Left on the Street, I Walked Away Forever

It's Thanksgiving break. My boyfriend, Julian Hayes, organizes a trip abroad for the five of us. We arrive at our guesthouse late at night. Julian, Lucas Whitmore, and Tyler Graham immediately walk past me. Julian carries Sophie Bennett's cat, Lucas holds her bag, and Tyler links arms with her. I stand there, stunned for a split second, then quietly step aside. Nobody touches the eight suitcases lined up on the curb or even asks about them. "Julian, what about the luggage?" I ask. He doesn't even bother turning around. "Bring them in first. Sophie's tired. We're heading up to check out the rooms." "All eight? By myself?" Lucas smirks. "You're the only one not doing anything. Get to it." Tyler pats my shoulder. "Thanks, Kaitlin." I have no choice but to drag the heavy bags down one by one, scraping the skin raw on my hands. One of the latches snaps open, scattering clothes all over the pavement. I drop to my knees, stuffing everything back inside piece by piece. I try not to take it to heart. But by the time I finish moving all the luggage, the rest of them are nowhere to be found. I struggle through a conversation with the host in broken Elarian, only to find out they moved to a new place because Sophie's cat isn't allowed here. I call Julian. He tells me to grab the bags and use GPS to catch up with them. I check the map. The new place is 12 miles away. The streets are completely empty in the dead of night, and not a single ride app is working. I message the group in a panic, explaining my situation, only to get a dismissive reply. "Alright, figure it out yourself. We need to stay with Sophie." It's Sophie again. Them needing to "stay with Sophie" is the ultimate excuse. It makes every neglect seem perfectly justified. I nod to myself. "Fine. Stay with her then. I'm out." Chapter 1 Kaitlin's POV My boyfriend, Julian Hayes, missed what I said yet again. "Yeah, yeah, fine. Just hurry over. Sophie's waiting to wash up." The line went dead. I stood outside the guesthouse, clutching my phone. On my map, that 12-mile route looked like an impossible abyss. I hauled the suitcases forward, one by one. My hands were raw, burning hot from gripping the handles too tightly. Before I'd even gone 100 yards, I stopped and leaned against a wall. I unlocked my phone and opened my chat with Julian. I typed a few words and deleted them. Then I typed a few more and deleted those too. Finally, I sent, "I'm not coming." Nearby, a neon sign for a small motel flickered in the dark. I dragged my luggage over. The room was tiny, and the sheets were slightly damp. The moment the door shut, the world went quiet. I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at my torn palms. Suddenly, I recalled my birthday last year. Julian had promised to take me out to dinner, but the second Sophie Bennett called saying her cat was sick, he bolted. The year before that, during a mountain hike, Sophie said she was too tired to go on, so Julian told me to head down first. I ended up navigating the dark trail alone for over an hour, taking two hard spills and scraping my knees raw. Only later did I find out they had taken the cable car down with Sophie. It was always like this. Sophie was the center, and they were the radius, spinning around her to form a perfect circle. I was just a point outside it, completely excluded. After waiting a long time without seeing me, they blew up the group chat. "Are you here yet?" came Julian's text. Lucas Whitmore asked, "Where are you?" Tyler Graham tagged me in the chat. "@Kaitlin, where'd you go?" I didn't answer. Julian: "Stop acting out. Everyone's waiting on you." Lucas: "It's late. Just get over here." Tyler: "Sophie's exhausted. Don't ruin everyone's night." Staring at the screen, I felt a sudden urge to laugh. I was the one left waiting, the one lugging all the bags, and the one stranded in the middle of the night. Yet "everyone" never seemed to include me. I replied, "I'm not coming." The group chat fell dead silent for three seconds. Julian's reply came first. "What's that supposed to mean?" "Exactly what it says," I replied. Lucas: "Don't throw a tantrum. Where are you going to stay at this hour anyway?" Tyler: "You don't have to come, but you have Sophie's suitcase. She has no clothes for tomorrow." Julian: "I have your passport. Good luck going anywhere without it." Tyler: "Exactly. Just hurry up and stop making a scene." Lucas: "Find a way over here and bring the luggage. Sophie's waiting." My eyes locked onto one word—my passport. Before we left, Julian had insisted on keeping everyone's passports together so no one