They Left Me Out of Their Group, So I'll Leave Them Out of My Life Chapter 11

They Left Me Out of Their Group, So I’ll Leave Them Out of My Life Chapter 11

Three days after I blocked Enzo, my mom called.

“Kira, what happened with you and Enzo? Marco

says you broke up.”

“We did.”

“Why? Enzo’s a good guy. He’s always treated you

pretty well…”

“Mom, the eight of them had a group chat just to

plan get–togethers without me.”

“Marco was in it too. For more than two years.”

The line went quiet.

My mom was practical. After the divorce, she’d

poured all her energy into work.

She rarely got involved in my relationships.

After a while, she said, “Are you sure this isn’t a

misunderstanding?”

“I read the messages.”

“…Marco was in it too?”

“Yes.”

Another silence.

“I have class today. I’ll call you later.”

She hung up.

I knew she wasn’t about to chew Marco out for

She’d always thought he was still a kid, that boys did stupid things.

But at least now she knew.

That weekend, I worked at the flower shop as

usual.

That afternoon, Bella looked over and asked, “Kira, are you feeling better lately?”

“Am I?”

“When you first started here, your eyes were red all the time. You finally look like you’ve got some life

in you again.”

I smiled but didn’t answer.

She handed me a latte.

“You’re young. You have a lot of life ahead of you.”

“If that part of your life wasn’t worth it, leave it behind. Don’t keep looking back.”

“Yeah.”

After we closed that night, I walked home alone.

When I reached my building, I saw someone sitting on the front steps.

Marco.

He saw me and stood up, looking awkward.

“Kira.”

I stopped and looked at him.

At nineteen, he stood several inches taller than

But hunched in on himself like that, he looked fifteen again.

“How did you find me?”

“I asked around.”

He looked down. “Kira, I… came to say I’m sorry.”

“Come inside.”

Once we were in, I poured him a glass of water.

He sat on the small couch, both hands around the

glass. It took him a long time to speak..

“Go ahead.”

“I’m sorry.”

I sat in the chair across from him.

“Do you know what you’re apologizing for?”

He nodded, then shook his head. Finally he said, “I

shouldn’t have joined that group.”

“What else?”

“I shouldn’t have… helped them lie to you.”

“Why did you?”

He pressed his lips together. It took him a while to

answer.

“Enzo added me in the beginning.”

“He said it was just a regular group chat.”

“Then I realized every time they planned

something, they checked first to make sure you

weren’t coming, and I just… went along with it.”

“Why?”

He looked up at me. His eyes were bloodshot.

“Because… when I’m with them, nobody tells me

what to do.”

I froze.

“You’re always on me about everything.”

“What I eat. What I wear. Who I hang out with.

When I get home.”

“With them, none of that matters. We just hang

out.”

His words scraped at something tender inside me.

He was right.

I’d spent years treating him like a kid.

Partly responsibility. Partly habit. Either way, I’d

been too involved in every part of his life.

But that still didn’t justify two years of lying behind

my back.

“Marco, if I was too controlling, you could’ve told

me.”

“I was afraid you’d be hurt.”

“So instead you lied to me for two years and hurt.

me worse.”

He lowered his head and said nothing.

The water in his glass had gone cold.

“I was wrong.”

“I know.”

“Can you forgive me?”

I looked at him.

Nineteen.

Still young enough to be stupid sometimes.

“I don’t hate you. But I don’t want to see you for a

while.”

He nodded and stood.

At the door, he looked back at me.

“You’re here by yourself… You feel safe?”

“I’m safe.”

“Okay. I’ll go.”

“Yeah. Go home.”

After the door closed, I sat there for a long time.

He was the first one to show up and apologize to

my face.

I couldn’t tell whether he actually understood or

had just realized he no longer had me to ask for

money.

Either way, it was a step.

At least one of the eight had been willing to face

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