She Got 41 Tries, I Got Zero Seconds. So I Gave Myself a One-Way Ticket Out Chapter 04

She Got 41 Tries, I Got Zero Seconds. So I Gave Myself a One-Way Ticket Out Chapter 04

At dinner, I told my parents about joining Global Relief Doctors.

They both froze.

After a moment, they seemed to come back to themselves.

“This suddenly?”

It was not sudden.

When the relief medical team was first being organized, I had been Dr. Ames’s first choice to lead the field mission. I had turned it down because of Auden.

“How long?” my dad asked.

“Three years.”

The table went quiet for two seconds.

My mom looked at me, worry filling her eyes. “Tam, did Auden refuse to let you go? Is that why you fought? Is that why he didn’t come with you today?”

“Must be,” my dad said with a frown, then sighed. “Honestly, I understand. You’re going somewhere unstable, and you’ll be gone for three years. Of course he’d be worried.”

A stye on Blythe’s eye was enough to scare him. One night alone in a hotel was enough to make him stay.

But I could walk through floodwater alone, and somehow, that never counted as danger.

My phone rang.

It was Auden.

After a pause, I still answered.

“Where are you?”

“At my parents’ place.”

The other end went silent for two seconds.

“Weren’t we supposed to go together?”

I glanced at the time.

We had agreed to leave at 8 in the morning.

It was almost 11, and he had only just remembered he was supposed to come home with me.

“Bly’s cramps got really bad,” he said. “I took her to urgent care, then stayed with her for a while. Got her tea, found her a heating pad… I lost track of time.”

After a pause, he added, “Tell your parents I’m sorry. I’ll definitely make it to the next birthday.”

The call ended.

A second later, Blythe’s Instagram Story popped up.

[Happy birthday, Grandma!]

There was a photo attached.

Blythe’s grandmother sat smiling in front of a cake, while Auden and Blythe leaned in close on either side of her shoulders.

They looked like a family.

Comments appeared almost immediately.

[Wait, are you two together now?]

[What did I miss?]

[Tamsin must be losing it.]

I did not cry. I didn’t cry. I only pressed a hand to my chest, surprised by how little it hurt.

I picked up my phone and sent Dr. Ames a message.

[Dr. Ames, I’d like to leave with the advance team this afternoon.]

After lunch with my parents, I took a cab back to Auden’s place to pack.

I did not have much.

One suitcase was enough.

I had just carried it to the entryway when my phone rang.

It was Auden.

I owed him a goodbye, at least.

So I answered.

“Tam, Bly and I stopped by Finch & Alder Jewelers. There was one ring that would be perfect as an engagement ring. Bly tried it on for you, and it looked beautiful…”

After that, I stopped hearing him.

The ring he wanted to use to propose to me had already been on another woman’s finger.

How funny.

I let out a long breath and cut him off.

“Auden, we’re done.”

I hung up, closed the door behind me, and went straight to the airport.

I never looked back.