Chapter 3

The owner of the bed-and-breakfast helped me find a rideshare car.

Three hours later, I arrived at my destination.

The four of them were having lunch. There were four sets of utensils on the table.

Willow was the first to spot me. "Paige, you're finally here!"

Clyde lowered his head to take a look at his wristwatch. "What took you so long? If you'd arrived any later, we wouldn't have had time to do anything this afternoon."

I stood beside the table. "Did you not order any food for me?"

Everyone at the table froze.

Mason broke the silence. "I thought you ate on the way."

Willow hurriedly pushed her plate toward me. "Here, have mine. I barely touched it."

Landon stopped her. "Your stomach just recovered. You need to eat."

After saying that, he looked up at me. "There's a convenience store nearby. Go buy a sandwich to tide you over. I'll take you somewhere nice for dinner tonight."

In the past, whenever he promised to make it up to me at night, I would usually forgive him.

I nodded. "Alright."

There were only two cold sandwiches left in the convenience store. I sat in front of the window and finished them.

When I walked out, the four of them were already urging me to hurry up.

…

Willow wanted to take some road-trip photos that afternoon.

When she complained about the sun, Clyde went to grab an umbrella. When she said it was too windy, Landon draped his jacket over her shoulders. Mason crouched beside her and straightened out the hem of her dress.

The photographer called out, "Let's get one with all five of you."

The four of them instinctively grouped together. I walked over and stood on the far edge.

After the photos were taken, Willow pulled them over to look at the photos.

Landon turned around and called out to me. "Paige, which one do you think looks best?"

I was replying to a work message on my phone. "All of them look fine."

"Why are you so out of it today?"

"The drive wore me out."

"Oh," he responded.

Willow called him, and he hastily made his way over to her.

The conversation on my phone was with the company that had offered me a position half a month ago.

The hiring manager had written, "If you ever change your mind, feel free to reach out to me again."

I stared at the message for a long time before leaving the chat open in the background.

…

That evening, when we arrived at the bed-and-breakfast, there were only two twin rooms and one king room left.

Landon declared, "Willow should take the king room. Her stomach has been acting up these last few days."

My two childhood friends nodded in agreement.

Clyde turned to me. "Paige, you can share a room with Mason and me. We'll just add another bed."

I was taken aback. "You want me to share a room with the two of you?"

He laughed. "We've known each other for so many years. Why are you still fussing over this?"

Landon's brows knitted together as well. "It's just for one night. Don't make such a big deal out of it."

The front desk clerk looked a little awkward. "There's another hostel nearby. It's about a ten-minute walk."

"In that case, I'll go to that hostel," I said.

Landon didn't persuade me further. "Alright, let us know when you get there."

I dragged my suitcase and walked outside.

Halfway there, it started to rain. In the past, at times like this, I would've sent a message in the group chat, asking them to bring me an umbrella.

I unlocked my phone. Willow had just sent a photo of the room.

Landon was helping her adjust the air conditioner. Clyde was asking her if the blanket was thick enough. Mason was looking for the electric kettle.

I locked my phone.

Once the rain let up a little, I continued on my way.

There were a few steps at the entrance of the hostel.

A young woman I'd just met noticed how heavy my suitcase was and lent me a hand. "Are you traveling solo?"

"I'm traveling with friends."

"Oh, are they staying somewhere else?" she inquired.

"Yep."

She didn't pry any further and handed me a bottle of water.

…

I was lying in bed at 11:00 pm when I suddenly remembered that I hadn't checked in with the group chat to let them know I was safe. I picked up my phone before setting it back down.

When I woke up the next day, there were still no new messages in the group chat. No one had asked or checked in on me.