Abandoned at the Service Station, I Watched His Taillights Fade Chapter 03

Abandoned at the Service Station, I Watched His Taillights Fade Chapter 03

The next morning, a soft knock sounded on my door.

I opened it. Ethan stood outside holding a steaming bowl of clam chowder. “You barely ate last night, right?”

He walked in and set the tray on the desk. “The innkeeper made it himself. It’s really fresh.”

He looked at me, his voice softening. “That game last night—I was just saying whatever. Don’t take it to heart.”

He reached out to touch my face. “When we get back, I’ll buy you that Winsor & Newton artist brush set you’ve been eyeing. Okay?”

I tilted my head away from his hand.

He thought he could pacify me with a new set. He thought if he just gave me an opening, I’d fall in line and let it go.

“I don’t want it.” I stared at the bowl, my tone flat. “Ethan, I’m allergic to shellfish. Did you forget?”

Ethan’s hand froze in midair. He looked down at the bits of clam floating in the chowder, his brow furrowing. “Sorry.”

He pulled his hand back and cleared his throat to cover the awkwardness.

“I wasn’t paying attention. I’ll go grab you a plain one.”

“Don’t bother.”

I picked up the bowl, walked into the bathroom, and dumped it straight into the toilet right in front of him.

I flushed.

Ethan’s face darkened “Natalie, I already apologized. What more do you want? I said I wasn’t paying attention.”

I pulled a paper towel from the rack and dried my hands.

“I’m not mad.”

I looked directly at him.

“I just genuinely don’t want it.”

Ethan stared at me for a few seconds, trying to figure out if I was still holding a grudge.

Then he yanked at his collar in frustration.

“Fine. Whatever. The bonfire sharing circle is on the beach this afternoon. Don’t be late.”

He turned around, let the door slam behind him, and left.

Silence settled back over the room.

I opened my laptop and pulled up the application portal for the design school in Australia.

My portfolio was titled The Forgotten Room.

It was filled with paintings of chairs gathering dust in dark corners. Potted plants that never saw sunlight. A window that could never be opened.

Every piece was an exact record of the last four years of my life.

I was exporting the final retouched images to my desktop. The original files were too large, so this was my only backup.

Another knock on the door.

This time it was Sophie.

She stood there holding a carton of room-temperature milk, her eyes full of caution. “Nat, Ethan said you didn’t eat breakfast.”

She set the milk on the corner of the desk.

“What happened last night—don’t blame Ethan.”

“Ethan and I—we’re just used to working together in student council. He’s kind of an idiot. Doesn’t think before he opens his mouth.”

She tugged at my sleeve.

“You’re his actual girlfriend. Please don’t let me get between you two.”

I looked into her eyes.

She was the girl who’d slip me candy when my blood sugar crashed and stand up for me when people made fun of me.

But she was also the girl who had, piece by piece, stolen the space that was supposed to be mine.

She basked in Ethan’s favoritism, then came to me wearing that innocent face to play peacemaker.

“Sophie.”

I pulled my sleeve free, my voice completely even.

“If you were the one always getting left behind, would you still call it ‘just a misunderstanding’?”

Sophie froze. Her lips moved, but no words came out.

Her gaze drifted to my laptop screen.

“Nat, are you still working on those drawings?”

“Didn’t Ethan already line up a guaranteed job placement for you in his company’s admin department? Steady and easy.”

I shut my laptop. “My life is not his to arrange.”

Sophie pulled her hand back awkwardly.

“Just make sure you come down this afternoon, okay?”

She paused at the door and glanced back at me.

“Ethan really does care about you, you know. Don’t be so stubborn about this.”

The door clicked shut.

I stared at the carton of milk on the desk.

Mistaking someone’s charity for affection—that was the biggest mistake I’d made in four years.