20

Bethany

I couldn't stop laughing with that gun pointed at James. Honestly, my mother was showing me why I was crazy and I was living for it.

Janet looked at me like I was crazy. "What the hell is funny?"

"This is." I wiped the tears that were falling from my eyes as I held my stomach. "My stomach hurts."

Tika had long and sat back down. I knew she was scared out of her mind by her facial expression.

James was sweating bullets, had even grown some hair on his scalp, mind you this nigga is bald.

"Why so quiet James?" Judy asked with her head tilted.

"Say something to her." Janet mumbled my way.

I pouted. "Do I have to? I'm enjoying this."

JJ gave me a look and I knew I had no choice.

"Mama... you gotta put the gun down." I slowly walked her way as I spoke. "It's not worth it, I know it seems like you have nothing to lose, but it's not worth it. Think this through, your license is at stake. You're a federal judge for Christ Sake."

My mother looked from me to James and finally she sighed.

She let out a shot and I jumped and closed my eyes on instinct.

"Shit!" Tika cursed.

I opened my eyes and saw that James was patting his body down. He wasn't shot but instead there was a bullet hole in the wall next to him.

The kids came running in. Nadia asked panicking. "Did she shoot him?!"

We all looked at the kids. "Kids please go back to the room. Everything's all right." Janet assured them.

My mother let me grab the gun from her and she shook her head harshly. "Get out of my house."

James tried to speak. "Judy—."

"Get out! Everyone just leave!" My mom snapped and she didn't have to tell Tika to leave twice.

She jolted out of the house and James wack self followed.

Janet stood still. "Should we leave?"

My mother had disappeared to her room and I knew the last thing she wanted to do right now was to talk.

I nodded slowly. "Yeah, let's give her some time."

I uncocked the gun and took the bullets out. Once I did I sat the gun on the table.

"What are you doing?" JJ asked me as the kids grabbed their coats.

"Don't want her to get any ideas in the night time. Lord knows how many times I did. It'd be 4 am and I'd wanna slit that mans throat."

"Too much information." We both giggled and the kids finally came back into the dining room. "Come on, let's go."

"I'll met you at the car. Let me tell her I'm leaving."

Janet nodded at me and her and the kids exited the house. I walked towards my mothers room and her door was shut.

I knocked. "Ma, I know you aren't going to open the door, and I don't expect you to. I'm about to leave but if you need anything, call me. No matter what time. If you want me to fight her when that baby drops, that's fine, I'll be waiting outside the hospital when she gets discharged."

The door didn't open but I felt her sit down on the other side of the door. "Really?"

My head moved up and down. "On gang, I'll beat her up again. I'll take one for the team."

"No, don't go fighting." My mother sighed. "Damn it, I should have shot him."

"Yeah. You should've."

Her vocal tone lifted higher. "Bethany!"

"What? You want me to lie? I'm not going to lie to you ma. I didn't say kill him, you just shoulda shot him."

"My child, my child." She chuckled again. "Well Merry damn Christmas right?"

"Yeah, your grandkids throughly enjoyed the show they received this grand holiday."

"My poor grandkids think grandmas crazy. Hell, I am, but I ain't want everyone to find out on Christmas."

I frowned at her response. "We still and will always love you. Crazy or not."

In my ears, it sounded like my mother began to pace. "Lord he then lost his mind. His entire damn mind. On the Lords holiday. I'm going to church Sunday, cause I gotta repent about this."

A chuckled left my lips as I excused myself. "Okay, I'm glad that you're at least cracking jokes. JJ and the kids are waiting for me."

"Okay, we will talk soon. Love you."

"I love you too mama." I got up and walked out the house after turning the bottom lock.

When I made it to the car, JJ asked me a question. "Y'all talk?"

"Through the door? Yeah." I sighed. "She won't open the door, probably didn't want me to see her cry."

Kendrick placed his input into our conversation. "That Tika woman crazy, act like imma let her make faces at y'all. She'll get beat up, I'll make a call to the hood, I don't play about y'all."

"Yeah baby." Janet began. "Since all the truths coming out—."

"I mean does she do that on the regular? Cause she's disrespectful." Nadia commented.

"Well what I was trying to say was—."

Kendrick cut JJ off. "Exactly. So disrespectful, and she rude. Who raised her. I feel sorry for that child of hers."

"You're a child of hers." Janet commented loud enough for the kids to hear.

