Abandoned at the Service Station, I Watched His Taillights Fade Chapter 06

Abandoned at the Service Station, I Watched His Taillights Fade Chapter 06

It took Ethan three days after getting back to the city to realize something was wrong.

He figured I’d just gone home early to cool off. That in a couple of days, once I’d blown off steam, I’d show up obediently at the internship he’d set up for me.

But I never checked in at the office. I never went back to the dorm.

Ethan drove to my house. He pounded on the door for a long time before it cracked open.

My dad stood in the doorway, his expression ice-cold.

Ethan put on his most polite smile.

“Mr. Foster, is Nat home? I’m here to take her to the office.”

My dad didn’t move to let him in.

“She’s not here.”

Ethan’s brow furrowed. Irritation sparked in his chest.

“Well, where’d she go? Out with friends?”

“She’s in Australia.”

My dad’s voice was flat.

Ethan froze. The smile slowly slid off his face.

“Australia? Like, a vacation? Why didn’t she discuss this with me?”

My dad looked at him, a flicker of scorn in his eyes.

“She went there to study. Why would she need to run everything by you? What exactly were you to her, anyway?”

Ethan’s voice spiked in volume without him meaning to.

“I’m her boyfriend!”

My dad corrected him.

“Ex-boyfriend.”

“Before she left, Nat said you two were done. Don’t contact us again.”

The door slammed shut in Ethan’s face.

Ethan stood there, a buzzing noise filling his head.

Study abroad? Impossible.

She had promised to join his company after graduation.

He strode back to his car and grabbed his phone.

He pulled up our chat history, scrolling frantically upward.

Six months ago.

Natalie: [Ethan, this design school in Australia has an incredible illustration program. I want to apply.]

Ethan: [Don’t bother. Design is a dead end. Just stick with me.]

Three months ago.

Natalie: [I went to see a study abroad consultant today…]

Ethan: [What do you want for dinner? I’ll have Soph make a reservation.]

Ethan’s hands started to shake.

She had been telling him all along. He just never took it seriously.

He always believed that as long as he gave her a stable future, she should be grateful enough to accept it.

A knock rattled his car window.

Sophie stood outside, her eyes swollen and red.

She was clutching a stack of freshly developed photos from the trip.

Ethan rolled down the window.

Before he could even speak, Sophie broke down, sobbing.

“Ethan, what did we do wrong?”

She threw the photos into the car, scattering them across the passenger seat.

“I was sorting through these yesterday, and I finally saw it.”

“Out of hundreds of photos, Nat isn’t fully in a single one!”

“She’s always shoved to the edge—either just a shoulder showing, or my hand blocking her face!”

Sophie covered her face, her voice trembling.

“And that laptop thing the other night—I asked around. Those were her merit scholarship submissions. We just—why did we keep pushing her out?”

Ethan stared down at the photos.

In every shot, my smile was more forced, my eyes dimmer.

He clenched his jaw, still fighting it. “She’s just too sensitive.”

Sophie shouted back at him for the first time ever.

“She’s not sensitive! We’re the ones who never once looked back at her!”

Ethan shoved the car door open and left Sophie standing there.

He drove to Crestwood Art Supply.

“Sir, has Natalie been in lately?”

The owner looked up from behind the counter.

“Nat? Oh, she came by a month ago to pick up the supplies she had on pre-order. Said she was taking them abroad. Wait—you didn’t know?”

A month ago.

It felt like someone had punched a hole through his chest.

Every breath pulled at something raw and torn.

She hadn’t left on impulse.

She had spent an entire month, right under his nose, carefully and quietly extracting herself from his world.