He Left Me on the Launched Drop Tower for His Bestie’s Laugh Chapter 02

He Left Me on the Launched Drop Tower for His Bestie’s Laugh Chapter 02

Blaire and Ethan showed up early, toting bags of groceries.

Ethan apologized first. “Willa, we picked up all your favorites. Come on, don’t be mad.”

I didn’t answer.

At dinner, Blaire had all her favorites in front of her.

Sweet and sour ribs, popcorn shrimp, butterscotch pudding.

Blaire let out a little squeal.

“All my favorites! Thanks, Ethan, for going out of your way to grab all this! And Mrs. Hart, thank you for making everything exactly how I like it!”

In front of me was only a white porcelain bowl.

I lifted the lid.

Inside was a plate of raw oysters, still glistening in their shells. I almost threw the bowl across the room.

In elementary school, a boy stuffed a oyster in my backpack. When I reached for a book, my fingers touched something cold and slimy. I screamed and cried.

They gave me a nickname, “Oyster Girl.”

After that, anything slimy freaked me out. But when my mom found out, she started forcing me to eat oysters. “You just haven’t had enough. Eat more and you’ll get over it.”

I took one bite and threw up so violently I ended up in the ER with a stress reaction.

Ethan sneaked in to visit me and solemnly handed me a chicken leg.

“Willa, come stay at my place from now on. I’ll never make you eat anything that freaks you out.”

“It’s okay to be a little scared of stuff.”

The sincerity on his face made me fall for him, just like that.

But now, he picked up an oyster and dropped it into my bowl. “It looks gross, but it’s actually really good for you.”

I stared at it, then slid the bowl toward Blaire. “Then she can eat it, too.”

Ethan reached over and slid it right back. “No way. That stuff totally grosses Blaire out. She gets goosebumps just looking at it.”

My mom smacked my hand with her fork.

“Stop stalling. Who are you making that miserable face for?”

I stared down at it for a long time, then put the oyster in my mouth.

I felt like gagging.

But I held it in.

Turns out it wasn’t that scary after all.

They watched me, their faces full of satisfaction, like I was a successful science experiment.

The table buzzed on.

Ethan picked bones out of Blaire’s fish.

My mom ladled soup into her bowl.

I was just an extra decoration.

Halfway through the meal, Ethan suddenly spoke up.

“Hey, about that presentation your group has tomorrow—maybe Blaire should handle it.”

“You always get super nervous and freeze up in front of people.”

For once, I caught on fast.

I knew exactly what Ethan meant.

He said he was worried, but he knew that project was a big deal, and he wanted to give Blaire the spotlight.

I’d pulled three all-nighters on that project.

I didn’t care about the spotlight, but I wanted to try—I wanted to stand up front just once.

“I want to do it myself.”

The table went quiet for a second.

Ethan frowned.

“Are you sure? There’ll be a lot of people tomorrow. You don’t want to freeze up on stage.”

My mom shot me a look of pure disappointment.

“You can barely get a sentence out in front of family. Why even go up there?”

“Embarrass yourself all you want, but don’t embarrass Ethan.”

I looked at them seriously.

“Didn’t you always want me to be bolder?”

Blaire smoothed things over.

“It’s great that Willa’s taking this step. I support her.”

That night, I practiced my PowerPoint alone until two a.m.

I never expected that the next day, when I went on stage, several pages of critical data would be blank.

I froze.

Ethan sat in the front row and watched me for a calm two seconds.

“Getting up there took guts. Step one, done. But professionalism? That means knowing your data cold and thinking on your feet.”

Blaire was already texting me, head down.

“Those two data pages? Ethan and I deleted them for your own good.”

“Clients throw curveballs all the time. Think of it as improv practice—now you won’t freeze up next time.”

Dozens of eyes watched me.

My hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

No slides, no data.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

Stuttering, getting stuck three times—it wasn’t brilliant, but I finished.

When I was done, Ethan and Blaire both looked stunned.

As I stepped off the stage, a text from Rory came in.

“You’re really heading to the mountains in two days? You sure?”

“I’m sure. Already bought my ticket.”