Seven Times I Drew Blank, Seven Times They Drew Each Other Chapter 03

Seven Times I Drew Blank, Seven Times They Drew Each Other Chapter 03

At lunch, Vanessa got seasick, and Julian stayed by her side the entire time.

My stomach hurt too badly to eat, so I asked the server if I could swap my meal for a bowl of plain oatmeal.

Miles laughed.

“Nora, now you’re feeling sick too?”

“Don’t tell me you’re pretending to feel sick just because Vanessa’s seasick.”

The others laughed along.

Julian looked up at me. “You’ve never had trouble on boats before.”

“I didn’t get breakfast,” I explained. “My stomach hurts.”

He looked away and handed Vanessa a glass of water instead.

“Then tough it out. Don’t make things harder while she already feels this sick.”

The server soon brought over a bowl of plain oatmeal.

I had just reached for it when Julian pushed it in front of Vanessa instead.

“Try a little.”

My hand stopped in midair before I slowly pulled it back.

I had ordered that oatmeal.

No one at the table seemed to think there was anything wrong with giving it to her.

Vanessa took two bites before complaining that it was too bland.

“I don’t want any more.”

She pushed the rest toward me.

“Nora, your stomach hurts, right? You can have it.”

The oatmeal had been stirred into a mess, and her lipstick was still smeared on the spoon.

In the past, I probably would have eaten it anyway.

Vanessa would have said, “We’re best friends. What’s mine is yours.”

And Julian would have praised me.

“Nora’s easygoing. She doesn’t make a big deal out of little things.”

But this time, I called the server over.

“Please throw this out.”

Vanessa stiffened.

“I barely touched it. Do you seriously think I’m gross?”

“I don’t eat other people’s leftovers,” I said calmly.

Julian’s expression darkened immediately.

“Nora, Vanessa feels awful and she still thought to save some for you.”

“Did you really have to embarrass her over it?”

I looked at the five people sitting across from me, and for a moment, everything felt strangely unreal.

For years, whenever they had leftovers, they passed them to me.

If there wasn’t enough room at the table, I was the one told to sit somewhere else.

If the car was one seat short, I had to get my own Uber.

If they needed someone behind the camera on a trip, that was when they remembered I existed.

But the one time I refused to go along with it, suddenly I was difficult, petty, and incapable of taking a joke.

I lowered my head.

“I’m sorry.”

Just as I expected, everyone immediately relaxed.

Derek smiled. “That’s more like it. We’re here to have fun.”

I smiled too.

But this time, I wasn’t apologizing because I thought I had done anything wrong.

I simply couldn’t be bothered to argue with them anymore.

That evening, they went back to drinking on the terrace while I returned to the room alone and packed my bags.

The trip was supposed to last seven days. Only three had passed, but I was already done.

I booked the earliest ticket home for the next morning.

Only after I finished did I realize my charger was missing.

Vanessa had borrowed it earlier that day, so I went to her room to get it back.

The door was unlocked, and no one was inside.

Her tablet was lying nearby with the screen still on.

A new message popped up just as I walked in.

The group chat was called [Five for Life].

Derek had posted a video of Julian and Vanessa kissing the night before.

Below it was a flood of teasing reactions and messages.

[Finally! They actually kissed.]

[Told you this would work.]

[Nora went pale and she still just took it.]

[She can really put on an act.]