Be Rude but Love Me | ✔

CHAPTER 20

Ellie doesn't insist and just lets it go. "Okay." She says.

A few minutes later, Lucy comes running down the stairs and grins up at Ellie. "I'm ready, let's go."

She doesn't even say goodbye to me as she runs to Ellie's car. Safely buckled in, the two of them leave and I'm left alone in the house. Climbing back up the stairs and not having much to do, I sit on my bed and pick up my iPad. I decide, for a change, to read a contemporary story instead of a classical one.

I start reading Wonder by R. J. Palacio, a story about a ten-year-old boy named August Pullman with a facial deformation. I tear through the book, my emotions climbing all the way to the top of Mount Everest then plummeting down all the way to some hidden underground facility somewhere. I am on a rollercoaster of emotions and halfway through the book, I've got to stop. Looking at my phone, I realize it's already been four hours. As I start getting worried about Ellie and Lucy – I know Harlem is a very small town but is the kennel really that far? – when I hear a car pulling up outside.

Running down, I open the door just as Lucy is climbing down the car. "You wanna come see him?" Ellie asks. "You can have a quick peek but I've gotta go."

"No, I'm okay, thanks," I say when really, what I want to say is, "I'm not interested in anything related to Yann." Even if it's a dog.

"Oh my God!" Lucy screams, "He's so awesome. I can't wait to play with him again." As we step inside the house, she asks, "What are we going to do until the fair?"

"What do you want to do?" I ask her.

"Really? Just sleep. I am still tired after the drive," and she lets out a long yawn to prove her point. I'm not sure whether she's faking it or not. Without waiting for me to say something, she just disappears up the stairs into the guest room that she will now be sharing with me.

I busy myself for the rest of the day with idle cleaning. I keep humming to myself as I dust and wipe, move furniture around and do something to keep my mind off Yann. But of course, it doesn't work.

It already felt humiliating when he refused to look at me in the eyes yesterday after kissing me but he had to go and say those words. I thought you didn't like me. His mocking tone and his smug look. And I'm reminded again that Ollie and Yann are nothing alike.

Ollie. I have this sudden urge to talk to him right now but I know he would be able to discern the distress in my voice and the last thing I want is another person asking me what's wrong. I've had enough of that already.

Hours pass by and soon, Ellie is back home to take a shower and get ready to go to the fair. Lucy wakes up from her nap and ransacks the kitchen for something to eat so I find myself making her sandwiches before she starts eating raw meat. I swear that kid is always hungry.

As Ellie comes down fully dressed and ready half an hour later, she grabs one of Lucy's sandwiches and my little sister protests but Ellie ignores her. "Yann and Will are meeting us here," she says with a look my way.

I shrug, pretending to be unaffected upon hearing Yann's name. "OK. I'm gonna take a shower now."

I try not to think about seeing him, about being too close to him. I take a shower and don a pair of blue jeans and a tank top. I want to pick a t-shirt but I know I sweat a lot when I'm in crowds so I opt for the lightest piece of garment I own. Sandals are out of the question with that many people walking around and likely to step on me. I choose a pair of black grey sneakers and tie the laces.

It's 7:04pm when I look at my phone. Will is already there and Lucy is chit-chatting with him but he doesn't seem to mind. We're all waiting for Yann to arrive and I worry about the seating arrangements. No one's talked of it but they must know I don't want to end up in the same car as Yann.