They Forgot Me 99 Times, I Won’t Give Them a 100th Chance Chapter 05

They Forgot Me 99 Times, I Won’t Give Them a 100th Chance Chapter 05

No one stopped me.

Or rather, no one cared.

They kept discussing what dishes to buy after the move.

At the end of the hallway, I called the leasing agent.

“Please cancel the apartment we picked out.”

The agent reminded me the deposit might not be refundable.

I said it was fine.

After I hung up, I opened the electronic appointment letter the pack had sent.

I signed my name on the last page.

I steadied myself and went back to the table. They were raising their glasses to celebrate the four of them still living together after graduation.

Five people.

Without me.

I raised my glass too and clinked it lightly.

Here’s to you four never separating.

Here’s to me walking alone, with a bright future ahead.

My phone buzzed under the table.

[Your appointment is now in effect. Please report to the Pack House at nine tomorrow morning.]

Kael’s phone buzzed at the same time.

He read the lease cancellation notice, and his expression darkened instantly.

“Freya, you canceled the apartment?”

I hummed in acknowledgment.

“You weren’t going to live there anyway.”

He stared at me, then let out a cold laugh, as if indulging me would only make me more peevish.

“You think you can force me to cave like this? Then let’s drag it out.”

“I’d love to see who breaks at last.”

He didn’t know.

Between him and me, there was no “last” anymore.

The night before I left, the PackChat group avatars all changed at once.

The four of them used the same graduation illustration.

Adrian took the upper left corner.

Julian took the upper right.

Kael and Sienna were on either side, fitting together into one complete picture.

I opened the group member list.

Five avatars in total.

Their four made up one image.

My plain landscape picture looked redundant.

Sienna sent a message in the group.

[These avatars look so cute together!]

Adrian replied with a wolf pup sticker.

[Of course. You picked them.]

Julian rarely joined in, but he did.

[Very commemorative.]

Kael tagged me.

[Don’t overthink it. The shop only had a four-person version.]

I wanted to reply: [If you cut one long image into five pieces from top to bottom, isn’t that a five-person version?]

But there was no need to argue. No need to force myself in and ruin their harmony.

I replied with a number, 97, out of nowhere.

Unfortunately, no one cared. No one asked.

They probably thought I’d typed it by mistake.

At noon the next day, Adrian sent a restaurant location.

[It’s your birthday. We’ll have dinner together tonight. Don’t be late.]

Should I have been touched?

At least someone remembered my birthday.

The truth was, Adrian and I were twins. We shared the same birthday, so he remembered.

Below the message was a screenshot of a set meal.

A four-person set.

One appetizer, two entrees, one dessert, and four drinks.

I asked him:

[A four-person set? There are five of us.]

It took Adrian a long time to understand what I meant.

[Sienna’s been eyeing this place for a while. The four-person set is a better deal.]

[Just order more when you get there. Stop nitpicking every little thing.]

I suddenly found it ridiculous.

They always said I was the most important person in the family.

But when they ordered, no one remembered to save me a spot.

Only when I stood by the table would they shift a chair over and add a hastily brought set of utensils.

“Ninety-eight.”

I sighed to myself as I put the last piece of clothing into my suitcase.

A few things were still in the drawer.

The hair clip Adrian gave me when we were kids.

The class notes Julian copied for me.

The movie tickets Kael bought on our first date.

And the crooked handmade wolf Sienna gave me when she first came to the Bennett house.

I didn’t throw them away.

I just left them in the drawer.

Taking them would mean I still couldn’t let go.

When you truly don’t care anymore, even dealing with things feels like too much trouble.

The moment I closed my suitcase, Kael sent a photo of four music festival tickets.

[Sienna took forever to get these.]

[Exactly four. We’re going to the concert with her this weekend.]

[@Freya, you don’t like crowds. Sit this one out.]

I’d lost count of how many times they’d used “you don’t like it” to accept my exclusion for me.

Ninety-nine.

In fact, I’d listened to that band with Kael for three years.

On our first date, we watched that band.

Last year, when he couldn’t get tickets, he held me and said he’d definitely take me to see them live next time.

So the promise hadn’t disappeared.

It had just been kept for someone else.

I pulled my suitcase out of the room.

No goodbye letter.

No long, dramatic accusation.

They wouldn’t read it seriously.

Even if they did, they’d only think I was overreacting.

On the way to the airport, group messages kept popping up.

Adrian urged me to get to the restaurant early and save seats.

Julian asked me to pick up a box of blueberry scones Sienna liked on the way.

Sienna asked if I was still mad, followed by a sad face emoji.

The last message came from Kael.

[It’s your birthday tonight. Don’t sulk at dinner.]

[When we go to the music festival, we’ll bring you back a souvenir.]

I didn’t reply.

Before boarding, I left the five-person PackChat group.

The system popped up a confirmation prompt.

I tapped confirm and left clean.

When the plane shot up into the clouds, the wolf inside me, silent for so long, finally lifted its head.

After boarding, I sat down by the window.

My phone buzzed again.

Kael sent a voice message.

His voice carried its usual exasperation.

“Freya, what are you throwing a fit about now?”

“See the messages and reply. Don’t make everyone wait for you.”

As the plane began to taxi, Kael sent another message.

[Be there before seven. No one’s waiting if you’re late.]

I looked out the window.

The familiar city shrank little by little.

I pressed the power button.

They’d probably add a chair for me tonight.

But that makeshift seat, however, I would never sit in it again.

It was the hundredth time. My turn to forget all of you.