would lose them. Now, it was his leverage. I typed, "Give me back my passport." "Come get it yourself," Julian replied. Lucas: "Yeah, just come on over." Tyler: "Stop throwing a fit. It's late." As I looked at those messages, a wave of pure exhaustion washed over me. It wasn't that they didn't know I was hauling eight heavy bags by myself. It wasn't that they didn't know I was left stranded 12 miles away in the dead of night. They knew everything. They just didn't care. All they cared about was whether Sophie had a fresh change of clothes tomorrow. I took a deep breath. I'd get my passport back, and then I was done with them for good. Chapter 2 Kaitlin's POV The motel receptionist saw me and asked why I was heading back down. I gave a forced smile and said my friends needed me for something. She glanced at the luggage behind me, then at my hands, before turning around to hand me a pair of gloves. I took them and thanked her. With eight suitcases, I could only haul four at a time. I dragged the first four ahead, set them down, and doubled back for the rest. Back and forth I went, moving like an ant transferring its nest. The GPS showed 11 miles to go. About ten minutes into the walk, my phone buzzed with a few text notifications. Julian: "Where are you?" Lucas: "Hurry up. Do you know what time it is?" Tyler: "Sophie's already showered, and you're still not here." I stopped to catch my breath. Even through the knit gloves, my palms throbbed with a sharp pain. There were ten miles left on the map. Julian: "When you get here, just come straight upstairs. Leave the bags in the lobby." Lucas: "Sophie's white dress is in the pink suitcase. Treat it with care." Tyler: "Can you step on it? We have an early start tomorrow." I stared at the screen without typing a single word back. After a while, the blisters on my heels burst, sending sharp pain through my feet. My phone buzzed again. Julian: "Why aren't you replying?" Lucas: "Stop dawdling and get over here." Tyler: "Are you seriously still on the road? It's been so long." I dropped my live location into the group chat. "I'm walking. Still got around ten miles left." I barely took two steps before my phone vibrated again. Sophie: "Kaitlin, you're taking forever. I'm so sleepy." Julian: "Why are you moving so slowly?" Lucas: "Seriously, we told you to come earlier, but you wouldn't. What are you dragging your feet for now?" Tyler: "Sophie can barely keep her eyes open. Move it." A second later, more messages popped up. Julian: "Forget it. Stop walking and wait there. We'll come pick you up." Lucas: "Yeah, stay put. We'll drive over." Tyler: "Send a clear location so we don't have to hunt for you." I stared at those three messages. They felt bad that Sophie was tired, so suddenly, they were more than willing to drive out. After about 20 minutes, headlights cut through the darkness in the distance. I tried to get up, but my legs had gone completely numb. I had to lean against a lamppost for a few long seconds to steady myself. The car pulled up to the curb, and the passenger window rolled down. Julian asked, "Why are you crouching there? Where are the bags? Why are there only four?" "The other four are further back. I could only haul four at a time," I replied. He looked at me and said nothing. Lucas stuck his head out from the back seat. "Well, go grab them then. We'll load these four into the trunk." I dragged the remaining four suitcases over, popped the trunk, and heaved them in one by one. "Hurry up," Tyler chimed in from inside. "Sophie fell asleep waiting." Julian glanced over at me. "What happened to your hands?" I pulled my gloves down. "I was carrying the luggage—" Before I could finish, Julian started the engine. "Whatever. Get in." Before we started this trip, I had crouched on the floor labeling all eight suitcases with everyone's names. Sophie had four all to herself. Mine was the smallest, yet it was jammed all the way at the bottom. The heater was blowing warm air inside the car. Wrapped in Julian's jacket, Sophie was sound asleep, resting her head on Lucas' shoulder. Tyler had his head down, scrolling through his phone. Not a single soul bothered to ask how I was doing. I opened a travel app on my phone. The earliest flight back home was the day after tomorrow, with just one ticket left. I tapped confirm. Chapter 3 Kaitlin's POV At the new guesthouse, Julian carried Sophie inside first. Lucas carried her bag, and Tyler walked ahead to open the door. Julian carried Sophie straight into the innermost bedroom. Lucas followed with her bag to help set her things down, and Tyler took his keycard to the room next door. Julian turned and glanced at me. "You can sleep on the living room couch." I said nothing. Sophie poked her head out from Julian's arms and said softly, "Sorry, Kaitlin. My cat isn't used to sleeping on a couch, so you'll have to put up with it." The cat wasn't used to the couch, so I had to be. It had always been like this. When there wasn't enough room in the car, they stuffed me into the trunk. When we went to the beach, they brought four inner tubes for five people—forgetting only mine—leaving me to guard their bags on the sand all afternoon. When we went to the night market and bought sausages, they ended up one short. Julian said I didn't like them, even though I had never once said that. I was used to it. It was always me. And they were used to it, too. Even Julian's confession to me only happened because Sophie had said, "Julian, you're so good to Kaitlin. You two might as well just date." He thought about it for a second and agreed. There were no racing heartbeats, no careful plans, not even a simple "I like you". Someone had casually suggested it, he didn't object, and I agreed. Just like that, we ended up together. Julian put Sophie down and turned to walk toward his room. I blocked his path. "Give me my passport." He stopped and looked back at me. "Tomorrow." "Why?" "It's late, and it's in my room. I'll give it to you tomorrow." "Go get it now," I said. He frowned. "Are you serious? It's not like I'm going to lose it." "Give it to me," I repeated. Julian stared at me for two seconds, then dragged his bag toward his room without looking back. "Tomorrow." I dragged my suitcase into the living room. The couch was so short I couldn't even stretch my legs out. I sat down and watched as their four bedroom doors shut, one after another. Whatever. I was leaving the day after tomorrow anyway. As I sat on the couch, my phone screen was still glowing. Sophie had posted on Instagram. Julian, Lucas, and Tyler were sitting around the coffee table while Sophie sat in the middle holding her cat, wearing a sweet smile. The caption read, "Thanks, guys. Even in a foreign country, this feels like home." I barely slept all night. The couch was too short for my legs, and every time I turned over, it creaked loudly. Just as dawn was breaking, I drifted off for a bit, only to be woken by noises coming from Sophie's room. "Julian… I feel so sick…" Julian was the first to rush in, with Lucas and Tyler close behind. Sitting on the couch, I listened to them showering her with concern. Julian said, "It's my fault. I didn't take good care of you." When he came out and saw me, he said flatly, "Sophie's not feeling well. Go buy some medicine." "Where's the pharmacy?" I asked. "Use your GPS." I walked over 20 minutes to find a pharmacy, struggled to explain what I needed in broken Elarian and gestures, then walked all the way back with the medicine. When I returned, the place was empty. All four bedroom doors were wide open, and no one was inside. The luggage was gone, too. I called Julian. It rang three times before he picked up. "Kaitlin, Sophie isn't feeling well. It might be the change in environment. We're heading home now. Just catch up on your own." As I stood in the middle of the empty living room holding the medicine, my heart sank. My voice trembled as I asked, "Home where?" "Back to Celandor, of course. We'll wait for you at home." "My passport—" Before I could finish, he cut me off. "Alright, I have to go. We're boarding." The line went dead. I gripped my phone and stood frozen as a loud buzz filled my head. Boarding? They were boarding the plane. They had stranded me in a foreign country and taken my passport with them. I had nothing left—no passport, no luggage, no money. I rushed to the front desk, but with the language barrier, I spent minutes gesturing while the clerk looked at me with a completely blank face. I collapsed onto the floor, my hands still shaking. I pulled out my phone and dialed Julian, but his phone was powered off. Lucas and Tyler were unreachable too. The last message in the group chat was sent by Sophie. "Thanks for taking me home, guys." The photo showed her leaning against Julian's shoulder inside the plane, flashing a peace sign. As I stared at that photo, tears finally spilled over. I sent Julian a text. "Let's break up." With that, I left the group chat. Chapter 4 Kaitlin's POV Looking down at my phone, I scrolled through my contact list until I found a number I hadn't dialed in a long time—Mom. She answered on the second ring. "Kaitlin? What's wrong? Why are you calling at this hour…" "Mom," I rasped out, my voice so hoarse it didn't even sound like me. "I'm