They Cropped Me Out, So I Cut Them Off Chapter 01

They Cropped Me Out, So I Cut Them Off Chapter 01

In our five-person friend group, I was always the least attractive one.

Every time we traveled, I was the one behind the camera.

The person taking everyone else’s photos.

The first time we climbed the Blue Ridge Mountains, I took pictures of them during sunrise.

After I finished, I held up my phone and asked,

“Okay, my turn.”

“Who’s taking our picture?”

My boyfriend and Serena both pointed at the sky.

“The lighting’s gone.”

“Let’s do it next time.”

So that group photo only had four people in it.

The second time was during the Blue Hour in the Alaska Wilderness.

I hurried to capture their photos before the light faded.

Then I quickly asked,

“Okay, who’s taking mine?”

My brother and sister spent a long time looking through the pictures.

They adjusted the angles.

They picked their favorites.

And only after all that did they finally remember me.

“Oh, the Blue Hour is over.”

“Next time.”

That post only showed the four of them too.

The third time, we traveled to Northern Lights Valley to chase the Northern Lights.

This time, I brought a selfie stick.

But when they posted online, they all silently cropped me out.

That night, I stayed in my room pretending to be asleep.

I listened to them talking in the living room.

“We have the same mom.”

“So why does Blythe need eighteen filters just to look good?”

“I wish Serena was my sister instead.”

After my brother and sister finished talking, they looked at my silent boyfriend.

“Why are you so quiet?”

“We still don’t get what you ever saw in my sister.”

The room went completely silent.

After a long pause, I heard my boyfriend say,

“Serena and I were going through a rough patch back then.”

My brother and sister immediately understood.

They laughed.

Then they moved on and started discussing where we should travel next.

My boyfriend suggested,

“Serena loves the ocean.”

“How about the Caribbean Islands?”

“I already booked four tickets.”

“Blythe can book her own ticket.”

Inside my room, I opened my phone and bought my own ticket.

But my destination was completely different.

I was going to see the snow-covered Mount Pilatus.

…

“Blythe, I’ve been talking to you.”

“Why are you spacing out?”

My brother Theodore frowned at me impatiently.

I snapped out of it and asked,

“What?”

Theodore handed me a return train ticket.

The moment I looked at it, my expression changed.

I wasn’t staying in the same sleeper cabin as them.

My voice came out hoarse.

“Why am I staying with strangers by myself?”

My sister Isla answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“We checked earlier.”

“There are three men in that cabin.”

“Serena and I can’t stay there.”

“Theodore and Luca need to protect us.”

Then Isla smiled, like she was making a harmless joke,

“You’re different.”

“You look so harmless, no one would even think of bothering you.”

“So we’re not worried about you staying there.”

Those words, “You look so harmless,” felt like a needle piercing straight into my heart.

Growing up, they always loved making jokes about me.

Even after I told them countless times it wasn’t funny.

Back in high school, if I got out of class later than them, they would leave first.

I had seriously asked them to wait for me.

I told them it wasn’t safe to walk alone.

Theodore and Isla would just smile and say,

“One look at your face and a serial killer would run the other way.”

“You’re the safest person alive.”

Serena would laugh until she cried.

Luca would only frown slightly, his eyes filled with disapproval.

But later…

Luca changed too.

Theodore saw me standing there frozen and impatiently snapped his fingers in front of my face.

“My little sister.”

“You’re not exactly blessed in the looks department.”

“And if you’re this clueless too, who’s ever going to want you?”

His eyes were cold and impatient.

But his voice was deliberately playful.

When I still didn’t move, Theodore clicked his tongue.

Serena spoke first.

“I’ll stay there!”

“Don’t make things harder for Blythe.”

“No!”

The three of them rejected her suggestion at the same time.

Serena pouted.

“Why not?”

“I’m strong and independent too, you know.”

Luca, who had been watching from the side, laughed.

His eyes were filled with affection.

“You never know what kind of people you’ll run into in a mixed-gender cabin.”

“It’s not safe for you.”

Isla poked my shoulder.

“Just agree, Blythe.”

“Don’t make this harder for everyone.”

I looked at our reflections in the train window.

The four of them were unforgettable.

Tall.

Beautiful.

The kind of people who naturally became the center of attention wherever they went.

And then there was me.

Standing among them.

Plain.

Like a cup of warm water.

Completely out of place.

I forced down the bitterness rising in my throat.

“Okay.”

Everyone quietly relaxed.

Like they had finally solved a huge problem.

So they sent me to that cabin.

There were three guys inside.

They weren’t as handsome as Theodore or Luca.

But they were still above average.

Serena leaned close to my ear and whispered,

“Blythe, you’re actually so lucky.”

“You get to see handsome guys everywhere you go.”

“Exactly.”

“If anyone tried anything with you, you’d probably be the lucky one.”

My brother added.

My sister and Serena burst into laughter.

Luca held Serena’s arm.

The smile in his eyes was impossible to hide.

Before leaving, he gently fixed the loose strands of hair beside my ear.

“If anything happens, call me.”

“Okay?”

“I’ll be watching out for you.”

After they left, I gathered my courage and chased after them.

“If something really happened to me…”

“Would you regret it?”

The long-distance train corridor was so quiet that I almost felt like I was the only person left in the world.

Then I heard it.

A laugh.

All four of them suddenly burst out laughing.

Serena smiled brightly.

“With those three guys’ looks?”

“Blythe, you’re the one who got lucky.”

They laughed until they bent over.

But my heart sank little by little.

Their laughter felt like a dull knife scraping against my heart.

They walked away with Serena in the middle.

Protecting her.

The lights stretched their shadows together.

Like they would never separate.

And I was the only one left behind.

A lonely outsider.

I returned to the cabin and placed a bottle of pepper spray under my pillow.

At the time, I only did it out of habit.

But that decision…

Would end up saving me once.