They Said She Was Strong So They Never Had To Choose Her Chapter 03
Three days into their trip to the Rockies, Mia posted a graduation travel video on Instagram.
In the clip, the four of them were running around at the base of the snowy mountain in matching ski jackets.
Grayson was carrying her bag.
Ethan was crouched down tying her shoelace.
And Julian caught her in his arms when a gust of wind knocked her off balance.
At the end of the video, Mia smiled into the camera.
“From high school to college. So lucky the four of us have always been the best of friends.”
Someone in the comments asked if the person filming was their fifth friend.
Mia replied:
【No fifth person. It’s always just been the four of us.】
I looked at it for a few seconds and closed the page.
Ten minutes later, the video was gone.
Julian called.
“You saw the post?”
“I saw it.”
“Mia messed up the caption. She meant to say five, but since you weren’t there, she was worried it would confuse people, so she changed it to four last second.”
His explanation was too smooth, like he had rehearsed it.
“Got it.”
I heard a sharp gasp on the other end of the line.
Then hurried footsteps.
Julian muttered a quick “gotta go” and hung up before I could respond.
Not long after, the group chat exploded.
Mia had missed her footing while taking photos, slid down a snowy slope, and sprained her ankle. The trip had to be cut short.
Grayson wanted to know why I wasn’t answering my phone.
Ethan told me to look up the earliest flights back.
I stared at the messages, confused.
【You’re literally at the airport. You can’t look it up yourselves?】
Grayson fired off a text in the group.
【You’ve always been the one who handles this stuff. Mia’s crying her eyes out. We can’t deal with flights right now.】
So they only remembered I existed when someone needed to clean up their mess.
Every trip the five of us had ever taken, I was the one who booked the flights, organized the documents, planned the itinerary, and packed the medicine.
They had grown used to my thoroughness without ever seeing it as effort.
I closed the chat and didn’t look up any flights.
Half an hour later, my mother pushed open my door.
“Mia is hurt and you’re just sitting there?”
She held her phone up to my face.
On the screen was a picture of Mia’s swollen ankle.
“They already took her to the hospital.”
“Go get your room ready.”
I froze.
“Ready for what?”
“Look at the state she’s in. There’s no one to look after her upstairs. Your room’s on the first floor. She’ll stay in it for two months.”
She said it like it was already decided, like she hadn’t even considered that I might say no.
“And where am I supposed to sleep?”
“There’s a pullout couch in the study, isn’t there? You’re leaving for college soon anyway. You’ll be in a dorm most of the time. Don’t be difficult about this.”
Leaving for college soon.
So my room could be handed off to someone else in advance.
I sat still for a moment, then got up and opened my closet.
Mom nodded, satisfied.
“That’s more like it. Mia’s been fragile her whole life. You need to give her a little more leeway.”
I didn’t explain anything. I just started packing my clothes into a suitcase, one piece at a time.
By the time three suitcases were full, half the room was empty.
When Mom came back in and saw the luggage on the floor, something finally clicked.
“Why are you packing everything up?”
“For school.”
“You’ll be at a school right down the road. What do you need all this for?”
I zipped the last case shut.
“Getting it done early so I don’t have to deal with it later.”
She squinted at me suspiciously, then went right back to talking about Mia.
“Are you sure about that school of yours? Mia’s SAT score is lower than yours and even she’s got a solid shot. If you don’t get in, don’t come crying to me.”
I let out a small laugh.
She didn’t know what I got on the SAT.
Just like the three boys who had grown up beside me had never bothered to ask.
From the moment scores came out until applications went in, their attention had never left Mia.
A few extra points and they cheered for her.
A few points short and they scrambled to find her a backup plan.
Even though I was the one who was actually her daughter.
The only question I ever got had come from Julian.
“You’re staying around here with us, right?”
That night, they finally got back.
The three of them took turns carrying Mia through the front door.
Grayson had her luggage, Ethan had her medication, and Julian gently supported her injured foot.
They carried her into my room.
Mom put fresh sheets on the bed and brought in a plate of sliced mango.
“Mia, honey, make yourself right at home. Chloe’s leaving for college soon anyway. This room would just sit empty.”
Nobody noticed that every picture of me on the wall was gone.
And nobody paid attention to the three suitcases beside the bed, holding everything I had left in this city.