A
fantastic enemies to lovers romance about an It girl whose world is upended
when a boy from the past moves into her house after tragedy strikes. For fans
of Ibi Zoboi's Pride, Mary H. K. Choi and Samira Ahmed. Wattpad author Whitney
D. Grandison's traditional publishing debut.
When they're stuck under one roof, the house
may not be big enough for their hate…or their love
When Tyson Trice finds himself tossed into the
affluent coastal community of Pacific Hills, he’s ready for the questions, the
stares, and the total feeling of not belonging in the posh suburb. Not that he
cares. After recovering from being shot and surviving the mean streets of
Lindenwood, he doesn’t care about anyone or anything. He doesn’t even care how
the rest of his life will play out.
In Pacific Hills, image is everything.
Something that, as the resident golden girl, Nandy Smith knows all too well.
She’s spent most of her life building the pristine image that it takes to fit
in. After learning that her parents are taking in a former childhood friend,
Nandy fears her summer plans, as well as her reputation, will go up in flames.
It’s the start of summer vacation and the last thing Nandy needs is some
juvenile delinquent from the ’Wood crashing into her world.
Stuck together in close quarters, Trice and
Nandy are in for some long summer nights. Only, with the ever-present pull back
to the Lindenwood streets, it’ll be a wonder if Trice makes it through this
summer at all.
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1
| TRICE
Getting shot isn’t the worst part. It’s the aftermath
that really fucks you up.
Six months ago, on a dark December night, I was lying in
a pool of my own blood on the living room floor. Six months later, I was
sitting in a car on the way to a new town to start fresh. In some ways, yeah,
the wound had healed. In others, it never would. I didn’t care, though. The
last thing I’d cared about got me where I was.
“You’ll like it there, Tyson. The Smiths have prepared a
new home for you,” Misty from social services was saying as she drove the long
stretch of highway toward Pacific Hills. It was only an hour away from where I
used to live in Lindenwood, California.
I didn’t respond. Home was
a meaningless word to me now.
Misty peeked at me. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”
“I can leave as soon as I turn eighteen, right?” That was
all that mattered. Fuck the rest. Five months, aka one hundred and sixty days,
to go. On November twelfth, I’d be free.
Misty sighed. “Look, I know what you’re going through—”
“Word? You’ve been shot too and all’at?” I glanced her
way. This lady was going home to a million-thread-count sheet-and-pillowcase set, resting easy once I was off her
hands.
Fuck outta here.
“Well, no, but—”
“Then shut up.” I faced the road ahead, done talking.
Misty let out a breath, her light tan skin no doubt
holding a blush upon her cheeks. “Do you kiss your—” She caught herself, as if
realizing where she was about to go. “I—I’m sorry. You just shouldn’t speak
that way.”
I felt an ache in my chest, but I let it go.
I didn’t care.
Half a beat later Misty was rambling on about food. “Do
you wanna stop and get something to eat, you must be starving.”
“I told you I wasn’t hungry.”
“Oh, well, are you nervous?”
I hadn’t thought about being nervous or the fact that I
would never return home again and lead a normal life. Not like I’d ever led one
to begin with.
“No.”
“Well, good. Think of it as going to a sleepover at an
old friend’s house.”
One thing was true, the Smiths were old friends, but this
setup was for the next five months.
“It’s been ten years since I last saw them,” I spoke up.
“This ain’t no damn sleepover, and it’s not about to be all kumbaya, neither.”
At least they were black. Moving into the uppity setting
of Pacific Hills was sure to be hell, but at least I would be with a black
family. Even if I wouldn’t exactly fit in.
I didn’t look the same. I didn’t act the same. I wasn’t the same. And I didn’t care.
“Tyson—”
“It’s Trice.” I had asked her to call me that from jump
street. No one called me Tyson.
I didn’t want to think about that. I didn’t want to think
about anything. I didn’t care.
“Trice, please, try? I know it’s been rough these past
few months, but you have a chance at something fresh. The Smiths are good
people, and Pacific Hills is a lovely town. I’m sure soon you’ll be close to
your old self.”
Misty had no clue what she was talking about. My old
self? She obviously hadn’t paid attention to my file, or she would’ve been
smart enough to leave it at fresh
and not bring up my
past.
Tyson Trice was dead.
He died on the f loor in the living room that day, and he
was never coming back.
When I didn’t respond, Misty let up, probably getting
that I didn’t give a shit either way.
I didn’t care.
2 | Nandy
I told myself
I didn’t care about the juvenile delinquent my parents were moving into our
home. I told myself it was no big deal an ex-con would be sleeping right next door to me. I told
myself that my parents hadn’t made the worst decision in everdom.
It was just
an everyday occurrence in the Smith household.
