The Blacker The Berry

Trouble's Brewing...Again

HERE'S THE NEW UPDATE THAT I PROMISED!

The clock struck 10 a.m. Tameka waited patiently for her family to get up. She had been up since 6 a.m., cleaning around the house. The sight of the two positive pregnancy tests and a crackpipe in the trashcan sent Tameka's blood boiling. At this point, she wanted to either fight or set up a family meeting.

"Momma JUST died and these motherfuckers already starting. Alright, okay." Tameka mumbled to herself. Footsteps trampled down the stairs. Tameka immediately rose, only to see Ebony.

"Ebony?" Tameka called out.

"Yes, mom?" Ebony replied.

"Do you know anything about a pregnancy going on around this house?" Ebony froze. How did her mother even find out? Should she even tell her mother?

"No...why did you ask?" Ebony answered instead. She decided against telling her. After all, it wasn't her pregnancy. She figured Apryl would tell Tameka when she felt ready to.

"Just asking. What about crack smoking in this house?" Tameka questioned, raising an eyebrow. Ebony frowned. To her knowledge, Parish had been clean for a while. Plus, she didn't want to think about her aunt smoking crack.

"No...?" The two stared at each other for a moment. Then, Tameka eased her piercing stare.

"Okay then." Tameka finally answered. Ebony exhaled and went into the kitchen. As she set her Blueberry poptart into the toaster, Apryl came down the stairs.

"Apryl, you know anything about a pregnancy? Like, somebody up in this house?" Tameka blurted. Apryl's eyes grew wide. She and Ebony exchanged glances. She hoped Ebony didn't tell. She didn't want to say anything just yet. Maybe later.

"No? Why? Wassup Auntie?" She replied as calm as possible.

"This morning, I found two positive pregnancy tests in the trash can. I just wanted to know if any of y'all knew about that."

"Nope."

"Of course not. You're a smart girl. You know to wear a condom." Tameka said, tapping Apryl's shoulder. Ebony walked past the two, sipping orange juice. She choked when she caught the last part.

Greg, I told you, we were done. Stop calling, texting, facebooking, fantasizing. Just leave me the hell alone!" Parish yelled into phone, trampling down the stairs. She froze when she saw the rest of her family staring at her. Tameka's stare, specifically, was full of hate. Parish already knew an argument was about to happen. She hung the phone up.

"What's the issue?" She asked.

"Don't play dumb. You know exactly what's going on." Tameka spat.

"Actually...I don't. Please explain."

"Really, Parish? Smoking crack while you're pregnant? I thought you had more sense than that."

"What?!" Parish exclaimed.

"Stop being dramatic! I found the pregnancy tests and crackpipe in the trashcan. Go ahead and admit it." Tameka interrogated.

"Tameka, have you lost your mind? How the hell am I gonna be pregnant with no uterus and I have NOT been smoking crack! Ever! And I told you that. I said this before." That was true. Parish had a hysterectomy a few years prior when she had a cervix cancer scare. It was virtually impossible for her to conceive again.

"Man, whatever. You hella foul for that. Why would you disrespect us and Momma's house like that?" Tameka said.

"I just told you I didn't! Damn! Why do you hate me so much?!" Parish screamed.

"Oh, please! Don't make this all about me! You know exactly what you did! Why can't you just woman up and confess to your wrongs?" Tameka grilled her. The entire house grew silent.

"So, nobody in this house knows anything about this? Random trash in this house just appears? Oh, so what? The ghost put it there?!" Tameka shouted.

Guilt overcame Apryl. It was now or never. It was about time to let her family know about her new addition to the family. Before she opened her mouth to speak, the house phone rang. Everyone froze.

"House meeting adjourned." Tameka demanded.

"Tuh, whatever!" Parish replied, stomping up the stairs. Apryl and Ebony exchanged glances then went about their separate ways.

The next day, Ebony finally returns back to school. Not that she'd been anticipating it anyway. Even though the bullying stopped, she still hated school. She went to her locker before first period to retrieve her books. As she finished, someone came up behind her.

"Hey." The voice greeted. The sound startled Ebony. She jumped and dropped her books.

"I'm so sorry. Let me help you." The voice offered. She looked up. The face was familiar, but she couldn't match a name to it.

"We met before. You remember me? Dylan?" He said, as if he could read her mind.

"Oh yeah. Dylan. Hey." Ebony greeted, playing off not knowing him.

"And I believe your name is Ebony."

"Why, yes, it is."

"Such a beautiful name for a beautiful woman." Dylan remarked. Ebony smiled.

"Thanks, but I'm not looking for all that right now. Just trying to focus on my schoolwork."

"I can't compliment a beautiful woman? But I understand, education is important. I don't want to come off as a creep or someone who's trying to pursue you. I just came by to say hello and good morning. I'll see you around." Dylan said.

Ebony immediately felt stupid. The poor guy was just trying to be nice. Instead, she called him out for hitting on her. What a shame. Her one and only friend could possibly walk away from her.

As she walked to class, a pair of eyes followed her. They had been watching her since she came into the building. The eyes became bloodshot when Ebony talked to Dylan.

"No way she's gonna get him before I do. Payback's a bitch. Time for revenge." Gloria spat, soaked in envy. She been playing nice for a while, but not anymore.

------------------------------
So how was the chapter? Good? Bad? I hoped y'all enjoyed it bc I'm tired asf. I found my book that had the chapters planned out, so updates will be more frequent. But vote and comment. Excuse any mistakes. See you next chapter.