'Jules' mind went back under the moonlight and night air of Baldwin's Fine Arts Center Garden, where intense anger shifted into an intimate moment of curiosity with a blow of the wind.
Maybe two flames weren't supposed to be that close when raging...
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"I'll give you all of me until nothing is left."
–Childish Gambino
JULES WOKE TO THE GREY HUE of mid-morning, the absence of a body wrapped above hers interrupted her premature slumber.
She hadn't meant to dose off wrapped in one of Raheem's jersey's she'd claimed as her own.
She'd been waiting for him since he'd left that night, patiently filling the dark hours with senseless tasks to deflect the fact that she longed for his knock at the door.
Her lamp still left a glow in the room while the television played; they both reminded her exactly where she'd left off.
Her hand hovered over her phone like a crane atop of her wooden nightstand. She tried her best not to panic — not to think that the worse had happened after Raheem decided to visit home.
After finding out about his family's history, a plethora of possibilities raced her mind.
Was there an invasion, a shoot-out, had someone followed him on his way back to Baldwin and done the worse to him in revenge?
"The game," as Raheem would like to call it, made her question every moment that went on too long.
She sighed.
Would this be her life now?
Jules pressed on Raheem's contact to call. She sat up in the bed to wake herself up. Her leg bounced against the mattress as she listened for his voice.
After a few moments, it sounded.
Thank God, She exhaled in her mind.
"Yeah," Raheem answered on his end with sleep laced into the bass of his voice.
"Did you forget to at least let me know that you weren't coming over? I was up waiting on you," She scolded.
"My bad, time just slipped away from me." He apologized, sincerity empty from his words.
"You had me sitting here like a fucking idiot Rah," She breathed and looked at the clock, "It's two in the morning -- you didn't think to give me a heads up two hours ago?"
"Yeah --- it's two in the morning, you really think I want to sit and argue over this right now?" He questioned.
Jules scoffed, "So are you staying there?"
"Yeah," He answered, "It's too late to head back over anyway."
"Did you realize that before or after you laid down?" She quizzed.
He was quiet on the other end, possibly debating on whether to argue or not.
"Look, baby," He sighed in slumber, "I got held up here helping my dad pack, I laid down for a minute to rest and the next thing I knew it was twelve in the morning. Everything's fine, I'll be there in the morning to walk you to class -- aight?"
