Ethan and I were on a road trip when I got thirsty and went to grab some water at a rest stop. When I came back, he had driven off. I called him ten times, and every call went straight to voicemail. An hour later, my best friend Fiona called: “Oh, I’m so sorry, Kylie. Ethan just turned back to pick me up. You’ll have to wait another hour, and we’ll come get you.” I suddenly felt like laughing. Before, I’d ask Ethan to pick me up on his way home from work, but he always found it too much trouble. Even this road trip, I had begged him for a year before he finally agreed. Now, he was willing to spend three hours picking up Fiona. Turns out, he wasn't lazy; he just didn't care enough about me. After waiting for nearly two hours, Ethan’s car finally pulled into the rest stop. Fiona got out of the car, carrying her favorite juice, a bright smile on her face. “Kylie, I know you’ve been waiting forever, so I specially bought you juice!” She took one out of the bag, stuck a straw in it, and put it to my lips. I instinctively took a sip, but as soon as I tasted mango, I turned away, coughing. An itch spread through my throat. I leaned against the wall, coughing uncontrollably, tears welling in my eyes. Fiona gasped, then turned to complain. “What’s wrong with you, Ethan? I told you to get juice, why did you buy one with mango? Kylie’s allergic to mango!” Ethan retorted without hesitation. “I didn’t know this juice had mango in it.” “Seriously? Couldn’t you have just asked the store clerk?” I wiped away the tears from my eyes. Silently, I took the water Ethan handed me. Just like countless times before, I heard him say: “If it were Kylie, a bottle of water would be enough. Not like you, always making me remember all these picky details. It’s a hassle.” But no matter how much of a hassle, didn’t he still remember? That thought inexplicably popped into my head. I actually loved juice too, and I used to love bugging Ethan to buy it for me. But he was always lazy. Too lazy to check if the ingredients contained my allergen. I’d just reminded him, and then he’d immediately say he forgot. At that moment, Ethan was glued to his phone, starting a new ranked match, not even looking up. “Water’s fine, isn’t it? Who’d bother to remember something like that?” I’d told him countless times that I was allergic to mango, but he just couldn't remember. When I looked up again, Fiona was already in the front passenger seat. I met her gaze from outside the car. Fiona slapped her forehead. “Oh, my bad! Kylie, come sit in the front.” “No, thanks.” “No, thanks.” Ethan and I said in unison. Ethan actually looked surprised for once. Right, it wasn't the first time Fiona had mistakenly sat in the front passenger seat. Every time before, I would have swapped places with her.
But today, there was no need. I glanced at him, then pulled open the back door. Fiona turned around, suddenly saying mysteriously. “Are we totally synced or something? That ski resort you’re going to is exactly where I’ve always wanted to go! I can’t believe, Kylie, you don’t even ski, and you’re planning a trip there.” Ethan looked at me again through the rearview mirror. He casually spoke, hands on the steering wheel. “We were originally going to the beach, but she’s afraid of getting a tan, so I planned the trip to the ski resort instead. Kylie said she wanted to learn how to ski.” Fiona listened intently, then skillfully pulled her hand cream from the glove compartment. “Going to the beach would have been nice too; I love the ocean.” “Okay, can we just keep it down?” Ethan interrupted, turning on the music. That music was Ethan's alarm. I immediately remembered how, over a year ago, the day after Ethan agreed to the road trip, I had woken up early, excited. After turning off his alarm, I inexplicably found myself opening his SnapChat. Fiona had sent him a few messages complaining about work last night. I casually scrolled through them and then froze. [Ugh, I seriously need a vacation. I wanna go to the beach so bad!] [Ethan, if you guys go to the beach, take me with you, pretty please~] Ethan replied, [Sure thing.] I stared at those messages for ten minutes, my eyes aching before I finally let the screen go dark. When Ethan woke up and hugged me from behind, nuzzling me playfully, I pretended to say casually, “Let’s not go to the beach for our road trip. Didn't you say I look bad with a tan?” I thought at the time, I didn't mind Fiona traveling with us. After all, I’d known both of them for over ten years. But why did Ethan choose a travel destination that she liked? Ethan didn't think for long after hearing that. He kissed me. “Alright, then let’s go skiing. I’ll teach you how.” Thinking about it, I couldn't help but laugh out loud in the car. Ethan looked back and asked what was wrong. I shook my head and said nothing. I just realized how naive I was over a year ago. Thinking that as long as Ethan changed for me, it would be enough. Even though I