My Best Friend's Boyfriend

My name is Lola Morgan, and I am in love with my best friend’s boyfriend. Yeah, I know, I’m the worst friend on earth, but I didn’t do it on purpose. I loved my best friend, and I still do. This is a story of how I fell in love with my best friend’s boyfriend. Him and I in the most unconventional way; he was on a date with my best friend, Milly. Her mom was looking for her, so naturally, she called me. I claimed I didn’t know where she went but I could look for her and give her the news. Of course, I knew what restaurant they went to, but I had to protect the girl code, even from her Mom, especially from her Mom. She never really liked Brandon, Milly’s boyfriend, and I knew she would be furious if she knew they were on a date on the other side of town. So I, being a good friend, followed Milly, because the news I had was too serious to be discussed on the phone. After reaching the restaurant, I tried to go in, but the maître d’ at the restaurant refused to let me in. “Reservation?” She said while looking me up and down because I wasn’t dressed like a person who went to eat at Mellion’s Lounge. It was a pretty high-end restaurant, so I wasn’t surprised. “Um, I don’t have one, I’m just here to deliver some pretty tragic news to my friend who’s here with her boyfriend,” I said. “Of course you are,” she said in a sarcastic tone, “I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave, ma’am, restaurant policy doesn’t allow us to seat people without reservations.” I was about to cause a scene, but then I thought of how embarrassing that would be for Milly. The last thing I needed was for her to be upset or sad. The news I had to give her was sad enough. So I refrained from arguing with the annoying maître d’ and walked out. I stood outside the restaurant and tried calling her phone, but it went straight to voicemail. “Of course,” I said. “Just what I need right now.” I stood out there for a minute or two, thinking about my options. I could just tell the maître d’ to pass on my message to her, but seeing how she treated me, there wasn’t a fat chance she’d even believe me. Besides, Brandon made reservations and I have no idea what his last name is, which isn’t “very good friend” of me but whatever. I’ve never really been interested in Milly’s boyfriends, our interests in boys are polar opposites. She likes nice guys who treat you like a lady and are nice to your friends and all that stuff. Whereas me? I like the bad boys who forget to call me for days on end or even forget they’re dating me. I have several issues I am not ready to deal with. After thinking for a while, I decide to access Milly’s i********: account to find out Brandon’s number and call him, surely they both can’t not pick up phone calls. Besides, Brandon has a job, his boss must need to speak to him when he’s not at work, there’s no way he’d turn his phone off -- “hello?” he answers, cutting off my train of thought. “Who’s this?” He says again. It takes me a couple of seconds to realize I need to say something. “Hi, this is Lola Morgan, I’m sure you’ve heard of me, not that I’m famous or anything. But like, heard of me from Milly, I’m her best friend, I need to speak to her urgently. I’m outside the restaurant. She told me where you guys were going and the maître d’ is very mean and won’t let me in-- “slow down, slow down Lola, yes I know who you are, Milly has told me a lot about you. Here, let me give her the phone.” “Somebody better be dying Lola or you will be, for interrupting my date because you’re convinced Brandon is an axe murderer. Just because you haven’t met him or seen his picture doesn’t mean he” -- “Milly,” I cut her off, “you need to come outside the restaurant, it’s bad.” I hung up. I didn’t want her to start asking me questions about what was wrong. I wanted her to be near me when I told her that her dad was in the hospital. She came out a few minutes later, walking at 15mph. “Lola, what’s wrong? Is somebody dying for real? Because I was just joking, you know you can disturb me anytime, no boy is worth anybody dying. Please say something.” “Mi- Milly,’ I began saying, stuttering because everything suddenly became real. I cleared my throat to sound braver because the last thing she needed was me being teary. “It’s your Dad, he had a heart attack at work and was rushed to Mt Fillmore hospital, he’s in surgery as we speak. Your Mom wanted me to tell you that he’s going to be okay and you shouldn’t worry.” I hugged her because she looked like she might collapse. She was quiet for what seemed like ages. “Milly, say something, what do you need?” I said as I embraced her even tighter. “Do you think he’s going to be okay?” She asked. “Your Mom said everything will be okay but--“ I stopped before I said anything more. “But what?” She asked, still unmoving in my arms. “Your Mom,” I paused. “She sounded really sad, that’s why I came here tonight. I thought you’d want to be with her at the hospital.” “Yeah, yes I do, can we go?” She said. “Yes, what about Brandon? If you