She flopped down on the sofa and picked up a magazine from the table and began thumbing through it looking at the pictures of all the celebrities dressed in the latest fashions. She came across an article written by a young female author, who’d recently published her first book of poetry. In the article the young woman spoke about a rough childhood that included being a victim of molestation and physical abuse. She said she was doing the article to encourage and give hope to other young women/men who may be in a similar situation. She wanted them to know that they didn’t have to be victims forever and that it was up to them whether they chose to take control of their lives and not remain victims forever.
Breezy sat there reading the article with tears still rolling down her face. She didn’t want to be a victim forever and she didn’t want to continue to live this way. She knew in her heart that she was pregnant and she didn’t want to bring a child into the hell that she lived in. She knew that she needed to do something about her situation but she didn’t know how or where to begin. She closed the magazine and laid it back down on the coffee table, thinking that one day she would like to tell the story of how she overcame her horrible childhood.
“Lord, I need you to make a way,” she mumbled before walking into the kitchen to check on the food. She opened the oven to peek inside and check the pork chops. The aroma of the food invaded her nostrils. She slammed the oven door and ran down the hallway to the bathroom nearly knocking Teresa down on her way.
“Watch where the fuck you are going!” Teresa yelled after her as she continued on her way down the hallway. “You almost knocked me down!”
Leaning over the toilet, Breezy continued to gag even after she had nothing left in her stomach to throw up. She stood over the toilet for a few extra minutes just to make sure that she wasn’t going to throw up anymore before washing her hands and rinsing her mouth out. She turned off the bathroom light and went back into the kitchen to finish up dinner.
Teresa was sitting at the table. “You sure been throwing up a lot.” She eyed Breezy, her nostrils flared.
“I think I may have a stomach virus,” Breezy lied.
“Humph.” Teresa let out a chuckle. “You’d better hope so because ain’t no babies coming up in here. So whoever you been lying up with you’d better tell him to take yo’ ass and that little motherfucker in.”
Breezy didn’t reply; she just continued what she was doing. She set a pot of water on the stove for the mashed potatoes.
“You can stand there and act like you don’t hear me all you want, but you’d better hear me because ain’t nobody had no stomach virus that damn long! Pass me a beer out the refrigerator.”
Breezy opened the refrigerator and handed her a beer. She still felt a little bit nauseated and was beginning to sweat from the heat in the kitchen. She just felt bad and wanted to lie down but she knew that if she didn’t finish cooking all hell would break loose.
Teresa continued as she sipped her beer. “I don’t even want your ass here half of the fucking time! You know damn well I don’t want some crying-ass baby in here!”
They heard the front door slam and then Terry yell, “Yo, yo, yo! Where everybody at?”
“In the kitchen, baby,” Teresa replied, her eyes still locked on Breezy. She didn’t like her around Terry at all and whenever they were all in the same room she kept a close eye on Breezy.
Terry walked into the kitchen with a bottle of Henny in one hand and a plastic red cup in the other. “Damn something sure smells good. I’m hungrier than a motherfucker.”
“The food should be done in a little while,” Teresa looked up at him and announced like she had cooked something. “I picked up your favorite, pork chops.”
“Yeah, I’m going to fuck them mofo’s up, too.” He sat down at the table and poured Teresa a shot of Henny in the red cup that he’d been holding and handed it to her.
She took the cup from his hand, taking a sip before placing the cup on the table. “You will never guess what,” she told him.
“Woman, I’m too fucked up to guess. What is it?”
“I think hot ass done went and got herself pregnant. I told her that she had better take that little motherfucker and her own ass wherever she got pregnant at.”
Terry laughed, knowing that if Breezy was pregnant it was his. He laughed because he had Teresa right where he wanted her, believing whatever he told her. “Humph, I know that’s right. I told you that she was hot in the ass. Out there slangin’ pussy every which way.”
Breezy had taken all that she could. Without turning around, she stated through clenched teeth, “Well I guess me and my baby will be staying right here then since this is where my hot ass got pregnant at! Ain’t that right, Terry?”
“What?” he asked like he ain’t hear what she’d said.
“What did you say?” Teresa asked.
Breezy gripped the handle of the pot of water that had been boiling on the stove and when she turned around she dashed all of it in Terry’s face. “You heard what the fuck I said!” Terry fell from his chair onto the floor and yelled out in pain. His skin felt like it was on fire. Breezy wasn’t done though. Before Teresa had a chance to react she blessed her ass right in the temple with that same hot-ass pot. She fell back out of the chair, knocked out cold. Terry was still screaming and holding his face. Breezy grabbed the Henny bottle off the table and started wearing his ass out with it. After getting a few good licks in, she dropped the bottle and ran down the hall. She grabbed her book bag and then ran out of the house. She didn’t stop running until she was at King’s door.
She banged on the door. “Open the door, King! King . . . somebody . . . please open up!”
Annette heard all of the banging and screaming and ran to the door. She snatched it open with King right on her heels. Breezy stood there with blood all over her clothes. “What in the world is going on? Breezy, what are you doing here and where did all that blood come from? Are you hurt?” She started checking her over trying to see if she was okay.
