Be My Queen by RayeAnn Carter

weekend.
    At least she'd had that. At least she had a few bright hours in her otherwise bleak life.
    But she craved so much more.
    Diego's friend would be on vacation tomorrow, and he'd keep Diego busy. Diego wouldn't think of her at all. And if he did, only as someone who scammed him into believing she was a real girl.
    Lavender ached to be real. She yearned to be the girl Diego had thought she was, but she'd never be, no matter how much she wished and tried. The sobs came so hard that she didn't know she wasn't alone until a warm hand rubbed her back. She cried harder. She didn't deserve sympathy. She had broken her own heart by forgetting for one short moment she wasn't real.
    *~*~*
    Diego woke alone. The dream had been so vivid that he'd almost expected the sheets to be warm beside him.
    He rolled over and looked at the clock. Travis must be getting ready for school. Had Diego made that much noise as a teenager?
    Since he was awake, with his beautiful girl on his mind, he made use of the privacy that a shower afforded. He didn't quite use up all Mrs. Raleigh's hot water.
    He carried the towel with him to the kitchen and finished drying his hair. Mrs. Raleigh glanced toward the laundry room door and he made sure she saw him put the towel in the proper receptacle. Following house rules always paid off.
    She smiled. "Patrick called this morning."
    Diego poured a bowl of cereal. "Is he finally off?"
    "As of six forty-five, but he's going to need several hours of sleep to catch up on all he missed this last week."
    Diego nodded. He was glad he hadn't let Patrick talk him into working for the same company. He liked his easygoing bosses much better. "I'll find something to keep myself busy. Are the tar pits a date spot?"
    Mrs. Raleigh wrinkled her nose. "Stinky. You could try the zoo."
    "Disneyland?"
    "Or another amusement park, but you might check with Patrick. I think he planned on going with you."
    "I can't imagine Patrick in Disneyland."
    Mrs. Raleigh laughed. "Not since he got 'too old' for it at twelve."
    "So I could take Lavender."
    She touched his shoulder. "Are you sure she'd appreciate that?"
    "Well, I want to go to Disneyland. Who else would come with me?"
    "You could always ask."
    Diego would.
    After breakfast, he rinsed his bowl and spoon, put his dirty clothes in the laundry room, and tidied the spare room, so Mrs. Raleigh wouldn't feel he was a burden. He checked his phone. He had a dozen texts. Patrick's said he was going to sleep and to plan on a late lunch together. Jessica's said to make that an early dinner, as Patrick hadn't stayed awake long enough to remove his shoes before passing out on the couch.
    All the other ones were from Lavender's friends. He opened one from Vishva first. What did she mean what had he done to Lavender? Had something happened? Was she hurt? He called Vishva, but the call went to voicemail. He asked after Lavender and said he'd planned to take her to Disneyland today, but he hadn't formulated those plans last night. In fact, he hadn't scheduled another date with her at all. He apologized to Vishva for being a dumbass and then hung up and texted Lavender, Beautiful, I've never been to Disneyland. Come with me .
    He hadn't said when. He rolled his eyes at himself. He was a dumbass squared. No, cubed.
    Diego called her. It went right to voicemail. Was she avoiding him or only asleep? She must have been in a sorry state for him to receive that many hate-texts. He repeated his request and explained how he'd missed his chance to go as a child when his older sister came down with chicken pox because she'd refused the vaccination, how something always seemed to come up when his parents tried to reschedule, and generally rambled on until he realized that yet again, he'd forgot to say when. "Today, please. Patrick thinks he's too old for a little childlike fun and he's planning to meet us for dinner. Sorry. Will you come to dinner with me, too? I want to spend the day, every day, with you. Or