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The Forgotten Dove Took Flight
Novelix
Completed
"Five of us went to Cancún. Somehow, I was always the one left out. I paid their baggage fees, watched their bags, and took the photos I never appeared in. Then my best friend posted a video of herself kissing my boyfriend—with my brother cheering them on. Only I could see it. I booked a flight home. Thirty-six hours. That was all I had to get through. But when they discovered my packed suitcase, my brother took my passport. Now they’re promising one perfect evening to make things right. And I’m about to find out what their promises are worth."
Chapters (3)
第1章
For spring break, our little group of five had planned a trip to Cancún together.
At the airport, their luggage was overweight, so one by one they stuffed their things into my suitcase.
"Yours is practically empty, Sutton. Just squeeze a few more in."
When it was my turn at the counter, I ended up paying almost two hundred dollars in excess baggage fees.
That night at a beach club on the strip, there were only four stools at our high-top, so they made me stand to eat the shrimp cocktail.
"You never work out anyway. A little standing is good for you."
I couldn't hold the glass steady. The whole thing went flying — straight into my face.
By the time I came back from the restroom, they'd already ordered an Uber and left.
I dragged myself back to the Airbnb close to midnight.
I'd barely reached the lobby when I spotted the four of them, all dressed up like they were going somewhere else.
My boyfriend, Reid, ruffled my hair. "Come on, babe. Where we're going isn't really the kind of place for girls."
My brother, Trevor, pulled me into my room. "Just stay put. Don't wander off."
Our childhood friend, Caleb, stood off to the side, smirking like he was in on some joke I wasn't.
I pointed at my best friend, Sadie. "Isn't she a girl?"
Sadie blinked.
Reid jumped in immediately.
"She's basically one of the guys."
"You're my girlfriend. It's different."
I had nothing to say to that.
Half an hour later, Sadie posted an Instagram story.
Turned out they'd gone to some bougie club doing bottle service.
In the video, Sadie had thrown herself at Reid, legs locked around his waist on the VIP couch.
From off-camera, my brother and Caleb were chanting: "Kiss her! Kiss her!"
And Reid — Reid actually lowered his head and kissed her.
The caption said:
Turns out ditching a certain someone really does make the party better. 🍾
What they didn't know — what she had absolutely known when she posted it — was that she'd added me to her Close Friends list weeks ago.
Only I could see it.
I booked a flight home.
If the four of them had more fun without me, then fine — I wouldn't crash it.
Thirty-six hours until my flight.
Thirty-six hours until I was free of them.
I just had to survive one more day.
...
At one-thirty in the morning, Sadie came stumbling in, half-draped over Reid's shoulder.
She was wearing the new Birkenstocks my brother had just bought her, and Caleb's hoodie thrown over her shoulders.
Her cheeks were flushed, her laugh loose and loud.
When she saw me sitting on the edge of the bed, she waved a wristband from the club in my face.
"Mouse — you're still up?"
My name is Sutton.
Not Mouse.
I don't even remember when Sadie started with the Mouse thing.
I'd never liked it — like someone born to scurry into corners and keep quiet. I'd pushed back a few times, but the response was always, Oh, come on, Sadie doesn't mean anything by it. Eventually I stopped bothering to explain.
Reid walked straight in and started rifling through my bag.
"Sadie's heel is blistered. Where are your Band-Aids? Clean it up and cover it for her. She doesn't handle pain well."
My knee was still bleeding.
The strip had been packed. After I'd washed up, I'd rushed to catch up with them and gotten knocked straight to the pavement by some drunk tourist.
I looked up at him. "What about me?"
Reid paused, then came over smiling and pinched my cheek.
"We're guys, you know. Just help her first. I'll fix you up after."
I didn't understand. When they all went out together, she was "one of the guys." Now suddenly it was men and women are different.
But the words died in my throat.
It had always been like this. When we were kids, I'd wiped out on my bike in the driveway and torn up my whole knee.
My brother had taken one look and said, "That's what you get for riding so fast. Maybe you'll learn."
But the next second, Sadie had jumped off the low garden wall and scraped a strip of skin off her hand — and all three of them had rushed over.
She'd even laughed and waved them off. "I'm not some princess. It's fine."
But my brother had still taken the Band-Aids out of my backpack to patch her up.
Caleb had blown on her scrape, laughing. "Don't act like you're not a girl."
