The Group Chat Without Me, The Life They Had Without Me - Chapter (3)
Ch. The Group Chat Without Me, The Life They Had Without Me 3 The Group Chat Without Me, The Life They Had Without Me 3
Chapter 3
On Monday, I took half the day off and went to the bank.
Caleb and I had been together for four years and had lived together for two, but we had never formally gone through our finances.
The apartment belonged to him, but I had paid half the renovation costs.
I had also bought two-thirds of the furniture and appliances.
He contributed $500 a month toward household expenses. I covered everything else.
I pulled the account statements, labeled every transaction, and saved copies to my phone.
I wasn’t trying to calculate what he owed me. I just wanted a record for myself.
When I returned to the office that afternoon, I had a message from Brooke.
Brooke: [Didn’t you see my message about lunch?]
Me: [I was in a meeting. I didn’t look at my phone.]
Brooke replied: [What about tonight? Want to do something after work?]
Me: [I already have plans.]
Brooke replied: [With who?]
I didn’t answer.
Half a minute later, she sent another message.
Brooke: [You’re being mysterious. Don’t tell me you’ve made some new friends.]
Brooke replied: [Just kidding lol.]
I stared at the “lol,” my finger hovering over the screen.
When I first met Brooke four years earlier, she had been ten times warmer than this.
She asked me to go shopping, brought me into her social circle, and introduced me to everyone she
knew.
I had just moved to the city and didn’t have many friends. At the time, I thought meeting her was a
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stroke of luck.
Looking back, she had probably befriended me because I was Caleb’s girlfriend.
And maybe she had started excluding me for the same reason. I was Caleb’s girlfriend, the person
who supposedly kept everyone from letting loose.
I didn’t go home after work.
Instead, I went to the mall and grabbed a bowl of chicken noodle soup at the food court downstairs.
Halfway through my meal, I got a message from Caleb.
Caleb: [Are you coming home for dinner? I made chicken soup.]
Me: [No. I’m working late.]
Caleb replied: [Are you really that busy? Why have you been working late so much lately?]
I didn’t respond.
After I finished eating, I passed a rental agency and went inside.
“Do you have any one-bedroom apartments near a subway stop for under $1,500 a month?”
The rental agent handed me a stack of listings. “Will it just be you, or are you looking for a
roommate?”
“Just me.”
“Then I’d recommend these. They’re all move-in ready.”
I chose two places close to my office and scheduled tours for Wednesday.
It was almost nine by the time I left the rental agency.
Caleb called, sounding irritated.
“Nora, what time are you coming home? The soup’s gone cold.
“Don’t wait for me. Go ahead and eat.”
“What’s been going on with you these past few days?”
“You barely talk to me, and you keep coming home later and later.”
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“What’s wrong with me?”
“You tell me.”
He sighed. “I just think something’s been off with you lately.”
“I’m the same as always.”
“Fine. Whatever makes you happy.’
He ended the call.
That phrase-whatever makes you happy.
When he said it, he probably thought he was being patient and understanding.
But all I wanted to ask was whether he had any idea why I had been acting differently.
Had he spent even one second wondering whether he might be the problem?
After viewing the apartments on Wednesday, I signed the lease on the spot.
I paid the security deposit, first month’s rent, and last month’s rent. The lease started at the end of
the month, giving me two weeks to prepare.
Within two weeks, I would disappear from Caleb’s life completely.
On Thursday afternoon, I was at my desk organizing transition notes. I was also preparing to
change jobs.
My phone buzzed with a voice message from Owen.
Owen: [Nora, my birthday’s next week. Are you coming?]
Me: [Where are you having it?]
Owen replied: [At Caleb’s place. He said he’d make dinner for everyone.]
I bit my lip.
Me: [Who else is coming?].
Owen replied: [Just the usual people. Dylan and the others. Brooke too.]
Those were the people he meant-the eight members of that group chat.
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My brother was holding his birthday dinner at my boyfriend’s apartment and inviting the same people who had spent years excluding me.
He was only inviting me because, technically, it was my home too.
Me: [I have something going on. I might not make it.]
Owen replied: [What? Nora, what could possibly keep you that busy? My birthday only happens once
a year.]
Me: [Owen, let me ask you something.]
Owen replied: [Yeah?]
Me: [When did you and Caleb get so close?]
There was a two-second pause before his laughing reply came through.
Owen: [We’ve always been close. Caleb’s practically family.]
To Owen, Caleb was already family, even though Caleb and I weren’t married.
Me: [Fine. I’ll try to be there.]
After ending the call, I lowered my head onto my folded arms and closed my eyes for a while.
Owen was nineteen, and he had happily helped everyone in that group chat lie to me.
He was the younger brother I had practically raised.
He had been twelve when our parents divorced, and he lived with me for three years.
I worked two jobs to support us while he was in high school. I took him to amusement parks in the summer and bought him a new winter coat when the weather turned cold.
When had he started seeing me as someone who needed to be avoided?
Had Caleb been the first to see me that way, or had the idea spread from one of them to the next?
Or had it always been like this, and I had simply never known?
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