They Said She Was Strong So They Never Had To Choose Her Chapter 01
At our high school graduation party, the five of us who had grown up together sat down to play a game called Who Knows Who Best.
In the first round, my best friend Mia Harper asked the question.
“If one of us got stranded somewhere in the middle of the night, who would you go save first?”
The three boys everyone had jokingly called my future husband candidates for as long as I could remember all wrote down her name.
Someone teased them for being so in sync.
Mia’s cheeks turned pink as she explained.
“It’s probably because I’m the biggest scaredy-cat. Chloe is so capable. She’d never need anyone to rescue her.”
They all nodded in agreement.
But they had forgotten. When I was sixteen, I was the one stranded in the mountains, and they were the ones who found me in the pouring rain and fought over who got to carry me down.
Back then, all three of them had said the same thing.
“No matter what happens, we’ll always choose you first.”
The second round came around, and it was my turn to ask.
I looked at each of them and smiled as I read the question off the card.
“If only four of the five of us could go to the same college, who would you leave behind?”
The private room went dead silent.
Mia bit her lip and was the first to flip her card over.
She had written her own name.
But when the other three cards turned around, every single one had mine on it.
Grayson Hale, the one who had always doted on me the most, was the first to speak.
“It’s just a game. You’re not actually going to take it seriously, are you?”
Ethan Pierce jumped in right after.
“Mia isn’t in great health. It wouldn’t be right for her to go off to a strange city on her own.”
Julian West just ruffled my hair with that same gentle tone he always used.
“Besides, you applied to a school right here in town. Even if one of us had to stay behind, you’d still be home every day. It’s not like we’re leaving you.”
I looked at those four answer cards and, out of nowhere, I laughed too.
They had no idea that the local college they had already picked out for me had never once made it onto my application list.
That night, Julian sent me a message on his own.
【Don’t let a game get to you.】
【The five of us are going to stick together forever.】
I didn’t reply.
I just stared at the school on my screen, seventeen hundred miles away from here, and hit final submit.
…
The confirmation page for my Common App stayed open for a long time.
It wasn’t until the screen went dark that I finally saw my own reflection staring back.
There were no tears, and it didn’t hurt the way I had imagined.
It turns out that once you’ve collected enough disappointment, the moment you actually decide to leave is surprisingly peaceful.
My phone kept buzzing.
In our group chat of five, Grayson had posted a picture.
Mia was standing in front of the cake wearing a paper crown. Grayson was holding the crown steady for her, Ethan was leaning down to light the candles, and Julian was still holding the milkshake she hadn’t finished.
The caption underneath read:
【Congrats to Mia, tonight’s ultimate mind-reader.】
I stared at the picture for a few seconds, then turned my phone off.
Tonight wasn’t just the graduation party. It was also my eighteenth birthday.
Mia and I were born three days apart.
She had said it would be too much for everyone to attend two birthday parties back to back, and suggested we celebrate together. I had agreed.
But the strawberry cake Grayson ordered only had Mia’s name on it.
The paper crown Ethan brought was only one.
Even the flowers Julian had picked out were her favorite pink roses.
It wasn’t that they had forgotten today was my birthday too.
They had just decided I was mature enough not to mind.
The door swung open.
Julian walked in and set a velvet gift box down on the table.
“Happy eighteenth.”
Inside was a silver bracelet with a four-leaf clover charm.
The design looked familiar.
Earlier at the party, Mia had been wearing an almost identical one on her wrist, except hers had a ring of tiny diamonds around the clover.
When I didn’t say anything, Julian offered up an explanation.
“The three of us picked out Mia’s together. I liked the design, so I figured I’d grab one for you while I was at it.”
So my eighteenth birthday gift was an afterthought.
I closed the lid.
“Thanks.”
Instead of leaving, Julian pulled up a chair and sat down beside me.
“Don’t take the game thing to heart. Mia’s insecure. If none of us picked her tonight, she’d have spiraled all night.”
“So you all picked me instead?”
He paused, then let out a helpless little laugh.
“You’ve never cared about stuff like this, have you?”
Because I don’t cry, I can be the one who gets left behind.
Because I don’t make a scene, they never have to think about how I feel.
I nodded.
“You’re right.”
He visibly relaxed and slipped back into his usual soft demeanor.
“Send me your ID info tomorrow. I’m putting together all the paperwork for the trip. Mia wants to take graduation photos in the Rockies, and you’re the best photographer we’ve got.”
“Okay.”
Satisfied, Julian ruffled my hair one more time and left the room.
Once the door shut, I pulled up the itinerary Julian had shared with everyone that afternoon.
On the Airbnb booking confirmation, the guest list had four names.
Mia Harper. Grayson Hale. Ethan Pierce. Julian West.
My name showed up on the last page.
Not as one of the guests.
As the emergency contact.