Be Rude but Love Me | ✔

CHAPTER 1

I hug my Dad tightly, reluctant to let him go just yet. I place my head on his shoulder and crush his tall and strong figure as much as I can – because come on, I'm a small 5'6 girl and he's a strong 6'1 grownup – in my arms. But obviously, after a moment, my arms hurt from squeezing all this muscle mass – rather rock mass – for so long.

"Come on, Tracy," he says as he hugs me back, "I'll see you in two weeks."

"Right."

I clear my throat to hide my emotions and let him go. For a few seconds, he just stares at me with a fond look on his face before stepping away. I watch as he goes around the car and gets in, starting the engine. He throws a last smile my way.

"Goodbye, Ellie," he says to my best friend.

"Bye, Mr. Graham."

He turns to me. "Try to have fun without me," he grins.

I roll my eyes at him but grin back. "Just drive safely, Dad."

The tires kick up dust as my father drives away from me and goes back to the city life, leaving me behind. I watch until he disappears then proceed to gather my bags and make my way inside Ellie's house. I walk behind my best friend as she helps me carry the bags to the guest room.

Taller than me with the same dark brown hair I possess, Ellie and I almost look like sisters. Our facial features are nearly the same: same dark brown eyes, same high nose, long lashes, not-too-chubby cheeks, thin lips and jutted-out chins. The only difference is that her face is more oval than mine, almost giving her a heart-shaped face. She is much more beautiful than me, though and keeps teasing me that I am not confident enough. Maybe I'm not.

As soon as we enter the guest room, we drop the bags on the floor and let ourselves fall face first into the bed.

I moan. "Damn, this bed is soft."

Ellie laughs. "Better than those dorm mattresses, definitely."

I groan. Being her roommate, I had to listen as she turned around in bed, trying to find the least creasing and least hard spot of the mattress to sleep. You'd think the spot moved to somewhere else or that her mattress got changed daily because she would do it every single night.

"Well, can't say I'm not grateful I won't be sharing a room with you here."

She punches me in my arms and I laugh at her. I remain face down for a few moments, enjoying the softness that relaxes my muscles after a seven-hour drive. I wish Dad had stayed the night, I don't like him driving so late in the dark, but he said he needed to get back as soon as possible. I should have tampered with the car. But obviously, it's one of these thoughts that you only think after the moment. Thank you, brain.

I sigh and roll on my back, almost crushing Ellie in the process. I am exhausted, yet I am not ready to rest just yet. So, like a child, I decide to get up and start jumping up and down on the mattress and soon Ellie joins me. Our screams of joy fill the silent house, our hair flying up and down with our jumping bodies, our faces too small for our wide smiles.

Then the sunset outside the window catches my attention. I get off the bed and get closer to the window, trying to be closer to the sunrays and the sun itself. It's beautiful, just as it's always been in Harlem. My hometown.

I watch as the sun disappears and hides behind the high mountains, only leaving a trail of orange mixing with a shade of light pink in the sky. The clouds are slithering away, emptying the blue void little by little. The few birds flying resemble small black ink points with wings on a blue sheet of paper, like those I used to draw as a child.