Home / The Day I Took a Different Path / Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

All Chapters of The Day I Took a Different Path: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

The mechanic told us that our car couldn't be repaired that day. My boyfriend, Landon Freeman, leaned against the car door and checked his phone for a moment. Soon, he handed me a bus ticket. "1:00 pm. Six hours. You'll make it in time for dinner."I took one look at the ticket. "It's for me?""Yeah." He pointed at the remaining SUV. "There are only four seats in total. Someone has to take the bus."My best friend, Willow Castillo, immediately piped up. "Why don't I take the bus instead? Paige's going to be bored riding all that way by herself." As soon as she picked up her bag, one of my childhood friends, Clyde Medina, pinned her hand down. "Did you forget how much you threw up yesterday?" Mason Rivera, another childhood friend of mine, also frowned. "With your stomach, six hours on the bus will only make you feel sick again tonight." Landon had already hauled my luggage to the curb. "Paige will be fine."He smiled and jerked his chin at Willow. "She's been tough as nails

Chapter 2

Roughly around 7:00 pm, the bus arrived at the station. I dragged my suitcase to the bed-and-breakfast I'd booked in advance. The owner combed through his computer for a long while before looking up at me. "Your reservation was canceled this afternoon." I went rigid. "It was canceled?""Yeah, you informed us your itinerary changed, and you weren't coming here anymore." I pulled up the group chat. The last message was still the salt lake photo Willow had sent that afternoon. No one had mentioned changing the itinerary. I called Landon. He didn't answer until the second call. It was noisy on his end, and I could vaguely hear Willow singing in the background. "Have you arrived?""Yeah. Where are you guys?" "We're in the neighboring city," he responded matter-of-factly. "We ran into a few tourists this afternoon who told us there's a music festival here tonight, so we made a last-minute detour."I tightened my grip on the handle of my suitcase. "Why didn't any of you tel

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 hi

Chapter 4

When I arrived at the parking lot that morning, I spotted the SUV at a glance. The four of them had already loaded all their luggage inside. I didn't utter a word.When Landon spotted me, he handed me his phone. "The bus leaves at 11:00 am. It's a three-hour ride. I already bought your ticket." I made no move to accept it. Willow immediately climbed out of the passenger seat. "I'll take the bus today. Paige has been taking the bus by herself these past two days." As soon as the words left her mouth, both of my childhood friends frowned."Your stomach just recovered." "The whole route is full of mountain switchbacks. You're going to throw up again." Landon pulled her back as well. "I'll worry about you if you take the bus."I stood beside them, and all of a sudden, the six-hour bus ride from two days ago flashed through my mind.When I didn't accept it, Landon urged, "Take it already."I met his gaze. "I don't feel like taking the bus today." Everyone froze.Clyde wa

Chapter 5

The moment the plane touched down, I powered on my phone. Notifications flooded in all at once. I had more than a dozen missed calls from Landon. Clyde and Mason had called me several times, too. The last message in the group chat was from Willow. "Where on earth did you go, Paige? We're all worried about you." I stared at "We're all worried about you" for a couple of seconds before texting Jude to let her know I had made it safely. I had just set my phone down when Landon's call came through again. I answered it. "Paige, you finally decided to pick up! Where are you?" he asked softly."My plane just landed.""I know. I'm asking which airport you're at." I paused for a moment before answering, "The one near my new job." Silence fell on the other end. "What job?""The one I was offered.""When did you get the offer?" "Two weeks ago." Landon was clearly dumbfounded. "Hold on… You found a job two weeks ago? And it's out of town?" "Yeah.""Why didn't you tell me?"

