My Imaginary Boyfriend

My Imaginary Boyfriend *Delirious

It's hot. Fire is consuming me. Am I dead? Is this hell? I didn't probably enter heaven because I was not a good person. I lied, and did bad things. I shouldn't be surprised that I'm now facing the consequence of my actions. I scream in frustration.

They put a coal to add fuel to the fire. It's hot; my body is like a candle melting into a wax.

A gasp escapes from my mouth when they put me on a tray. They lift me up. In the corner of my eye, I find an oven.

They're going to burn me alive.

Someone is shaking my shoulder. I struggle to open my eyes, but that simple deed alone is difficult.

"Annalise."

I hear my name being called, and I follow that voice, thinking that if I find its owner, I'll be freed from the darkness and the fire surrounding me.

"Annalise."

Maybe I'm having a nightmare.

"Annalise." A touch on my hand.

I open my eyes and let out a startled sound when I see Caleb a few inches from my face.

"W-what?" I stammer. My voice is rough, while my throat is dry.

I assure myself that it was just a dream; no one is going to kill me.

Caleb hands me a glass of water. I sit up and drink it. When it's empty, I give it back to him.

"How are you feeling?" he asks a look of concern etch on his face. "Did you have a nightmare?"

"I'm okay," I say, shaking the gruesome image from my head.

"Do you want to tell me? Maybe you can—"

"I don't want to talk about it," I interject. The feeling and the scene is still vivid. It makes me want to throw up.

He is quiet for a few seconds, and then he suddenly says, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" I ask.

"You're sick because of me." The corners of his mouth turn down. "And you had to skip school."

I burst out laughing. "You're sorry because you made me skip school?" I ask incredulously. "I wanted to do that!"

He shakes his head. "You are sick, and you are being delirious."

I frown at him. Is he telling me that I'm crazy?

"I'm not sick," I tell him. I look down and realize that I'm covered with blankets.

"Do you even remember what happened last night?" he asks.

I think back to what happened yesterday: we had our finals in volleyball, and Maegan didn't lose the opportunity to irritate me. Just remembering what she did makes me clench my fists in anger.

After school, my friends hang out together, but I didn't go with them. I stayed home and sleep. And then Caleb came and asked me if I wanted to accompany him on his midnight stroll. The last memory I can recall was when it rained.

"How did we go home?" I inquire.

"We ran," he says sheepishly. "You said you couldn't wait any longer so we ignored the rain and ran home."

I can't believe I did that. No wonder I'm burning up. So maybe my dream is related to what I'm feeling.

"Why did you agree?" I ask, studying him.

How come I ended up getting sick while Caleb seems perfectly fine? Where's the justice in that? Not that I want him to be bedridden.

He shrugs. "I didn't think about the consequence."

A smile makes its way on my face. That's one of the things I like about him; his spontaneity.

"What are you smiling about?" he asks, cocking his head to the side.

I cough and erase the smile from my face. "Why are you here?" I ask, ignoring his question. "Shouldn't you be at school?"

I raise my hand and without thinking, touch his neck to check if he's burning up as well. His eyes widen at my gesture, and I quickly pull my hand away.

Clearing my throat, I tell him that he's not sick, and I also ask him the reason why he didn't go to school.

"I have to take care of you," he says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

Have?

Caleb has to take care of me? So, it's his obligation. Of course. He feels that way because he's the reason why I'm sick.

"You didn't have to skip," I say, trying to make my voice even.

"I don't mind," he says. "It wouldn't be interesting anyway."

I roll my eyes. His words will be the death of me. Sometimes I wonder if he means the words that are coming out of his mouth, or they're just another one of his antics.

"About our driving lesson," Caleb starts. Yes, I almost forget about his offer, good thing he reminded me. "I'll teach you as soon as you get better."

My mind flashes back to our tour, and I can't help but shudder when I remember how much it hurt to slam my head against the headrest of the car.

When he found out that I don't know how to drive, he offered to teach me.

"Does Margarett know you're here?" I ask, trying to clear my head from the gruesome image in my head.

He nods. "She had to go to work, and she even thanked me that I volunteered to look after you."

I shake my head. She's really something. She even passed her responsibility to Caleb.

"What about your mom?" I ask.

"She knows that I'm here."

"What did you tell her?"

"That I got the flu," he answers, smiling sheepishly. "And we're both going to spend the day together."

"But you're not sick," I say dryly. "What about Alex?"

He shrugs. "He knows that I don't want to go to school. He'd do the same if he were in my position." Caleb looks at my left side, and I follow his gaze. "Cute," he says, staring at Polka.

I wait for him to make fun of me, because it's his habit now. When nothing comes after a few seconds, I look at him. He has an unreadable expression on his face.

"Alex gave you that, right?" he asks.

I nod.

What's with his question? Caleb knows that Alex gave me the stuffed penguin when he won on the dart game. He was there with us.

"So. . ."

"Yes?" I raise my eyebrow.

He clasps his hands in front of him, and says, "Since I'm here and we both skipped school—"

"You skipped," I interject.

"We might as well do something interesting," he continues.

"What?" I ask suspiciously. We don't have the same meaning for the word "interesting".

Caleb leans closer to me.

"What are you doing?" I snap, scowling at him.

As he leans more, I back away from him until I reach the wall. I push him away but he just grins, his eyes shining mischievously.

"I want to try," Caleb whispers, inching his handsome face closer to mine.

~*~*~*~*~*

I know that this is very short, and you waited for a long time. So sorry! I'll upload the next part next week. I had to cut this so that the song will go well with the chapter :)

- Set Fire to the Rain by Adele

Thank you so much! <3