Jeremiah
"Aye for y'all just now tuning in, we got Jeremiah Carter here with us on The Breakfast Club." DJ Envy said into his mic. "Lil Carter, say what's up to the people."
I laughed and leaned forward. "What's up guys. I'm glad to be here, thank y'all for having me." I said. After the video with me and that police officer went viral, my parents put together a radio interview for me to talk about it and the reality of police brutality. They let me choose which station I wanted to do it for, and I chose The Breakfast Club.
"So let's get down to business. The video." Charlamagne started. "We've all seen it, we've heard your statements, but what do you have to say about it now?"
I sighed. "I mean, police brutality against black people has always been really bad in the US. You'd think we'd be moving forward since the civil rights days, but nah, we're still fighting for equality. I think it's real sad." I said shaking my head. "I'm lucky my friend was recording though, because I had no idea. I got pulled over because the officer thought my windows were 'too tinted' which they weren't, then he asked me to get out of the car. Things went south and y'all saw the rest. He had no reason to pull me over aside from the fact that I'm black and I drive a nice car. He was suspicious and made his judgement before I had the chance to talk with him. It's bull-crap."
"Well said." Angela nodded. "Thanks for sharing that with us, Jeremiah. I've been really curious to know, has legal action been taken against that police officer?" She asked.
"Legal action has been taken. My parents are handling it." I said. "There isn't much I can tell you besides that."
"We'll take that." Angela said. "I'm glad to hear something's being done. Shoutout to Beyoncé and Jay for taking action." She nodded and clapped her hands.
"Amen to that." Charlamagne nodded. "What are your thoughts on police brutality, generally speaking? Like you said, it's always been a big problem here. What else do you want to add before you head out?"
I thought for a minute before speaking again. "I definitely think it's a big issue, especially in this country. Now I respect police officers and I appreciate their service, don't get my words twisted, but I don't respect the officers that abuse their power and harm innocent people, especially black people. It's an everyday thing too, it's not like it's a random situation. Everyday innocent black men and women are targeted for being black. What are we supposed to do when the people who are supposed to be protecting us are the ones who are killing us? We have to come together and take a stand against violence. I'm tired of seeing these young men and women getting shot over nothing. It's senseless."
"Good point, good point." Charlamagne nodded. "I agree with you man, every last word. I'm glad you seem to know what you're talking about. Sometimes we got people who come up in here and say complete shit."
"True that." DJ Envy nodded.
"I try to keep myself as informed as possible. I always want to know what's going on in the world, whether it directly effects me or not." I said. "Stay woke y'all."
"You heard him, stay woke y'all." Charlamagne said laughing. "Well Jeremiah, thanks for stopping by and giving us some insight on the situation. We're glad you're okay. Tell Bey and Jay we said wassup."
"Will do man. Thank you." I smiled and dapped him up. I went around and said bye to everyone before meeting my dad down in the lobby. I know he was listening to the interview on his phone.
"Your mom called, she wanted me to tell you she was listening and you did very good. She's proud of you." My dad said once I got to him.
I smiled. "Awesome, I'll call her in the car."
"Aight." My dad nodded. "You did do good though. I'm proud of you too." He said as we were walking out.
"Thanks." I smiled. We were heading back to the car when I saw one of my least favorite people in the world. This chick Madison that I used to mess around with a few months back. We were just kicking it and everything was cool until she wanted a relationship and I'm not into that. I had to end things with her and I don't think she ever got over it.
"Hi Jeremiah." Madison said, looking between me and my dad.
(Madison ^)
"Uh, hey." I said, still confused as to why she was here. "What are you doing here?"
Madison just looked at me. "I need to talk to you."
"I'll be in the car." My dad said and left us alone. I'm glad he did because I don't know what the hell she wants.
I sighed and put my hands in my pockets.
"About what?" I asked.
Madison bit her lip. "I think I'm pregnant." She mumbled. My head snapped up so fast and I stared at her for a minute.
"You think you're what?" I said. She opened her mouth but I cut her off. "Wait, nah, what are you telling me this for? If you are it's not mine."
Madison frowned. "Um, yes it is. I haven't fucked anyone but you in the last two months."
"I don't believe you." I said shrugging.
She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I already took a pregnancy test and it says I am, but my appointment is tomorrow. You coming?"
I laughed. "Why would I come if it's not mine?"
"It is yours." Madison said looking mad as hell. She can be mad, I don't care. That baby is not mine. I never fucked her raw, I'm sure of that.
"I used a condom every time we had sex Madison, it's not." I said lowering my voice. I forgot my dad was close by and the last thing I needed was for him to hear this conversation.
"Okay. We'll see." Madison said.
"I guess we will." I said. "And next time you need to talk, you have my number. Don't be showing up randomly when I'm out with my family. That's not cool."
Madison rolled her eyes. "We'll be in touch." She said before walking off. I watched her walk over to her car and get in before driving off.
I just stood there for a minute trying to collect my thoughts. I sighed and shook my head. There's no way that baby is mine.
I got in the car and looked at my dad. "What was that about?" He asked.
"Nothing important." I said.
He eyed me for a minute before nodding. "Aight. We'll see."
What does he mean by that?
I shrugged. It's not mine so I don't have anything to worry about.
*****
Blue
"Okay girls, on the mat! Let's go!" Coach Stewart yelled. I rolled my eyes and looked at my friend Chloe.
"She's so annoying." I said. Chloe laughed and nodded.
"Well duh. We've known this." She said.
I laughed. "True."
We followed our other friends out of the locker room and out into the gym. I walked over to my stunt group and started stretching.
"You going to Bailey's party Blue?" Emma asked. "It's supposed to be lit. I heard she's inviting the eighth grade boys too."
"Um maybe." I said shrugging. "I still have to ask my mom."
"Ugh, then that's a no." Addison rolled her eyes. "She wouldn't let you come to mine because boys were there."
"Uh, she wouldn't let me come to yours because your parents weren't there and there were boys there." I corrected. I don't blame my mom for not letting me go to that one, some of these girls are so thirsty for the boys' attention and it's sad. I've had a few crushes here and there but I definitely don't want a boyfriend yet. It's not like I'm allowed to have one right now anyway.
Addison brushed me off. "Same thing." She said.
I cocked my head to the side and squinted my eyes. "But it's not...." I said slowly.
"Blue, shut up." Addison said.
I rolled my eyes and stood up. "Why are you mad though? I'm just stating facts. Calm down."
"I thought I told you to shut up?" Addison snapped and got in my face. I glared at her.
"Get out of my face." I said calmly. My parents don't tolerate fighting and I'm highly aware that if I were to lay a smack down on Addison right now my mom would lay one on me later.
Addison smirked. "Make me."
"Girl if you don't–"
"LADIES! Get in your places!" Coach Stewart yelled. "Don't make me repeat myself! Hurry up!"
Addison rolled her eyes and stood in her spot. I took a deep breath before following. I'm the flyer in my stunt group so I'm the one who's actually doing all the tricks and stuff.
"Are you ready now?" Coach Stewart asked.
"Yes." We yelled back. She nodded and started playing the music. We went through our routine and everything was seamless as usual in my group. I went up for the final stunt and smiled brightly. Our cue to come down was coming up so I prepared myself like always.
I came down from my stunt in my usual form, but I felt someone's hand slip and flipped forward. Instead of them catching me like they should, I flew onto the mat and landed on my side.
I felt a sharp pain in my arm and screamed. I really hope it's not broken, but I think it is. It hurts so bad.
"Blue!" Chloe yelled. She got down on the mat next to me. "Are you okay?!"
"No." I cried. "My arm hurts. I think it might be broken."
"Move Chloe." I heard Coach Stewart say. Chloe moved and coach sat down next to me. "I'm gonna stay right here until the ambulance gets here, okay?"
"Okay." I sniffled. "Did you call my mom?"
"Yes, she's going to meet us at the hospital." Coach Stewart said. "I know your arm is hurting, but don't move. We don't want to harm it anymore. Just hang in there."
"Okay." I said. I looked up and made direct eye contact with Addison. She was smiling.
"Feel better Blue." She said sweetly before walking off. I tried to get up but winced in pain when I moved.
"Stay down. Listen to me." Coach Stewart said. I sighed and laid there until the ambulance came. They lifted me up in one of those things and Coach rode in the back with me on the way to the hospital. Once we got there I had to get x-ray'd and then put in surgery. They gave me some medication that knocked me out, so I don't remember much after my cast went on. I wanted it to be blue for obvious reasons.
When I woke up some hours later, I had to let my eyes get adjusted to the light before I looked around. I saw my mom sitting in one of the chairs by my bed on her phone.
"Mommy?" I said hoarsely. Ooh I need some water. My throat is too dry.
My mom looked up quickly and stood up. "Hi baby. How are you feeling?" She asked while standing next to my bed. I held my good arm out because I wanted to be closer to her.
"My arm is broken." I said sadly. I didn't want to start crying again but I might. I'm so sad, our big competition is in two weeks and I won't be able to go anymore. "I can't cheer."
My mom sighed. "I know baby. I'm so sorry." She sat down on the edge of my bed and ran her fingers through my hair. I love when she does that but I'm too upset right now to appreciate it. "I wish I could do something to change the situation but I can't. You're just going to have to sit out until you're healed."
"This sucks." I said before my tears started falling. "Why did this happen to me?" I cried. I wanted to bring up Addison but I have no proof she made me fall. Even if I told someone nothing would happen because I have zero evidence. She'll get hers though.