Chapter 6

The following afternoon, Jude sent me a picture. The cardboard box on my desk was now empty.Jude: "Landon came to pick up his belongings."Jude: "His expression was grim."I left her on read. After a while, she sent me another message. "He asked when you'd be back. I told him you'd taken a job out of town. Then, he just stood there for a long time in silence."After reading that, I set my phone face down on the desk. …There was a lot to take care of during my first week at the new company. I had to get my ID card, attend training, and get up to speed on the projects. I was so busy that I could go an entire afternoon without thinking about them. Clyde called me a little after 9:00 pm. "Paige."I hummed in response.For once, he didn't joke around right away. "Did you really break up with Landon?" "Yeah.""Because of this trip?" "Pretty much." He sighed. "Alright, so you broke up with him, whatever. But why are you ignoring me and Mason too?" My hand froze in mida

Chapter 7

Willow called me on the third evening. I hesitated for a couple of seconds before picking up. Her voice was barely above a whisper. "Paige, do you blame me as well?""No.""Don't do this," she pleaded. "The more you tell me you're not upset, the worse I feel." I remained silent.Willow paused for a moment before continuing, "To be honest, there are things I've always been aware of." "Like what?""That they favored me." Now, I was stumped. Willow took a deep breath. "Whenever we dined out, they always asked me what I wanted to eat first. When we took pictures, I was always the first one they photographed. If I said I was tired, they'd stop. Sometimes, I felt like it wasn't fair to you either." "In that case, why didn't you say anything?" I inquired.The other end of the line went silent for a long time. "Because…" she paused for a beat before adding, "it feels really good to be taken care of." Willow sure was honest; she was so honest that I couldn't even bring myse

Chapter 8

A week later, we had our first project presentation at the company. The section I was responsible for was moved to the very beginning at the last minute. Before I went onstage, the project lead asked me, "How are you feeling? Nervous?""I'm alright." "Is this your first time?""Yeah."He handed me the laptop. "In that case, take your time. No one's going to bite if you make a mistake."I couldn't help but chuckle. The presentation went better than I expected. Once I wrapped it up, the project lead tapped the table. "This proposal works! For someone who's only been here a week, this is pretty impressive." Applause broke out around the conference room. The moment I took my seat, my phone vibrated in my pocket. Landon: "I'm downstairs at your company."I stared at his message for two seconds before heading downstairs. He was standing outside the lobby. I hadn't seen him in a week, and he looked haggard. He was holding a paper bag in his hand. When he saw me, he froz

Chapter 9

Landon no longer tried to corner me, but he texted me every single day.Landon: "The temperature's dropping today. Remember to bundle up."Landon: "Your stomach's sensitive. Stop ordering takeout all the time."Landon: "Text me back when you get a chance."I'd waited for him to tell me these things forever. Now, he had finally told me. Yet, I left him on read. …Mason called me on Friday night. "Give me five minutes.""Alright." For once, he didn't crack a joke. "Clyde and I went through our chat history. It's pretty embarrassing." I remained silent.He let out a self-deprecating chuckle. "Every time you told us you wanted to go somewhere, we'd say, 'Next time.' Yet, if Willow wanted to go somewhere, we'd pretty much go that same day. Even on your birthday, when you wanted pizza, we ended up eating the cheese fondue she was craving." I was caught off guard for a moment. I'd almost forgotten about that.Mason continued, "I didn't think much of it back then. Looking back

Chapter 10

Three months down the line, the company organized a weekend road trip. There were five of us in a seven-seater. Before getting into the car, a colleague asked me, "Where do you want to sit?" I instinctively headed for the back row. "I'm fine with anywhere." He looked at me, puzzled. "What do you mean, anywhere? The front passenger seat is empty. Don't you get carsick?" I stopped in my tracks. "How did you know I get carsick?" "Last time we were on a business trip, didn't you tell me you'd feel sick if you looked at your phone on the highway?" Right after saying that, he tossed me the car keys. "Hurry up and climb into the front. I don't want you throwing up in my car later." Everyone around us burst into laughter. I couldn't help but smile too. When I settled into the front passenger seat, my phone lit up. It was Willow. It had been ages since she last reached out to me. All she sent was a single graduation photo. In the photo, the four of them stood in front of the

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP