Chapter 3The Fifth Chair

At the graduation dinner that night, Chloe suggested we do a "letter exchange."

She pulled a stack of beautiful, wax-sealed envelopes out of her bag.

"Since we're all going to be super busy after graduation, we won't get to see each other every day."

"So I secretly asked you guys to write letters to each other, and we're going to open them tonight!"

Liam laughed, lightly knocking on her forehead.

"You and your dramatic rituals."

Despite his complaint, he was the very first one to pull his letters out.

Mason and Ethan both pulled out three envelopes each.

Clearly, they had planned this weeks in advance.

And I was the only one kept entirely in the dark.

When the letters were distributed, everyone had exactly three envelopes sitting in front of them.

Chloe opened hers, and her eyes immediately welled with tears.

Liam wrote that she needed to stop staying up so late.

Mason promised that no matter what time it was, he would always answer her calls.

Ethan wrote that he hoped she would always be happy, and that she never needed to feel insecure or anxious again.

I sat at the table. The space in front of me was completely empty.

No one had written me a letter.

And obviously, I hadn't prepared any for them either.

Chloe finally noticed me, her voice dropping to a whisper.

"Maya... didn't Mason tell you?"

Mason froze.

"I thought Ethan was going to tell her."

Ethan frowned deeply.

"Wasn't Liam the one who made the group chat for this?"

Liam pulled out his phone, scrolling through his messages. He suddenly realized that when they organized the letter exchange, he had created a separate, four-person group chat.

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"I just made it really quick, I didn't think about it."

"Besides, you and Ethan are basically a package deal. His letters count as yours too."

Ethan smoothly folded the letter he had written to Chloe and put it away.

"We have plenty of time. I'll write you one when we get home."

I offered a faint smile.

"No need."

Something that has to be demanded before it is given holds exactly zero value.

Halfway through the dinner, the waiter brought out a massive dessert platter.

Chloe clapped her hands excitedly.

"Once we all move into the Oakwood Apartments, we can do dinners like this all the time!"

I looked up.

"What Oakwood Apartments?"

The entire table went dead silent.

Chloe looked at Ethan, then at Mason, then at Liam.

"Did... did no one tell you?"

"We already signed a lease for four apartments in the same complex."

Liam was in Building 1.

Mason was in Building 3.

Ethan and Chloe had actually rented two units on the exact same floor.

They had been discussing this for a month. They had toured the complex three times. They had even planned out whose apartment they would host game nights in.

But not a single person had ever asked me where I was going to live after graduation.

Seeing the look on my face, Liam sighed, his tone laced with exasperation.

"Aren't you just going to live with Ethan?"

I turned and looked directly at Ethan.

He immediately averted his eyes.

Several agonizing seconds passed before he finally spoke.

"Chloe just got her first real corporate job. She's terrified of living alone."

"So I'm going to move into Oakwood first, just to make sure she's okay and help her settle in."

I gripped my water glass so tightly my knuckles turned white.

"What about the apartment we already put a deposit on?"

"Just cancel it," he said, waving it off like it was nothing.

"If you still want to live there, you can just sign the lease yourself. Once Chloe is comfortable at her new job, I'll move in with you."

"How long is that going to take?"

"How the hell should I know?"

Ethan's tone turned incredibly defensive, as if I were the one being unreasonable and aggressive.

"This is her very first time out in the real world. Can you not be a little understanding?"

I looked at the four people sitting at the table.

Liam was staring down at his plate, clearly endorsing Ethan's decision.

Mason pushed his glasses up his nose, gently suggesting I not ruin the celebratory mood.

Chloe was biting her lip, looking like she was about to burst into tears.

They all universally agreed that Chloe needed to be coddled as she entered the "real world."

But they completely forgot that I was also starting a new job, at a new company, and navigating life in a brand new city entirely alone.

But since we were kids, they had collectively decided that I simply didn't need anyone.

I stood up.

"I'm going to the restroom."

No one tried to stop me.

By the time I reached the door, they were already back to excitedly discussing what kind of dishware they were going to buy for their new apartments.

I walked to the end of the hallway and called my leasing agent.

"Hi, that apartment we viewed last week? I need to cancel my application."

The agent warned me that I would lose my security deposit.

I told him I didn't care.

After hanging up, I opened the digital employment contract from the tech firm in Seattle.

I scrolled to the very last page, and typed my digital signature.

Three years of love. Over two decades of family and friendship.

When it finally comes time to let go, all it really takes is a signature.

When I walked back to the table, they were raising their glasses, toasting to the fact that they were all going to live together.

I picked up my water glass and gently clinked it against theirs.

My phone vibrated under the table.

[Contract fully executed. Please report to the Seattle office on Monday at 9:00 AM sharp.]

At that exact moment, Ethan's phone buzzed as well.

He read the automated email notification from the leasing office, and his face instantly darkened.

"Maya. You canceled the lease on our apartment?"

I offered a simple, "Yeah."

"You weren't going to live there anyway."

He glared at me, letting out a harsh, cold laugh. It was the laugh of a man who believed that if he indulged me any further, I would become completely unhinged.

"Fine. If you think playing this little game of chicken is going to force me to apologize, go ahead."

"I want to see exactly who breaks first."

He didn't know.

Between him and me, the game was already over.