Chapter 3 — I Don't Wait For Them Anymore

I looked at the blocked road. A thought suddenly flashed through my mind. I opened the family group. My dad sent a text message forty minutes ago:

“It's stuck on the highway.”

Mom texted back: "What time will we arrive?" The eldest brother sent a voice message, but I didn't listen. Tran Dao dropped a crying face emoji:

“I want to vomit, where is the motion sickness medicine?”

Sister-in-law message:

“Didn't we tell Tieu Bai to bring it?”

The group was silent for ten seconds. Then Tran Dao sent a recording, I clicked to listen:

"The medicine is in Tran Bai's backpack, the backpack is next to me, but I can't find the medicine, it seems like it fell out! Did you guys put your motion sickness medicine somewhere else?"

My sister-in-law said: "No, there's only one box." Mother: "Where is Tran Bai? Tell him to tell me where the medicine is." Silent. The eldest brother sent a message:

“Which car is Tran Bai in?”

Silent again. Thirty seconds later, my mother sent a recording. I clicked to listen. Her voice was terrifyingly calm:

"Isn't it at the rest stop? Let it take care of itself. Don't look for the medicine anymore, just get there and buy it."

Even the three words "arrived" were uttered lightly. It was as if I was just a suitcase left behind at the station. And it's a type of suitcase that doesn't have much value, so you won't regret dropping it. At this moment, my phone rang. It's the eldest brother. On the screen, the words "Tran Hang" appear. I looked at that call screen. Don't answer the phone. Turn it off. Three seconds later it rang again. Still the eldest brother. Turn it off. Next is the sister-in-law. Turn it off. Mom. Turn off. Dad. Turn off. I switched my phone to silent mode, placing the screen face down on my lap. Mr. Chu looked at me through the rearview mirror: "Dude, the phone is ringing."

“Yes.”

“Didn't you hear?”

“Didn't listen.”

Mr. Chu sneered: "Okay, if you don't listen then stop listening." It seemed like he had it all figured out. 【Chapter 6】 The phone vibrates continuously. I turned it over to see. Within three minutes, fourteen missed calls. He took six bets. Mother of four times. Dad twice. Tran Dao twice. Wechat messages are nine news. I read every single news. Elder brother: "Where are you? Why didn't you answer the call?" Elder brother: "There's a traffic jam. There's a problem with the map. Please look it up." Elder brother: "Where did you put the charger? There is no charging cable on the GL8 car." Mother: "Tran Bai, what are you doing? Don't call." Mother: "Your sister is suffering from motion sickness, where is the medicine?" Mother: “Tran Bai?” Tran Dao: "Brother! I'm about to vomit! Which compartment of the backpack is the medicine in?" Tran Dao: "Tran Bai!! Are you dead??" Dad only sent one message: "Answer the phone." I read every single news. There is not a single message with the content:

“How are you?”

“Is it safe?”

“Where are you now?”

All are requirements. Charging cord. Map. Motion sickness medicine. In their eyes, what am I? It's a walking toolbox. When the toolbox was dropped at the station, no one cared. When I need to use the tools, I remember that I lost the toolbox. I dismissed all notifications. Open phone settings, find “Do not disturb” mode. Turn it on. Mute everything. Then I opened the music app, selected a song, and turned the volume up to the highest level. Insert headphones into your ears. Mr. Chu's car was still stuck on the road, not moving. But right now, my heart is extremely quiet. Like a string that has been stretched for twenty-eight years and finally breaks. Once broken, I don't feel any pain anymore. 【Chapter 7】 After forty minutes, the traffic started to move move slowly. Mr. Chu took another route and bypassed the accident scene. We started picking up speed, seventy, eighty, one hundred. As for the road where my family is stuck, the map still shows dark red. It is expected to take another hour and a half. My headphones were still playing music, my phone was on "Do Not Disturb" mode, and the whole world was strangely peaceful. About twenty minutes later, a strange number called.