Reid had handed her the popsicle he'd originally bought for me and said, "Have something sweet. You'll feel better."
I'd stood there, knee trembling with pain, and still had to hear my brother call back, "Sutton, what are you standing around for? Grab some paper towels — Sadie's legs are covered in dust."
It wasn't until today that I finally understood.
She was one of the guys and their little princess.
And I was just the one who wasn't allowed to hurt, wasn't allowed to cry, and had to hand over the paper towels.
I turned away.
"I'm not bandaging her."
The room went quiet for a second.
Sadie pulled her foot back, her smile stiffening.
"I'll do it myself. Mouse, what's with you?"
Reid's hands froze — as if he'd only just remembered something — and he turned to look at me.
"Is this because we didn't take you?"
He let out a soft laugh and reached to ruffle my hair.
"Come on, babe. You really couldn't have come. It was a crazy scene."
Then he pulled out my white first-aid pouch.
Inside: antiseptic wipes, gauze, Band-Aids, and the EpiPen I'd carried everywhere since I was ten — severe peanut allergy.
I reached for it.
"Give it to me."
Reid had already turned toward Sadie.
"Okay, okay — if you won't do it, I will. Happy?"
I watched him follow Sadie into the other room, and my throat closed up.
He never came back that night to clean my wound.
I pressed my phone face-down into my palm.
On the screen, my return flight read:
Thirty-six hours to departure.
第2章
The next morning, I didn't want to go anywhere.
But before eight, there was already frantic knocking at my door.
"Mouse, hurry up — we're going snorkeling!"
Sadie's voice came through the door.
I didn't answer.
The next second, the door beeped — of course they had my code — and the four of them barged in, all talking at once.
My brother yanked the covers off and dragged me out of bed.
"Come on, Mouse. Catamaran's at ten."
I looked down at my knee.
Last night's scrape had crusted over, blood and grit stuck together. Just the brush of my shorts against it made me wince.
"I don't want to go."
The room went quiet for a second.
Caleb leaned against the wall, voice light, teasing.
"Oh, come on. Who's gonna take our pictures if you don't come?"
Reid walked over and bent down to look at my knee.
"It's just a scrape. You can still walk."
Finally, he fished a Band-Aid out of his pocket, pressed it gently over the cut, and ruffled my hair.
"We're all on vacation together. I'd be sad if you weren't there."
My heart softened. I went.
At the marina, the tour guide handed out snorkel wristbands.
Four of them.
Sadie snatched one first and slid it around her wrist, waving her arm.
"Ugh, this color is so ugly."
She bitched about it — but didn't take it off.
I asked why there were only four. The guide glanced at his clipboard. "Four-person package. That's what was booked."
Reid spoke first. "Sutton, we saw your knee was busted up last night. You can't go in the water, so we didn't book your spot."
My brother chimed in. "Yeah, saltwater'll get it infected. You can hang out on the beach, enjoy the view. Watch the bags for us."
Caleb shoved his GoPro into my arms with a carefree grin.
"Mouse takes the best shots. Can't wait to see them."
They started suiting up.
Reid steadied Sadie by the shoulders. My brother helped her into her life vest and adjusted her mask.
Caleb held up his phone, filming her.
I stood frozen, their beach bags, GoPro, flip-flops, and sunscreen piled in my arms.
Fully geared up, Sadie ran down to the water and shouted back:
"Mouse, get a shot of me! I want that windswept Baywatch vibe!"
I raised the camera. Through the lens, she was laughing — wild, free, radiant.
The next second, the other three crowded into the frame.
"Group shot! Something to remember our first snorkeling trip by!"
I pressed the shutter. Maybe it was the ocean wind.
My eyes stung.
At the beachside restaurant, I sat on a folding chair squeezed in at the corner of their four-top, listening to them rave about the reef they'd seen underwater.
The server brought out plates of appetizers.
Grilled shrimp skewers glazed in peanut sauce. A tropical salad topped with crushed peanuts and mango.
Sadie picked up a skewer and held it to my lips.
"Mouse, try it. It's so good."
I pulled back.
"I'm allergic to peanuts."
Her hand froze. Her smile dimmed.
"Wait—I didn't know that."
I looked at her.
"You know."
Fifth grade. School nurse's office. She'd been sitting right by the door, eating an apple.