didn't like the beach and wasn't really interested in skiing. I unlocked my phone and bought a ticket to a different destination. This time, I was going where *I* wanted to go. — We checked into a small town at the base of the ski resort. We had planned to go skiing tomorrow, but I no longer intended to go up the mountain. So I only took my own luggage. All the gear stayed in the trunk. Ethan parked the car, then glanced at the stuff in my hands, surprisingly sharp. “Why didn’t you take your skiing gear?” I casually mumbled a reply. “Forgot.” But I didn't frantically turn around to get it, like I usually would. After I swiped my card and entered the room, Ethan came in with the luggage. He saw me squatting on the floor, rummaging through my suitcase, and walked over to ask. “Are you mad?” I didn't turn around. “No.” The next moment, he pulled me up and into his arms. Ethan's hugs were always warm, accepting of all emotions. When I was little, I just thought of him as my older brother, just a year older. But then, when he chased off my stalker ex-boyfriend and held me, comforting my scared self, I suddenly realized my heart was pounding so fast. Totally different from the slightly calmer beat it had now. Ethan chuckled. “Are you jealous because I brought Fiona along to hang out?” “I just thought of her as your best friend. Otherwise, I wouldn't even give her a second glance.”
He cupped my face and kissed me a few times. “Fiona said you were petty before, and I didn’t believe her. Guess it’s true.” Ethan laughed again, and that laugh felt like a needle pricking my already aching heart. Then his phone vibrated. He glanced at it and shook his head with a sigh. “Fiona didn’t bring any hand warmers. I’ll go get them for her.” Then he bent down, took a big pack of hand warmers from my suitcase, and went to the room next door. I looked down at the two lonely hand warmers left in my bag and suddenly felt a chill. I remembered another time when I forgot to grab my pajamas for the shower. They were right next to Ethan, but he was too lazy to get up and hand them to me. Now, walking from our suite to Fiona’s room was more than ten steps away. And he hadn’t even thought of refusing. Ethan didn't come back for two hours. He seemed like he wanted to explain something, but then he saw I was already lying in bed, facing away from him. The next day when I opened my eyes, Ethan was already dressed, helping Fiona, who must have come in at some point, adjust her collar. “Zip up properly, or you’ll get cold.” Fiona stuck out her tongue. Watching this scene, I sat up. “You guys go have fun today. I’m not coming.” I hadn't planned on going up the mountain today anyway. Seeing their natural interactions, I felt like I would just be in the way. “Kylie, you’re awake? What were you just saying?” Fiona blinked, then playfully slapped Ethan's arm. “Kylie just called you. Say something!” Ethan smirked. “Do you think she’s like you, needing to be coaxed out of bed?” He turned to me and said. “I was going to let you sleep in a bit, but then I forgot to call you. Hurry up and get ready, we’re leaving soon.” Then he bent down and picked up his things. “Fiona, let’s go first. We’ll wait for Kylie downstairs.” I stood up and looked down from the window. Fiona walked ahead, occasionally looking back and smiling as she said something. Ethan, walking behind her, replied, unlike with me, when we rarely had much to talk about. Ethan and she always had so much in common. I don't like playing video games, and I'm not into extreme sports. I couldn't join Ethan in his passions like cave diving, skiing, or skydiving. But in our ten years together, I never thought there was anything wrong with that. People don't have to be alike to be together. But looking at Ethan's smiling face now, I knew he was truly happy today – a hundred times happier than spending a boring weekend with me, or drinking one of my poorly mixed cocktails. I opened my chat with Ethan. He had just asked when I was coming down. I wanted to type ‘Let’s break up,’ but my fingers felt incredibly stiff. So I sent voice messages: [You guys go ahead, I’m not coming.] [Ethan, we’re just not right for each other. Let’s break up.] He first replied with ‘Okay.’ Then he sent a voice message: [Okay, well hurry up and catch up. We’ll wait for you up ahead.] Ethan was being lazy again. Of the two voice messages, he only half-read the transcribed text of one, and didn't even bother to look at the other. He probably thought the second message was just me telling them to wait a bit. He'd always been like this. Always. I put down my phone and remained silent for a long time. The hotel phone rang. I picked it up. “Yes, I booked a driver. To the station.” Because of the significant temperature changes between day and night, I started to feel a bit feverish. While waiting for the driver, my mind began to drift. When I came back to my senses, my phone showed an unknown number of missed calls.