Breezy was out of breath. “I . . . am . . . fine,” she assured her, fighting to catch her breath. “Can I . . . come in?”
Annette helped her inside. “What happened, baby?”
“I just got tired. I hit my ma with a pot and I threw some hot water on Terry. I just couldn’t take it no more, Ms. Annette,” Breezy cried. “I’m tired. I can’t do it anymore.”
King sucked his teeth, unconvinced and not buying her whole “tired” act. “Man, take that drama right back down the street! Don’t nobody want to hear that mess. You say that today and tomorrow you will be right back down there licking their wounds!” he snapped. “Why did you even come here?”
“Okay, King, that is enough! This is my house!” Annette set him straight. She didn’t approve of him talking to Breezy the way that he was. She understood him not believing Breezy and not wanting to deal with her drama anymore but there was no way she would allow him to be cruel and disrespectful in front of her. The child looked like she’d been through enough. “You don’t know what she will do tomorrow. Everybody has a breaking point and just maybe this time she has reached hers. Yes, I was upset with her also and I know that I said I wasn’t getting involved again but there is no way I can just turn her away! You may be acting all hard and stubborn but you know just as well as I do that deep down you still love her to death and if something were to happen to her and we didn’t try to help it would nearly kill you. You and Breezy have been friends for as long as I can remember so it’s time to let the dumb shit go and be here for your friend. Our friends don’t always make the decisions that we want them to and while we may get mad with them we are still supposed to have their back at the end of the day!”
“Man, whatever, I did have her back!” He stormed out, slamming the door.
“Lord, please keep me from putting my foot in that boy’s ass!” Annette said after he was gone. She turned her attention back to Breezy. “Let’s get you cleaned up and then you can tell me all about wh
at happened and we can figure out what to do next.” She went down the hall and got Breezy a shirt and a pair of shorts to sleep in. “Here you go. Take these and go into the bathroom and get cleaned up.”
“Thank you.” Breezy took the clothes from her hand and went into the bathroom. She took a quick shower, got out, and slipped on the clothes that Annette had given her. When she went back into the living room, Annette was sitting on the sofa waiting for her.
“I fixed you a plate; it’s in the kitchen,” she informed her. “Come on.” They went into the kitchen. There was a plate with spaghetti, corn on the cob, and garlic bread sitting on the table.
“Thanks, Ms. Annette, I really appreciate this. It looks so good,” Breezy told her, trying her best not to puke. The smell of the garlic was making her nauseated.
Annette looked at her strangely. “Baby, are you okay? You don’t look so good.”
Instead of responding, she made a dash for the bathroom and threw up. When she was done, she rinsed her mouth out and washed her face again before returning to the living room.
Annette looked really concerned. “What’s the matter, Breezy? Do you have a virus or something?” Before Breezy could respond she added, “It could just be your nerves, you know, by you being upset and all. If you want we could just talk in the morning and I could let you get some rest.”
“No, ma’am, I’m fine. We can talk tonight. Besides, this has been going on for the past three weeks and I haven’t had a period so I am pretty sure it’s not a virus or nerves.” She was tired of keeping everything bottled up inside. She was ready to tell everything and stop carrying around the weight of so many secrets.
Annette’s hand went up over her chest, across her heart. “Oh my goodness, Breezy. Baby, what have you done? I know that you know better than to be messing with these little boys without using protection.”
“I wasn’t out messing with any boys. Terry—”
Annette jumped to her feet, cutting her off. “No, that sorry motherfucker didn’t! I am going to see to it that his ass is put underneath the fucking jail!”
“I will probably be the one going to jail,” Breezy blurted.
Annette looked at her confused. Her hands were on her small hips. “What do you mean? No one is going to lock you up! His sorry ass raped you!”
“No, I’m not talking about for that.” Breezy nervously fidgeted with the end of her shirt. “I threw a pot of boiling hot water in Terry’s face, and I hit him a few times with a bottle of Hennessy.”
Annette threw her head back and burst into laughter. “It’s about damn time! Good enough for his ass! You should’ve killed him!” She continued to laugh.
“There’s more. I hit my ma with the pot. I think that I knocked her out because she fell to the floor and just lay there.”
“Humph, good you didn’t leave that ho out. Baby, I know that’s your mama but she deserves more than that. Don’t you even worry about that mess; they ain’t gone send no cops after you. You want to know why?”
“Why?” Breezy asked curious and anxious to hear.
“Because they know that if y’all have to go to court and you tell about how Terry has been raping you and she did nothing about it even after you told her, the both of them will be up shit creek without a paddle.”
Breezy thought about what Annette was saying and she did have a point. They sat down and talked for a little while longer before Annette announced that she was going to bed. She also let Breezy know that she would be taking her to the clinic the next morning.
Chapter Nine
When King pulled up in front of Vita’s house, he parked on the side of the street and got out of the car. He’d called to let her know that he was coming. As he walked up the driveway he saw the front door open and her standing in it wearing a huge smile.