The car rides volume dropped to an all time low and all you heard was the tires traveling on the road.

"Wait what?" KD asked, almost as if he didn't hear what my girlfriend said.

Janet's head dropped and I began speaking. "Kendrick, Tika is your birth mother."

"Does she know that she's my birth mother?" Kendrick asked me just to back track. "Of course she does. Of course she does! That explains the staring. Why didn't y'all tell me?"

"We didn't know how to tell you." Janet told him the truth. "So we are telling you now."

"So I was just some charity that you took on for your ex wife?" He shot out.

"How do you know she's my—."

Kendrick cut Janet off. "That kitchen argument wasn't exactly quiet."

My eyes widened and I looked back at him. "Hey, tread easy. You are not charity, we knew we wanted to adopt you way before we knew you were Tika's child."

"You honestly expect me to believe that? I'm not stupid Bethany." He shot at me.

Snapping back wasn't an objective for me at the moment, I knew he was going through something so I let him have it.

"They didn't say that KD." Nadia tried to calm him down.

"Yeah." Janet agreed as she pulled onto our street. "We didn't say that."

He scoffed as Janet parked the car in the driveway. "I need air."

When he got out the car he took off walking towards the street.

Janet sighed. "I'll go, stay here with Nadia."

"No." I quickly responded. "Let me. I'll be back."

"Be careful please." She instructed me.

I turned back as I nodded. "Of course."

For a few, I had no idea where he could have went. I checked the bench and he wasn't there.

Mind you it is freezing, but still I was walking through this neighborhood.

Finally I came upon the park and saw his figure sitting at a table. His back was to me so I knew he didn't see me.

I walked up to the table and sat next to him.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled out.

Shaking my head slightly, I responded. "Nothing to be sorry for. Anyone would have had that reaction."

"Did y'all do it out of pity?" Kendrick looked at me, and I could tell that question was simply tugging at his heart.

"No." I responded honestly. "Janet didn't know that Tika was your mother. I found out, and after I did I found out that they were married. Janet had already talked about adopting you before that conversation even happened in the kitchen."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Put it on God."

"Boy." I warned him.

He shrugged before putting his head down. "How come she ain't want me? What did I do? How come she just gave up a child just to get pregnant and have another child? Was I not enough?"

That last question sent me right back into the headspace of finding out I was adopted.

"Wanna know something?"

"Sure."

"Grandma Judy didn't raise me. In fact we just met a few months ago." I explained. "She's my real mother, yes, but she gave me up when I was little."

"Seriously?" He asked me as he looked up at my face.

I nodded. "Seriously and Janets adopted. Her real parents passed when she was younger. We understand what you mean when you ask that question, but you are good enough KD. Never doubt that, they weren't thinking, but honestly they made a decision for the best. Look at you now—."

"A dope dealers son, left to the streets and barely making it. He decides to sleep on a park bench because it's better than going into the foster system. Gets found by a lesbian couple and they live happily ever after. Yeah right."

"You never know, some fairytales do come true." I mumbled a response.

"Oh really? Are you and Janet a fairytale?"

"Hell yeah. We are like a hood side of Cinderella." I joked.

"More like a hood version of Beauty and The Beast."

"Hey now, I better be the Beauty."

"If you say so Bethany." He shot back playfully and we laughed. "You not so bad after all ya know."

"I've been trynna tell you!" I exclaimed.

He looked at me again. "Did I hurt Janet's feelings?"

"Nah. She's got tough skin." I nudged his shoulder. "Trust me, I should know."

"You just nasty." Kendrick commented.

"How?!" I asked him as I laughed.

"Don't nobody wanna hear about you and Janet's sex life. Trust you, you should know. Alright McNasty."

"Bye! I meant because before we dated we used to argue. A lot. Like us now compared to back then... we have grown so much. So you are the McNasty of this conversation sir."

He laughed. "My bad."

Something fell on my forehead and I jumped. "What the hell?"

"Yo Momma B, chill. It's just snow." His head was tilted up towards the sky and when I looked up it in fact was beginning to snow.

"Come on, I'm sure Janet's worried about us."

Kendrick nodded and lifted up from the table as we began the walk back to the house.

<><><><><>

Ahh back at it again with the kids P.O.V !

Nadia

"Momma J." I called out into her room door.

She looked up from what she was doing on her laptop. "Yeah?"

"Can we talk?"

