Chapter 1The Third Wheel's Departure

For my college graduation trip, my boyfriend, Ethan, my best friend, Maya, and I went to Lake Tahoe.

While walking along the shore of Emerald Bay, an older tourist couple approached us with warm smiles, asking in broken English if we could help them take a picture.

After taking theirs, the older woman offered to return the favor. She gently pulled Ethan and Maya toward the wooden railing, gesturing for them to lean their heads close together.

Then, she waved at me, holding out her camera.

"You take the picture for them! The lighting is absolutely perfect right now."

I stood there, holding my own phone up. Looking through the viewfinder at the two of them smiling, looking like the perfect couple, I tapped the shutter button.

Ethan didn't say a word.

Maya took the phone from me, glanced at the screen, and smiled brightly.

"Oh, this is a great shot! Let's take one more."

Later, when we checked into the resort, the front desk clerk glanced at the reservation details and handed the keycards for the double-occupancy room directly to Ethan and Maya.

Then, he slid the keycard for the single room across the counter to me.

"And the room for this young lady is at the end of the hall on the third floor."

I said quietly, "I'm his girlfriend."

The clerk froze for two seconds, then quickly lowered his head to frantically double-check the booking registry.

That night, back in my room, I soaked in the bathtub alone, listening to the muffled sounds of laughter drifting through the wall from the room next door.

It had been a three-day trip.

I had been mistaken for the third wheel seven times.

I had been mistaken for their personal photographer eleven times.

And I was mistaken for not being his girlfriend four times.

How many times did Ethan correct them?

Zero.

I wrapped myself in a bathrobe, sat on the edge of the bed, opened my airline app, and changed my return flight to tomorrow.

The graduation trip didn't have to end at the summit.

* * *

"Chloe, can you take one of me and Ethan? That backlit angle you found earlier was amazing."

When Maya shoved her phone into my hands, her freshly done French tips caught the morning light.

I took the phone. I didn't say a word.

This was the third time today.

For the forty-minute drive from the resort to the state park, she and Ethan sat together in the back seat of the Uber. I sat alone in the front passenger seat.

The driver asked me casually, "Your friends seem really close."

I just smiled and didn't bother translating the awkward sentiment for them.

"Move a little to the left... Yeah, perfect! Ethan, don't move, the light hitting your face looks so good."

Maya rested her hand naturally on Ethan's shoulder, tilting her head and smiling brightly at the camera.

Ethan glanced at me. His lips parted slightly, but ultimately, he said nothing.

I tapped the shutter.

And handed the phone back.

Maya swiped through the photos, suddenly frowning. "Chloe, you made my chin look round."

"Let's do one more. This time, crouch down lower so my face looks slimmer."

I crouched down.

My knee bumped against a jagged rock on the paved path. It stung a little.

Through the viewfinder, Ethan finally spoke up.

"Maya, I think that's enough."

Maya playfully swatted his arm. "Oh, come on, just one last picture."

She turned back to me, her tone breezy and light. "Chloe, don't mind me, okay? I'm just so used to having you take my pictures. You're just so good at it."

I said, "It's fine."

I had said those two words at least fifty times over the past three days.

It's fine, you guys go ahead, I'll grab the bags.

It's fine, you guys pick the restaurant, I'm not picky.

It's fine, one room is enough, I'll sleep on the couch.

It's fine.

At noon, we ate at a busy diner. When the waitress brought the food, she naturally placed the massive "Lovers' Shared Platter" right between Ethan and Maya.

The single order of fries was pushed in front of me.

Maya didn't even notice. She leaned over to share a milkshake with Ethan, passing the glass back and forth.

I picked up a fry and chewed it slowly.

It tasted like nothing.

In the afternoon, we went to a local arcade. When Maya won a jackpot on the claw machine, she jumped up and down excitedly, throwing her arms around Ethan's arm.

"Ethan, look! I won the grand prize! The tag says 'True love is closer than you think!'"

She read it out loud, then seemed to realize what she was doing. She let go of his arm, turned to me, and stuck her tongue out playfully. "Haha, don't overthink it, Chloe. I was just super excited."

Ethan slowly reached over and pulled her hand off his arm. He didn't move particularly fast.

I looked down at the small keychain I had won.

The tag on mine read: Sometimes holding on hurts more than letting go.

I folded the tag and shoved it deep into my jacket pocket.

On the walk back to the resort, Maya walked perfectly in the middle, her left arm hooked through Ethan's, her right arm draped over my shoulder.

As we passed a souvenir shop, she stopped and pointed at a pair of matching braided bracelets in the window.

"Ethan, let's get those! One for each of us, they're so cute."

Ethan asked, "Buy them for who?"

Maya said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "For you and me, duh. Chloe and I can buy a different pair for besties later."

I stared at the two bracelets. One red, one blue.

Ethan paused, his gaze drifting slightly in my direction.

I spoke up first. "You guys go ahead and buy them. I'm going to run to the convenience store next door to grab some water."

As I turned away, I heard Maya calling out cheerfully behind me, "Thanks, Chloe! You're the best!"

The AC in the convenience store was blasting. I stood in front of the beverage cooler, staring at my blurry reflection in the glass door.

My phone buzzed. It was a text from Ethan.

"Are you okay?"

Three words.

This was the first time in three days he had sent a message directly to me.

I stared at the blinking cursor on the screen for a long time. I typed a few letters, deleted them, and finally replied with the phrase he was most used to hearing.

"I'm fine."

When I walked back with two bottles of water, Maya had already tied the blue bracelet onto the zipper of Ethan's backpack.

The red one hung from her own purse, dangling right next to her designer lip gloss, swaying back and forth.

That night back at the resort, Maya said she wanted to go down to the hot tub.

"Chloe, you wanna come?"

"No thanks, I'm pretty tired."

"Okay, I'll just go by myself then. Ethan, can you grab me a towel from downstairs?"

Ethan muttered an agreement, grabbed a towel, and followed her down the long hallway.

I stood in front of my door and swiped my keycard.

Third floor, end of the hall, single room, window facing the parking lot.

I sat on the edge of the bed and opened the photo gallery on my phone. I scrolled through every picture I had taken over the last three days.

One hundred and twenty-seven photos.

Photos of Ethan and Maya together: eighty-nine.

Photos of me and Ethan together: zero.

I closed the gallery and opened my airline app.

A pop-up confirming my flight change appeared. I tapped "Confirm."

My phone buzzed again. It was Maya in the group chat.

"We're going hiking tomorrow! Chloe, will you take some trail pictures of us? The kind that look super aesthetic for Instagram!"

I set my phone down and turned off the lamp.

In the dark, I heard footsteps and hushed laughter coming down the hallway. They were back from the hot tub.

The door to the room next door clicked open, then shut.

Then, silence.

A very, very long silence.