want, I can go inside and tell him you have to cancel due to a family emergency.” I offered. “No, don’t worry. After you told me to come out, I knew something was wrong and told him I had to go. He’s just paying the bill; he’ll be out soon.” “Alright, could we take his car? I came here mostly by bus, but I don’t think buses reach this part of town,” I said, waving my hand to gesture to the big luxurious buildings surrounding us. Milly said nothing, she just stood still, not pulling away from the hug. I held on tighter until a man who started towards us, called her name. “Milly, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” the man said. At the sound of his voice, Milly pulled away from me and reached for the man. She put her arms around him and started sobbing. She couldn’t say anything coherent inbetween her sobs, so I answered his question on her behalf. “It’s her Dad. He had a heart attack and is currently in surgery. Are you Brandon?” “Yes, I am. You must be Lola.” He replied. He turned his attention to Milly and said how sorry he was, and that if there was anything she needed, he would be there for her. I listened to him talking and everything from what he said to how he said it, did not match how he looked. He was dressed way more casually than Milly, but they were both in the bourgeois restaurant. Milly was wearing a navy blue knee-length silk dress with skyscraper heels and a full face of make-up. She was dressed for the part. How come the mean maître d’ let Brandon past the door dressed in navy blue denim jeans, black Nike Air Force, a white t-shirt, and a black leather jacket? I thought Mellion’s Lounge was high-end. I guess I was wrong. “Actually, there is something you can help us with,” I said, pulling myself out of my head. “We need a ride to the hospital. I don’t have a car or I would have taken us there. There are no buses around.” “Sure, no problem”, he said while pulling himself away from Milly. “Hey, I’ll be right back, I need to make a phone call, stay with Lola, I’ll be back.” “Okay,” Milly said weakly. Milly returned to my arms. I quickly engulfed her in a bear hug, keeping Brandon in my line of sight; there was something about him that made me want to keep watching him. “I like him,” I said, “Brandon, he’s very err—cool, he’s cool.” Milly didn’t respond nor did I expect her to, I was just trying to keep her distracted from thoughts of her Dad, and I was failing at it. Brandon returned a few minutes later, and Milly was still in my arms. A black limo pulled to the side of the road as Brandon was approaching us. He went to the driver’s window to speak to the driver. I then understood what job Brandon had and why he bought Milly nice stuff. “Being a limo driver must pay very well,” I said out loud. Milly just shrugged. Brandon came up to us and asked us the name of the hospital Milly’s Dad was at, “Mt Fillmore,” I said. He then told the driver something I could hear. I was waiting for him to get in and start driving, but, he opened the back door for us and said “get in.” I was surprised but I let go of Milly and got in, then Brandon helped Milly get in and got in after her. Milly was sandwiched between the two of us. I held her hand while she put her head on Brandon’s shoulder. There wasn’t much to talk about on the ride to the hospital, so Brandon and I sporadically gave Milly assurances that we were there for her. Upon reaching the hospital, Milly came to life. She all but ran out of the limo. I took one last glance around and the limo then ran after her, leaving Brandon talking to the driver. I kept wondering if they were colleagues or just friends, it was all very confusing. CHAPTER TWO: MILLY I couldn’t quite move when Lola told me about my Dad’s heart attack. A surge of emotions ran through me all at once. I didn’t know what to do. So I settled on crying. Brandon had never seen me cry before, we’d only been dating for six months, and although I liked him very much, I wasn’t yet ready to fully open up to him. That was going well until the news about my Dad hit me. I ugly-cried into his arms for I don’t know how long, he was so sweet about it. The rest of the night before we reached the hospital was a blur. As soon as I saw the ‘Mt Fillmore hospital’ sign, I almost flew out of the car. I was rushing straight for the ER, I could hear Lola in the background running towards me, calling out my name. I reached the ER nurses’ station and froze. I was too scared to ask about my Dad. What if they told me he had died? I didn’t want to know. But then I thought of my Mom and how she’s probably alone in the waiting room. “Hello, my name is Milly Warner. My Dad, David Warner, was brought here after he had a heart attack. I’m here to see him please.” I said while fighting back tears. The nurse looked at me, then her computer, and then right back at me, with pity in her eyes. I don’t like this. “Please let me see my Dad!” I cried out to her. “Miss Warner, your Dad is in surgery. I can take you to the waiting room where your Mom is, and we’ll give you more