They Left Me Out of Their Group, So I’ll Leave Them Out of My Life Chapter 13

They Left Me Out of Their Group, So I’ll Leave Them Out of My Life Chapter 13

I thought for a moment, then replied, “I hope your 

dad gets better soon.” 

About ten seconds later, Enzo answered. 

“Thank you.” 

Then another message came. “Kira, can I see you? 

I won’t bring anything else up. I just want to see 

you.” 

I didn’t reply. 

I put my phone down and made dinner. 

Cooking for one didn’t take much. A bowl of pasta. 

A small salad. 

While I did the dishes, I reached for my phone 

without thinking. 

No new messages from him. 

I dried the dishes and put them away. 

There was no point in seeing him. 

What would it change? 

He didn’t regret excluding me. 

He regretted that I had actually left. 

Those were not the same thing. 

Three months after we broke up, on a Sunday, the 

flower shop closed. 

Bella went home. 

I stayed behind to finish closing. 

I retrimmed the unsold bouquets, changed the 

water, and wiped the counters. 

As I locked up, I saw someone standing across 

the street. 

Enzo. 

He stood by the curb, looking worn down. 

He had lost weight. 

His cheekbones stood out more. His jaw looked 

sharper. 

He watched me lock up but didn’t come over or 

call out. 

He just stood there. 

I slung my bag over my shoulder and headed for 

the subway. 

He followed about forty feet behind me. 

After two blocks, I stopped. 

“How long are you going to follow me?” 

His footsteps stopped. 

A few seconds later, he walked up and stopped 

two steps away. 

“Kira.” 

“Yeah.” 

“My dad’s out of the hospital. He asked about 

you.” 

“Tell him thanks for asking.” 

Enzo looked tired. Almost like a stranger. 

Three months apart, and his old easy confidence 

was gone. 

Now he looked careful. 

“You been… okay?” 

“I’ve been fine.” 

“I saw you working at the flower shop.” 

“Part–time.” 

“Oh.” 

He rubbed his hands together, searching for 

words. 

I didn’t help him. 

After a long pause, he said, “Kira, I’ve been thinking 

about a lot.” 

“Okay.” 

“The first few days after you left, I honestly felt relieved.” 

I looked at him. 

The admission seemed to cost him. 

“At first, I really did. I felt lighter.” 

“No fighting. No explaining. No having to face 

that… look in your eyes.” 

I said nothing. 

“Then one night I came home from work and the 

apartment was completely dark.” 

“I reached for the light switch and realized I 

couldn’t remember whether it was on the right or 

left.” 

“You’d moved it. You told me. I wasn’t listening.” 

He paused. 

“After that, every day I noticed something you’d 

done that I’d never noticed before.” 

“The spice jars in the kitchen were organized.” 

“My shirts were hung from light to dark.” 

“There were moisture absorbers on the bottom 

shelf of the shoe cabinet.” 

“Everywhere I looked, there were traces of you. But 

you weren’t there.” 

His voice had gone rough. 

“Kira, I didn’t just start regretting this.” 

“I regretted it the day after you left. I just didn’t know how to say it.” 

A shiver went through me. 

“Why not?” 

“Because I didn’t know how to start.” 

“After you found that group… I’d never seen you look at me like that.” 

“It wasn’t anger. It was worse than anger.” 

“What was it?” 

“Like you’d finally proven something you’d 

suspected for years.” 

“Like you’d always known you weren’t wanted but 

couldn’t admit it.” 

My nose burned. 

Not because he was right. 

Because he was painfully accurate. 

More than two years. 

That day wasn’t when I first started feeling it. 

I’d felt it for a long time. 

At every get–together, conversation drifted to 

things I knew nothing about. 

Whenever someone suggested something, no one 

asked what I wanted. 

Whenever I spoke, there’d be a beat of silence. 

I kept telling myself I was imagining things. 

Then I saw the group name and knew. I hadn’t imagined it. They’d all been in on something I couldn’t see. 

“Enzo, are you done?” 

“No.” 

He took a deep breath. 

“I deleted the group. I know that wasn’t enough.” 

“Nico and the others apologized. I know you don’t 

care. They were never who mattered to you.” 

“Then what did I care about?” 

“Me.” He looked at me. “I chose them over vou.” 

“Kira, I don’t have the right to ask you to come 

back.” 

“I just wanted you to know the group name was a 

lie. Life without you isn’t happy.” 

I stood there. 

He waited a long time. 

I said nothing. 

Finally, he stepped back. Then another two steps. 

“I won’t bother you anymore. If you ever need 

anything… call me.” 

He turned and walked in the other direction. 

I watched him disappear down the street. 

I didn’t chase him. Didn’t call after him. 

After a long while, I headed for the subway. 

As I reached the turnstiles, my phone buzzed. 

Bella texted, “Eucalyptus delivery tomorrow. Can you check it for me?” 

I replied, “Sure.” 

The turnstile clicked open, and I hurried toward the 

platform. 

The train arrived. 

When the doors opened, I stepped inside. 

The car was warm. A little girl slept in her mom’s 

lap. 

I found a seat and set my bag on my knees. 

My phone buzzed again. 

Marco sent a photo of his cafeteria lunch. 

The caption read, “This is so bad. Save me.” 

I typed two words back. 

“Serves you right.” 

He immediately sent a crying emoji. 

The train cut through the tunnel. 

We reached the next stop. 

The doors opened and closed. 

The train kept moving forward.