Tell Me What's Wrong

By DaveTheWordsmith

Disclaimer: Boondocks is owned by Sony Pictures Digital Inc. and Aaron McGruder. All the copyrights associated with Boondocks belong to them. Only the ideas contained within this story are the property of the author. No profit is being earned by the writer of this story.

Chapter Four: June 15th, 20XX, Part 2

The cries kept coming and coming. Every sharp emotional tidal wave crashed so hard onto her coastline of feelings. Jazmine sniffed, trying her best to not be cognizant to the stinging mixture of tears and mucus sucked back into her nose. A few wipes of the back of her orange sweater sleeve brought clarity to her vision. To her left, Huey fell backward. He spat a dry grunt from between his lips, unable to form any words. To her right, footsteps grew louder, then became softer as if retreating from something dangerous.

"No no, Zora, come here," Jazmine heard a familiar voice command her daughter. It had to be Cindy. "They'll come see you in a little bit, okay?"

"Okay, Auntie Cindy," Jazmine heard Zora reply. Her intuition was correct.

"Matter of fact, I'm makin' some oatmeal cookies. Want some?"

"Yes, can I? Please, please, pretty please?"

"Aight, but after that you gone go and brush your teeth, then go to bed."

"Okay."

Through the doorway, she caught the sight of Cindy bent over, looking over her daughter to talk to her, then guide her with her hands on Zora away from the door.

Jazmine lifted her head as a tear drop trickled down her cheek, under her chin, then dripped down to her collar. She got up to pick up the DDC letter, flipped over to expose the blank reverse side. She nearly dropped the paper as she turned it over to read it, then straightened it out. The notes given at the bottom of the letter struck a chord in her heart. It felt too surreal to be true.

Jazmine read them aloud, her voice shaky from her crying. "Based on the DNA analysis, the alleged Father, Huey Percy Freeman, cannot be excluded as the biological father of Zora Neale Freeman. Based on the genetic testing results, the probability of paternity is 99.99% when compared to an untested random man of the North American population."

Huey sat up, as if struck by lightning. His brown eyes felt as if they latched onto hers, holding onto them, unable to keep her from looking away. "But…but how?"

Jazmine closed her eyes, her lips trembling. She put the letter in her lap, then lifted a finger to her cheek, riding herself of another annoying tear. "You don't remember, but…" she said. She opened her eyes, her mouth able to stiffen up. "Remember how I told you I was pregnant?"

"Yes."

"Well…I didn't tell you everything."

As she told Huey the truth with no details left out, her mind traveled back in time to almost nine years ago. She was amazed by how much she remembered. She could hear the nice and slow Frank Sinatra tune that softly and gently caressed her eardrums, creating a very relaxing atmosphere, as if it were happening in real time. She reminisced that oblivious to the calm mood in the air, Huey's eyebrows scrunched up together, meeting at the center above the bridge of his nose. What he saw had to make his stomach bubble. But Jazmine didn't care. Each forkful of spaghetti that she stuffed into her mouth only made her hungrier. The dim lights of the Italian restaurant probably made things better for Huey, unable to see the thick, almost blood red tomato sauce splashed across Jazmine's lips. Jazmine peeked at everyone at the booths to her left, then satiated her hunger with another serving of pasta. Her hunger was genuine, only for a reason she kept secret from Huey for the past few weeks due to the very angry response she would receive if he found out the truth.

Huey shook his head, subsequently rolling his eyes. He looked down at his plate, halfway done with his cheese and tomato lasagna, then at Jazmine right next to him, moaning in delight as she chewed on her sustenance. "Jazmine, you sure you haven't got a tapeworm in your stomach?"

Jazmine stopped her fork in mid-flight. Her fork hit her plate with a loud 'pink' sound, landing at the outskirts of her large spaghetti hill. "No, I'm perfectly fine, Huey," she said, totally aware of her lie. She tried not to react too excitedly in public, biting her lip as a way to restrain herself from fully exhibiting the large feeling of lust for her meal. She picked her fork back up, more than eager to stab it into her dish and spin it around until it gathered plenty of spaghetti. "I've had some nausea in the morning and afternoon, but it's getting a little better. I mean, being sick for more than a week will make you hungry. A little too hungry."

"I understand," he said. "But hungry enough to feed two football teams?"

