He Dropped Me at the Service Station to Take Her Home Chapter 03

He Dropped Me at the Service Station to Take Her Home Chapter 03

A heavy, awkward silence hung over the Thorne family home for days on end.

Then Izzy burst into my bedroom one afternoon, phone clutched tight in her hands, face glowing with excitement.

“Ellie! What outfit are you wearing to Starfall Amusement Park later?”

My hands froze mid-way through folding my clothes.

“What amusement park?”

Izzy blinked at me in confusion.

“Cas didn’t tell you? He bought tickets to the brand-new park in town for us today.”

My arms fell limp to my sides, heavy with weariness.

He was my boyfriend, yet half the time he acted like Izzy’s dedicated partner instead.

He never asked if I even wanted to go. He never checked if I had other plans.

He didn’t even tell me the news himself—he sent Izzy to relay the message for him.

Izzy noticed my glum expression, frowned, and fired off a voice message into her phone.

[Caspian! You forgot to tell Ellie about the park?]

He replied instantly.

[That’s my mistake, I totally slipped up. Ellie, I’m so sorry. Izzy said you’ve been really down lately, so I figured we’d get you out of the house. She wanted to ride the bumper cars, so I grabbed tickets for all three of us.]

Izzy huffed and held the phone out toward me.

“Hold on, I’ll yell at him for forgetting to tell you.”

Cas arrived at the front porch minutes later, two vanilla frappes in his grasp.

Izzy poked her finger hard against his forehead.

“You’re awful. If Ellie’s upset about this, I’m not going to the park at all!”

Cas ducked his head and grinned, oozing fake charm.

“Ellie’s not that petty.”

He turned to me and lifted an eyebrow. “Right, Ellie?”

I stared down at the floor, voice quiet and defeated. “I don’t want to go.”

A sharp palm cracked hard against my back a second later.

Mom glowered down at me, furious.

“Quit throwing this attitude fit. Izzy’s been hyped about this trip for days. You’re going, and you’re responsible for watching over her. She’s only just recovered—don’t tire her out. If she comes home sick, you and I will have a serious talk.”

She grabbed my wrist and herded me out the front door before I could argue.

I stood motionless on the porch step, my throat tight and blocked, unable to say a single word.

It was always the same cycle.

Whatever Izzy wanted, people handed it to her before she even had to voice the request.

Whatever I craved, I could beg for it a hundred times, and no one would spare me a thought.

Cas’s car sat parked at the curb, passenger door wide open. Izzy slid into the seat like she owned it, like she’d done it hundreds of times before.

I stared at her blankly, and a cold realization hit me.

I had never once sat in Cas’s passenger seat.

When he first bought the car, he’d even slapped a silly “Girlfriend Zone” magnet straight on the dash.