Four Childhood Friends Played a Dare Game With Me. They Lied To Me—All For Her Chapter 08
The first message was,
[Elara. Stop sulking.]
Back then, he was still sure I’d come back. That I was just throwing a tantrum.
The last one was from yesterday.
[I’m not waiting for your forgiveness.]
[I just want to know you’re safe.]
So he’d finally accepted it. I’d left them behind.
Roman sent a photo every time he won an award.
Caleb uploaded the recovered videos, one by one.
Julian re-edited a documentary. Called it The Empty Seat.
The cover: the unfilled pit under the linden tree.
I watched all of it..
Then cleared it. One tap.
Not hate.
Just no reason to keep it.
The results announcement was in New York.
The base sent a car.
Five years later, I passed the interstate again.
The four-leaf clover necklace was gone.
My colleague asked, “Looking for something?”
“Nothing.”
The car entered New York.
Billboards along the way played the project preview.
My name was first on the core team list.
The day of the announcement. All four of them came.
Last row
Five years. Roman had matured. Caleb no longer wore those cold glasses.
Julian had short hair. Damon had lost weight.
When I walked on stage, they all stood. Eyes fixed on me.
The host announced,
“Researcher Elara and her team have completed a new desert energy conversion system.”
“It will be deployed across twelve test bases in California.”
Applause.
I saw Damon’s eyes go red.
He looked down, wiped his eyes with a tissue.
After the announcement, he was the first to stop me.
“Elara.”
I stopped, “Yes?”
He seemed unprepared for how calm I was.
Five years of words. None came out.
Finally, he held out the four-leaf clover necklace.
The crack was repaired with gold thread.
“I found it on the highway.”
I didn’t take it.
“Thanks. You keep it.”
His hand hung in the air. “It’s yours.”
“It was.”
“Not anymore.”
Roman stood nearby, eyes red.
Caleb and Julian didn’t come closer.
They’d learned not to make decisions for me. But late respect didn’t help.
Damon’s voice was low, “Can I visit you in California?”
“No.”
“After the project opens?”
I thought. “You can tour. Book through the visitor process.”
That was clearer than a rejection.
He wasn’t my boyfriend. Not my childhood friend.
Not someone who needed special treatment.
Just a tourist.
The day after the announcement, my parents held a family dinner.
They didn’t invite Damon and the others.
Mom held me for a long time.
Dad burned three dishes. They ordered takeout.
At the table, Mom asked, “Will you come back to New York?”
I shook my head. “Phase two is still in California.”
“Another five years?”
“Maybe longer.
Dad’s hand paused. Then he said, “Do what you want. The door’s always open.”
My nose stung. “Okay.”
Before I left, I looked at the linden tree by the door.
Still full. Still green.
The pit where we’d buried the time capsule was filled.
A new tin box sat on top.
A note on the lid: [For Elara.]
I didn’t open it.
Just walked past.
Damon stepped out from behind the tree.
He didn’t block me.
“The box is our apology. I know you don’t want to read it. So-don’t.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
He looked at me. “Nina went abroad last year. We cut contact long ago.”
“You don’t have to tell me.”
“I know. I just wanted to explain.”
“Damon.”
I cut him off.
“You tricked me into California. Not because Nina mattered so much.”
“Because you thought I wouldn’t leave.”
His face paled.
“You dared to hurt me because you were sure I’d forgive you.”
“So whether you chose Nina later-it doesn’t matter.”
“What matters is-I don’t want to go back to being last. Ever again.”
He was silent for a long time.
“I understand.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,”
“Then stop waiting. Keep moving forward.”
His tears finally fell. “What about you?”
I looked at the transport car outside the gate.
“I’ve been moving forward all along.”
This time, I left New York with my phone.
But I didn’t add anyone back.
Not because the base forbade it.
Because I didn’t need to.
Three years later. The new California base opened.
I was the chief junior researcher.
After the unveiling, a new girl on the team asked me:
“Elara, why did you come to California?”
I thought. “At first? I was tricked into it.”
She blinked. “Don’t you hate them?”
“I used to.”
“Then I realized-the direction was right. Just the people walking with me were wrong.”
The sun set over the test site.
Rows of equipment gleamed silver in the desert.
Someone called me for dinner.
I answered. Turned toward the base.
My phone buzzed. Mom sent a photo of the linden tree.
Dad asked if I was coming home for the holiday.
I replied: [Yes.]
Put the phone in my pocket.
At eighteen, they used four fake applications to send me to California.
They thought I’d suffer in the desert. Cry. Crawl back.
I didn’t.
I found the road I actually wanted to walk.
And I finally understood.
Leaving a relationship isn’t always losing.
Sometimes, it’s taking yourself back from someone else’s game.
I’m not anyone’s tag-along now.
Not the one deleted from the group chat.
I won’t wait for childhood friends to turn around.
I’m Elara.
I have my own name.
My own direction.
My own sky full of stars.