My mom laid down next to me and hugged me against her. I cried in her shirt while she rubbed my back. "Baby, I have no idea why this happened to you. Sometimes bad things happen to people who don't deserve it, that's just apart of life. You're going to be okay though. I promise I'll try to do my best to make these next few months fun for you baby girl. Your daddy and I both will."
I sat up a little and wiped my eyes. "Okay." I mumbled. I still wasn't happy, but it's not like I can do anything about it. I might as well accept it and move on. "Where is daddy?"
"He's on his way back from New York." Oh yeah, I forgot he was there. "He should be here in a few hours. I'll have grandma stay at the house tonight so daddy and I can be here with you. We'll have a little sleepover. We'll do whatever you want." She said smiling.
I smiled a little too. "Can we order pizza? And eat ice cream?" I asked.
My mom nodded. "Whatever you want baby. Tonight's all you. Just tell me what you want and I'll make it happen."
I laid back down on my mom's chest and hugged her tightly. Well as best as I could with a broken arm. My cast was kind of in the way. "Thank you mommy."
"You're welcome Blue." She said and kissed my forehead. "I love you honey. These next few months will fly by."
"I hope so." I sighed.
"Think positively baby. That's all we can do."
I nodded. I guess she's right. "Okay sorry." I said. "I'll try to think positively."
"Good." My mom smiled. "Now let's watch something on tv. What channel?" She asked while grabbing the remote.
"Disney." I said. She nodded and changed the channel to Disney. I cuddled up next to her while we laid there and watched Liv & Maddie.
I must've dozed off again because I felt someone tapping my shoulder and woke up. I lifted my head off my mom's shoulder and looked around until I saw my dad.
"Daddy!" I yelled. He was holding a giant stuffed bear in his arms. I saw a huge bouquet of flowers, some candy, and lots of balloons on the table behind him.
"Hey princess." My dad handed me the bear and kissed my cheek. "You feel any better?"
"My arm is kinda numb so I guess." I said smiling. Both my parents laughed and I shrugged. It was.
"Well that's better than pain right?" He said. I nodded. "I'm sorry about what happened baby girl. I know how excited you were for your cheer competition."
My smile fell. I forgot about that. "Yeah, I'm really sad about it but mommy said to think positively so I'm trying to."
"That's right." My mom hugged me against her and kissed my forehead. "I also told her that we would do whatever she wanted tonight. What do you think babe?"
My dad smiled. "Of course. What do you want to do princess?" He asked me.
"Well I'm hungry but first, can y'all do me a favor?" I asked
"What?" My mom asked
"Will you sign my cast?" I said sweetly. My dad pulled out a sharpie and signed it. So did my mom. When they were done I looked at it and smiled. "Sweet, now I can sell it on eBay when it comes off."
"Blue!" My mom yelled. I laughed.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. That's gross." I smiled. She rolled her eyes but my dad laughed. I'm glad someone has a sense of humor. "Anyways, mommy, I really want some pizza."
"What kind?" She asked.
"Hawaiian." I said. It's my favorite. The whole 'pineapple shouldn't go on pizza' argument is really dumb to me because it definitely does. I don't care for people who think otherwise.
My mom rolled her eyes and looked at my dad. "Jay, will you go pick up one Hawaiian pizza for your child and a meat lovers for us?"
"Yeah." He nodded and grabbed his keys. He walked over to us and kissed my forehead and my mom's lips. "I'll be back. Love you both."
"Love you too." My mom and I said. My dad walked out and it was just us again.
"What do you want to do while he's gone?" She asked. I snuggled close to her and shrugged.
"Whatever you want mommy." I said. "Wait, no, I take that back. Will you tell me about your secret project?" I asked, looking up at her.
My mom smirked. "What secret project?"
"Mommy." I whined. "Please."
"Okay, okay. Stop whining in my ear." She laughed. I just looked at her and waited. "I'm not gonna tell you much, but I will say that you'll be in it."
"Really?!" I asked excitedly.
My mom nodded. "Yes. You and your sisters."
"Is it for your album?"
She shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not. You'll see."
Ugh, she's so petty.
"Fine. I'll take that." I laid flat on my back and looked at my mom. "I missed spending time with you." I mumbled.
My mom looked at me and frowned. "What do you mean? We spend time together all the time." She said.
I sighed. "Not like this. Not just us." I said. "I miss that."
She propped herself up on her elbow and sighed. "I'm sorry baby, you know how hard it gets with five kids though. I'll make sure we have one on one time more often though, okay? Just let me get homecoming over with for Bella and then I'll plan something for us." She said.
"You promise?" I asked, holding up my pinky. My mom smiled and wrapped hers around it before kissing my cheek.
