PRETTY BRIGHT (18 page)

fter coming back from the strip club with his boys, Terrence desired some head, so he called Bright up and told her to meet him outside.

“Terrence,” she whined, “It’s three o'clock in the morning, baby. I'm sleeping.”
“You know what, I been noticing how you been real heavy on complaining and trying not to satisfy yo man,” he barked, “And I’ma do the same thing the next time yo ass ask me for some money,” he said, then hung up on her.
Pissed, Bright called him right back. She couldn't afford to be off his payroll, especially since she was helping her mother out a lot more around the house. “Ice baby, why you hang up, boo? Come scoop me up right quick so I can take care of you, daddy,” she said sweetly into the phone, but had a bitter expression on her face.
“That’s what I'm talking about, just come outside in a robe…no panties on,” he said, then hung up. Ten minutes later, Bright was creeping down the hallway to the front door.
“Where you going?” Deja asked, heading to the bathroom. She could tell she had startled Bright.
“Mind ya own and you'll live long,” Bright replied quietly. “I'm 'bout to step outside real quick, don't lock the door.”
“A'ight, Deja said stepping closer to Bright. “Who baby is that, Larry's or Ice’s?” Deja asked.
Bright almost choked on her spit. “It's Larry's baby, and what you know about Ice?” she asked curiously, since she had never mentioned him to her.
“You'd be surprised what I learned in juvenile,” Deja said. “Your secrets are safe with me, but I have one for you though. Ramon is gay. I caught him sucking another boy’s weenie yesterday in his bedroom closet, and I haven't been able to sleep ever since,” Deja explained, feeling as if she was about to throw up again. Bright's eyes were bucked, and her mouth flew wide open; she was speechless. Deja said, “I know, right, imagine how I felt, I fucking seen the shit,” she whispered.
Bright's phone vibrated in her pocket and after looking at the caller ID and seeing it was Terrence, she told Deja that she'd be right back. She didn't know what else to say. Outside Bright climbed inside of Terrence truck. Since he knew she would be unable to stay out with him, he didn't see any use in getting a room or taking her back to his place, so instead he drove a few blocks down from her apartment and parked. Bright got on her knees and tried to please him as best as she could, but because her little brother was on her mind, it made it hard for her to satisfy him.
“Damn, what’s the problem?” Terrence asked, frustrated.
“I'm uncomfortable down here, my stomach is getting too big to be on my knees in your truck,” she lied. Though she was approaching the second trimester of her pregnancy, her stomach was still pretty small for twins.
“Let me hit the booty hole then,” Terrence said, helping her off of her knees. “A nigga need to get this one off.”
Knowing she wouldn’t be able to get out of pleasing him, Bright lifted her robe up and carefully placed herself on top Terrence. Aiming straight for her booty hole, Terrence found his way in. “That booty is tight,” he

moaned, squeezing her breasts and biting on her back. Wanting him to hurry up and be over with it, Bright made loud fuck noises, held on to the steering wheel and slammed her ass up and down on his penis until he erupted inside of her. As she climbed off of him, Terrence smiled. “I’ma need some of that booty more often.”

Pretending she enjoyed it, Bright said, “Yeah, I enjoyed that too, baby.” Then she smiled and asked him to take her home before her mother noticed she was gone. Terrence dropped Bright off without breaking her off. She didn't bother asking him for any money either, her brother weighed heavily on her mind, and all she wanted to do was finish talking to Deja about it.

Back inside the apartment, the sisters sat in Bright room talking as quietly as possible.
“You didn't tell, Ma, did you? Bright asked.
“I wanted to, but I just couldn't do it,” Deja shrugged.
“Fuck, what are we going to do?” Bright asked, covering her face with both of her hands. It had finally hit her why Ramon had become so distant and why he was always locked up in his room.
“The question is, what can we do?” Deja said nodding her head. “This makes me wonder if somebody has ever touched him before.”
Bright went numb for about ten seconds then said, “Maybe we should find him a girlfriend or something.”
Deja nodded her head. “I can’t even believe were even having this conversation! Ramon never showed any signs of being gay,” she said, still in shock.
“So you opened the closet and he was on his knees sucking the boy’s dick?” Bright asked, trying to get a visual.
“Yes!” She answered in a loud whisper.
“Well, what did he say after you caught him?” She wanted to know.
“He didn't say anything because I closed the closet door back and walked out the room. I didn't know what to say! But then later that night he asked me not to tell, and told me that he would never do it again.”
The sisters spoke until the sun came up, and then they both dressed and went to school. At school that day, Bright felt like she had ADHD because she was having the hardest time concentrating. At lunch, Bright went inside the nurse’s office and took a nap. She was all messed up in the head thinking about her little brother, and all she wanted to do was erase and block the whole thing from her memory bank, but because Deja was in on the secret too, she knew she had no chances of escaping it.

fter cooking dinner, Rosette went to her room to grab a little rest before going to bible study. She had found a nice church off of Long Beach Blvd.

that was helping her to find peace, and teaching her how to survive her insanity. Life was hard for Rosette; she worked too much, got paid too little, and more importantly, she had a house full of children that needed more of her time then she could afford to give them. So when Bright offered to pay her a few hundred dollars every month to help out with the rent, bills, and additional money for groceries, she accepted the offer with open hands. She figured Bright had it to help out, so why not accept it? She had her own room, and was about to have twin babies in a few months, so why not let her help out more around the house? For the best of her health, Rosette quit her second job so that she could be home at night with her children, she even planned on going to the county building to apply for food stamps and cash-aid. Things would be a little tight, but she felt she owed it to her children. Climbing in her queen-sized bed, Rosette said a quick prayer then rested her eyes.

