Rebel

Chapter 19: Love Me Harder

I expected my parents to scream and yell at me. I also expected them to dislike Danny. The night had been full of surprises for each and every one of us but it didn't put a damper on things. I would have never thought that having Danny on my arm would have eventually led to a better relationship with my parents. It was like a switch had flipped and my need to stay away from them disappeared. It was their energy that told me that everything would be okay from now on. I decided that we should spend the night at my house simply because I craved the feeling of safety and love that I got just from being under the same roof as my mom and dad, just like when I was a little girl.

"You're all grown up now. You're not my tiny little pigtail wearing cowgirl anymore," my dad added as he patted the top of my head. "You've experienced more than what most seventeen year olds have experienced. I didn't want any of this for you, but the Lord had other plans. I think you're ready for this," Mom said. I could finally breathe knowing that they were on board with the idea of having a grandchild. Between the two of them and Danny, that was all the approval that I could have ever asked for and it felt amazing. This was what I had always wanted in a family and now I was getting the chance.

I didn't feel like taking the ride all the way across town considering the fact that we sat in that booth until they were closing up and cleaning the floors, so I knew that it had gotten pretty late. "You can have the guest room if you want," Dad said, turning to me and Danny. "Thanks Daddy,"I said as I stood on the tips of my toes to kiss his cheek. He wrapped his arms around me and nearly squeezed the air out of my lungs. "I'm so glad you're home," he said with a sniffle. It reminded me of being a little girl all over again. This time, he was willing to let me camp out in the guest room. Some nights as a kid, I would slip off to the guest room in the middle of the night just to play pretend. Sometimes I wanted to be a princess and pretend it was my castle and other times, I would stay up all night fantasizing about filling the walk-in closet with tons of beautiful clothes and shoes.

The guest room was pretty much the size of at least four rooms in our house. It came equipped with a microwave, a flat screen television, and a mini fridge. The bed was gigantic and so was the closet. Mom and Dad disappeared to their bedroom with a few giggles here and there and I was glad that they hadn't started groping each other. That was a sight that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. Danny and I were left alone to get settled in our room. "Damn, I didn't know that you were balling like this," he said as he pounced onto the bed. I sat at the vanity mirror and ran a brush through my hair a few times before piling it up on top of my head.

"Well, that's what happens when black women score a nice white man. He treats her like a queen and that's how she got her palace," I said with a wink as I wiggled out of my pants in order to join him in bed."Wait. Your mom is black?!" he asked in total shock. Laughter erupted from the pit of my stomach. I swear, that was one thing that I really got a kick out of. My father was white, but most of my traits came from my mom. She was a bit more pale than even the average light-skinned woman. Everyone always noted the similarities between the two of us from our smiles, face shape, height, and even down to the freckles that neatly decorated our faces. I even got my long, rust-colored hair that I often dyed jet black from her. There for a while I didn't even have to get carded to buy cigarettes because a few cashiers often mistook me for her. You could tell that she had a more mature look and had more than a few gray hairs. For a good portion of my life, people that knew our family referred to me as "Little Missy." Even in her forties, she still could have passed for thirty and eventually I admitted to myself that we could have passed as twins.

"I can't believe you thought she was white!" I laughed boastfully. I looked down at my arms, noting my own honey colored skin. "I can promise you that this isn't a tan," I said with a smirk still on my face. All he could do is roll his eyes. "You learn something new every day," he said, shrugging his shoulders.