Be Rude but Love Me | ✔

CHAPTER 12

Like parasites desperately aching to find a host, my thoughts want to sink in my mind, torture me, eat at me and only leave crumbling pieces. Thoughts about Yann do that to me, I've come to realize. A violent headache reigns in the front section of my head and I realize that even thinking of the thoughts of Yann is injurious to me.

I channel all my energy towards the soothing feeling riding with Will gives me. "You didn't forget the food," I say as I suddenly remember he said he would take care of the food.

Will chuckles next to me. "Women and their food. No, I didn't forget it, Tracy. Don't worry."

As we get closer to the outskirts of town, the air changes. The familiar smell of vegetation fills my nostrils and I breathe in deeply. I smell soil, leaves, trunks. It all mixes into one particular scent yet I can make out the different smells that compose it.

Soon, Will is driving us a little inside the woods and it doesn't take long for me to recognize where we are. There are different parts along the river where people can go. I know because Ellie and I would never go twice to the same place in a month. Where Will has brought me today is a little more wooded than where we were the first time with Ellie and Yann. The smell of greenery is stronger there and I welcome it.

My ears pick up on the incessant splashing of the river against the shore, the happy chirps of the birds, the earthy smell of water mixed with soil, the humid air. Will and I reach the end of the way and stop a few feet away from the water.

Grabbing his hand happily, I lead him to the shore. There, we allow ourselves to drop onto the lightly damp soil and sit next to one another. Propping our legs up, we rest our elbows on our knees and look ahead of us. We are like two people on two different sides of a mirror.

Sunrays are creating a glint on the smooth and undisturbed surface of the water. The wind softly blows through my brown locks and I close my eyes, appreciating the soft stroke. This is how I wanted to feel during the entire summer: free. I had this urgent desire to put aside my college life and go somewhere where I could forget my freshman year. I was convinced Harlem would be the place for that and it is, in a way. I simply didn't factor in Yann since I didn't know he was going to be there.

"How can you bear with him?" I ask Will as I turn my head to him. "Yann," I specify.

"Is that why you've been so silent during the ride?"

I sigh and close my eyes. "I'm still trying to find something good in him, you know? But damn, he makes it so hard to."

Will gives a light laugh as he picks up a pebble and throws it in the water. "Yeah, I know. At first I couldn't stand him. Our first encounter ended up in a fight."

At that, my interest is piqued and opening my eyes, I ask, "What happened?"

He smiles as he recalls his first meeting Yann. "He and Ellie had just met. She is so nice, you know?" I try to ignore the adoration in his voice at the last words and focus on the story instead, "She kept being patient while he was being a total asshole. I got fed up. I punched him."

"Way to go, Will. I wish I could punch him too." I say and bump his shoulder while he laughs at my words.

"You should try, it feels good. Especially when he deserves it. Not that I am encouraging violence," he quickly adds as if just realizing what he just said.

"Don't worry, I can't throw a legit punch anyways. Not that I've ever tried," I snicker to myself.
"How did things get okay between you two then?"

Will thinks about it for a moment. "Okay isn't the adjective I would use. Less chaotic, kind of. Yann and I still have our differences but things did get better between us. We're very different and we have very different views on a particular matter."