updates in a few minutes.” Right as she finished that sentence, Lola stood behind me. I felt her rubbing my shoulder. She’d been so helpful in the last few minutes since I found out about my Dad, and I have been ignoring her as if she caused this whole thing. I wish I could tell her I’m grateful for her help, but I’m too worried about my Dad. The nurse was still talking but I couldn’t even hear her, not until she raised her voice to ask me if I wanted to go to the waiting room. “Yes, that’s fine,” I said, looking at Lola, “we’ll go.” The nurse made eye contact with me again, this time with a certain irritation. “Is she your sister? What’s her name so that I enter it in the visitor’s log”, she said while heading back to her station. I almost snapped at her because Lola and I look nothing alike, we may be best friends, but we’re not those best friends who dress alike or finish each other’s sentences. “No, she’s not my sister, she’s my best friend, and she’s here as emotional support. My mom won’t mind her being in the waiting room with us.” As soon as I finished saying that, Brandon appeared in the hallway, heading toward us. I can’t believe I forgot about him. “And this is Brandon, he’s my err-- friend,” I said, just in case the nurse decided to tell my Mom there was a boy with me. She eyed me suspiciously; she could see right through my lie. “I’m sorry miss Warner, your friends aren’t allowed in the ER waiting room, only family is allowed in there. Hospital policy. Your friends will have to wait here.” The day turned out to be the most stressful day of my life. But I was spent. I didn’t have time to argue with her. And then Lola, who’d been quiet since she found me, read my mind and said, “It’s okay Milly, we’ll wait here. Go and see your Mom, call us if you need anything, we’ll be right here.” Brandon nodded to what Lola was saying and said “yes, we’re here for you.” At that moment, I was so grateful for them both, I regret that my two worlds didn’t collide sooner. “Thanks, guys, you’re the best,” I said and turned to walk away when Brandon gave me a quick bear hug and a kiss on my forehead. I returned the hug and smiled at him as I went into the other room to see my mom. CHAPTER THREE: LOLA “Hospital policy,” I said using air quotes, “arrghh these people!” I screamed out. The nurse back at the station looked at me and ignored me. I turned to Brandon, who was sitting still on the uncomfortable waiting room chair. “Why aren’t you as enraged as I am about this? Don’t you care that they won’t let us be there for Milly?” “I do care, but I also know it won’t change anything. That nurse over there is just doing her job, and waiting for her shift to end, she doesn’t care whether you make a fuss or not.” He was right. But I didn’t tell him that. I just shut up and started playing a game on my phone. Hoping I’d erase that embarrassing condescending speech he had given me. We were both quiet for a while until he spoke first, “ What game are you playing?” “Family ties”, I said, grateful that he changed the topic. “It’s about families and the different dynamic roles each member plays. My job is to fix them by giving them things like advice, access to health care, loans, housing et cetera.” He laughed, a very squeaky laugh I might add. “That doesn’t sound like a game, it sounds like a job.” I softened at his laugh, “yeah, you’re kinda right, I like that it’s more of a job than a game. Well, a job that doesn’t pay.” He laughed again. “Speaking of jobs,” I started, “that’s a pretty sweet deal you’ve got there, the limo, it seems like a cool job.” “What do you mean?” He said with a confused face. “Oh yeah, Milly told me you have a job, I just assumed it had something to do with the limo,” I said, apologetically. “I don’t have a job with the limo company, I don’t work for them,” he said. “Oh,” I said. “Okay, then that just leaves me with more questions. Like how come we came here by limo? Who was that guy, the driver? And why did you keep talking to him outside of our earshot? How come you’re dressed like you’re going for a football game and not like a Mellion’s regular?” I said, all in one breath. “Wow! You talk extra fast Lola. You need to start breathing more.” He said, almost laughing. “You’re not answering my question, Brandon, if that is even your name. Does Milly know that you don’t work for the limo company?” I asked. “She does. She knows who I am.” He said, absentmindedly. I was about to quiz him some more when his phone buzzed, and he started to get up, heading towards the door to answer the call. He took out his iPhone 11 pro max, and I won’t lie, I was impressed because that was an expensive phone to own at that time. It had only come out the previous week. So, if he wasn’t a limo driver, then what job did he have where he could afford a one-week-old iPhone? I had so many questions. I decided to look him up on social media, but I still didn’t know his name. My private investigator skills kicked in, I went to Milly’s friends list, and voila! I found him; Brandon Wilkinson.