You Don't Know..What you Don't Know

Chapter One: Summer

Chapter One- Summer

The drive from Richmond to Baltimore takes three hours.

Three hours trapped in a car with your parents feels considerably longer.

Their talk radio station was unbearable, there was no scenery worth looking at, and my brother somehow found new ways to get on my nerves every thirty minutes. By the time boredom turned into frustration, the Baltimore skyline finally appeared in the distance.

Instant relief.

I had always been fascinated by the city. The skyscrapers. The endless rows of brick townhouses. The way everything felt connected.

Close.

In Baltimore, I could walk to a restaurant in fifteen minutes and find amazing food. Back home in Richmond, there were trees, trees, and more trees. Walking to a convenience store took nearly an hour.

The city felt alive.

The moment we arrived, however, Baltimore reminded me it also felt hot.

One hundred degrees hot.

Steam rose from the cobblestone streets, creating a shimmering haze that made the entire neighborhood feel like an oven. My grandparents' house, built in 1903, wasn't helping matters. The aging air-conditioning system had apparently surrendered to the heat weeks ago.

Their row house was long and narrow, squeezed between identical homes that lined the street. It had three levels—a basement, a main floor, and an upstairs where my tiny bedroom sat tucked in the center of the house.

The second my bags hit the floor, I escaped.

Leaving my parents behind without so much as a goodbye, I headed straight for my aunt's house.

Maybe it was rude.

But it was too damn hot to care.

I cut through the alley and pushed open Aunt Desi's door.

"Hey, everybody!" I called.

Years in Virginia had given me a slight Southern drawl, and it always sounded out of place in Baltimore.

Anna looked up from the kitchen table.

As usual, she looked flawless.

Tight blue jeans. Stylish blouse. Perfect hair. Perfect makeup.

Perfect everything.

"Hey, Tia," she said with a smile. "You just get in?"

"Yeah. Took forever." I grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator. "Yiayia's house is like a furnace. I walked over before I melted. You look nice. Going somewhere?"

"Not right now." She shrugged. "Rule number one—you never sit around looking a mess."

Of course that was one of Anna's rules.

"What are you doing today?"

I laughed.

"What am I doing for the next two weeks is the better question. I was thinking about getting some gravy fries and maybe finding Steve or Mike."

Something crossed her face.

Disappointment?

That couldn't be right.

Anna rarely paid much attention to me. She wasn't rude, just... uninterested. We lived in different worlds despite being only two years apart.

"Hey, Tia," she said carefully. "Can I ask you something?"