Still, it
wasn’t fair.
As I paced
around the pool in my backyard and complained to my best friend, Erica Yee,
over the phone, I expected her to be on my side and console me.
“This was
supposed to be a great summer and they pull this?” I whined.
“You can
still have a good summer,” Erica responded. “This doesn’t have to be the end.”
But it was
the end. My parents hadn’t gone into detail about the boy’s situation, just
that he was in a “rough spot” and would be living with us for now. And that he
was from Lindenwood, otherwise known as the ghetto.
I’d never
gone there, but I’d heard enough stories to know to be cautious. When my
parents watched the news, there was always a segment on some tragedy that had
happened in Lindenwood. Some high-speed chase, or little kids killed during a drive-by, or a robbery gone wrong among the usual clutter of
crime that kept the LPD busy. Lindenwood was notorious for its drugs, thefts,
assaults, and murders.
I shivered.
It probably
hadn’t been the best idea to stay up lurking on the local news feeds right
before the delinquent moved in.
Everything
would be ruined.
“It is the
end,” I insisted. “I mean, they spent all this time whispering and having these
hushed conversations behind closed doors, and they barely revealed last night
that he’s from Lindenwood!”
Maybe I was
acting childishly, but I felt like a kid with the way my parents had shut me
out on the biggest detail of all when it came to the boy coming to stay with us
out of nowhere. For two weeks, they’d been scarce on the topic and evaded any
and all questions. Now it felt like they’d dropped a bomb on me.
For all I
knew, this kid was a total ex-gangbanger and my parents were intent on opening our home
to wayward souls.
Dramatic?
Sure.
Precautions?
I was definitely taking them.
“Right now,
you’re probably pacing around your pool in a Gucci bikini while your happily-in-love parents are inside preparing dinner together. God,
Nan, your life is incredibly boring. You could use this delinquent to spice
things up.”
Well, it was
a Sunday evening, and the sun was beginning to set. My parents always made
dinner together on Sundays, because they were both off work and able to do so.
I stopped
pacing and glanced down at my white Gucci bikini. “Yee, you try new hobbies to
spice things up, not invite ex-cons to move in with you. Look, whatever, let’s just get
away for a few hours. The longer I put a halt on this, the better.”
“When is he
supposed to show up?”
“Sometime
today. I just wanna blow it off. Maybe you, me, and Chad could grab a bite at
the club or something.”
My
boyfriend’s family had a reserved table at the local country club. Anything
would be better than dinner with the delinquent. I wasn’t 100 percent sure he was
a criminal, but I wasn’t taking any chances. When it came to Lindenwood,
you couldn’t be too sure.
“You in?” I
asked.
“If we
must.” Erica pretended to sound exasperated. “Call me with the details in
twenty, okay?”
“Deal.” I hung
up and sighed, tilting my head back toward the darkening sky and questioning
what I had done to deserve this.
It was the
first week of June, and school had ended last week. I intended to spend this
summer before senior year going to beach bonfires and parties with my friends,
lounging around, preparing for cotillion, and just staying as far away from
home as possible.
With a plan
in motion, I went around my pool and stepped into our family room through the
patio doors.
“Shit!” I
jumped back, dropping my phone and barely registering the sound of its rough slap
against the hardwood floor.
My parents
were standing in the room with an Asian woman who was dressed in a violet-red pantsuit. But it was
the boy beside her that startled me. He towered over my father, with broad
shoulders and a wide chest, and arms that let me know he worked out, even
though he seemed drenched in black with his long-sleeved shirt and matching pants. He had deep, dark brown skin with a
clean complexion. But what really stood out was his hair. The boy had cornrows
braided to the back of his head—well-aged cornrows.
Ugh, he
looked so unpolished.
Suddenly I
remembered my fallen phone and looked down to discover the screen was cracked. Because
things aren’t messed up enough already.
“And you
remember our daughter, Nandy.” My mother played it cool, gesturing toward where
I’d frozen near the patio doors.
Everyone
faced me, looking just as uncomfortable as I felt.
Great, I was
making my first impression completely inappropriate in a bikini.
Awkwardly, I
waved and forced a smile onto my face, showing off the result of two years of
braces.
“Nandy, this
may be a little bit of a surprise, but you remember Tyson Trice, don’t you?”
my father asked, looking between the two of us.
At first,
the name vaguely rang a
bell, but then it hit me. Tyson, the boy I’d played with when I was
younger. He used to come by in the summers when his grandfather would do lawn
work around our subdivision. There’d been a few times during the school year
when he’d come by too, but it was mostly a summer thing. Until he stopped
coming altogether.
The
revelation brought a sense of relief followed quickly by a foreign anger that I
couldn’t explain.
That was
then; this is now.
