Betrayed By Friends I Choose To Close The Inn To Them Chapter 09

Betrayed By Friends I Choose To Close The Inn To Them Chapter 09

I looked at her face.

That face I had seen for 3 years.

Pretty.

Gentle.

Always seeming to understand everyone,

Whenever I didn’t do well on a test, she was the first person to comfort me.

Whenever I was sick and missed school, she organized the notes and brought them to Bennett Inn.

I once thought our friendship would last.

But this was the person who destroyed my family with her own hands.

“Chloe.”

I spoke calmly.

“About the hotel, I already told you. It’s sold out. You asked, and I answered. If you don’t believe me, what do you want me to do?”

Chloe froze.

Her lips moved, but she couldn’t get anything out.

“As for me sitting in the back.”

I continued.

“The front row is too loud. I want to study in peace. As for lunch, I want to eat alone. Do I need to report that to you too?”

Chloe’s face went pale.

“Maya, that’s not what I meant. I just…”

“Just what?”

I cut her off.

“Just thought that since my family owns a hotel, we should hand over 50 rooms for you to stay in?”

“Just thought that because I’m your friend, I should arrange everything for you? And if I don’t say yes, I’m stingy, selfish, and a bad friend?”

Chloe took a step back.

Tears finally fell.

“I didn’t think that. I really didn’t.”

“If you didn’t think that, then what were you doing in front of the whole class?”

My voice rose a little despite myself.

—

“You stood there and told everyone Bennett Inn was close to the test center. You said comping 2

nights wouldn’t hurt my family. You said having everyone stay there wouldn’t cost us much.”

“How many times have I helped you people? And when have any of you ever helped me?”

Chloe cried harder.

She wiped her face with the back of her hand, her shoulders trembling.

“Maya, I really didn’t mean it like that. I just wanted to help everyone find somewhere closer to stay.

That’s all.”

“If you wanted to help everyone find somewhere to stay, why did you have to bring up Bennett Inn?”

“Because… because your family’s place is the closest.”

“So what? That means my family should make it free?”

Chloe stopped talking.

She just cried.

A few classmates passed by on the sidewalk and slowed when they saw us standing there.

Their eyes moved between Chloe and me.

I ignored them, hitched my backpack higher on my shoulder, and turned to leave.

“Maya!”

Chloe called after me.

I didn’t look back.

When I got home, Laura was cooking in the kitchen

She wore an old floral apron, her hair loosely twisted up behind her head.

When she saw me, she smiled.

She was always like that.

No matter how tired she was, the first thing she did when I came through the door was smile.

“Maya’s home. Go wash your hands. The soup’s almost ready.”

I set down my backpack, walked into the kitchen, and hugged her from behind.

Laura froze in my arms, and the spoon in her hand almost hit the edge of the pot.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to hug you.”

Laura laughed and patted the back of my hand.

“Okay, go wash your hands. If you keep hugging me, the soup’s going to get cold.”

I let go, washed my hands in the bathroom, and sat down at the dining table.

David came out of the home office holding a stack of papers, reading glasses perched on his nose.

“Maya, I’m driving you to Ohio University on SAT day”

“You don’t have to. I can go myself. It’s not far.”

“Nope.” David put the papers down and took off his glasses. “It’s an important test. I’m dropping you off at the door.”

His eyes were soft as he looked at me.

I looked at his face and suddenly remembered how old he had looked overnight the first time around.

My eyes reddened instantly.

“What’s wrong?”

Laura came out of the kitchen with the soup.

When she saw my expression, she immediately got nervous.

“Maya, what happened?”

“Nothing.”

I lowered my head and blinked hard.

“Just choked a little.”

Laura glanced at the untouched food on the table.

She was quiet for 2 seconds and didn’t call me out.

During dinner, David brought up the hotel again.

IN

“Maya, your classmates really don’t need rooms? Staying too far away before the SAT is rough. If

they need rooms, we shouldn’t let them sit empty.”

I poked a piece of meat with my fork and chewed slowly, not answering right away.

That was David.

He always thought the best of people.

He always believed that if you could give someone a hand, you shouldn’t make things hard for

them.

Bennett Inn had been open for more than 10 years.

Not once had he thrown someone out just because they couldn’t pay right away.

One year, a blizzard shut down the highway, and hundreds of stranded travelers came off the road.

Nearby hotels all started raising prices.

Only Bennett Inn kept the regular rate and handed out free hot cocoa and blankets.

That story made the local news.

During the interview, David looked into the camera and said, “People on the road have it hard

enough.”