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หน้าหลัก / When They Finally Noticed I Was Gone / Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

ผู้เขียน: Katerina
Before my first day at Northline, Professor Bennett arranged for the studio’s creative director to join the panel remotely and speak with me afterward.

That same afternoon, the college was holding a public presentation and review of my award-winning project.

I’d sent everyone the date a week before the gala.

Ethan had promised to swap shifts. Owen said he’d bring our parents if they could get away from work. Noah offered to film my presentation, and Lily wanted to make me a bouquet herself.

The four seats I’d saved for them were still empty ten minutes before I was due onstage.

I checked my phone again.

Ethan: Lily’s audition outfit arrived in the wrong size. We’re helping her find something else.

Owen: It’s her first audition for a lead. She’s panicking. You know everyone on your panel. You’ll be fine.

Noah sent the location of a clothing store.

Send me the recording afterward. I’ll edit it for you.

I looked at the empty seats.

Apparently, a recording was enough for my big day. Lily needed three people to help her buy a dress.

The host called my name for the second time.

I silenced my phone and walked onstage.

The panel didn’t go easy on me. One designer questioned the accessibility of my layout. Another asked how I would keep the project within budget. The final question required me to rethink an entire section of my proposal on the spot.

I pulled up my working sketches and explained what I would change and why.

Twenty minutes later, the audience was applauding.

During our private call afterward, Northline’s creative director asked me two more questions. Then she smiled.

“You’re exceptionally talented, Claire. But what impressed me most today wasn’t the design. It was the way you defended your decisions without refusing to reconsider them. That’s rare in someone at the beginning of her career.”

She glanced down at my portfolio.

“We’re very glad you accepted our offer. I’m looking forward to seeing what you do at Northline.”

After the call ended, Professor Bennett wrapped her arms around me.

“Claire, you’re more capable than you realize.”

My throat tightened.

For years, everyone had told me that Lily needed their help and I didn’t.

After hearing it often enough, I had almost started to believe that needing people was what made someone worthy of love—that if I was strong enough to stand on my own, no one had to stand beside me.

They came back at nine that evening. Lily was wearing a dress that bunched under her arms. Her eyes were red.

“I'm sorry, Claire. The zipper on the replacement broke. We ended up going to three stores.”

Owen set a small cake box on the table. “We brought you something.”

Beneath the smeared frosting, I could still make out GOOD LUCK. Someone had scraped away the rest and piped CONGRATS, CLAIRE over it.

It was a strawberry cream cake.

“Is that dairy-free?” I asked.

Owen looked at the box. “I didn't check.”

Ethan took out a candle, then put it down.

I looked at him. “If Lily were the one presenting and I had a problem with my dress, would all three of you have missed it?”

Lily stared at her hands.

“You know how anxious she gets,” Ethan said. “Why are you making this a competition?”

“I'm asking why nobody came.”

“You're good at this stuff,” Owen said. “She doesn't have your confidence. Sometimes she needs more help.”

I put the lid back on the cake.

Before anyone could say anything else, Lily reached into her bag.

“I did get the part.” She unfolded a contract. “The production is in Atlanta.”

Owen grinned and took the papers. Noah said his research institute had a branch there. Ethan asked whether the production company provided housing.

Within a minute, they were all bent over her contract.

My award certificate was still on the table. I picked it up and took it upstairs.

Northline's offer had arrived. The salary was better than anything I'd been offered locally. They would help with relocation and provide a furnished apartment for my first month.

Three months earlier, I’d turned down Northline’s initial invitation because Ethan didn’t want a long-distance relationship. When they contacted me again last month, he’d asked me to stay in Bellhaven, and Owen had offered to find me something nearby.

I’d let both of them decide what my future should look like.

Northline’s formal employment agreement was waiting in my inbox.

I signed it that night.
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  • When They Finally Noticed I Was Gone   Chapter 10

    The following summer, the completed community center opened to the public.It rained all morning.The outdoor activities moved beneath the covered entrance. Volunteers unfolded tables. Neighbors arrived with children, grocery bags, and wet jackets. A man using a walker stopped to catch his breath beside the reading-room doors.There was room for everyone.Rachel directed the setup while Tess carried in a box of programs.“Can you get the door?” she called.I held it open, then took half the stack from her arms.During the morning activities, I noticed a little girl standing by the exit. Her mother was across the street, waiting for the crossing signal. The girl looked from her to the rain.“You can wait here,” I told her. “She's coming.”The girl stepped back under the roof. A few moments later, her mother reached us, thanked me, and knelt to zip up her daughter's raincoat.I went back inside to help clear the tables.On my lunch break, I watched a video Lily had sent. She'd landed her