"Of course." She patted the mattress next to her. "Come on."

I climbed on the bed next to her and began talking. "I wanna model."

Momma J looked at me and smiled. "Really?"

"Yeah. I mean I think I could do it."

"You can do it. Don't think, know. Anything you put your heart into, it'll come out amazing."

"Do you think my mom would let me?"  I asked her honestly.

"Of course. Why wouldn't she?"

I made a face. "Oh y'all haven't had that conversation yet have y'all?"

"What conversation?"

"My mom has always told me no. She said that modeling wasn't something ideal in her eyes, she just had a passion for it. So I guess I won't be modeling."

Momma J begged to differ. "Uh, I think we will have a conversation before a solid no is given out. That's what I guess."

"Wait you'll talk to her?"

"Yeah. I'll talk to her."

Smirking, I knew that she would. One thing off the list. It wasn't that I was using Momma J—

Okay I might be using Momma J.

But—

She is the only one that has way power over my mother.

Her and Grandma Judy and I don't think I wanna risk talking to Grandma right now with Tisha being pregnant by James.

"Thank you Momma J!" I hugged her and she laughed.

"No problem."

We heard the front door open and I jumped off the bed. "Ssh. I was never here."

I took off running towards my room and jumped on my bed. I calmed my breathing right when my mom came in my room.

"Hey princess."

"Hey momma, hows KD? He alright?" I asked about my brother.

She nodded. "Yeah sweetheart. He's fine. He's talking to Janet."

I nodded then. "Ma, can I please ask you something?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

I shifted because I didn't quite know how to start the conversation. "Why won't you let me model? I mean I have a passion for taking pictures and I think I'd do good at it. But you don't believe in me. Which sucks, because it's not like I'm asking you can I go be a prostitute."

My mother stood in silence for a minute and I had already made up my mind that I was going to get beat on Christmas Day.

Finally she spoke. "Nadia, I do believe in you, it wasn't the fact that I didn't think you could do it sweetie. Honestly, it wasn't that at all. Child, look at me, I know you can do it. Your father was just— he was controlling and I didn't want you to experience what I did with that. Nadia if you want to model, then you can model."

"Seriously?" I jumped up from excitement. "Momma don't play with me."

"I'm not playing. You can model. I'll call my manager and set something up. We will get it done."

"Janet is really making you happy." I commented smirking. "Oh, by the way, if she mentions the modeling thing to you, then just bypass it."

My mother raised her eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

"I didn't think you'd say yes!"

"Nadi!" KD pushed passed my mom and came towards my bed. "I heard you wanna model, and if you modeling then I am too! I wanna be on some Calvin Klein type stuff."

My mother laughed. "Boy, do you seriously wanna model?"

"Yes!" I answered for him. "Come on KD, it'll be fun, both of us together, taking over the modeling world."

He shrugged. "I'm in, if and I mean if, you beat me in a 8ball game."

I unplugged my phone from the charger. "Now see, you then messed up. Let's get it."

He climbed on the foot of my bed. "Send the game then Shane!"

My mother shook her head at us. "Goodnight you two, I have to go give Janet her late Christmas present. If you hear screams, it's Janet being— I don't know. Just know we are alright."

"McNasty!"

"Eww! Momma!"

She stuck out her tongue and closed our bedroom door.

"Ya momma nasty." KD teased me.

"Nah." I countered it. "Our momma nasty. I'm not by myself."

"Whatever. Don't shot that black ball in sis."

I scoffed. "Never that. Get ready to pose for that camera, bro bro."

"Ricky Bobby head ahh." He shot back.

We both laughed. "Man whatever."

—

Ahh guys I have a surprise! Y'all gone be geeked. Look guys, everything isn't as in tact as y'all think it is. Whew, man I had to pause the double updates for this one.

Trust me, everything y'all thought happened..... lol it didn't. So y'all might wanna hit this one up. Things are getting a little bit crazier.

Of course, I'm not stopping this book, but... I'm kind of at a standstill.....

Do y'all want me to work on The Innocent Woman AND publish Pitch Black?

Or, do you want me to finish The Innocent Woman and then publish Pitch Black?

I'm coming through with the Dark Sequel and more than likely this book will have a sequel as well. So y'all just keep looking out for new works from me.

Oh and I just wanted to thank everyone for supporting me throughout all my various books and ventures on this app! Y'all really warm my heart ! ❤️