A Young Mother's Broken Heart:: Chapter Two
Disclaimer: I don't own the Outsiders or Phynix Ivy Adams.
A yawn escaped little Auralee Penrose's mouth adorably before she took a sip of apple juice from sippy cup. Her childlike gaze focused on her mother, Hazelle Penrose, as she grabbed the last of her bags from the main bedroom.
"Alright, baby girl!" Her mom was always an upbeat woman. "You ready?"
Auralee nodded eagerly with a smile on her angel like face, grabbing two of her rainbow patterned bags and waddling beside her mother.
Hazelle forced a smile for her baby; the last thing she wanted was for her daughter to feel the same dread she felt. Just the thought of arriving to her old home made her stomach twist unnaturally. A migraine threatened to begin its painful throb throughout her poor head. Luckily, she kept pain killers in one of her bags.
Breaking her train of thought, Hazelle passed another tenant of the apartment who was leaning in her doorway. By her icy stare and annoying smirk on her smug face, Hazelle could tell exactly what the other woman was thinking.
"Good riddance." The woman muttered rudely.
"Not in front of my kid, alright?" Hazelle replied impatiently, her own dark eyes forming into a glare.
"Won't be the first one you have." The woman shrugged. "Nigras like you lack the ability to keep their legs cl- Ah!"
A splash of cold amber liquid with ice collided with the woman's legs.
"That's not a nice word." Auralee muttered, crossing her tiny arms and drinking the last of the apple juice from her cup. Fighting back laughter, the young mother grabbed her baby's hand and left towards the elevator.
A couple minutes later the duo was on the road to Tulsa with their belongings in the trunk.
"Mommy, why do people say bad words like that?" Little Auralee questioned.
Her mommy shrugged, keeping her eyes on the road. "Some people are just ignorant like that, sweetheart. They jump to conclusions because we're black. But don't you ever let anyone speak to you like that, okay?"
Auralee nodded with a bright, beautiful smile.
Sighing, Hazelle rubbed her eyes. She had a couple more hours of driving to do and yet after only the first hour she was exhausted. On top of that she felt so unorganized and scatterbrained; her thoughts seemed to have a mind of their own as they jumped from topic to topic.
Flashback
"Hey Damion. Hey Jameek."
Said boys looked up from their dinner. It had been about a year after her parents had passed away; cancer claimed her mother and afterward her grieving father committed suicide. The oldest Penrose brother, then nineteen, was balancing two jobs and raising his seven and fourteen year old siblings.
"Are you okay, Elle?" Jameek asked, his deep voice laced with worry.
"Y-yea," She stuttered before her pretty teenage face crumpled and tears began to well in her eyes.
"Big sissy?" The youngest Penrose brother's big eyes began to tear as well.
"Hazelle, what is it?" Jameek questioned once again, more stern than he was before.
"I'm pregnant..." She managed to croak.
The dinner table fell silent. Damion, who didn't realize the severity of the situation at the time, was smiling brightly at her. Contrastingly, her oldest brother's face was one of disappointment and shock. Tears began to pool at the corners of his beautiful eyes.
"Who is the father?" His voice came it more stern than she'd expected.
"...Sodapop Curtis."
A three second pause.
"Hazelle you better not be fucking with m-"
"Would I lie about something like this!"
Damion cut in. "Why is everybody upset? Sissy is just having a baby."
By now the fourteen year old was slumped down in her seat, crying even harder than she was before. The entire room feel silent for a few heartbeats.
"What are we going to do?" Jameek managed to choke with a sniff, wiping his bloodshot eyes with the back of his hand.
"I don't know, Jay." Hazelle replied softly.
"I think you should call Sod-"
"NO!" The pregnant teen shrieked. Her two brothers jumped. "I-I don't want him to know. This'll just complicate his life more, with him working at the DX and Darry working two jobs and all. A baby will just fuck things up."
Jameek gave her a stern look. "But don't you love hi-"
"When you love someone you know when to let go... And what's best for them."
A sigh echoed through the dining room.
"What are you planning to do?"
"I want to move away." Hazelle nodded, as if trying to convince herself. "And I'll raise the baby on my own. We can find a cheap apartment and say that you'll be living with me so I won't have to worry about being underage."
Jameek stared at his baby sister for a long minute. "Are you sure you just don't wanna get an abor-"
"Don't even go there, Jameek." Hazelle bit the bottom of her lip, waiting for her brother's response.
"Whatever you think is best for you and the... Baby." A strange look overcame his usually handsome face as he struggled to get out the last word.
Hazelle cracked a feeble smile.
The rest of the week passed in a fast blur. Day after day she'd find herself rubbing the tiny 3 month bump of her belly, thinking of names and who the baby would fair the most; every night until their departure little Damion would come into his big sister's room and rub her swollen feet or have some food for her. Then, she'd smile and tell him how much of a sweetheart he was. Jameek found a cheap apartment out in Ohio and the plan Hazelle constructed worked flawlessly.
"Alright, Haye, you ready to go?" Jameek asked with a saddened smile.
Hazelle nodded, brushing a strand of black hair from her face. "Y-yea. Just give me a moment. I need to do something real fast."
Rushing into the house, Hazelle grabbed their banana yellow telephone and dialed a familiar number. Her eyes flickered to the ceiling, tears forming in her dark eyes already.
"Hello, Curtis household." A female's voice greeted politely.
