The Group Chat Without Me That Decided Everything Chapter 01

The Group Chat Without Me That Decided Everything Chapter 01

The five of us had an unwritten rule: we never talked things through. We had to guess.

What we ate, where we went, even who picked up the check. We had to guess all of it.

They called it “the connection that comes with ten years of friendship.”

But somehow, I was always the only one who guessed wrong.

Two weeks before Labor Day, I asked in our group chat: [Where are we going for the holiday?]

All four of them sent the same reply: [Guess.]

I asked my boyfriend in private. He said offhandedly,

“I hear Lake Tahoe’s gorgeous in September.”

That night, I booked a flight to Reno for Lake Tahoe.

The next day, my best friend, Anna Hayes, posted a palm-tree wallpaper in the group chat:

[Can’t wait for that ocean breeze!]

I canceled my flight to Reno and rebooked for Palm Beach.

A day later, my oldest brother shared a post about hiking in the desert:

[Every guy should head out West at least once.]

I canceled again and booked a flight to Grand Junction for Moab.

In seven days, I changed my flight eight times. I thought I’d finally figured it out.

Then, the night before we left, I saw a group chat on my boyfriend’s phone that didn’t include me.

Anna wrote: [I’ve decided. Miami.]

My oldest brother replied immediately: [Okay. I’ll book the tickets now.]

My other brother wrote: [Oh, and remember to give Cee a hint about the right place.]

My boyfriend sent an OK hand emoji.

That was when I realized they hadn’t even picked a destination yet. I was the only one doing any guessing.

This time, though, I didn’t want to change my flight again.

I was going to the wrong place to have the right vacation.

…

“I hear the chicken tortilla soup in Miami’s the real deal.”

Ethan Reed leaned against the kitchen doorframe, his tone casual.

My hands paused over the glass I was washing.

Water pattered against its sides.

He came over and casually turned off the faucet.

“You’re smart. I shouldn’t have to spell it out, right?”

He looked down at his phone. On the screen was an Instagram post Anna had shared ten minutes earlier.

It was an old photo of Crescent Key.

I dried my hands on a towel and said nothing.

Usually, this was where I acted as if it had all clicked, then scrambled to cancel my flight for Moab and rebook for Miami.

Then I’d post in the group chat, “Oh, Miami! I’m sure I got it right this time.”

The four of them would send snickering GIFs, make fun of how slow I was, and bask in how much I valued our supposed connection.

This time, I looked at the calendar hanging on the wall and kept my voice flat.

“Sounds good. Enjoy it.”

I walked past him, straight into the bedroom.

Ethan gave a little scoff behind me, apparently bored by my refusal to play along.

The day we left was overcast.

We agreed to meet at Terminal 3.

When I arrived with my suitcase, the four of them were sitting on the couches at a coffee shop.

Anna wore a long floral dress and was feeding Ethan a bite of a macaron.

My oldest brother, Nathan Bennett, was adjusting the sun hat she held.

My other brother, Lucas Bennett, held up his phone, showing her some short video that had her shaking with laughter.

“Well, look who finally made it.”

Lucas looked up first and waved me over.

“Five more minutes and we would’ve left you behind.”

I walked over and parked my suitcase beside the table.

“Traffic.”

Nathan stood and held out his hand.

“Give me your license. I’ll get everyone’s boarding passes so you don’t have to stand in line.”

I opened my bag and handed him my driver’s license.

He took it and tapped it twice with a fingertip, a barely perceptible glint of amusement in his eyes.

“The sand in Moab doesn’t taste very good, Cee.”

I looked at him without answering.

Ten minutes later, Nathan returned with five thin slips of paper.

He handed me one with a little smile.

“Here. See where you’re actually going.”

I glanced down.

Flight AA 8123. Destination: Miami.

Anna came closer and looped her arm through mine, her smile all innocence.

“Claire, I knew you’d guess wrong again.”

“Good thing Nathan checked your itinerary late last night and found you’d booked a flight for Moab, of all places.”

Ethan came over and casually took my suitcase.

“All that wind and dust out West? Anna has asthma. Why would we go there?”

“You get worse at reading us every year.”

Lucas chimed in from beside him.

“Come on. If Nathan hadn’t caught it and paid out of pocket to cancel and rebook your flight, you’d be stranded in the desert all by yourself.”

In a few sentences, they turned snooping through my itinerary and canceling my flight without permission into some enormous favor.

I gripped the boarding pass to Miami so tightly that its edge dug into my palm.

“You really didn’t have to worry about me.”

I looked up at them.

“I would’ve been fine going to Moab alone.”

Everything went quiet for a second.

Ethan frowned, impatience creeping into his voice.

“Claire Bennett, why are you throwing a fit this early in the morning?”

“We’re taking a trip together, and you want to run off to Moab alone? Are you trying to ruin it for everyone?”

Nathan patted Ethan’s shoulder, signaling him to ease off.

“Cee, I was worried about you traveling alone. Miami’s great. Ocean breezes, seafood.”

Anna gave my arm a little shake.

“Exactly, Claire. You love the ocean, remember? We can go collect seashells together. Wouldn’t that be fun?”

Looking into her innocent eyes, I suddenly couldn’t see the point anymore.

She was the one who loved the ocean. I was the one with the seafood allergy.

But they never seemed to remember.

I pulled my arm away and slipped the boarding pass into my pocket.

“Let’s go. We need to get through security.”

On the plane, we had three seats together and two in another row.

Ethan took Anna’s boarding pass and headed straight for the two seats in front.

Nathan and Lucas settled into the three-seat row behind them.

That left an empty aisle seat beside my brothers.

I walked over and sat in it.

Lucas handed me a bottle of water and casually set a few of Anna’s magazines on my lap.

“Hold these for Anna. They wouldn’t fit in her bag.”

“Okay.”

I set the magazines by my feet.

After takeoff, the cabin slowly quieted down.

I leaned back and stared absently at the clouds outside.

Once, those two seats had always belonged to Ethan and me.

Nathan and Lucas would sit behind us, occasionally tapping me on the head to ask if I was hungry.

Then Anna came along.

She was the daughter of Nathan’s mentor. After his death, the Bennetts had taken her in at his request.

At first, all they said was, “Anna’s new here. Cut her some slack.”

So I gave her the passenger seat because she got carsick.

We started choosing milder food because she had a sensitive stomach.

Even Ethan began to think she needed more looking after than I did.

Eventually, I became the outsider who always had to “guess” what they wanted.

“Please put your tray table up.”

The flight attendant’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

I straightened and folded the table away.

In front of me, Ethan was tucking a blanket around Anna. Their heads were close as they murmured to each other.

I closed my eyes and turned toward the window.

This was probably the last time I’d play this ridiculous game with them.