The Group Chat Without Me That Decided Everything Chapter 02

The Group Chat Without Me That Decided Everything Chapter 02

We landed at Miami International Airport at exactly two in the afternoon.

The Florida heat hit us as we stepped through the glass doors.

Anna wore a huge, wide-brimmed straw hat and held a lace-trimmed parasol.

“It’s so hot, Ethan. Let’s get to the hotel.”

Ethan pushed her suitcase with one hand and pulled out his phone to order a ride with the other.

“I booked an SUV. It’ll be here in a minute.”

Nathan and Lucas followed, carrying several bags of snacks Anna had picked up at an airport shop.

I wheeled my own carry-on about ten feet behind them.

No one looked back to check whether I was keeping up.

At our oceanfront hotel, the receptionist smiled and took the license Nathan handed her.

“Welcome. I see you’ve booked one king room with a panoramic ocean view and two rooms with two beds each.”

Nathan nodded.

Anna leaned against Ethan, her brow creasing slightly.

“Ethan, my nerves have been a mess lately, and I’m such a light sleeper. If I share a room, I’m afraid I’ll keep waking up all night.”

Ethan looked down at her, his voice softening without his realizing it.

“It’s okay. You can have the ocean-view king.”

He turned to Nathan.

“Nathan, I’ll share with you. Lucas, you’ll have to put up with having a room to yourself.”

Lucas waved it off.

“Fine by me. At least it’ll be quiet.”

With that settled, the receptionist laid out three key cards.

None of the four gave the cards a second glance. Apparently, this was the perfect arrangement.

I stood beside them and quietly watched them divide the cards.

The receptionist looked at me, then back at them.

“And for this guest…?”

Only then did Ethan turn, as if he’d just remembered I existed.

“Claire, share with Anna. It’s a king bed. There’s plenty of room for you two.”

Anna looked uncomfortable and bit her lower lip.

“You don’t snore, do you, Claire? I’m really worried about the noise.”

Lucas laughed.

“Don’t worry, Anna. Cee sleeps like a log. She barely moves.”

Ethan acted as if the arrangement were perfectly reasonable. My fingers slowly tightened around my suitcase handle.

“I’m not comfortable sharing a bed.”

Ethan immediately frowned.

“Claire Bennett, are you seriously being difficult again? It’s Labor Day weekend. Everything’s booked. If you won’t share with Anna, where are you going to sleep? On the street?”

Nathan’s face hardened too.

“Cee, grow up. Stop making this trip miserable for everyone.”

I didn’t argue. I simply slid my license toward the receptionist.

“Could you check whether you have any rooms left? Anything’s fine.”

She tapped her keyboard and looked up.

“We have one discounted interior room at the far end, with no outside window. It’s near the elevator, so there may be some noise. Would you like it?”

“I’ll take it.”

I took out my phone and paid with Apple Pay.

The four of them stood there and watched me pay for the worst room in the hotel. Not one tried to stop me.

Ethan let out a cold laugh.

“Fine. If you want to make yourself miserable, go ahead. It’s your money.”

Anna slipped her arm through his.

“Let it go, Ethan. Claire’s just so independent. Let’s put our things away. I’m exhausted and all sweaty.”

They took their key cards and headed up in the elevator reserved for the premium floors.

I turned the other way, pulling my suitcase toward the regular elevator.

The room really was tiny. There was barely enough space for my suitcase beside the bed.

I sat on the edge of the mattress. My phone buzzed.

It was a screenshot of the four-person chat that excluded me.

Anna posted it in our five-person chat, then immediately unsent it.

It was only there for a second, but I still read it.

Lucas: [What are we eating tonight?]

Anna: [I want seafood! I heard there’s a really good little restaurant near Bayside Marketplace.]

Ethan: [Okay. I’ll make a reservation now.]

Nathan: [What about Cee?]

Lucas: [Same as always. Make her guess. If she gets it wrong, maybe she’ll learn her lesson after that attitude she gave us at the hotel.]

I stared at the chat where the screenshot had just disappeared and gave a tight little smile.

Ten minutes later, Ethan sent a message to our group chat.

[Seven tonight. Same place as always.]

No location. No hint.

Their supposed “usual place” was just another game they’d rigged for themselves.

I didn’t reply.

I opened my email. An unread message sat in my inbox.

It was confirmation from that leading design firm in France that I’d passed the second interview.

I’d received the same email three years earlier.

Back then, Ethan had held my hand, his eyes red, and begged me to stay.

He’d said, “Claire, please don’t go. I’ll give you a home.”

For that promise, I’d given up my chance to go to Paris and stayed in this city, supporting him as he worked his way up from a junior manager.

Now three years had passed.

The home he’d given me always had a guest room reserved for Anna.

I opened the email and clicked “Accept Offer” at the bottom.

I locked my phone, changed into something comfortable, and left the hotel alone.

The evening ocean breeze in Miami was damp.

I didn’t go to Bayside Marketplace. I didn’t try to guess which little restaurant they’d chosen.

I found a hole-in-the-wall place on the street and ordered a steaming bowl of chicken tortilla soup.

Halfway through my meal, messages started flooding the group chat.

Lucas: [Claire Bennett, where are you? It’s already seven thirty.]

Anna: [Do you think Claire got lost? Should we send her our location?]

Ethan: [Why bother? If she can’t even figure out where we are, she deserves to go hungry.]

I read their messages and slowly drank the last of my soup.

After paying, I bought a lemonade from a street vendor and walked back with the ocean breeze in my face.

Their dinner no longer interested me at all.