My Imaginary Boyfriend

My Imaginary Boyfriend *Marry Me

"Where are we going?"

"Why would I tell you?" Caleb says.

"Because you invited me?"

"That would ruin the surprise."

"You're planning to surprise me?" I ask incredulously while pointing at myself.

"Is that weird?" Caleb asks, his mouth twitching upwards.

"Bizarre," I answer.

"Buckle up," he says, nodding to my seatbelt. "We're going on a rollercoaster ride."

And suddenly, I remember what Margarett said before I left the house.

"What are you thinking?" Caleb wants to know.

"Nothing," I say, with a quick shake of my head.

I hate these disturbing thoughts in my head, and I'm kind of piss with Margarett for putting them in the first place.

Of course, a girl and a guy can just be friends.

I clear my throat, and decide to start a conversation. "The weather's good, isn't it?"

The moment the sentence left my mouth, I want to slap myself. Seriously, Annalise? How can you talk about the weather? You even call yourself a writer?

Caleb gives me a sideway glance. "Are you okay?" he asks. It's obvious that he's trying not to laugh. "You look tensed."

"I'm alright," I mutter.

"Relax, okay?" he says. "You're acting strange."

I frown. "I thought you don't mind me being weird?"

"You're weirder than weird today," he says, grinning.

I heave a sigh. So much for trying. I don't even understand why I'm uncomfortable with Caleb today. It's Caleb, for Pete's sake! He's the top person who understands how awkward I am.

"Annalise?"

"Yeah?"

"It'll take an hour to arrive at our destination," he says. "If you want, you can sleep. I'll wake you when we get there."

I roll my eyes. I want to tell Margarett right at this moment, See? Caleb wants me to sleep!

"Do you want to listen to the radio?"

I shake my head. "Caleb, can I ask you something?"

"Should I be nervous?"

A smile automatically appears on my lips. "'Course not."

"Then, go ahead."

"What's it like growing up with Alex?"

"Ah," he lets out a huge breath and purses his lips. "It's Alex again. Sometimes I wonder if you only want to be with me so you can find out more about my brother."

I'm sure he's only kidding. This is Caleb. He's never been serious.

"You know me," I say. "I'm full of curiosity."

"You could have asked a question about me," he says. "But to answer your question, it's normal, I guess. When we were kids, we argued and fought a lot. But you know how boys are. After a few hours, it's like nothing happened."

I have to agree. It's the opposite when it comes to girls. We remember everything. And it takes a longer time for us to fix what's broken.

I envy guys. They live a drama-free life.

"How about you?" Caleb asks. "What's it like being an only child?"

"It was alright," I say. My time in the orphanage wasn't all that bad. My memories were just tainted when Alex left me. "I didn't grow up as lonely as you might think," I try to sound cheerful as much as I can. I was surrounded by children who were abandoned by their parents, too. No big deal, right?

"What's your earliest childhood memory?" Caleb asks.

"I will marry you someday."

"What?" I asked.

"I said I will marry you someday," Alex repeated.

"No, you won't," I said obviously.

"Yes, I will!"

"No!"

"Yes, and you can't stop me!"

"Sister Madeleine!" I cried. "Alex said he wants to marry me!"

Sister Madeleine turned to Alex and asked him, "Why do you want to marry Alyson?"

"Because I love her!" he answered.

"I don't love you!" I yelled.

Alex crossed his arms over his chest and said, "I love you, and I will marry you!"

I ran to him and pinched his arms.

"Even if you hurt me, I'm still going to marry you!"

I whined and kicked him on his knee.

"Alyson!" Sister Madeleine stopped me from pulling Alex's hair. "Why don't you want to marry Alex?"

"Just because!" I yelled, stomping my feet.

"It doesn't matter," Alex said, still smiling. "I'm still going to marry you."

"Why are you saying that?"

"Because I want to marry you!"

"Stop yelling! I said no!"

"You're the one who's yelling," he said. "I said yes!"

I screamed at him. "Sister, look at Alex! He keeps on saying we're going to get married! Please make him stop! I never want to hear his voice!"

I didn't understand why Sister Madeleine was laughing at us. Couldn't she see that Alex was irritating me? I wanted to throw my toys at him.

"Alyson and I will get married someday," Alex said.

"I hate you!" I said. "I don't want to marry you!"

"You will," Alex said with a smile on his face. "Someday."

I think that's our worst argument, ever. If I remember correctly, I didn't talk to him for the whole day because he kept on pestering me that he would marry me. We were about four at that time.

Now, as I reminisce, I realize it's one of the sweetest memories I have of him.

A few years later, we agreed to be best friends. At that time, I was glad he forgot his promise of marrying me.

The sad thing is, he even forgot about me.

***

Thank you so much for waiting! I appreciate you <3