“Hey, boo,” Vita greeted him once he made it to the door. She was wearing a little strapless dress that she’d put on just before he got there.
“Hey,” he replied dryly.
“What’s wrong, bae?” She took his hand and led him inside, over to the sofa. He sat down and she sat on his lap, caressing the side of his face with her small hand. She kissed him softly on the lips. “Tell me what the matter is.”
“Nothing really, just some ol’ bullshit.” He wasn’t sure if he could tell her Breezy’s business, so he hesitated.
“Well what is nothing really? I’m your girl; you can tell me,” Vita pressed already feeling that it must have something to do with Breezy judging by his hesitation to spit it out.
King let out a frustrated sigh and ran his hand over Vita’s thigh. He needed to get out how he was feeling so he took a deep breath and began. “Breezy came over, before I left, crying and upset about something that her ma had done to her. Normally, I would be there for her but after the last time that me and my ma got involved and she went running right back, I am done with that shit! My ma over there falling for it all over again. I just can’t. She ain’t gon’ do nothing but run right back!”
The jealousy that Vita felt toward King and Breezy’s relationship wouldn’t allow her to tell him that, regardless, he should be there for his friend. She’d been enjoying their separation because it made her feel secure. She’d seen the way that King looked at Breezy and vice versa; the two of them could deny it all they wanted but she knew that there was something more between them than friendship. She’d finally gotten King and there was no way she was about to lose him to some dirty, non-factor bitch like Breezy.
“Don’t let that mess upset you. Just continue to do what you have been doing; ignore her.” She paused and then continued. “I mean I’m not trying to be all up in you all’s business but I have heard a few things about her being abused by her mama and her mama’s boyfriend. I just be thinking that Breezy might be putting on a little bit because if her ma was so mean to her then why don’t she tell somebody and get herself some help?”
He didn’t have an answer to that question because that was something that he didn’t understand himself. “I don’t know,” he replied, not wanting to discuss Breezy anymore. He had something else in mind. “Come on; let’s go upstairs to your room.”
A big grin spread across Vita’s lips as she hopped to her feet. They went upstairs to her room. Within seconds they were both naked underneath the covers and King was sucking on her big, juicy titties. “Damn, I ain’t got no latex. You got one?”
“Nah, but I’m on the shot so you are good,” she told him.
He stopped giving her breasts a tongue bath for a second and looked up at her. “Vita, I ain’t trying to have no babies,” he warned seriously.
“Boy, ain’t nobody trying to baby-trap you! I don’t want no babies either,” she said with an attitude.
“I’m going to ask you to calm your ass down!” he said referring to her attitude before he climbed on top of her positioning himself between her legs and entering her.
Vita smiled inwardly as he moved in and out of her moaning and groaning telling her how good she felt. That’s right, baby, enjoy this pussy because you ain’t going nowhere. She wrapped her legs around his waist and began to move in sync with his movements.
When they were done, King got dressed and kissed Vita, telling her that he would holla at her later.
When he got home he saw a cover on the sofa but didn’t see Breezy. He prayed that she wasn’t in his room in his bed because she was most definitely going to get up out of there. He went in his room and checked but he didn’t see her. “Her ass probably done snuck back down the street to her ma’s house,” he mumbled shaking his head. He’d worked up an appetite with Vita so he went into the kitchen to get a plate of spaghetti. When he walked into the kitchen, Breezy was at the table writing something and listening to her MP3 player. He walked over to the stove and fixed his plate. After heating his food he went into the living room so that he could watch TV while he ate his food and because he didn’t want to sit in the kitchen with Breezy.
The entire time that
King was in the kitchen, Breezy intentionally kept her head down writing. She knew that he didn’t want to be bothered with her and she understood.
King was getting into a rerun of Martin when he heard, “‘You said that when the storm came you’d be there with your umbrella to block the rain. And you said you’d protect me from heartache pain lies loneliness and misery. You said you’d tear down the walls that were in the way you promised things would be okay. And I stood there in the freezing cold and I waited for you but you never showed. Where you at? Ooh, where you at? Boy, you said you would be here for me . . .’”
His food got stuck in his throat and wouldn’t move. Breezy had the voice of an angel and he’d always loved hearing her sing. For some reason this time it felt like she was singing directly to him though. He got up to carry his plate in the kitchen because his appetite was gone. Breezy had stopped writing and her head was resting in her hands as she sang the words of Jennifer Hudson’s “Where You At.” He saw the tears hitting the table and could hear the pain in her voice as she sang.
As much as he wanted to give in at that moment, he just couldn’t allow himself to get wrapped up in her bullshit again. He left out of the kitchen and went into his room, locking the door. He lay back on the bed in the dark and tried to go to sleep but kept hearing Breezy sing the words to that song over and over in his head.
Chapter Ten
Annette and Breezy got up bright and early the next morning. Annette called in to work and let them know that she wouldn’t be in. After getting dressed, Breezy helped Annette fix breakfast so that they could hurry up and get going. She had a lot of things planned to get taken care of that day and wanted to get them all done. She needed to cram everything into this day because she didn’t want to be missing any more days out of school.
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