overseas. I can't get back." Mom went silent for a second. "Where are you? What happened?" "Julian left me behind and took my passport. All I have is my phone, and the battery is almost dead." The line fell dead quiet for a couple of seconds. Then Mom's voice sounded, firm and steady. "Send me your address. Stay right where you are. I'll figure this out." Crouching on the floor, I texted her the guesthouse address. Then I sat with my back against the wall, listening as Mom flipped through her contact book, searched for flights, and contacted the embassy on the other end of the line. Her voice was calm and composed, laying out instructions one by one as if she had always known this day would come. When day broke, Mom said, "I got in touch with the embassy. Go get an emergency travel document issued. It should be ready by tomorrow at the earliest." "Okay," I replied. "Do you have any money?" "No." "Kaitlin." "Yeah?" "Don't be scared. I'm here." Clutching my phone, I broke down sobbing. Mom was quiet on the other end for a few seconds. "Kaitlin, do you still remember the year your dad passed away?" I did remember. I was 13 that year. After Dad passed away, Mom wanted to take me abroad with her. All the paperwork had been processed, and the plane tickets were booked. When I told Julian and the others, they crowded around me, pleading for me not to go. They said they couldn't live without me. Julian had said, "If your mom goes abroad, you can live at my house." Lucas had reassured me. "Stay here. We'll take care of you." Tyler had promised, "The four of us will be together forever." And I had believed them. I told Mom I wasn't going. Mom just looked at me and didn't say a word. She canceled my plane ticket and boarded the flight all by herself. Before leaving, she hugged me tightly and said, "Kaitlin, I respect your choice. But just remember, I will always be here for you." After that, I went to boarding school and spent my weekends at Julian's house. His mom cooked for me, Lucas saved up his allowance to buy me snacks, and Tyler waited for me after school every single day so we could walk home together. They were so good to me back then. That was until Sophie showed up. Sophie had transferred to our school in eighth grade. She was petite, fair-skinned, and soft-spoken. When she failed her first monthly exam, she collapsed on her desk crying. Julian was the first to run over and comfort her, Lucas handed her tissues, and Tyler told jokes to make her laugh. From that day on, whenever Sophie cried, they rushed to surround her. Whenever Sophie fell ill, they panicked. Whenever Sophie felt upset, they forgot I even existed. At first, I used to ask them why. Julian would say, "Sophie's the youngest. We have to look after her more." Lucas would remind me, "You're stronger than she is." Tyler would brush it off with, "Come on, you're not the petty type." And I got the message. I stopped asking after that because I realized that every time they showed me any attention, Sophie would suddenly get sick. The moment she was in pain, they would drop everything and run to her side. So I stopped competing. I learned to haul my own luggage, walk home alone, spend my birthdays alone, and eat New Year's Eve dinner by myself. Every year, Mom would call to ask if I wanted to move over to live with her. I always said no and that I was doing just fine. She never asked twice, only saying, "Alright. I'm always here." As I clutched the phone, my voice rasped. "Mom, I'm sorry." Mom paused for a second. "Silly, why are you apologizing to me?" "I didn't go with you back then." "I know." "I dumped you all alone abroad just for them," I choked out. "Kaitlin, you didn't dump me. You just chose the path you wanted to take back then. Being genuine is never a crime. I don't blame you. I've been waiting for you all along." … Third-Person POV When the plane landed and Julian turned his phone back on, he saw Kaitlin's text and the notification that she had left the group chat. Frowning, he replied, "Are you seriously doing this?" The message failed to deliver, marked with a single gray tick. He had been blocked. He stared at the screen for two seconds, his expression darkening, but he ultimately brushed it off. At immigration, he handed over the passport, only to freeze mid-motion. It was Kaitlin's. He stood nailed to the spot, completely paralyzed. Panic finally set in as he whipped his head around to look at Lucas and Tyler. Both of them pulled out their phones, only to realize they had been blocked too. The three of them stood in the middle of the airport, clutching Kaitlin's passport, their faces drained of all color.