I didn't clearly see who was calling, so I just tapped to call back. “Kylie, why didn’t you follow?!” The voice from the phone merged with a real-life voice, and I saw Ethan standing right in front of me. His face was dark, and when he saw my suitcase next to me, he immediately roared. “What are you pulling now?!” “Why didn’t you follow? Do you have any idea how worried Fiona was when she couldn’t reach you? She went looking for you and fell down the slope! We still haven't found her!” I shook my head, checking each missed call. “She didn’t call me—” Ethan slapped my phone out of my hand forcefully, and it fell into the snow. Ethan's gaze was as cold as ice. “Kylie, aren’t you just throwing a tantrum because I picked up Fiona? Now you’ve put her in danger, and you’re pretending to be innocent?” “I never thought you were the type to be so cruel, to be able to hurt your best friend like this.” My temples were throbbing. I rubbed them, then bent down to pick up my phone. “If that’s what you think, then fine.” I pulled my suitcase, ready to leave, but my wrist was grabbed. “Something happened, and you still want to leave? Come up the mountain with me to find her!” Ethan was stronger than me, and I was running a fever, my limbs heavy with fatigue. I didn't even have time to put on more clothes before I was dragged up the mountain. A rescue team had already arrived, but the wind was picking up, and visibility was dropping fast. Ethan pulled me along, and all I could hear was our breathing. He frowned and looked back. “How many hand warmers did you put on? Your hand is burning up.” My lips were pale. “None.” The person in front of me scoffed. “Still pretending.” After another hundred feet, the wind and snow grew heavier, and visibility was less than a meter. Suddenly, a crying sound came through the wind. I didn't even have time to react, my hand was forcefully shaken off. “Fiona, it’s me!” The snow was deep but not stable. I stumbled backward, falling and rolling about thirty feet until my back slammed hard against a rock, finally stopping me. Through the blurry snowstorm, I saw Ethan pick Fiona up and carry her on his back. Their outlines merged. The wind was howling, and Fiona yelled into his ear. “Kylie? What about her?!” Ethan looked around, seeing no sign of me. “Forget her! You’re what matters now!” When I woke up, I was in a small hospital in the ski resort town. Fiona, her eyes red-rimmed, was gripping my hand tightly. “You’re finally awake! I was so worried about you!” “It’s all my fault. There was no signal on the mountain, so I couldn’t call you, and then I accidentally slipped and fell down the slope. And Ethan, seriously, why did he even bring you up here?!” I listened quietly until Fiona ran out of things to say. “Kylie, why aren’t you talking? Does your throat hurt?” “Of course, she has nothing to say. Don't make excuses for her; she was in the wrong first.” Ethan walked in, his face expressionless, carrying a pizza. “I bought your favorite pizza. Kylie, it’s fine if you don’t go up the mountain because of your fever, but why didn’t you tell us earlier?” “You’re an adult. Can’t you be a little more considerate?” I looked at the now cold pizza, without an ounce of strength to explain. Ethan, impatient, picked up a slice and tried to put it in my mouth. I turned my head away. “I don’t like seafood pizza.” “How is that possible? You clearly…” Fiona looked anxious, reaching out to take it. “Stop arguing—ouch!”
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "NovelMaster" app ? search for "417036", and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster