, followed by Willow's voice.

"Connor, we can board now!"

Connor answered instinctively, "Coming."

Only then did he lower his voice and speak to me.

"Zelda, don't make any rash decisions. Wait until I get back. We'll talk it through."

It was another wait.

I'd waited for them to help me move out of my dorm. I'd waited for Ethan to drive my damaged painting to the museum. I'd waited by those three empty seats at my graduation ceremony.

And tonight, I'd waited for two hours.

Every time they asked me to wait, they were on their way to Willow.

"Connor, I'm done waiting," I said coldly into the phone and ended the call.

When I opened my inbox, the offer letter from the studio in Fordham was right at the top.

I opened the email, signed the letter, and submitted it without a second thought.

A notification popped up on the screen—"Confirmation successful".

I stared at those words for a long time.

Finally, I opened my weather app and searched for Fordham. The forecast for the next seven days was sunny.

A prompt appeared on the screen—"Add as a saved city?"

I tapped "Confirm."

From that moment on, I would check the weather myself and walk my own path.