They Have a Family Group Chat, I’m Not in It Chapter 05
It was nearly noon before that family finally remembered me.
They hadn’t even noticed all my belongings were gone.
Mom sent a message in the family group chat: [Hazel, where did you go? Are you coming home for lunch? I made you buttermilk fried chicken.]
No one replied.
She sent another one: [Still angry? We’re family. Nothing is that serious.]
Still no reply.
Finally, she called me.
I didn’t pick up.
Mom panicked. She started calling everyone I knew.
But after going down the whole list, she got nothing.
She kept ringing my phone frantically nonstop.
I neither picked up nor turned off my phone.
I just watched the screen light up and go dark, dark and light up again.
The last message was from Dad: [Hazel, don’t worry us like this.]
Worry?
They worried about me?
I almost laughed.
I turned my phone over and put it face down on the table.
Then I went back to reading the files Jenna had given me.
At two in the afternoon, Mom called again.
This time I picked up.
Her voice was frantic and angry at the same time. “Hazel! Where are you? Do you have any idea how long we’ve been looking for you? Mateo went out looking for you on his bike and almost got hit by a car. Did you know that?”
I gripped my phone and didn’t say anything.
Her voice cracked, “Say something. Where are you? I’ll come get you.”
I spoke flatly, “Don’t bother. I’m out of state. I won’t be back anytime soon.”
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end.
Then Mom’s voice came through, full of disbelief. “What do you mean? You went out of state by yourself? Are you crazy? A young girl traveling alone…”
I cut her off, my voice calm, “I’m not asking for your permission. I’m telling you.”
Her voice shot up. “Hazel! You get back here right now. What’s wrong with you? So we didn’t take you to dinner. Is this really worth all this drama?”
I didn’t say anything.
She must have thought I was wavering, because her voice softened a little. “Okay, okay. Come home. I’ll make you your favorite BBQ ribs. Mateo knows he was wrong too. Come back, and things can go back to how they used to be.”
A family.
I curled the corner of my mouth. “Mom, let me ask you something. If it were Mateo lying on the floor beaten black and blue, what would you do to him?”
The line went quiet.
“Would you call him petty? Would you say he was making too big a deal out of it? Would you make him apologize to the person who hit him?”
“Hazel, Mateo is…”
I closed my eyes. “You don’t have to answer. I already know. I’m hanging up.”
After the call, I blocked her number.
For the next three days, I turned off my phone.
I threw myself into work.
I had already studied Jenna’s project before, so I got up to speed quickly.
She handled the supply chain. I took care of product selection and operations.
We worked together like clockwork.
Jenna would glance at me now and then, holding back words on her lips.
She knew my injuries weren’t from “just falling.”
But she also knew I’d talk when I was ready.
On the fourth day, I turned my phone back on.
Dad called from a number I didn’t recognize.
His voice sounded tired. “Hazel, your mother hasn’t slept well for days. Can’t you be a little understanding?”
Understanding.
There was that word again.
I said, “Understanding goes both ways. Have either of you ever been understanding with me?”
Dad sounded indignant on the other end. “How haven’t we? We’ve always provided you with everything you needed growing up.”
I laughed coldly. “Then let me ask you something. Where were you on my birthday last year?”
The line went quiet.
I kept going. “Before Nova came to live with us, you celebrated my birthday every single year.”
“After she arrived, my birthday became ‘family dinner night.’ We ate what she liked. We bought the gifts she wanted. I sat there like a stranger.”
Dad’s voice wavered. “I… we just forgot… forgot it was your birthday.”
I laughed until my eyes stung. “See? You can’t even remember my birthday. But you always remember which week of the month Nova needs new clothes.”
“Hazel, that’s not how it is…”
I cut him off. “I’ve made up my mind. Let’s just leave it at that. I don’t even care anymore.”
There was a long silence on the other end.
“Hazel… I… we…”
I hung up the phone straight away.