Now Tyson
Trice had hit a mega growth spurt and stood before me nearly a man, appearing
not at all like the seventeen years young that we both were.
“Right.” I
nodded my head. “Tyson, hey.”
Tyson didn’t
shift focus to my body. He stared straight into my eyes and bore no friendly
expression or a tell of what he was thinking. He was far across the room, but I
didn’t need to be right up on him to know that he had the angriest eyes I’d ever
seen. Dark, soulless abysses stared at me, making me shiver.
Right on,
Dad. Thanks for inviting a possible murderer into our home.
“And this is
our son, Jordy.” My mother didn’t miss a beat as she went on, downplaying how
awkward everything was.
Jordy, my
eleven-year-old little brother, was sitting against the ottoman,
playing a video game on his handheld.
Tyson
glanced at Jordy, and I felt protective, seeing curiosity briefly cross his
face as he laid eyes on my Thai brother.
Jordy looked
up from his game. “Hey.”
Tyson lifted
a brow and turned to face my parents in that familiar way most outsiders looked
at my family once they realized a black family was raising a Thai son.
Jordy
smirked, shaking his head. “They wish they could’ve spawned a kid as good‑looking as me.”
My father
chuckled. “We spoke about adopting for years after having Nandy, and right
around the time she was eight, we got approved and Jordy came into our lives.”
“He was just
two years old,” my mother gushed. “He was so adorable, we fell in love with him
instantly.”
I came more
into the room, wanting to shield my brother from Tyson. Someone had to think of
the kids.
“Nandy, why
don’t you go put some clothes on.” It wasn’t a question. My mother was ordering
me to cover up and look more presentable for our guests.
“I was
actually on my way out to meet up with Erica, we’ve got this—”
“Right now?”
she asked. “We’ve got company.”
I glanced at
Tyson, hating him again for spoiling my summer. I’d seen him, and I’d spoken to
him. What more did she want?
“Yeah, but
Erica and I had plans to go to the country club and talk about cotillion.”
My mother
pursed her lips. “Nandy—”
“You know
what,” my father stepped in, “that’s a great idea. Nandy could take Tyson and
the two could get reacquainted, and that’ll give us time to talk to Ms. Tran
here.”
My eyes
practically shot out of their sockets. There was no way in hell I’d share a car
with Tyson.
After
thinking it over, my mother seemed to agree. “That is a great idea. We can all
sit down together later.”
My jaw hit
the ground.
I shook my
head. “You know, never mind, suddenly I’m not as hungry as I thought. In fact,
I feel sick to my stomach. I think I’ll go lie down.”
By the way
my mother narrowed her eyes, I knew she’d be giving me hell later about my
behavior. I didn’t care. It wasn’t fair to me to force some scary-looking guy into my hands
to be babysat.
With one
final look at the newest arrival to the Smith household, I picked up my phone
from the floor and made my way up to my room.
Long after
Ms. Tran had left and my mother had scolded me in our family office, I sat in
my room, maneuvering with a broken phone as I texted my boyfriend. Going on a
hunger strike didn’t last long for me. After having refused to go down for
dinner, I was starving.
My cell
phone chirped as Chad texted me back.
Chad: Outside
Me: Thank God
My parents
were probably still up, no doubt discussing either my punishment or how we
were going to work Tyson into the family.
With their
bedroom being in a different wing of our house, sneaking out was always an easy
feat. Still, I made sure to keep extra quiet as I crept out of my room and
slipped down the staircase.
Chad was
waiting for me out front. He’d been pacing back and forth in front of our walk
as he waited, and as I stepped outside I was elated to see him.
“I’m
thinking sushi, you in?” I asked as I walked past him, heading for his car.
“Yeah, sure.
What’s going on?” Chad asked as he caught up to me and fell into step.
I peered up
into his blue eyes. “You don’t want to know.”
Chad ran a
hand through his auburn hair, appearing confused but conceding. “O-kay, let’s go get some sushi.”
At the
feeling of being watched, I glanced back at my house. On the second floor,
through one of the large bay windows, I caught sight of a silhouetted figure.
It was him.
Creep.
I turned
back to Chad and reached out and caught his hand. “Yeah, let’s get out of
here.”
This was my
summer, and no one was getting in the way of that.
Excerpted from A Love Hate
Thing by Whitney D. Grandison. Copyright © 2020
by Whitney Grandison. Published by Inkyard Press.
About the Author
Whitney D. Grandison was born and raised in Akron,
Ohio, where she currently resides. A lover of stories since she first picked up
a book, it’s no surprise she’s taken to writing her own. Some of her works can
be found on Wattpad, one of the largest online story-sharing platforms, where
she has acquired over 30,000 followers and an audience of over fifteen million
dedicated readers.
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