Jazmine felt heat rise from her cheeks. She felt like she shrunk a few inches, sinking deeper in her comfortable seat. "Huey, all I had was-"

"A large plate of ravioli, two plates of lasagna, then a plate of spaghetti, and then you went and asked for some Fettuccine Alfredo," Huey said, counting down the list of items on his fingers. "And now, this second helping of spaghetti. I wouldn't be surprised if the place decided to adopt you."

Jazmine frowned, her lips twisted up and to the right. While eating more food, an obvious sign she suffered from a sudden fit of gluttony, she had to respond. She stared at Huey as he took another bite. "I can't help it, Huey. I don't get why you're so upset," she said. She chewed more food before she continued. "I mean, it's all you can eat Tuesday, so it's not like you're paying extra for this."

Huey sighed. He took one last helping down of his lasagna, then put his fork down to rest by his plate. "I know, but it said all you can eat, not all the food in the restaurant you can eat."

Jazmine feigned a happy smile, her eyes narrow. She wiped her hands on the napkin laid out across her lap, then opened a small wet wipes packet to clean her mouth, then used it on her hands. "Ha, ha. Hilarious. You should consider a career in stand-up," she said. She swallowed her food with a big grin, her eyes rolling in the back of her head. "Mmm, that was so good."

Huey rolled his eyes. "I'm sure it was."

It didn't take long for Jazmine to devour her last plate of spaghetti. She tossed her fork on her plate as she released a pent up sigh unable to be held back any longer. She leaned back into the booth, rubbing her stomach. She watched Huey get the check from the waitress and put enough money in for the bill plus tip. "Before we go, can I have a slice of chocolate cake?"

Huey's mouth curled up into a small smile, undetectable to anyone but her. "Seriously? C'mon. With all that food you put into that black hole you call a stomach, you could've fed all of Africa. Matter of fact, if people saw you eat all that food, I bet they would swear you had to be pregnant."

Jazmine spit the water she drank back into her glass, then set it down. She coughed into her handkerchief, irritated by the swallow of liquid that went down the wrong pipe. After a quick moment, she cleared her throat.

Huey patted her back, his eyes wider than usual. "You all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said through a few coughs, then cleared her throat.

As they walked out the restaurant toward the car in the middle of the parking lot, she knew her unusual silence made Huey uncomfortable. The noisy crickets and cars that occasionally passed by on the street sounded sweet in comparison to her muted voice. The way he looked in her eyes, she presumed he would eventually crack and inquire about her lack of dialogue.

They both got inside Dorothy, Jazmine in the passenger seat as usual and Huey behind the wheel. Huey started her up and drove her out of the parking lot onto the main street. Jazmine was right. He had to ruin the nice, quiet mood by running his mouth. "All right, tell me what's wrong."

"…No."

"Why not?" he asked. "Jazmine, I know something's wrong but you won't say anything about it. If you tell me, I won't get mad."

Jazmine sighed. She realized it was either now or never. The truth had to come out now, or else expect worse later. "Okay…I'll tell you, only if you please don't get mad at me."

"Mad at you for what?"

"For telling the truth."

"Telling me the truth about…what?"

She paused. "Nothing."

"Jazmine, what's going on?"

Jazmine watched Huey's eyes switch from looking at her right, then her left eye, then straight ahead in time to drive through the intersection before the light could turn red. "I'm pregnant."

"What?" Huey asked, not looking at Jazmine because he needed to keep his eyes on the road.

Jazmine screamed. A loud horn from behind them made Huey swerve away from the right lane, returning to the middle lane. She looked back through the rear windshield at the large big rig, nearly hidden in the dark night streets. "Huey, be careful!"

"Forget about that. You're really pregnant?"

Jazmine huffed, folding her arms across her chest. Some poignant guitar from BB King's "The Thrill is Gone" playing on the radio cut through the sound of rain landing on the window shield and the silence between the two newlyweds. With almost twenty minutes left before they would return to Woodcrest, she knew it was going to be one hell of a ride.

"Yes, I'm pregnant. You know, I'm with child, I'm expecting, I'm about to experience total hell aka labor-"

Huey shook his head. "I know, I know."

Jazmine raised an eyebrow. "Then why did you ask?"

"I want to know how you got pregnant, that's why."

"Huey, if you have to ask how, then you shouldn't-"

He glared at her. "Jazmine, you know what I mean! We never…" he said. He sighed. "We never had relations until a few weeks ago. You had to have gotten pregnant before then. Who's the other guy?"

Jazmine turned away, looking out her window. She couldn't let Huey see the tears trickling down. "I can't say."

"Jazmine, as your husband, I'd better know and I'd better know right now."

