They Never Saved Me A Seat So I Built My Own Table Chapter 03
At our graduation dinner, Bianca suggested we exchange letters.
She pulled a stack of pretty envelopes from her bag.
“After graduation, everyone’s going to be so busy. We might not see each other every day.”
“So I secretly asked you all to write letters, and we can open them together tonight.”
Matteo laughed and tapped her lightly on the head.
“You have way too much time on your hands.”
But despite his words, he was the first to pull out the letter he’d prepared.
Nico and Bruno each produced three envelopes as well.
So they had all planned this.
I was the only one who didn’t know.
Once the letters were handed out, everyone had three in front of them.
Bianca lowered her head to open hers, and her eyes slowly turned red.
Matteo’s letter reminded her not to stay up too late.
Nico wrote that she could call him no matter how late.
Bruno wrote that he hoped she would stay happy and stop being so anxious all the time.
I sat beside them, the space in front of me empty.
No one had written me a letter.
And I hadn’t had time to prepare one for anyone else.
Only then did Bianca seem to notice me, asking softly, “Cousin, didn’t Nico tell you?”
Nico’s hand stilled.
“I thought Bruno would have said something.”
Bruno frowned.
“Wasn’t Matteo the one who made the group chat?”
Matteo pulled out his phone and scrolled for a moment, then realized they had created a separate four-person chat to plan the letters.
His expression stiffened.
“I just threw it together on the fly.”
“You’re with Bruno. His letters to us kind of count for you, too.”
Bruno followed up by folding the letter he’d written for Bianca.
“There’s plenty of time. I’ll write you one when we get back.”
I smiled.
“No need.”
A letter written only as an afterthought had already lost its meaning.
Halfway through dinner, a server brought a dessert platter.
Bianca looked at the sweets on the table and said happily, “Once we move into The Arches, we can have dinner together all the time.”
I looked up.
“The Arches? What are you talking about?”
The table went quiet.
Bianca’s eyes darted from one person to the next.
“They didn’t tell you?”
“The four of us already rented apartments in the same building.”
Matteo was in Building One.
Nico was in Building Three.
And Bruno and Bianca had even rented apartments on the same floor.
They had spent over two weeks discussing it, viewed apartments three times, and even decided whose place they would use for get-togethers.
But not one of them had ever asked me where I was going to live after graduation.
Seeing my expression, Matteo’s voice took on an edge of impatience.
“Aren’t you moving in with Bruno?”
I turned to look at Bruno.
He avoided my eyes.
After a few seconds, he finally spoke.
“Bianca’s just starting her new job. She’d be scared living alone.”
“So I’m going to move into The Arches for now. That way I can look out for her.”
I tightened my grip on my water glass.
“And the apartment we picked out together?”
“We’ll cancel it for now,” he said, as if it were nothing.
“If you still want it, you can take over the lease. Once Bianca gets settled at work, I’ll move in with you.”
“And how long is that supposed to take?”
“How should I know?”
Bruno sounded annoyed now, as if I were the one being difficult.
“It’s her first real job. Can’t you be a little more understanding?”
I looked at the four of them at the table.
Matteo lowered his head and took a sip of water, clearly having already accepted this arrangement.
Nico pushed up his glasses and told me not to ruin the mood.
Bianca bit her lip, looking like she might burst into tears at any second.
Everyone thought she needed someone with her because she was just starting out.
But no one remembered that I was also about to start a new job, alone in an unfamiliar city.
Ever since we were kids, they had all just assumed I was the one who didn’t need to be taken care of.
I stood up.
“I’m going to the restroom.”
No one stopped me.
They quickly went back to discussing what brand of plates and cutlery they should buy for their new apartments.
At the end of the hall, I called the rental agent.
“That apartment we looked at—I need to cancel the application.”
The agent reminded me I would lose the deposit.
I told him that was fine.
After hanging up, I opened the digital contract from the Austin company and signed my name on the final page.
When I returned to the table, they were raising their glasses to celebrate that the four of them would still be neighbors after graduation.
I picked up my glass too and touched it lightly to theirs.
Under the table, my phone buzzed.
[Contract effective. Please report for onboarding the morning after tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.]
At the same moment, Bruno’s phone buzzed.
After reading the cancellation notice from the agent, his expression darkened.
“Alessia Marino, did you cancel the apartment?”
I nodded.
“You weren’t going to live there anyway.”
He stared at me, then let out a cold laugh. “Fine. If this is your way of getting me to back down, let’s see how long you can drag it out.”
“I’d love to see which one of us caves first.”
He didn’t know.
There was no “us” left for him to win.