The Boyfriend I Made Up Ordered A Ride I Never Booked Chapter 05
When I woke up, the air smelled like disinfectant.
Mom was sitting by the bed, wiping her eyes. The second she saw my eyes open, she lunged forward and grabbed my hand.
“Oh, thank God! You’re finally awake! You’ve been out for three days!”
I was groggy. I tried to move my fingers. My whole body ached like I’d been hit by a truck.
“Mom… why am I in the hospital?”
“You collapsed at school. The doctor said it was vertigo triggered by stress, and he said—”
She cut herself off, wiped her eyes again, and turned toward the door. “Morgan! Get in here! Elena’s
awake!”
Morgan walked in carrying an insulated bag. She was dressed pretty formally-a far cry from her
usual dorm-rat, binge-watching look.
She studied me, set the bag on the nightstand, and poured me a glass of water like she’d done it a
hundred times.
“Good to see you awake. How do you feel? Head still hurting?”
I took a sip. My head was still spinning.
Like I remembered something but also forgot it at the same time. I tested the waters.
“Morgan… did I actually have a boyfriend before?”
The second the words left my mouth, both Mom and Morgan’s faces changed.
Morgan let out a dry laugh and reached over to feel my forehead.
“You feverish or something? Since when do you have a boyfriend? You’re the only single one in our dorm. Remember? You made that whole thing up.”
No.
That wasn’t right.
There was a blurry figure in my head. Tall. Deep voice.
Every time I called his name, he’d smile and answer.
But I couldn’t remember his name. Couldn’t picture his face.
The day I got discharged, the wind was brutal. It stung my eyes.
I was walking toward the school gate when I saw a black Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Van parked at the curb. Door open. The chauffeur standing there, smiling at me.
“Ms. Hayes, your boyfriend sent me to pick you up.”
My mind went blank. More fragments flooded in.
The late-night restaurant. The skincare box in the mail. The steaming Gourmet Lobster Rolls.
The ThermaCare wraps on my desk.
I whipped my head toward Morgan. Her smile flickered for just a second.
“Why are you looking at me? Come on, let’s head back to the dorm.”
“No.”
I shook my head, refusing to move. “I know that driver! He’s the one who picked me up last time!”
“What driver? Where?”
Morgan waved a hand in front of my face. “Elena, are you sure you’re fully better? There’s no car
there.”
I looked again. The van was gone.
Just an empty street. A janitor sweeping the sidewalk.
I rubbed my eyes. Maybe I really was seeing things.
Back in the dorm, a container of Gourmet Lobster Rolls sat on my desk. Still steaming.
I stumbled backward.
“Who put these here?”
“Oh, I got them for you earlier. You said they’re your favorite, right?”
Morgan pushed the container toward me. “Eat them while they’re hot. They get gross when they
cool down.”
I stared at those Lobster Rolls. My fingers were shaking.
“How did you know I like these? I don’t remember telling you that.”
Morgan paused, then rolled her eyes.
“Come on. You talked about them like a hundred times. Said they were eighteen bucks each and you. couldn’t justify buying them. I remembered.”
Really? That’s not how I remembered it.
I sat down and took a bite. Rich, buttery, perfect-exactly the taste I had in my memory.
And then the tears started falling.
There was this hollow feeling in my chest. Like I’d lost something I couldn’t name.
