The Blacker The Berry

Being Persistent

Ebony and Apryl caught up on everything. It seemed as if the duo had never split up. Over the past few days, the two would joke around, do each others' hair and makeup, and gossip about celebrities. Today, Apryl wanted to have a serious heart-to-heart conversation with her younger relative.

"Eb?" Apryl called out to Ebony. She walked into the door frame of Ebony's bedroom. Ebony was too busy having her nose dug into the newest edition of Cosmopolitan.

"Cocoa?!"Apryl yelled. It finally caught Ebony's attention.

"We need to have a very serious talk, only if you don't mind." Apryl replied. She sat down on Ebony's bed. Ebony folded a top right corner of her page and sat the book down on the bed.

"Yeah. Sure, Apryl. What's the issue?" Ebony questioned. Apryl let out a deep sigh.

"Do you have a boyfriend yet?"Apryl asked. Ebony's face balled in confusion. She had no idea where Apryl was going with this.

"No. Why? What's up?"

"Good. Don't get a boyfriend. Not now. They are jerks; they only use you for what they can get out of you. They strip out of your exterior literally, make you feel secure, soothe you with their lies, get you where they want you, and then throw you away. You could give them your all and they still...wouldn't give a shit about you." Apryl informed. Ebony knew she had to be serious because Apryl rarely cursed.

"They take you for granted. They lie. They cheat. They steal. They find your soft spot and apply pressure to it, making you feel weak. They find their way to your blood stream and leech onto you, making you feel like you need them.

Sometimes, I feel like I never wanna fall in love again. Day in and day out, I think to myself where did I go wrong? I loved him unconditionally, went above and beyond for him, did anything he asked; I don't see where I went tragically wrong. I don't see how he could seek somewhere else. But now I see.

I became his love slave. Doing anything he wanted. Doing all his chores. I even risked my innocence to please him. I let him take my most precious jewel, my virginity. Something I could never ever get back. I did all that for him and what did I get in return? Cheated on, stepped on, and told to get out of my feelings. This small situation changed my entire perspective on love." Apryl reflected.

Ebony looked over at Apryl to see tears streaming down her face. She went to wipe them away, but Apryl swatted her hand away.

"Don't dry away the tears. They have to be released soon. Just let them fall. After this, I will shed no more. I refuse to." Apryl told her.

Ebony took her older cousin's words into consideration. Maybe having a boyfriend wasn't something she needed to be interested in. Her schoolwork and self confidence needed to be straightened first.

Apryl stood up to leave, but before she left, she said one final thing to Ebony.

"If you ever find something out, just don't tell anybody." The words lingered in the air. What could Apryl possibly mean?

Ebony went back to school the following day. Everything was the same, pretty typical. She had boarded the bus, listened to her iPod, and sat out in the courtyard by herself.

Meanwhile, not too far from her, Dylan sat with JaySean, whom had his arm around some random girl. Dylan continued to stare at Ebony. Something about her gravitated Dylan to her. He was tired of guessing what it was, he was ready to find out.

Dylan bravely stood up from his seat and strolled over to Ebony. He was a little nervous, but what bad thing could possibly happen?

Dylan stood over her, watching her eyes roam around the courtyard. She eventually glanced up at the tall figure looking down on her.

"Can I help you?" Ebony questioned. Her tone was a little sarcastic, which took Dylan by surprise. After all, he couldn't be too upset. It was a little weird to have someone you barely know stand over you, while you mind your own business.

"Hey. You don't mind if I sit next to you?" Dylan asked. He mentally cursed himself. It was stupid of him to ask. There was clearly more than enough seats for him to sit in.

"Sure." Ebony assured. He sat next to her and smiled. Ebony smiled back.

"I'm sure I didn't get your name. Do you mind telling me it?" Dylan joked. Ebony chuckled.

"What do I need to tell you my name for? That's irrelevant."

"Irrelevant? It is relevant. That's how conversations work. You talk to someone, tell them your name, you know. You never had a conversation before?" Dylan joked. Ebony placed her head down.

"Not with anyone my age." She popped her head up. "But that doesn't matter. There's always room to make friends, I guess."

Dylan prepared to speak again, but he was cut short by the ringing of the first bell. Ebony quickly got up and walked to class. Dylan felt defeated again, but at least he got her to talk to him.

Ebony had finished her day at school. She hadn't seen Dylan since that encounter in the morning. Ebony assumed he was a nice guy. He was also attractive as well, but Ebony was following Apryl's advice. Besides, Ebony had more important things to focus on rather than boys.

Ebony approached her front door and got her key out of her bookbag. The house was oddly quiet, which rarely ever happened.

"I guess Grandma is taking a nap." Ebony mumbled to herself. She set her bags down and plopped on the couch.

Ebony listened to the cold air coming through the air vent. Something wasn't right. The house was oddly quiet. No cars occupied the driveway. Either everyone drove off to a certain destination and didn't warn Ebony, or something wicked happened.

Curiosity overtook Ebony. She slowly rose from the plush couch and tiptoed up the stairs. She peeked her head in each bedroom door, checking for signs of human life.

She had approached Edna's bedroom door. The door was slightly opened, which was typically how Edna closed her door. Ebony knocked lightly on the door. She leaned in next to the door.

No response.

She knocked again, this time more firmly. Still, there was no response. Ebony's eyebrows rose in confusion. She slowly opened the door. Edna laid in bed, the bed covers tucked perfectly. Ebony took a step closer to the bed.

Suddenly, a hair at the back of Ebony's neck rose. Ebony froze.

What could possibly be going on? She questioned to herself. Her grandmother remained motionless, still in her deep sleep.

Ebony walked over to the side of Edna's bed. Edna's face was postured in a very peaceful way, one Ebony hadn't seen in a long time. Ebony smiled.

"Hi, grandma." Ebony greeted. A cool breeze of air brushed past Ebony's hand.

"It's cold in here. Why is the house so cold, Grams?" Ebony asked. Ebony reached over to touch her grandmother, but instead, she felt a hard, cold body.

Scared and confused, Ebony let out a blood-curdling scream.

She hoped that this had NOT happened.

Sorry for taking so long to update. Writers block is a big bitch. Also, sorry for the weird spacing. I used Microsoft Word App to type my chapter, and their spacing system is a little funky.

I'll just go back to Jotterpad. Fuck that shit.

What do yall think of that? What yall think of this chapter? Is Edna dead? If so, how did she die? What if...she's not dead? Maybe she's just cold.

*evil laugh*

More frequent updates is COMING. Sounds great?