"I promise baby girl. I'll plan us a weekend together or something." She said. "Where would you like to go?"
"Anywhere?" I asked.
"Almost anywhere." My mom smiled. "Name some places and I'll let you know."
"I've always wanted to go to Bermuda." I said slowly.
My mom looked like she was thinking. I stared at her until she looked back at me and nodded. "Okay, I'll take you there." She said.
"Wait, really?" I said smiling hard. "For real mommy?"
My mom laughed. "Really. As soon as the chaos dies down, I'll take you to Bermuda for the weekend."
"Thank you!" I squealed. I hugged my mom with my good arm and kissed all over her face.
"Okay Blue, okay." She laughed.
"I'm excited." I said smiling.
"I can tell." My mom shook her head. "But I'm happy you're happy. That's my ultimate goal. To make y'all happy." She said.
"Mom, you're so corny." I laughed. She looked offended.
"Well excuse me for my corniness then." She said rolling her eyes.
"It's fine. I'm used to it." I smiled.
My mom looked at me. "Blue–"
"Kidding!"
"Go back to sleep. I liked you better then." My mom said.
"Mommy, you don't mean that."
"I don't?"
My mouth fell open. "You're so rude." I said. She shrugged and I pouted. "Well you know what would make me feel better?"
"What?"
"Playing me one of your unreleased songs." I said smiling. "Pleaseeee mommy. I know you have some on your phone."
She sighed and rolled her eyes. "If I play you one then you better not go running to Bella about it. Because then I'll have to play her one and I like to keep my unreleased music private for a reason." She said. I nodded quickly.
"I promise I won't tell Bella." I said. I definitely would later. She'll be so jealous it's funny. My mom rarely does this too so I'm special.
She pulled out her phone and did whatever she had to do before handing it to me. "I wrote this when I was recording 4, back when I was pregnant with you." My mom explained. "It didn't make it on the album but it's still one of my favorites. It's called Runway."
I laid on my mom while I listened to it. She was jamming with me and we were having a great time. Moments like these with my parents made breaking my arm kind of worth it.
*****
Isabella
The next day
I walked into Blue's hospital room and saw the whole family there. My mom was sitting on the couch with Sienna, and Brooklyn was sitting on Blue's bed beside her. Jeremiah came in after me and we set the cupcakes we bought on the table.
"Aww look at the cripple." I said pinching Blue's cheeks. She groaned and swatted my hand away with her heavy ass cast. "Ouch! Girl!"
"That's what you get." Blue stuck her tongue out and so did I.
"Y'all, don't start." My mom said. "Isabella, sit down somewhere. Don't come in here acting a damn fool."
"Well then." I sat down next to Blue's bed. "How ya feeling kid?" I asked her. She rolled her eyes.
"Fine I guess. I am crippled though, so I could be better." Blue shrugged.
"Word." I agreed. Blue looked at me funny so I decided to stop talking to her. "Hey Brooklyn." I poked her leg.
"Hello." Brooklyn said. "You like my skirt?" She asked, pointing to her black poofy skirt.
"Yeah, it's nice." I nodded. "You like my shorts?" I asked. They were red Nike shorts with a cool design. I thought they were pretty lit.
"Not really." Brooklyn said.
I just looked at her.
"Anyways," I looked back at Blue, "We brought cupcakes if you want one."
"I'll eat one if you eat one." Blue said. I cocked my head to the side.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
She mimicked me. "You know what it means." We stared each other down until I looked away.
"Whatever." I mumbled and looked at Jeremiah. "You ready to go? We're cutting it close on time." I said lowly. He nodded and stood up.
"Ma, we're heading out." Jeremiah said as we got up.
My mom looked over at us and nodded slowly. "Where are y'all going again?"
"To hang out with some friends from school." I said. "I think we're going to eat and then to the beach."
"Okay. Well y'all be careful. I want you home by nine." She said.
"Okay." We said. I glanced at my watch to check the time. It was only four so we had a good five hours. We have to include travel time though, so that cuts our time down there in half.
"Bye. I love you." My mom hugged and kissed us both. "You, drive safe. And you better not have that damn phone out." She said to Jeremiah.
"I know mommy." He said. She nodded.
"Okay. Bye babies."
"Bye mom."
We left Blue's room and headed for the elevators. We didn't say much until we were back at Jeremiah's car and were sure nobody could hear us.
"To San Diego?" He asked, typing the address to the prison in his GPS. Yes, I managed to convince him to come along with me to pay Gina a little visit. I needed him for support and also because he has a car and his license whereas I do not. It's a double win. For me anyway.
"To San Diego." I nodded. I put my shades on and leaned back as we began our two hour long drive.
The answers I would get from Gina would make it all worth it. At least I hoped so.
Now I'm just praying we don't get caught.