I Got Laid Off And They Celebrated Her Promotion Chapter 03

Sophie’s pajamas hung behind the guest room door. Her skincare products lined the bathroom counter.

Even the fridge was full of the orange soda she liked.

It had been ages since anyone bought the lemonade I usually drank.

Luke made dinner.

Sophie sat at the table and said her stomach was bothering her. He moved the mild dish in front of her.

Charlie picked the peppers out of her food, and Noah slid a glass of warm water toward her.

“Eat slowly. Don’t make your stomach hurt again.”

I kept my eyes on my plate.

When I finished, I carried the dishes into the kitchen.

No one asked me to. No one even reminded me.

Whenever Sophie was around, washing up became my job.

She always had an excuse. She needed her hands for drawing, or she’d just had her nails done.

I’d heard it so often that even I had gotten used to it.

I turned on the faucet. Laughter drifted in from the living room through the gap in the door.

By the time I washed the last dish, dried my hands, and came out, the living room lights were off.

The TV cast a pale glow. The horror movie had reached a scene in an abandoned hospital corridor.

Sophie patted the spot next to Luke.

“Hannah, come sit. We saved you a seat.”

I went over and saw two drinks on the coffee table.

Mine was the free mango milkshake from a buy-one-get-one deal.

I was allergic to mangoes. They all knew that.

Sophie’s was her favorite salted caramel shake.

Luke looked at me.

“Why aren’t you drinking yours?”

“I’m allergic.”

“Then don’t drink it. Just leave it there.”

Sophie hurried to say:

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know. Do you want mine?”

Luke moved Sophie’s drink farther from me.

“Drink yours. If Hannah doesn’t want hers, that’s fine.”

A scream suddenly rang out from the movie.

Sophie grabbed Luke’s wrist. He immediately took her hand.

“Don’t watch. The next part’s probably worse.”

The three of them gathered around her, talking. No one noticed me at the far end of the couch.

I stared at the mango shake and remembered our first year of college.

Back then, there had only been four of us.

Luke, Charlie, Noah, and I went to class and ate together. On weekends, we sometimes drove out of the city.

When Sophie transferred into our college program, I was the first one she became close to.

She’d link her arm through mine and say:

“Now there are five of us.”

I’d been happy. I’d even thought of her as my best friend.

But later, whenever the five of us took a trip, I ended up squeezed into the middle of the back seat.

They saved the passenger seat for Sophie because she got carsick.

Once, they bought four movie tickets for the five of us. Luke waved me off and told me to catch the next show.

Another time, we all went to a bead craft studio together.

But when I finished paying and looked up, they were gone.

I searched the mall for ages before finding them at a restaurant.

Noah saw me and said only:

“Sophie got hungry, so we went ahead and ordered.”

It hadn’t even occurred to them to text me.

Another scream came from the movie.

Sophie curled into Luke’s arms, and Charlie and Noah laughed and tried to calm her down.

I looked away and went to my room.

I put clothes, my ID, and my laptop charger into a suitcase, one by one.

My laptop was still on the desk.

I picked up my phone and messaged Emma.

[I bought the plane ticket. I’ll take care of a few things tomorrow and leave.]

Emma answered almost immediately.

[Okay. I’ll be waiting for you there.]

I set down my phone and zipped my suitcase.