She'd laughed and said, "She may be a Mouse, but she can't even eat peanut butter."
But now, she tilted her head, playing innocent.
"I honestly forgot."
Reid finally frowned.
"It was years ago. Who remembers that stuff?"
My brother took the skewer and put it back on Sadie's plate.
"She's being dramatic. Ignore her."
Caleb kept grinning.
"Mouse, you're mad about today, aren't you? Because you didn't get in the water."
I didn't bother explaining.
If I'd told them one bite could land me in the ER, they'd have just called me dramatic again.
On the ride back, Sadie fell asleep on Reid's shoulder.
My white first-aid pouch was in her tote, zipper peeking out.
I reached for it.
Her eyes were closed, but somehow she sensed it — her fingers tightened sharply on the strap.
Reid murmured, "Don't wake her."
I pulled my hand back.
Outside the window, the Caribbean stretched out past the glass, blue and brilliant and completely indifferent.
第3章
My phone buzzed. A company-wide email.
HR was asking if any employees would volunteer for a transfer to the Denver office. Three years.
I replied, filled out my information, and hit send.
A ticket out.
The first thing I did when I got back to the room was keep packing.
I'd barely unzipped my suitcase when the door was pushed open again.
My brother stood in the doorway, eyes on my open case.
"What are you doing?"
Reid came in behind him. The softness from earlier was gone, draining out of his face bit by bit.
"Where are you going?"
I folded a shirt into the case.
"Home."
Sadie hovered at the back, her voice small.
"Mouse… is this because of me?"
My fingers paused.
She always had this talent. The second she opened her mouth, every pair of eyes in the room landed on me.
Sure enough, Reid looked at me, waiting for me to answer her.
I huffed a laugh.
"You're overthinking it."
My brother stepped forward and plucked my passport right out of my open carry-on.
"I'm holding onto this. You're not flying anywhere alone."
I stared at him.
"Excuse me?"
"I'm your brother." His voice dropped. "Mom and Dad would lose it if I let you fly home solo while you're pissed off like this."
Trevor was the oldest. He'd been raised to think he always knew best.
And I'd been raised to let him.
Reid sighed and came over to touch my hair.
"Come on, babe. Don't make this a whole thing. We booked a sunset booze cruise for tonight — you're always saying we never take you anywhere. You've got a seat this time."
I looked at my passport in my brother's hand.
My passport, my ID, and the last scrap of leverage I had to leave — all in his grip.
My brother tapped it against his palm.
"Enough. You'll get it back tomorrow. We already paid for tonight. No point wasting the money, right?"
I bit down hard, but before I could speak, Reid had already looped an arm around my shoulders and was steering me out the door.
On the yacht, Reid pulled out my chair at the window seat and murmured:
"There you go, princess."
I sat. My brother started ordering. He asked the server about peanuts in every single dish, seriously, carefully.
I lowered my head. Pathetically, my heart softened.
When the yacht reached open water, the DJ cut the music and the host grabbed a mic for the couples game.
He swung by our table, grinning. "Couple?"
I was about to answer — but Sadie had already looped her arm through Reid's and stood up, bright and loud.
"I'll go! I'm so good at these!"
Reid glanced at me on reflex.
I looked right back.
All he had to say was "Sutton's my girlfriend," and the whole ridiculous show would stop.
But what came out of his mouth was: "Don't be mad. If I win, you get the prize."
Three couples went up. The challenge: pick up your partner and do squats.
The moment Reid's hands landed on Sadie's waist, she doubled over laughing.
"Reid! Not the ticklish spot!"
Reid was laughing too.
He held her in his arms and did squat after squat, like first place actually mattered to him.
The whole deck was clapping. My brother and Caleb were the loudest in the room.
Reid lived at the gym. Of course he won.
Sadie came skipping back with the prize — a pair of matching friendship bracelets available only on the cruise.
She slipped one onto her own wrist and held the other out to me.
"Here, Mouse — bestie set!"
I didn't move.
Her hand hung awkwardly in the air. The silence stretched.
Reid took it from her and slipped it on his own wrist.
"I'll hold onto it for her."
My brother rubbed his temples.
"Sutton. It's just a bracelet."
Right.
Just a bracelet.
Just a snorkel spot.
Just a seat.
Just a first-aid kit.
Just, just, just. Always just.
But all those justs piled up until I could barely breathe.
