1: 1

The day before we moved into the new place, Lauren Henson tagged me in our little three-person group chat.

"Go pull the registration info from the county records office, would you."

I opened the lookup tool, and there it was: the new owner listed on the deed was my buddy Aiden Quill.

The change had gone through three days ago.

Before I could even type, the messages started rolling in.

Aiden: 【I won! I told her you trusted her too much to go check the deed early. You owe me a Michelin-star dinner!】

Lauren: 【Fine, fine, you know him best. He's easygoing about this stuff. Whose name is on the deed doesn't matter to him at all.】

They chattered back and forth, like they'd forgotten it was the wedding house the two of us had drained our savings to buy.

Then again, the three of us had been friends since we were kids.

Like last month's bet, over how long it'd take me to notice the initials engraved inside my wedding ring weren't mine.

Like the one six months back, over whether I'd figure out that our honeymoon fund had gone to cover an emergency of Aiden's.

Every time I got angry, they thought I was making a big deal out of nothing.

"We're all friends here. It's a joke. Why are you being so uptight about it?"

I closed the tool and tapped confirm on my application to volunteer-teach for a year in a remote mountain region.

This crowded friendship of ours, all three of us in it, I didn't want it anymore.

……

When the green Submitted popped up on my screen, I was sitting at the table in the rental, a bowl of soothing oatmeal beside my hand, reheated three times for Lauren.

The chat was still going. Aiden fired off three celebration stickers, and Lauren followed with a fifty-dollar cash gift addressed just to him, captioned "Congrats to our golden boy on getting exactly what he wanted."

I stared at that line. My fingertips didn't shake, and my chest didn't ache and tighten the way it used to. It only felt like a stone dropping into a deep lake, sinking without even an echo.

Half an hour later, footsteps came up the stairwell. Aiden shoved the door open trailing the smell of liquor, and slapped that red deed booklet down on the coffee table.

He tipped his chin up and grinned at me. "Solomon, I won another bet against Lauren! I said you wouldn't make a fuss. Come on, make me a big seafood chowder to celebrate."

Lauren peeled off her coat and tossed it over the back of the couch, frowning at me. "Why is it so cold in here? You couldn't even turn on the AC? Aiden pulled strings to rush the deed through for this bet. He drank himself sick twice with the guy handling it."

Aiden immediately pressed a hand to his temple, though his mouth kept going. "Lauren, don't get on him. It's fine, I don't mind suffering a little, as long as I got the deed today and won the bet. I'd just hate for Solomon to feel bad about it."

Lauren came over to me, her tone like she was soothing a child who didn't know any better. "We'll just add your name to the deed when we get married. It's a bet between friends, that's all. Don't go cold on me again."

I looked up at her. "That was the down payment I saved for six years."

Her brow creased, her voice going flatter. "The down payment's there, the house is there. Do you really have to make this much of one name? Aiden just likes to win. What's the harm in letting him have this one?"

Aiden hugged the deed to his chest as he dropped onto the couch, cocking an eyebrow at me. "Solomon, you're not actually mad, are you? That'd be so lame. The three of us have known each other for years."

I didn't answer. I got up and went into the kitchen.

Steam was still rising from the clay pot. The rice had cooked down soft and open, the yam diced fine, made just the way Lauren liked it when her stomach hurt.

I gripped the handle and poured out every bit of the oatmeal I'd spent the afternoon making, straight into the trash.

Lauren heard the sound and came over. Her eyes landed on the empty pot, and her expression finally changed. "Solomon Perry, what's that supposed to mean?"

I set the pot in the sink, the running water covering the sound of her breathing. "It went bad. Threw it out."

She stared at me like she couldn't read me for the first time. "You're mad again, aren't you? It was just a bet. You're way too sensitive."

From the living room, Aiden called out in a dragged-out whine. "Lauren, my head's killing me. Guess I caught a chill just now."

Lauren shut her eyes, and left me one line before she turned to go. "Cool off on your own. Stop putting me in the middle every single time."

I watched her back disappear into the guest room. Through the gap in the door came the sound of Aiden's laughing.

The bedroom light was dim. I pulled the cardboard box out from under the bed and dropped it all in, one piece at a time: the photos that held seven years of us, the movie ticket stubs, the birthday cards she'd written.

