I Was the Fifth Friend, Until They Made Me Nothing Chapter 05

I Was the Fifth Friend, Until They Made Me Nothing Chapter 05

Seventeen missed calls from Ryan.

Nine voice notes from Ethan.

A text from Miles: “Evelyn Parker, where are you?”

A message from Sabrina: “Evie? Your room is empty. Where did you go?”

There was also a message from Ethan in the group chat.

“Evie is missing. Does anyone know where she is?”

Miles replied, “Her phone is off.”

Ryan wrote, “She hasn’t contacted me since she left dinner last night.”

Sabrina added, “I checked her room. Her closet is empty. She moved everything out.”

I stood in a foreign airport’s arrivals hall, gripping my phone while rain streaked the glass walls outside.

I didn’t answer any of them.

I switched my phone to airplane mode and pulled my suitcase toward the exit.

The signs were in German, with English printed underneath.

Nothing about the place felt familiar.

There were no familiar faces.

No one was waiting for me.

But this time, I didn’t need anyone to.

…

“Your desk is here, by the window.”

The studio director, Helmut Weber, handed me a key card and pointed to a wide drafting table in the corner.

The Limmat River flowed beyond the glass, June sunlight blazing across its surface.

“The coffee machine’s in the break room. Be here by nine. The rest of your hours are yours to manage.”

“All right.”

“Your first project is a visual concept for a series of storefront windows in Zurich’s Old Town. The files are already in your inbox.”

I opened my computer and started working.

My phone stayed in the desk drawer, still on airplane mode.

The first day passed quickly.

As I was leaving, my coworker Kilian leaned over from the next desk.

“Evelyn, want to grab dinner?”

“Sure.”

He took me to a small restaurant beside the river. The menu was entirely in German.

“Can’t read it?”

“I can guess most of it.”

“That’s pork knuckle. That’s potato salad. Don’t order that one. It’s terrible.”

His eyes crinkled when he laughed.

Over dinner, he asked, “You came to Zurich alone?”

“Alone.”

“Your family didn’t see you off?”

“No.”

“Boyfriend?”

“Not anymore.”

He raised an eyebrow but didn’t pry.

When I returned to my apartment, I finally turned off airplane mode.

The messages surged in like a broken dam.

Ryan’s latest one was timestamped three that afternoon.

“Evelyn Parker, where the hell are you? Can you at least answer one message?”

I played Ethan’s voice notes one by one.

“Evie, where are you? You’re not answering your phone, and someone in your hall said you moved out. What’s going on?”

“Did something happen to you? Don’t scare me like this.”

“Evelyn Parker, call me back.”

Miles had sent only three texts.

The first said, “Where are you?”

The second said, “Did you lose your phone?”

The third said, “I checked with the residence hall. They said you’d already moved out. What is going on?”

Sabrina’s messages were the longest.

“Evie, did you leave because of what happened last night? Please don’t go. We can sit down and talk about anything.”

“I asked Ryan, and he said you seemed upset when you left. Did I say something that made you uncomfortable? I’m sorry.”

“Evie, please don’t ignore me. Everyone is worried sick.”

Everyone was worried.

I stared at that sentence for a long time.

They were worried because I had disappeared.

Not because they wanted to understand why.

I typed one line in the group chat.

“I made it to Zurich. I accepted a position at a design studio and already started work. Don’t worry. Everything is fine.”

After I sent it, I muted the chat.

My phone practically exploded.

Ryan called.

I didn’t answer.

He called again.

I still didn’t answer.

The third call was from Ethan.

“Evie, have you lost your mind? When did you apply? Who told you that you could move to Zurich? Why didn’t you say anything to us?”

The voice note was long. His voice shook with anger and panic.

Miles typed rapidly.

“What studio? Send me the address. Do you know anyone in Zurich? Where are you staying? Are you safe?”

Sabrina’s response was the most interesting.

“Evie, Zurich is so far away! Was this some spur-of-the-moment decision? Why don’t you come home first so we can all talk it over?”

Talk it over.

No one had talked to me about the puzzle. Or the farewell dinner. Or the cake. Or the graduation video.

Now that I was leaving, suddenly everyone wanted a discussion.

I sent Ethan a voice note.

“It wasn’t impulsive. I got the offer three months ago.”

He replied immediately.

“Three months ago? You kept this from us for three months?”

“No one asked me.”

He was silent for several seconds.

“Are you blaming me?”

“I’m stating a fact.”

“What fact? You moved to another country without telling anyone. What was Mom supposed to think? What was your boyfriend supposed to think?”

“I told Mom.”

“You told Mom but not me?”

“Would you have listened?”

He didn’t answer.

Ten minutes later, Ryan messaged me.

“Evie, answer the phone.”

“What do you want to say?”

“Is this because of last night?”

“It has nothing to do with last night.”

“Then why did you suddenly leave?”

“It wasn’t sudden. I’ve been preparing for three months.”

“You were planning this for three months and never told me.”

“Would you have cared?”

He tried to video-call me.

I declined.

He tried again.

This time, I answered.

Ryan sat on his bed on the screen. The same wall was behind him, with the four-person puzzle hanging on it.

“Come home first.”

“What would I come home for?”

“You’re alone in Zurich. You don’t speak the language. You don’t know how anything works.”

“I’ll learn.”

“Evelyn Parker, can you stop doing this just to prove a point?”

“Ryan, let me ask you something.”

“Go ahead.”

“What did you engrave on Sabrina’s bracelet?”

He froze.

“A star.”

“Why a star?”

“I… picked it at random.”

“Where is my graduation gift?”

His lips parted, but no words came out.

Because there wasn’t one.

He had forgotten.

“You can always find time to buy me something later, but everything for Sabrina is ready in advance. You couldn’t see me when I was standing in front of you. Now that I’m gone, you’re suddenly looking. Don’t you get it, Ryan? You’re not looking for your girlfriend. You’re looking for something you misplaced. You panic when it’s gone, and once you find it, you put it right back in the corner.”

The color drained from his face.

“Are you done?”

“Yes.”

“Then come home.”

“No.”

I ended the call.

I silenced my phone and set it beside my pillow.

Outside, the Limmat River moved quietly through the dark.

So did I.