You've Found Oliver (You've Reached Sam, #2)(31)

“Wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”





Chapter

Ten



The drive-in restaurant is a staple in Ellensburg. It really adds to the small-town experience we have going on. Although most people just eat outside. Ben finds a table while I order for us—two cheeseburger combos with a basket of onion rings. I make him try the mystery milkshake flavor, which he thinks is pi?a colada. I don’t tell him there’s actually no mystery flavor—it’s just vanilla. I still need to give him the gift I made. So we finish our food and head back to campus.

It’s nice having someone to walk around with. In another world, we could spend every day together. I point out some more things along the way—the sculpture of the bull sitting on the bench; the street they close down for the farmer’s market every Sunday; the sidewalk where Julie tripped and sprained her ankle last year. I even show him where my favorite bakery was before it closed down.

“Why are there people inside?” Ben asks.

“What people?”

At first, I think he’s mistaken. Then I glance at the windows and notice the lights are on. Probably construction workers clearing things out. Then a young couple exits, carrying a familiar white box that’s tied with a ribbon. That’s when I catch the scent of something sweet. So we cross the street to check for ourselves.

The bell chimes as we enter the door. Some new bakery must have replaced it, because the place is up and running again. I take in the familiar wallpaper and the pastries that fill the display cases. They even have the same chocolate croissants. “I swear this place closed down a few months ago,” I say.

“Maybe they were just remodeling,” Ben guesses.

“But it looks exactly the same.”

Same black-and-white checkered flooring. Same brick accent wall with the handwritten menu. A mother and daughter are picking out macarons at the counter. When they’re finished paying, I approach the girl at the register. She smiles at me and says, “What can I get for you?”

“Hi, quick question. When did you guys reopen?”

“Reopen?”

“Yeah.” I nod. “You were closed, right?”

“We close at seven,” she says.

“No, I mean closed down.”

“Closed down?”

“I saw the sign at the window,” I tell her. “It said thank you for thirty years of business, or something like that. I thought that meant you were closed for good.”

She looks confused. “Sorry, I just started here.”

That’s probably my cue to stop asking her questions. Maybe they’re under new management or something. Regardless, this is such great news. I have to text Julie about this. I would order something if Ben hadn’t already brought pastries for us to share. So we make our way out again.

We cross the street and take the shortcut to campus. My dorm isn’t the most impressive in the world. But at least we tend to keep the hallways clean. “My roommate is usually home around this time,” I say. “You can just ignore him though.”

“You two don’t get along?”

“We’re cordial,” I explain. “But I wouldn’t call him a friend. He won’t let me light scented candles. And he plays loud country music. I still prefer him to my last one though.”

“What happened to your last roommate?”

I sigh. “That’s a story for later.”

I stick my key into the doorknob. For some reason, it doesn’t work. I wiggle it a few times, but it won’t turn. So I knock on the door, hoping Ethan’s inside. After a moment, a girl in a blue top opens it instead. She looks at me and says, “Can I help you?”

It seems Ethan has another “friend” visiting. He usually puts a rubber band on the doorknob. I wish he would tell me these things in advance. I take in a breath and say, “I just have to grab something.”

“Grab what?” she asks.

“My stuff.”

“What stuff?”

I’m not sure why I need to explain this to her. For some reason, she doesn’t move out of the way for us. I’m suddenly annoyed by this exchange. But I don’t want to be rude in front of Ben. So I try to move around her. “Excuse me.”

“What are you doing?” She snaps.

“I need something from my room.”

“This isn’t your room.”

“Yes, it is—”

“You can’t just barge in—”

I’m not sure what Ethan told her. Maybe that he lives alone or something. “Fine. Just tell Ethan to grab my things for me.”

“Who’s Ethan?”

Ben looks at me. “Are you sure this is your room?”

“Yes. I live here.”

“Is this some sort of prank?” the girl asks.

I don’t have time for this right now. So I just force my way through, ignoring her loud protest. The second Ben comes inside, I push her out of the way and shut the door. “That was really annoying,” I groan. “Sorry about that.”

Then I glance around the room. It doesn’t take me long to realize something’s off. The flex wall that divides our beds is gone. And what happened to all of the furniture? There’s an orange futon where the table should be. What’s with these heart-shaped lights hanging along the ceiling? And who put the Harry Styles poster on the— Then it finally hits me.