My eyes fell on the love-knot charm hanging on the wall.

Lauren had knelt a long time at a temple three years ago to get it. Eyes red, she'd said back then that this red thread would bind us together for lifetime after lifetime.

I picked up the scissors, and without hesitating, cut it in two down the middle.

As the severed red thread fell into the trash bag, my phone lit up again.

Lauren, in the group chat: "Aiden's asleep. Solomon, quit sulking. Remember to buy lobster in the morning for the seafood chowder."

I locked the screen and didn't reply.

2: 2

The next day, I went straight to the new house Lauren and I had bought.

When I pushed the door open, Aiden was sunk into that dark green sofa in the living room, the toe of his shoe tapping the rug over and over.

He waved at me, grinning. "Solomon, look at this color. Way classier than that gray you picked, right? I bet Lauren you wouldn't mind. Won her again."

I looked around the living room. The sofa I'd chosen after checking out more than a dozen stores was gone. The curtains had been swapped for the dark-patterned ones Aiden liked, and even the ceramic cups on the sideboard weren't the set I'd bought.

Lauren came in from the balcony and looped her arm through mine like it was nothing. "Aiden's a designer, his taste is better than ours. And we'll be getting together here all the time anyway, so he's half the owner. What's the harm in giving in to him once?"

I lifted her hand off my arm. "I paid half the down payment on this place."

Her hand stopped in midair, and for a second irritation crossed her face. "Here we go again. It's not like I shortchanged you. We haven't even officially moved in."

Aiden hugged a throw pillow and blinked at her. "Lauren, let's make another bet. If I hit the top rank in the game within a week, I get to sleep in the master bedroom for a month, air out the formaldehyde for you two. Deal?"

Lauren laughed out loud. "That competitive streak of yours. Fine, deal."

Only after that did she turn to me. "Solomon, you don't mind, do you?"

I looked at that master bedroom with the bay window. I remembered measuring the sill three times, planning to put a little wooden bed there someday for a kid.

When I didn't answer, Lauren softened her voice a little. "Don't sulk. Aiden's just staying a few days. Aren't you always the reasonable one?"

Aiden nodded along. "Right. It's not like I'm stealing your girlfriend. Just borrowing your room to have some fun."

A cold feeling rose in my stomach, like I'd swallowed a mouthful of stale water.

I said, "Fine. Stay."

Lauren relaxed, even smiled and gave my fingertips a little squeeze. "That's more like it. Friends shouldn't be so petty."

I made an excuse about the bathroom, shut the door, and pulled out my phone to call the broker.

He picked up right away. "Mr. Perry, you're sure you want to sell the debt tied to your down-payment share at a low price? You'll take a real loss at that number."

I looked at the calm face in the mirror. "I'm sure. Can it be done within three days?"

"Yes. There's a collections company buying up this kind of debt right now. If the paperwork's complete, they can wire a deposit as early as tomorrow morning."

"Send the contract."

Aiden's laugh drifted in from outside. "Lauren, I want to take some photos in the master bedroom tonight. Solomon won't mind that too, will he?"

Lauren answered him, "He won't. Solomon's the most easygoing."

I pressed the electronic signature the broker sent over, my thumb resting on the screen for two seconds.

Someone knocked on the bathroom door. Lauren called from outside, "Did you fall in? Come see the bedding Aiden picked."

I put my phone away, and when I opened the door I saw Aiden carrying a dark-themed bedding set toward the master bedroom.

As he passed me, he dropped his voice on purpose. "Solomon, betting's fun, huh? See, you lose every time."

I put a hand on the door frame to keep the chill in my body from showing. "Yeah."

Lauren came up behind him, and when she heard those two words, her face finally eased. "See, Aiden just likes messing around. Don't hold it against him."

I nodded. "I won't hold it against him."

She didn't catch what I meant. She just held her phone up in front of me. "Let's book a restaurant tonight to celebrate. Aiden says he wants sushi. Transfer the deposit."

I looked at her. "You pay for it."

Lauren's eyebrow twitched. "What's with you today? You always used to handle this stuff."

I picked up my coat. "I've got things to do."

