The Boyfriend I Made Up Ordered A Ride I Never Booked Chapter 04
The screen was still lit. That deposit alert glaring right at me.
Morgan stirred awake, groggy. “What’s wrong?”
I grabbed the phone and turned the screen off. “Nothing. Bad dream.”
I curled up under the covers, shaking.
The dream and the text message-they matched. My head was a mess.
The $250,000 was exactly what the man in my dream had promised.
Could it really be from my so-called imaginary boyfriend?
That was insane.
I tossed and turned all night. First light, I went to the bank.
I wanted to send the money back. But the teller said I needed the sender’s exact information to
reverse the transaction.
“Miss, if you’re really concerned, you should file a police report.
That made sense. She was right.
I should call the cops.
I walked out of the bank, reached for my phone to dial 911-when someone called my name from
behind.
I turned around. It was the Dean of Students Office representative. Two uniformed officers stood
beside him.
Before I’d gone to the bank, I’d told him about the random transfer. So he knew the whole thing.
“Elena, there you are. These officers need to talk to you.”
My heart dropped.
One of the officers stepped forward and flashed his badge.
“Ma’am, we received a report that you’ve been receiving large amounts of unsolicited gifts and a
$250,000 wire transfer. We need you to come with us for questioning.”
My mind went blank.
Who had filed that report before I could?
They took me back to Fairwood PD. In the interview room, the questions came one after another.
“Who’s been sending you those gifts?”
“Where did the $250,000 come from?”
“What’s your boyfriend’s name and contact information?”
I gripped the edge of my chair, palms sweating.
“I don’t have a boyfriend. I don’t know who sent those things. And I don’t know who sent the
money.”
The officer frowned. “No boyfriend? Then why does everyone at your school say you’ve been dating
someone for two years?”
“I made him up.”
My voice shook. “I made him up as an excuse. A cover. I don’t actually have a boyfriend.”
The two officers exchanged a look. Their faces darkened.
“Elena, we need you to cooperate and tell the truth. We’ve traced the gifts and the wire transfer. Everything points back to you. And you’re telling us you have no idea? You expect us to believe
that?”
“I really don’t know!”
I was on the verge of tears. “I want to know who’s behind this too! I changed my number. I got a new phone. But he still finds me. He even knew my mom’s fruit market was about to go under!”
The officers stared at me for a long moment. Then they asked a few more questions. I answered
everything honestly.
Finally, they let me go. Told me to stick around for further questioning.
I walked out of the station. It was already dark.
The wind cut into my face. My head throbbed in waves.
I kept my head down and headed back to campus. Felt like someone was following me.
I whipped around. Nothing. Just empty street.
I quickened my pace. Just as I reached the school gate, I saw Morgan standing there, waiting.
She spotted me and hurried over. Her face was stone-cold serious.
“Elena, I need you to be honest with me. Are you being kept by someone?”
I froze. “What are you talking about?”
“Then where did all that stuff come from? And that $250,000? Who just gives you that kind of money for nothing?”
Her voice was loud. People around us were staring.
“You’re shy. Your family isn’t rich. Who would spend that kind of money on you for no reason?
Don’t bullshit me. Everyone already knows.”
The whispers grew louder. The stares felt like needles on my skin.
I stood there, frozen, shaking.
I looked up at the sky. Then something cracked inside my head. A sharp, splitting pain. I hit the
ground.
Right before I blacked out, I finally understood.
So that’s how it was.
And then-nothing.
