All Chapters of No Room for Me: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

When I finished my bath, my phone screen lit up with a message from the property manager.[Mr. Dawson, you have a great parking spot. Are you sure you want to sell it?]I stared at the message for a few seconds, then typed back, [I'm sure.]His reply came almost immediately. [Alright. Several people have asked about it. If you're flexible on the price, we could have the paperwork signed tomorrow.]I let out a long breath. For the first time in months, I felt some of the tension leave my shoulders.Over the past year, that parking space caused more trouble than it was worth.My best friend, Ronald Carr, always blamed his driving and said he was worried about scratching my fiancée, Alicia Baker's, car. Somehow, his solution was to park farther and farther into my spot.Whenever I worked late, I came home to a gap barely wide enough to walk through, let alone park in. I called Ronald to ask him to move his car, but he never answered.Eventually, Alicia picked up instead. She alw

I opened the door, went straight to the bedroom, and pulled out my suitcase.Alicia followed me in. "Chase, what are you doing?"I started putting my clothes into the suitcase. "Moving out.""Over a parking space?"I kept packing.She put a hand on the suitcase. "You sold it without even talking to me?"I looked at her. "It was mine. I didn't need your permission."For a moment, she had no answer. Then, her expression tightened. "We're about to get married. Are we really going to argue over what's yours and what's mine?""You bought it, didn't you?""Yes, I did. Why shouldn't I?" She said it without hesitation. "You wanted to sell it. Was I supposed to let some stranger take it? You know Ronald has trouble parking. Having that extra space makes things easier for him.""For him.""Oh, Chase, please. It's a parking space. I'll buy you another one, okay?"She made it sound so simple, as though the only problem was my refusal to accept it.I zipped the suitcase shut and faced

My flight landed just after dawn. A thin fog hung over the airport beneath a pale morning sky.I stood outside the terminal with my suitcase and my phone still off. After days of constant calls and messages, the quiet took some getting used to.I didn't switch it on until that afternoon. Notifications filled the screen before I could open anything.There were dozens of missed calls from my parents. Mutual friends sent screenshots and voice messages faster than the app could load them.At the top of the list was a video from the wedding. I tapped it.Alicia stood at the altar with her veil crooked, her face tight with anger. Beside her, the officiant held his microphone and struggled to keep smiling as whispers spread through the guests.Ronald stood at her side in a light-colored suit. He didn't look like a groomsman waiting for instructions or a guest who stepped up to help. He looked comfortable beside her."Did the groom actually walk out on her?" someone whispered."Wait, i

A little over a month after the wedding fell apart, Alicia visited my parents.Mom told me about it after I finished an international conference call. My throat was sore from talking, and I was still going over my notes when she called.She asked if I had eaten, then got to the reason for her call. "Alicia came by today."I stopped writing. "What did she want?""To apologize."According to Mom, Alicia brought several bags of gifts and waited outside their door for a long time. Dad didn't want to let her in, but eventually, he relented.Once inside, she admitted she was wrong to buy my parking space behind my back. She also acknowledged that her relationship with Ronald crossed the line.Mom hesitated before going on. "She said she drank too much on the wedding night. That's how she explained what happened."I gave a short laugh. "Of course she did."Until I left, Alicia never had to face the consequences of her choices. Those always fell to me.She told me not to make a big d

A year later, I flew home for a short business trip.The sun was out when I landed, and my driver was waiting by the time I rolled my suitcase out of the terminal.On the ride into town, I watched the familiar streets and buildings pass. The city looked much the same as when I left.Work kept me busy for three days. Once everything was wrapped up, I went to see my parents.Mom stopped short when she opened the door, then reached for my suitcase. "You've lost weight again. Are you eating properly over there?"I brought the suitcase inside. "Work's been busy."Neither of them brought up Alicia over dinner.Mom asked about my apartment, my job, and whether I was making friends. Dad mostly listened, occasionally telling me not to work so late.After dinner, he slid a folder across the table."This is everything Alicia paid you back after the wedding was called off."I opened it and looked through the paperwork. The shared expenses were all itemized, from the wedding planner's fee