Sade's Secret

by Sparkle

  “I couldn't lose you too.”

  In my mind, my mom had been lost to me for these past six years. I didn't want to lose her to the penitentiary so I didn't save Calvin because of any sort of compassion for him. My reasons were selfish--I wanted to save my mom from ending her life.

  “I need a shower. I'll be back,” I told my mom.

  When I exited the bathroom twenty minutes later, my mom met me in the hallway and said, “You have company.”

  Crystal, Dena, and Brandon were all seated in the living room. Brandon didn't wait for me to reach the couch. He jumped up and quickly embraced me in his arms. I felt protected.

  “Don't you all supposed to be in school?” I asked as Brandon released me.

  “Our best friend just went through an ordeal, school can wait,” Dena said.

  Brandon helped me to the couch. “Why didn't you call me?” he asked.

  “Stuff just happened so fast. The police was here. By the time everybody left, I was exhausted.”

  “I bet,” Crystal said.

  “So what happened?” Dena crossed her legs under her and leaned forward so she wouldn't miss hearing anything.

  I gave them the condensed version. Brandon remained quiet. I wondered what was going through his mind when I admitted that Calvin was the father of my unborn child.

  My two besties were just glad that I was fine. I asked Dena, “What did you want last night? With everything going on, I didn't have a chance to return your text.”

  Dena said, “We might be signing a record deal soon. Jada got a call from one of the record executives yesterday.”

  I was happy, but with all that had transpired over the last twenty-four hours, I couldn’t muster up the excitement I'm sure Crystal and Dena felt. “That would be great. I hope it works out.”

  Crystal's cell phone rang. “Well, my mom's downstairs,” Crystal said after looking at her cell phone.

  I said, “Thanks for checking on me. I love you guys.”

  “We love you too,” Crystal walked over and hugged me.

  Dena followed suit and hugged me too. “I'm riding with Crystal, so I got to jet too.”

  “I'll call y'all later.” I watched them leave.

  “I had no idea you were going through all that,” Brandon said as soon as Crystal and Dena left out of the apartment.

  “It's not something that I like to talk about.”

  “But we share everything. I thought you felt comfortable talking to me about everything.”

  I could see the pain in Brandon's eyes. “Brandon, I do. It's just that I was embarrassed. Thought you wouldn't want anything else to do with me.”

  Brandon picked up my hand. “I love you, Sade. It's my job to protect you. I knew you didn't like him. If I knew he had been putting his hands on you, I would have shot him myself.”

  I squeezed his hand. “It's good to know you have my back.”

  My mom walked in the room and said, “Brandon thanks for being there for Sade. I'm glad she at least had you to turn to.”

  “I love her Ms. Joyce.”

  “I know you do. Well, I'm going to go talk to the apartment manager.” She looked around the room and said, “We will not be spending another night in this place.”

  Good, I thought.

  Brandon asked, “Do you need me to stay?”

  “No, she's just going downstairs. I'll be okay. I got you, right?” I said, nervously. I was hoping my revelation didn't push him away.

  “You won't get rid of me that easy,” Brandon assured me.

  Brandon kissed me on the forehead and left me alone in the apartment. I smiled, closed, and locked the door behind him. I looked around the apartment. Now that Calvin was out of our lives, my mom and I could get back to living. I've been living a nightmare since the day my mom let Calvin move in. I hadn't had a peaceful night of sleep since the day Calvin raped me. Even though I had put the locks on my door, I didn't sleep peacefully because my dreams would turn into nightmares.

  I’d looked forward to this day. The day that Calvin Thomas wouldn't be a thorn in my side. The day that he would be away from my mother. The day I looked forward to getting my mom back. No matter what happened after today, I was confident that I would be just fine.

  No, turning sixteen hadn't been sweet, but I now had something to look forward to a peaceful life. I rubbed my stomach and thought, “And a child to protect.”

  AUTHOR BIO

  Sparkle is the pseudonym for Essence Magazine bestselling author Shelia M. Goss. Shelia is also the author of the young adult series, The Lip Gloss Chronicles. Besides writing young adult books, she writes books for adults. For more information, visit

  www.sheliagoss.com

  or

  www.sheliagoss.com/sparklewrites

  www.wcpyoungadult.com