Jazmine faced Huey, her head snapping toward him as if someone yanked her by the hair. "Why?"

Huey made a sharp right turn. Jazmine's right side slammed into the door as he executed the turn at the green light. "Because Jazmine, I'm not be the father. Since we're married, legally, I have to take care of that child. Now tell me who's the other guy. Is it someone I know?"

"No."

"Oh, so it's a one-night stand baby huh?"

Jazmine felt ready to yell at his smart remark. However, she held back. She sighed. "Huey Freeman…you know I'm not like that at all."

Huey shook his head. "Then how else could you be pregnant? I know one thing. You didn't get pregnant by me."

"Huey, relax," Jazmine said. She sighed, her hand on her temple, massaging it. "I think you're still under the influence. I knew you shouldn't have drunk that, um…what's it called? Jimmie Walker?"

Huey shrugged. "Johnnie Walker. Jimmie Walker was J.J. from Good Times," he said. "Anyway, I needed something to take my sorrows away. Nothing else could."

"What about me?"

"It obviously didn't help me any."

"C'mon Huey, it's been almost four weeks, almost a whole month since he died! Damnit, get over it already!" She said. She surprised herself and even Huey with the way he stared at her. The car slid over to the left toward the left lane before he righted the car. "Look…I'm very sorry about what happened. We all are. Mommy and daddy are, too. We all miss Mr. Freeman. And then what happened to Riley, I'm so sorry about that, too. But look, I planned tonight as a chance for us to get away. You know, stop worrying about all this drama and-"

"Jazmine, forget about that. Stop changing the subject. How did you get pregnant?"

Jazmine looked down at her black high heels, matching perfectly with her same color dress. She played with her hands in her lap. "I…I was…"

She couldn't say it.

"Well?"

Still couldn't.

"Tell me!"

She finally caved in. "…I was raped."

Huey punched the brakes, almost colliding with the black BMW in front that idled, waiting for the red light. Jazmine turned her head, unable to muster the strength to face him. She could tell he wanted more than anything to murder the person responsible, but she had to suffer the first stages of his rage first.

"You were what?"

Jazmine felt her stomach rock from side to side as the car moved for a while, then came to another stop. She turned to see Huey place Dorothy in park, then shut off the engine. To her right, she could see the Freeman residence with its foyer and front door lights on.

"I was…" Jazmine said. She paused to sniff, not ready for more tears about to arrive. "Remember that night, when you visited me…at the hospital, and-"

"Jazmine," Huey took Jazmine's hand, one way to get her to look into his eyes. "You said you were in a horrible car accident. Right?"

"I didn't get in any accident. The truth is…I…"

Jazmine stopped speaking. Her face crumbled, reduce to wrinkles from heavy sobbing. She felt his arm brush over her shoulder and rest on her back. She shrugged it off, continuing to cry into her elbow. She jerked her hand away from his.

Huey frowned. "Jazmine, tell me the truth. Who did this to you?"

"I can't tell you!"

"Why not? Why not!"

"I'm scared…scared of what you might do!"

He slammed a fist on the steering wheel with his face fixed into a tight grimace. "Damnit, Jazmine!"

She knew her angry face was on when she rotated to face him. Her jaw muscles never felt so tight and warm in her life, as well as her fists she kept at her side. She heard B.B. King segue into Albert King's "Born Under a Bad Sign". "I just can't, okay? I know that if you found out the truth, you'd never be the same again!"

"Let me get this perfectly clear. You chastise me for being inebriated over the fact I can't get over Granddad's death, but you can't answer a simple question about something horrible as rape!"

"Fine, you wanna know?"

Lightning flashed, lighting up parts of the dark clouds in the sky and the interior of Dorothy. "Yes Jazmine, I wanna know. Who did it? Who?"

A large round of thunder surprisingly did not make Jazmine scared. She whispered, "Riley."

Seeing the rare event of Huey staring at her as if he'd seen a ghost made things more painful. She covered her mouth, trying her best to suppress her enormous cries full of anger, disappointment, and most of all, hurt and sorrow. Crying, she threw the door open and jumped out of the car. Albert King stopped singing and playing his guitar once she shut the door. She darted across the street to her own home, a place she unexpectedly felt more safe than with Huey. She was absolutely sure that he would not only be upset at her, but possibly lash out at his own flesh and blood.

. . .

Note: This is gonna be a short note. I can't put this up without thanking BabiiD0ll8o8 and MzMinni3 for reviewing the third chapter. Also Darkgene1988 for his comments on the chapter.