They Left Me Behind on the Road Trip, So I Got on a Better Ride Chapter 07

They Left Me Behind on the Road Trip, So I Got on a Better Ride Chapter 07

That night, we had dinner at a private restaurant.

In front of several senior members, Ice Rose gestured for me to take the seat beside her.

There was no round of applause, no formal ceremony.

But starting that night, I had a seat at that table.

As I sat down, my phone vibrated in my pocket. It was Ethan.

[I’m downstairs at your place.]

I stared at the message for two seconds.

He’d found out where I was.

Ethan had connections and resources, enough to pull this off.

After dinner ended, I went out to meet him.

He stood outside the lobby. A month apart had taken its toll; he looked hollow. He held a paper bag in his

hand.

When he saw me, he froze for a split second. “You cut your hair?”

“Yeah.”

It was only a slight trim. Ethan had never noticed things like that before.

He held out the bag toward me. “The stuff you left in the car.”

My sunhat, my jacket, and that lipstick I’d spent ages searching for.

I glanced at the bag. “You keep it.”

“What am I supposed to do with this?”

“Throw it away, if you want.”

His expression darkened at once. “Ava, do you really have to be like this?”

I looked up at him. “Like what?”

He opened his mouth, then swallowed his anger. “Fine. I didn’t come here to fight. I’ve thought a lot these past few days. I know I messed up, with some of the things I did.”

He paused. “But we had two years together. Can’t you give me even one chance?”

I asked, “A chance for what?”

“To change. You thought I always put Chloe first, didn’t you? I’ll be more careful from now on.”

I studied him. “Ethan, you still don’t get it.”

His brows pulled together. “Then tell me. What am I missing?”

“I don’t need you to stop looking out for Chloe. And I have no interest in watching you prove who matters

more to you. I just don’t want this life anymore.”

He stiffened completely.

I nodded toward the bag in his hands. “Take the things back with you. I’ve already bought replacements.”

After I said that, he stared down at the hat inside the bag for a long time, unmoving.

He’d always thought if I lost something, buying a new one fixed everything.

Now it was finally sinking in for him: some things can’t be replaced.

He didn’t push further. He turned and walked away.

I watched him vanish into the crowd.

A message from Ice Rose arrived quickly.

She’d heard Ethan had come looking for me and only asked one question. “Stay here, or go back?”

“I’m staying.”

“Then have you tied up loose ends with them?”

“I have.”

She nodded and slid a fresh folder toward me. “Next job.”

Ethan never showed up unannounced again, though he kept texting me every day.

[It’s gotten cold today. Remember to bundle up.]

[Your stomach’s sensitive, don’t live off takeout.]

[Just send me a quick reply sometime.]

These were the words I’d waited so long to hear once. Now they rolled in one after another, and I didn’t reply to a single one.

A few days later, on Friday night, Liam called. “I’ll only take five minutes of your time.”

“Alright.”

Unlike usual, there was no teasing, no wisecracks. “Mason and I went back through our old chat logs. It’s pretty embarrassing.”

I stayed quiet.

He let out a bitter laugh. “Every time you said you wanted to go somewhere, we’d say later. When Chloe mentioned it, we’d usually go the same day.”

“The year you wanted seafood for your birthday, we ended up at the pizza shop Chloe had been dying for instead.”

I went still. I’d almost forgotten that myself.

Liam kept going. “We never saw it back then. Looking at it now… The three of us were awful to you.”