Aiden poked his head out of the master bedroom. "Solomon, don't forget, once I hit the top rank I get to live here."

I walked to the entryway, and as I bent to change my shoes, a message came in from the broker.

【*Buyer confirmed. They'll come to take possession of the house in three days.*】

Lauren called after me from the living room. "Solomon, where are you going? We haven't ordered dinner yet."

Before I closed the door, I saw Aiden sitting on the bay window of my master bedroom, flashing a victory sign at the camera.

3: 3

The next morning, Lauren pushed open the door of the rental apartment.

She set a paper bag on the entryway cabinet. "Seven tonight. Don't be late."

I was sorting through my lesson notes and looked up. "For what?"

She tugged at the corner of her mouth, and for once she seemed serious. "I booked us a table at the rooftop restaurant. Seven years together, and ten years since the three of us met. I've got a surprise for you."

Aiden answered in the group chat within a second. "Wow, Lauren, so biased. It's our three-way anniversary and you're only taking Solomon to dinner?"

Right in front of me, Lauren recorded a voice message. "Quit whining. I'll make it up to you next time. Today I need to smooth him over first."

I heard that "smooth him over," and my fingers stilled at the edge of the page.

At seven, I put on the black suit she liked best and sat in the restaurant, watching the waiter bring out the two steaks I'd reserved ahead.

Seven-thirty, my phone rang, Lauren's voice coming through with wind behind it. "Solomon, I'm so sorry. Aiden made a bet with the guys from the club and went to that abandoned factory, and now he's taken a fall and his legs are shaking, he's terrified. I have to go get him."

I held my knife and fork, my voice low. "Lauren. Do you remember what day today is?"

She paused, then quickly turned impatient. "Of course I remember. But Aiden's in danger right now. A person's life or a meal, which one matters more? Can you not pick a fight over this at a time like this?"

I looked at the steak going cold. "And your surprise?"

Like she'd just been reminded of it, her tone went careless. "I'll make it up to you later. I've got the gift with me. Aiden's scared out of his mind, so I'll bring it over to calm him down first. It's not like you're the type to compete over things anyway."

After she hung up, the lilting violin in the restaurant sounded unbearably shrill.

I had the waiter box up the steak and took it back to feed the stray cats behind the building.

A little after nine, Aiden posted to his feed.

In the photo he was sitting in Lauren's passenger seat, toying with a limited-edition custom silver lighter, captioned: "Somebody was worried I'd been scared half to death, so she gave me the gift meant for some cheapskate to calm my nerves instead. Winning so hard."

I'd seen that lighter before. Last month, when I caught Lauren working on the design sketch, she'd smiled and said it was for me, that she'd have my initials engraved on the back.

Now, in the enlarged photo, three letters showed faintly.

QAY.

So this gift had been custom-made for Aiden from the very start.

In the group chat, Aiden sent a voice message, laughter in the background. "Solomon, let's throw a housewarming party at the new place tomorrow night. A new home should have some life in it."

Lauren answered right away. "Sure. Get everyone together, I'll set it up."

Aiden: "The kitchen's all yours, Solomon. Your cooking's the best."

Lauren: "He won't mind."

I looked at those three words, and suddenly remembered seven years ago, when we'd just rented that apartment, and she said we'd never have to eat out again, that with me at home it was enough.

Back then I thought that line was warm.

Only now did I understand. What she wanted wasn't a home. It was someone who'd forever clean up her messes.

I left the group chat, blocked Aiden, and set Lauren's chat to Do Not Disturb.

One day left before I go.

In the small hours, Lauren came back carrying the cold air on her, her hands empty.

She saw the takeout box on the table, as if she'd finally remembered something. "Don't read too much into the lighter thing. Aiden was really shaken, so I let him play with it a while to calm his nerves. I'll have him give it back to you tomorrow."

My voice stayed calm. "No need."

Her hand froze halfway through taking off an earring, and her brow furrowed. "Here we go again, is that it?"

I clicked the latch on my suitcase shut. "Have fun tomorrow night."

Lauren stared at me, like she'd sensed something. She was about to speak when Aiden's call came through.

She glanced at the screen and turned toward the balcony. "Aiden, why aren't you asleep yet?"