Walking in the house after a long day at school, Bright grabbed the weed from her stash, rolled up a blunt, then went outside to hit it a few times before the rest of her siblings made it home. Once she put the blunt out, she went back inside, took a shower, and then stretched out on the living room couch. Ten minutes later the house filled with her siblings.

“Ramon got in another fight a t school, they jumped him this time,” Deja said once she entered the apartment. It seemed like he had been getting in fights every other day since she had caught him in the closet. She felt sorry for him, but he wouldn't talk to anybody or let anybody in.

“Yep, he got a busted lip too,” Ryonna said, pointing at him. She always took up for her brother when the kids at school teased him and called him a faggot for playing with girls.

“I told him to take me to the dudes that jumped on 'em, but he don't want to,” Cordell added. “So I figured he like getting his ass kicked,” he said, then slapped Ramon on the back of the head.

“Lower y'all voices, Mama is in her room resting,” Bright ordered, then she directed her attention to Ramon. “Who jumped on you, Ramon?” she asked examining his face.

“Nobody jumped me, I told them,” he said storming off to his bedroom.
“Yes, they did,” Ryonna said; they both went to the same school so she knew everything. “They been calling him faggot's at school and be picking on him all the time,” Ryonna said, speaking up for him.
“No they don't, you liar!” Ramon yelled from his room.
“I said keep y'all voices down, Mama is asleep!” Bright said with authority.
Cordell came out of the kitchen laughing. “I knew cuz was gone be a little faggot, hanging out with girls all the time,” he said nodding his head. He had been noticing a lot of gay traits from Ramon, starting with his little friend that he always seemed to be locked in the room with and the way he twisted his lips and laughed.
Bright walked over and slapped Cordell across the face. He was about to slap her back until Deja approached, ready to flex. “I wish you would hit her!” Bright stared at him. “If I ever hear you call him a faggot again, I’ma snatch yo nuts off, you hear me?” She asked in a firm tone.
“Man, fuck both of y'all,” Cordell pushed his way past both of his sisters. “I ain't no little kid no more, so y'all better keep yo hands to yourself,” he said as he opened the front door.
Hearing all the noise, Rosette couldn't sleep any longer. “What's all the commotion about?” she asked after getting out of bed. The room fell silent; her children all stared at her. Seeing that Ryonna was about to spill the beans, Bright gave her the “don't say anything expression,” then she stopped speaking in mid-sentence. “Is anybody gonna say something?” Rosette yelled, looking at each of her children for an answer.
Standing in the door’s entrance, angry at his sisters, Cordell yelled, “Yo son is a faggot, Mama, and he got beat up for it at school today,” he said mean-mugging both Bright and Deja.
“He's not a faggot!” Bright said defensively, ready to slap the living daylights out of Cordell again.
“Yes he is, Mama,” Cordell responded, nodding his head, then he stepped closer to his mother so that she could see the truth in his eyes. “And not only that, but your oldest daughter is a hoe, Mama. She's not only pregnant, but she screwing this old nigga name, Ice too!” Angry he planned on revealing everything that he knew. “Oh, and Deja, she having sex too,” he laughed, looking in her direction, “But the funny thing about her is that she up on tape with hers. She got a train ran on her by three different dudes - her and her little slutty ass homegirl, Veronica!” he laughed. “Oh and me?” he stressed, hitting his chest, “I'm just a Crip from the Norf,” Mama. “I figured with two hoe ass sisters, a faggot ass brother, a workaholic mama, and a daddy serving a life term in prison, that it would be in my best interest to get put on the hood, so that at least somebody could have my back,” he said throwing his arms in the air.
Cordell was hurt and angry about his current life status. He hated that dudes from the hood whispered about his sisters disrespectfully when he passed them…the half breed hoes. He hated the fact that guys called Bright a gold digger and high-priced prostitute, and that Deja was on tape, and labeled as a hood rat in the neighborhood, and that they called his little brother soft and said he acted like a punk. He didn't have any positive influences in his life, nobody to talk to, or to teach him how to be a man. So being from the hood was the next best thing in store for him - he'd have his OG's to teach him how to be a man, have street brothers to have his back, and a crew to rely on when he needed them.
Bright and Deja couldn't believe the information that Cordell had just revealed, or furthermore, that he knew all this time without saying a word to them about it. Deja wanted off with his head for putting her on blast like that. She didn't ask for what happened to her. She stormed in his direction and began to swing on him. Snapping out of her shock, Bright joined Deja, getting her licks in too.
