Ch. The Group Chat Without Me, The Life They Had Without Me 1 The Group Chat Without Me, The Life They Had Without Me 1

Chapter 1 

After four years with Caleb Mercer, I thought I truly belonged in his inner circle. 

Then one day, he left his phone behind when he went to shower, and a Messenger group chat 

notification flashed across the screen. 

The group chat was called “Life’s Better Without Nora Bennett.” 

The chat had eight members. Among them were Caleb; his sister, Rachel Mercer; his two childhood 

friends, Dylan Ross and Trevor Hale; my roommate; my best friend, Brooke Lawson; and even my 

own younger brother, Owen Bennett. 

I stood frozen as the messages kept appearing. 

Rachel: [She’s not coming to the cookout Saturday, right? Last time she was there, no one could 

really let loose.] 

Brooke replied: [Don’t worry. I told her I had to work that day. She won’t suspect anything.] 

Owen sent a smirking emoji. 

Caleb replied: [Okay. Same place as usual. I’ll reserve our spot.] 

I scrolled up through the chat history. 

The group had been created two years and three months earlier. There were more than seven 

hundred messages. 

Every happy plan in that chat depended on keeping me out of it. 

On my birthday last year, they had been sorting out teams for an escape-room night that weekend. 

When I asked Caleb why everyone had ignored me that day, he said, “Everyone’s been busy lately.” 

They had been busy having fun. They had been busy having fun without me. 

As the phone screen went dark, the shower shut off. 

Caleb came out wrapped in a towel. When he saw me standing in the living room, he asked casually, “What are you looking at?” 

“Nothing. I just saw something funny.” 

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He said, “Oh,” and took the phone from me. 

I turned, walked into the bedroom, and started packing my suitcase. 

The zipper on my suitcase sounded unnaturally loud. The bedroom door was still open, and the TV 

was playing in the living room. 

Caleb called from the living room, “I cut up some watermelon. It’s in the fridge. Want any?” 

I didn’t answer. 

“Nora?” he called again. 

“No.” 

After a few seconds of silence, he came to the bedroom doorway and leaned against the frame, 

glancing inside. 

“What are you packing for? Do you have a business trip tomorrow?” 

“Yeah. It came up at the last minute.” 

He didn’t ask anything else. He turned and went back to the living room. 

I heard him unlock his phone. He was probably reading the group chat, all those messages about 

having fun without me. 

I packed three items of clothing, my skincare products, a charger, and my state ID. 

After a moment’s thought, I took the necklace he had given me out of the nightstand and returned it 

to its original box. 

I wasn’t taking anything that wasn’t mine. 

As I zipped the suitcase shut, my phone buzzed. 

Brooke: [Nora, I have to work Saturday, so I can’t go shopping with you. Rain check?] 

She had even added an apologetic emoji. 

I stared at the message for a long time. Had she typed it right after coordinating the lie with 

everyone in that group chat? 

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Me: [Okay.] 

It was a single, unadorned word. 

Early the next morning, I dragged my suitcase out of the apartment. 

Caleb was still asleep, and I didn’t wake him. 

My phone rang while I was downstairs waiting for a cab. It was Owen. 

“Nora, Mom wants you to come over for dinner this weekend. Are you coming?” 

“No. I’m leaving on a business trip.” 

“Another one? Is your company working you to death?” 

His voice was as light and easy as ever, but all I could see was the smirking emoji he had sent in the group chat the night before. 

“Owen.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Never mind.” 

I ended the call and climbed into the cab. 

When the driver asked where I was going, I gave him the name of a hotel. 

I wasn’t leaving on a business trip. I just didn’t want to go back to that apartment for a while. 

The hotel was close to my office, and I booked the room for a week. 

After putting down my luggage, I sat on the edge of the bed and opened Caleb’s Facebook profile. 

His latest post was from three days earlier-a photo of him and several other people at a barbecue joint, all of them grinning at the camera. 

Rachel was there, along with Dylan, Trevor, Brooke, and Owen. 

I was the only one missing. 

I remembered that night. 

When I had asked Caleb what he was doing, he said he had to work late. 

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I had even texted him not to overdo it, and he had replied with a brief “Okay.” 

Apparently, his “Okay” had really meant he was out with everyone behind my back, so I should stop bothering him. 

I set my phone facedown on the bed and lay back. 

Exhaustion hit me all at once. I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. 

A little while later, Caleb called. 

“You get there okay? What city are you in?” 

“I’m here.” 

“Be careful, okay? Don’t go out tonight.” 

“All right. 

“Okay, I’ve got to go. I’m busy today too.” 

Busy doing what? Planning the next outing without me? 

“Okay.” 

The call ended. 

I spent three days at the hotel, and no one realized I wasn’t actually away on business. 

On the fourth day, Brooke asked me to meet her for coffee. She said she was finally done working 

late and wanted to catch up. 

I agreed. 

At the coffee shop, she stirred her latte and smiled brightly at me. “Back from your trip? Are you 

exhausted?” 

“I’m fine.” 

“Did Caleb call you?” 

“That man is completely clueless. With you gone, he probably can’t even be bothered to make himself dinner.” 

I searched her face for even a flicker of guilt. 

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There was none. 

She was so convincing that anyone would have believed nothing had happened. 

“Brooke, how late did you work Saturday?” 

She blinked. “What? Oh, a little after nine. I was exhausted.” 

“Sounds rough.” 

“Tell me about it.” She sighed. “Next time, I promise.” 

I took a sip of my coffee. The unsweetened Americano was bitter, but it went down easier than anything she had just said. 

On my way back to the hotel, I got a message from Caleb. 

Caleb: [Are you coming back tomorrow? One of the pipes is leaking. Can you find a plumber?] 

Four years together, and this was what I had become to him. 

When he needed me, I was his roommate, his housekeeper, and his handyman. 

When he didn’t, I was the name singled out in the title of their 

group 

chat. 

Me: [Call maintenance.] 

Caleb replied immediately: [Maintenance takes forever. Can you call and stay on them?] 

I stared at the screen, suddenly struck by how absurd it was. 

Had he ever once wondered why I wasn’t home? Or did he simply not care? 

Me: [Do it yourself.] 

A long time later, Caleb replied: [Fine.] 

There wasn’t even a question mark. 

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