I Got Laid Off And They Celebrated Her Promotion Chapter 05

After takeoff, I put my phone in airplane mode.

At the gate, I’d blocked Luke, Sophie, Charlie, and Noah and left the chat we’d shared for so many

years.

Four people remained in the group.

They would probably notice soon.

By then, I’d already be on my way to a new city.

Emma waited for me outside the airport.

Seeing that I’d brought only one suitcase, she reached for my laptop bag.

“Where’s the rest of your stuff?”

“I’m leaving it for now.”

She glanced at me but didn’t press.

“The company arranged a short–term apartment close to the office. Once you know the city, you can look for a place of your own.”

I nodded.

As we drove away, I leaned my forehead against the car window.

Denver didn’t look so different from Chicago. Traffic backed up at intersections, and evening slowly

darkened the sky.

But suddenly, I didn’t have to hurry back to that apartment.

Luke was the one who’d rented it.

He’d signed the lease before I moved in with two suitcases. Over time, I added clothes, books, and

everyday things. Eventually, I’d started thinking of it as home.

The apartment wasn’t mine, and my name wasn’t on the lease.

All I had to do to leave was take what belonged to me.

That evening, when Luke returned to the apartment, Sophie was in the living room.

She looked up from her phone as he opened the door.

“Is Hannah back?”

“Ndon’t know.”

As Luke took off his shoes, he noticed a pair of women’s slippers was missing from the entryway.

He went into the bedroom. Most of the right side of the closet was empty, and the laptop was gone

from the desk.

Only a few old ticket stubs remained in the nightstand.

The mug I always used had been washed and turned upside down beside the kitchen sink.

A key lay on the dining table.

It was my spare.

Luke picked it up and stared at it for a long time.

“She took her things.”

Charlie and Noah arrived soon afterward.

Noah opened the guest room door. Sophie’s luggage was still in the guest room. What was supposed

to have been a one–night stay had already stretched into several days.

Luke opened his phone to message me.

His message wouldn’t go through.

He tried calling and heard an automated voice.

Charlie tried once. So did Noah.

They got the same result.

Sophie held her phone without pressing the call button.

She knew I’d blocked her, too.

The four of them opened the group chat.

Its membership had gone from five to four. Near the top was the message I’d sent the day before: “I

got laid off.”

No one had replied to it.

Like stared at the screen, his expression slowly hardening.

“When did she leave?”

“I don’t know,” Charlie said.

“Where did she go?”

Noah shook his head.

Sophie spoke quietly. “Did she go to Emma?”

They all turned to her.

She dropped her gaze.

“I only know they’re close. Emma helped her find work once before.”

Luke picked up his jacket.

“Let’s go to her old office first.”

At the door, he glanced back at the half–empty closet.

For the first time, he realized I hadn’t gone out to cool off and wouldn’t come home after they said a few comforting words.

I’d taken everything I could carry.

I’d even given him back the key.