Standing there, Rosette wanted to break everything up, but she couldn't. She was stiff, and she felt like someone had knocked the wind out of her. Ryonna screamed at the top of her lungs for everybody to stop fighting. Unable to take the chaos that was going on in the house Ramon ran out the front door with his backpack on. Rosette’s speech slurred when she tried telling them to stop. She tried catching her breath, but it felt like she was suffocating. Then she began to feel dizzy and had double vision. Suddenly, numbness began to take over her arms and legs. Not able to help herself she slid down the wall and onto the floor.
“HELPPPPP, MAMA JUST FELL ON THE FLOOR,” Ryonna cried at the top of her lungs, jumping up and down. She was so scared and afraid that she peed on herself. If she knew that giving such information would turn the house so mad, she would have kept it to herself. Immediately, everyone stopped fighting and directed their attention to their mother.
“Call 911, Deja!” Bright yelled. Cordell got on the floor with Bright to aid their mother.
“What you want me to do, sis? He asked on the verge of tears.
“Help me lay her on her back, then go grab a pillow to put under head,” she said, trying to remember everything she learned about stroke and heart attack victims. After carefully helping his sister lay their mother on her back, he ran inside her room and grabbed a pillow.
“Mama, you okay?” Cordell asked, gently tapping her on the face. She was going in and out of consciousness, and he was really afraid. “Stay awake, Mama,” Cordell continued to say, seeing her fluttering eyes.
“You're gonna be alright Ma, the paramedic is on the way,” Bright said with tear-stained eyes.
“Is she having heart attack?” Cordell asked his sisters.
“It looks like she's having a stroke,” Bright said, examining her mother. “Lift her neck a little, Cordell, to make sure she has a good airway for breathing.” Bright tried her best to keep calm.
“Hurry the fuck up!” Deja said, pacing the floor, looking out the window for the paramedics. Ryonna bit her nails, crying and looking nervously around the room. Bright couldn't contain her sniffles as she sat on the side of her mother, trying to keep her comfortable.
“Y'all see what we did to Mama?” Cordell said. “We can’t keep stressing her out like this, man,” he said, unable to hold his tears back. “Cause if we lose Mama, who we gone have?” he said, looking at his sisters.
“Mama is strong, she's gonna be alright,” Bright replied. “Her heart is still beating and it sounds like the paramedics are close.”
“Go outside and show 'em up, Ryonna,” Cordell ordered, hearing them getting closer and closer in the distance. Ryonna ran down the stairs, while Deja stood in the doorway looking from her mother to her little sister Ryonna as she stood out front waiting for help. “Keep fighting, Mama,” Deja cried, then she bent down and kissed her on the cheek.
“She's hangin’ in there,” Bright cried, wiping the drool away from her mother's mouth with the back of her hand. “Mama's gonna be alright, aren't you, Ma?” Bright cried, looking into her mother's zoned out eyes. “You have grandbabies on the way,” Bright said, nodding her head, trying to force a warm smile on her face. It was hard, Bright knew she had to be strong for her siblings and display a positive attitude.
Cordell held his mother’s hand. “You promise, Bright?”
“I promise,” Bright said, then wiped the tears from her brother’s eyes. “Mama's gonna pull through this, she's a fighter.”
“Here they come,” Deja yelled. “Does she still have a heartbeat?” Deja asked, holding her hands on each side of her face. She was so nervous that she could just about rip the skin off of her face.
“She does!” Cordell replied after lifting his head from his mother’s chest. Once the paramedics came inside, they took her vitals and confirmed that she was having a stroke. They laid her on the stretcher and then rushed her to the hospital. After the paramedics left, Bright grabbed her mother's car keys and then drove her and her siblings to the hospital. After discovering that Ramon was missing, Bright later received a phone call from her mother's second cousin, named Shanna, explaining that Ramon was at her house. Because they had only heard of Shanna, but never been formally introduced, Bright was curious as to how Shanna and Ramon got in contact, so she asked.
After clearing her throat, Shanna responded, “Gale is a good friend of both your mother and me, we all grew up together,” she smiled. “But to make a long story short, Gale called and told me that little Ramon had come over to her house alone, and that he was very hysterical. She said she tried getting in touch with you guys and wasn't able to get a response. And since she had to go to work, she asked if I could pick him up, and keep trying to get in touch with you all...so I did just that,” she sighed. “I do hope I haven't crossed any lines or boundaries, but I just couldn't say no,” she explained. “And he's in really good hands here too,” she added.
“No...No, there's no problem at all, we actually appreciate it,” Bright said in a tone of appreciation. “We were only concerned because we didn't know where he was at,” she said, happy to hear that her brother was in good hands. After filling Shanna in on her mother's condition, Bright ended the call, then explained everything to her siblings. With the burden of their missing brother being lifted off of their shoulders, they all sat, silently awaiting the doctor's update on their mother's condition.