  • When They Finally Noticed I Was Gone   Chapter 9

    That September, the entrance design won an emerging designer award from a regional design association.My old college was hosting that year's ceremony. Three months after leaving Bellhaven, I went back for the first time.Lily messaged me a week beforehand.Would you mind if I came?You can come, I replied.I didn't reserve seats for anyone.When I walked into the auditorium, Lily, Owen, and Noah were already sitting together near the back. Ethan wasn't there.Lily wore a plain white shirt and carried a bunch of sunflowers.“Are these okay?” she asked.I nodded, and she handed them to me.Owen stayed beside his seat.“Mom and Dad would like to have dinner afterward, if you've got time. It's okay if you've made other plans.”I looked at him.Usually, he would have told me where we were eating and what time everyone expected me.“I can do dinner.”After the ceremony, Lily spent a long time in front of the project display. She pointed at the rendering of the covered entrance.“Why did you

  • When They Finally Noticed I Was Gone   Chapter 8

    By late August, the first phase of construction was underway.I spent most mornings on-site, checking details with the construction team. Rachel checked my work, the engineers checked the structure, and slowly the entrance I'd drawn began to take shape.The day the canopy frame went up, Rachel handed me a proof for the project's credit panel.“Check the spelling of your name.”I found it beneath Entrance Design.“I'm on this?”Tess leaned over my shoulder. “You did design it.”“I know. I just...”“Then check the spelling.”I was smiling when my phone rang.Ethan was outside the studio.I told him I was working and would have fifteen minutes at five. I didn't want him arriving without warning again.When I reached the café across from the office, he was waiting with a small paper bag.“I saw this and thought of you.”Inside was a leather portfolio case from a brand I'd once admired. I'd once pointed it out to him in a store. Months ago, I would have been thrilled that he'd remembered.I

  • When They Finally Noticed I Was Gone   Chapter 7

    Two weeks after the move, Lily called me from outside the production office.Her agent wanted her to sign a replacement representation agreement. It included a large fee for early termination and broad obligations to accept promotional work.Lily had refused to sign without understanding it. Owen had gone to the office and argued with the agent. Now the agent was complaining that her family was interfering with her career.Noah had asked around for a lawyer, without much luck.“Do you know anyone who handles contracts like this?” Lily asked.I was on-site checking material samples. I stepped away from the contractor's table.“Yes. A lawyer I met during my internship.”“Could you talk to her for me?”“I'll send you her details. You'll need to contact her yourself.”There was a pause.“What if I explain it wrong?”“Send both contracts and the emails. Write down what you're worried about. She's the person who can tell you what it means.”Lily didn't answer immediately.I'd filled out her

  • When They Finally Noticed I Was Gone   Chapter 6

    Ethan didn't answer that night.At nine the next morning, I was in Northline's meeting room with a notebook open in front of me.The studio was working on the redevelopment of an old commercial block. The plan kept the existing buildings and added a community reading room, accessible walkways, and public seating.Our project lead, Rachel, had seen my graduate work. She asked me to develop the entrance concept under her supervision.After the meeting, she stopped by my desk.“Comfortable taking that on?”I almost offered to help someone more experienced instead.Then I looked down at the site plans.“Yes. I'd like to.”For three days, I visited the block, took photographs, and talked to the people who used it. On the fourth day, I presented my proposal.At the review, a client representative frowned at the broad covered entrance.“That's a lot of space to devote to a few rainy afternoons.”I brought up a photograph of three older residents sheltering beneath the narrow awning of a conve

  • When They Finally Noticed I Was Gone   Chapter 5

    By the time their flight left for Atlanta, I was already on my way to Chicago.For most of the journey, I slept.A designer from Northline met me at baggage claim. Her name was Tess, and she'd joined the studio two years before me.She took one look at my suitcase. “Good. You pack light. The temporary apartment's a third-floor walk-up.”“This is everything I'm bringing.”She didn't ask what I'd left behind.At the apartment, Tess helped me carry my case upstairs, gave me the keys, and pointed out the grocery store across the street. When she saw me checking my phone battery, she set a spare charging cable on the table.“Keep that. I've got about six at home.”I thanked her and plugged in my phone. She'd noticed I needed something without making me ask.I waited until she'd gone downstairs to move the car before opening my messages.Fourteen missed calls from Ethan.Owen wanted to know whether I was deliberately trying to worry everyone. Noah had sent the address of the Atlanta house an

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