Dreaming of Alten

Chapter 22. Real Life

"Lily?" I say. "You're Lily's fantasy boyfriend?" I can't imagine Lily ever falling in love with someone like Blake. No offence to him, but he isn't exactly the warm and fuzzy type, not like Tyler, or like Alten. Speaking of which, how come Lily didn't recognize Blake when he showed up before, back she and Tyler were together in my alternate fantasy world?

Blake shakes his head. "Fantasy boyfriend? We never got that far. I was just an imaginary friend."

"Imaginary friend? Like little kids have?"

He shrugs. "Yeah. Lily was really shy when she was little. She found it hard to talk to people. And she got bullied sometimes. So she made up her own friend. Me." For a minute he almost looks like he's smiling.

"So what happened?" I ask. "Why did she forget you?"

He takes a breath and looks me right in the eyes. "She made a real friend," he says, with a shrug.

And in that second, I get it. I know why he hates me so much now. "Me. She became friends with me. That's why she forgot you."

"Yeah."

I shake my head. All of this is just so crazy. "I would say I'm sorry, but I didn't know, and even if I did, Lily's my best friend. I've never not been friends with her. I couldn't imagine my life without her."

"I know," he says. "I know."

I understand what he's saying, even though he doesn't say it. If some girl in Alten's alternate fantasy world stole him away from me, I'd probably hate her too, even if she didn't deserve it.

And speaking of Alten..."So how did you and Alten get to be friends?" I ask.

"I went looking for him, once I found out who he was. Lily's best friend's fantasy boyfriend. It was a way for me to keep an eye on her. She might have moved on, but I never did. Never could." He sees me looking at him and adds, "That's how it started, with Alten, but after a while, we did get to be real friends. We've known each other a long time."

"Does Alten know? About you and Lily?"

"Maybe. I don't know. I don't think so. But now you know, I guess it's only a matter of time before he does."

My heart skips a beat. "What do you mean?"

"Well, he's your fantasy boyfriend. He exists inside your head. Everything you know, he knows."

"But Alten's dead!"

Blake gives me a smile that looks almost amused. "Is he?"

"What?"

"Ashlynn!"

I look down the hallway and see mine and Lily's parents running towards me. It's a great relief to see them. But in that moment, I only have eyes for Blake. "What are you saying? Is Alten still alive?"

Blake gets to his feet. "Alten's a dream construct, Ashlynn. And dreams never really die. Not unless you let them."

And then he walks off down the hallway as my mom runs up and gives me a hug.

~

The doctor comes out to talk to Lily's parents. While that's going on, my parents immediately start in with questions. "What happened? Are you all right? How could something like this happen?"

I tell them that we were at the beach and a freak wave came out of nowhere and hit us and Lily got thrown into a bunch of rocks. I leave out any mention of Colin and Blake. It would be too complicated to explain, even if they were in the mood to listen, which they're not.