They Left Me Behind on the Road Trip, So I Got on a Better Ride Chapter 06

They Left Me Behind on the Road Trip, So I Got on a Better Ride Chapter 06

The next afternoon, my roommate sent over a photo.

The cardboard box that had sat beside my desk was taken away.

[Ethan came to get your things.]

Another message followed right after: [He looked terrible.]

I didn’t reply.

A little later, another text popped up.

[He asked when you’d be back. I told him you’re taking a job out of state.]

[He just stood there for ages without saying a word.]

I set my phone face-down on the table after reading it.

I hadn’t told my roommate exactly what kind of work I was doing.

The first week with the Russo family was packed.

Meeting people, learning the rules, getting familiar with the territory.

Ice Rose placed me directly under her, having me shadow her people to go over accounts.

Those first few days, I only watched, memorized, learned.

Who ran which district, which routes the money moved through, which names were off-limits, which ledgers were never to be touched.

When work kept me busy, whole afternoons would pass without me thinking about them once.

A little after nine that night, Mason called.

“Ava.”

I murmured an acknowledgment.

For the first time, he didn’t open with a joke. “Did you really break up with Ethan?”

“Yeah.”

“Over the trip?”

“Partly.”

He sighed. “Fine, break up with him if that’s what you want. But why are you shutting Liam and me out too?”

My hand stilled on my water glass.

Just as I thought. Even now, he saw this as nothing more than a romantic fight.

“Mason, do you remember that hiking trip sophomore year?”

He hesitated. “Yeah, I do.”

“The last cable car down the mountain only had room for four more.”

The line went quiet instantly.

I kept speaking. “The three of you rode down with Chloe, and made me walk. By the time I got to the bottom, you’d already finished dinner.”

Mason rushed to defend them. “But Chloe was terrified of heights back then.”

“I know. I don’t blame her.”

“Then why bring this up now?”

I gave a faint laugh. “No reason. You asked why I was cutting you off.”

Silence settled on his end.

After a while, his voice dropped. “Ava, we never meant to treat you badly.”

“I know.”

That simple reply silenced him.

Because all along, I’d known.

It was never intentional cruelty.

It was just that every single time, they automatically assumed I’d be the one to give way.

Mason’s voice turned hoarse. “So when are you coming back?”

“Not anytime soon.”

“Not ever?”

“Yeah.”

The realization finally seemed to hit him. “You’re leaving us too?”

I didn’t answer straight away.

The line was deathly quiet.

In the end I only said, “I’ve got to go. I have things to do tomorrow.”

I hung up.

Right after, a message from Liam popped up: [Can we talk sometime?]

I didn’t open it.

When I woke the next morning, our group chat was flooded with 99+ unread messages.

I swiped the notification away without a second thought.

For the first time, that red badge didn’t irritate me.

A month later, Ice Rose gave me my first solo assignment.

One of the family’s nightclubs had discrepancies in the books. The sum wasn’t huge, but the discrepancies had stretched on for months-like someone was siphoning money little by little.

Ice Rose tossed the ledgers across to me. “Three days. Bring me a name.”

I spent two nights rechecking every transaction from the past six months.

On the third morning, I laid a name on her desk.

It was the club manager who’d worked there seven years.

He skimmed a small amount each month, careful enough that the losses stayed under the radar.

Ice Rose glanced at the slip of paper in silence.

After a moment, she lifted her eyes to me. “How did you catch it?”

“His pattern was too consistent,” I said. “Same week each month, same percentage. Real people don’t spend

money that predictably.”

She smiled. It was the first time she’d ever smiled at me.

“Well done.”