My Boyfriend Carved Jack-o’-Lanterns For All Five. Except Me Chapter 06

My Boyfriend Carved Jack-o’-Lanterns For All Five. Except Me Chapter 06

Arriving in New York. Dawn just breaking.

Rae, the project lead, picked me up at the station.

She saw my suitcase. Paused.

“That’s it?”

“Enough.”

She didn’t push. Handed me a hot coffee.

“The dorm’s ready. Rest today. Onboarding can wait.”

“Half a day won’t matter.”

My nose stung.

So real consideration didn’t require me to prove I was fragile first.

New York was busier than I’d imagined.

I joined the core team for a new product.

The project had a backlog of problems.

The first week, I worked late almost every night.

But every time I proposed a plan, someone listened. Really listened.

My flowcharts had my name on them. Meeting notes never missed my input.

When they ordered team meals, someone always asked about my restrictions.

These things were ordinary.

But it took me a long time to get used to them.

I changed my number. Kept the old phone only for necessary messages.

The day I turned it on, hundreds of messages flooded in.

Leo asked where I was living.

Julian offered to analyze my New York job prospects.

Daisy sent crying emojis.

Caleb sent the most.

From accusations to urging.

[Stop making a scene.]

[I made you a pumpkin.]

[The bookmark too.]

[If you want the festival, I’ll find tickets.]

As if filling in the missing piece would restore everything.

I didn’t reply.

After I left, their lives began to fall apart.

Moving day, Leo realized no one had booked movers.

Julian thought Caleb had arranged a truck.

Caleb thought Leo would handle it.

In the end, four people dragged over a dozen boxes.

Waited two hours at the community gate.

Before, I did all of this.

I compared prices. Set times. Numbered every box.

They just showed up at the location I sent.

At dinner, they forgot Daisy’s seafood allergy.

No one planned the trip. No one reminded about graduation materials.

Even the shared album stopped the day I left.

The care they’d taken for granted hadn’t appeared out of nowhere.

Leo scrolled the family group late at night.

Realized all these years, every birthday, holiday, dinner.

I’d reminded them in advance.

But my birthday. Three years in a row. No one remembered.

Julian was organizing his laptop. Found an album called “The Five.”

Three thousand photos.

Four of them, from teenagers to adults.

Every photo, beaming.

The photographer. Almost always me.

He scrolled to the end. Not one solo photo of me.

Caleb found a dusty box in the old apartment storage.

Inside, cups, plates I’d bought for our future home.

A handwritten list.

At the top,

[Things we need to start a life together.]

Each item. Price. Purchase date.

At the bottom, a small line.

[When Caleb moves in, it’ll be home.]

Caleb stared at that line for a long time.

That night, for the first time, he didn’t ask when I was coming back.

He sent one line.

[Lyra. Did I do something wrong?]

I glanced at it. Turned off the screen.

Some questions, once asked, are already too late.