"Phynix. Hey." The teenager responded. Phynix Ivy Adams had been her best friend since kindergarten and, in her opinion, one of the prettiest white girls she's ever met.
"Hazelle! How's it going'?" Phynix responded bubbly.
"Eh, not all that great. Is Soda there, though? I need to talk to him real quick."
"Sure, hold on."
A bit of shuffling was heard from her end of the line.
"Hey baby!" Soda's equally bubbly voice responded.
Hazelle felt her heart flutter and her stomach fill with delicate butterflies; she'd definitely miss that feeling.
"Hey Soda..."
Be straightforward. Be straightforward. Be straightforward.
"Soda, baby, I'm leaving."
"W-what? What do you mean you're leaving? What's wrong?"
"I'm being threatened... because I'm black and with you and all. Jameek and Damion will be coming back soon but they're about to take me to my Uncle's house out in Ohio... for protection."
Lies.
"... the fuck! H-" He let out a growl then and Hazelle felt her heart jump out of fear this time. Sure, Soda was probably the most carefree boy she's ever met but when he's pissed, well, it wasn't pretty.
"I love you, okay?" Her normally pretty voice shook uncontrollably before she slammed the phone on the receiver. She brought her hand to her mouth, squeezing her eyes shut.
"Haye? Come on, sweetheart."
And with that she turned her back on her past and walked towards her unclear future.
Everything went as planned from then on. Jameek and Damion resided in Ohio with her for the next couple months, dealing with her unpredictable mood swings and insane cravings. They even witnessed the birth of their niece, Auralee Sodapop Penrose, right on time. Her skin was a caramel color, which was expected due to her heritage, and on top of her head were sandy brown curls that made her honey blonde streaks more prominent in the summer and browner during the cold months of winter.
"She's beautiful," Jameek had muttered as the newborn held onto his pinkie finger. But, as he stared into Auralee's lively brown eyes, he couldn't help but think of how his sister would forever be reminded of Soda.
End Flashback
"Baby," Hazelle gently shook her sleeping baby's shoulder. "We're here! Our new home."
Stretching her chubby little arms towards the sky with a yawn, Auralee reached for her mom afterwards. Hazelle took her into her arms and caught her on her hip. Walking towards the trunk, the mother attempted to pull out her keys from her back pocket; with just her luck, they fell onto the sidewalk below.
She almost fainted when she turned around.
There stood one of the pretties white girl's she'd ever seen; her long, wavy brown hair cascaded down her back and her grey hazel eyes registered shock and happiness at the same time. She wore jeans, converse, and a light blue v-neck were draped over her curvy frame.
"Hazelle?"
"Phynix?"
A pair of screams pierced the afternoon. Phynix Ivy Adams threw her arms around her long time best friend's neck as she returned the favor.
"Oh my God, Haye, you look so pret-" Phynix pulled away to look at her, but stopped short once she saw they younger Penrose family member.
"Oh, Nix, this is my daughter, Auralee. She's th- I mean, she just turned one." Hazelle lied unsmoothly so her friend couldn't connect the dots.
"Oh, she's so beautiful." She sing songed skeptically, smiling at the baby and looking into Auralee's eyes. The youngest smiled back a bright smile.
"Thank you, Miss. Nix!"
"Aw, baby girl, just call me Nix."
"Okay!"
The front door of the ivory colored house opened with a loud creak, making all of the girls turn away form the cute exchange. In the doorway stood Jameek, who had the world's biggest grin plastered on his face. Hazelle squealed like a little girl, running into him open arms with Auralee still in hers.
"Well, if it isn't my two most favorite girls in the world." He chuckled. "Oh, and then there's you, Phynix."
She let out a low chuckle; Phynix wasn't much of a racist, but she was a bit wary of the opposite race. "Can I at least come in with you guys?"
"I don't see why not." Jameek shrugged before looking down at Auralee. "Hey, do you remember me, sweetheart?"
When she tilted her head to the side adorably, he continued: "I'm your Uncle Meek!"
A look dawned upon her face before Auralee grinned. "OH!"
"You're the cutest little thing..." He thought out loud as he took her into his arms and walked her into the house. Hazelle and Phynix followed, chatting excitedly.
"So," Hazelle nudged the taller girl with her elbow. "How are you and Dally?"
Phynix rolled her eyes, exasperated. "Oh, please, I'm done with that asshole for good. I might just go and date a Soc."
"Very funny."
Suddenly, a little boy burst through the kitchen and landed on the shorter one's lap.
"Hazelle! Hazelle! Hazelle!"
Said girl gasped, grabbing the boy into a hug and squeezing him with all of her might.
"Aw, Damion, I missed you! Did you see your little niece?" She questioned, pulling away to look into his gorgeous eyes.
"Yes, big sissy. She's really pretty." Damion responded; he added: "Hey Phynix."
"Hey, lil man." Phynix bumped his fist lightly before running the same hand through her hair.
Hour by hour passed with not much recollection that didn't have to do with laughing, joking, and just plain old catching up. Auralee loved Phynix by the end of the night, clinging to the girl like a magnet and calling her auntie by the end of the night. Damion lounged on his big sister's long legs affectionately, looking up at her with love and affection. And Jameek was, well, Jameek; he cracked jokes and embarrassed his youngest brother, laughing at his response and beet red face.
"Goodnight, you two." Jameek whispered at the end of the night, putting a blanket over the family before heading into the kitchen. They were all knocked out on the couch with Hazelle's arms around Auralee on their backs while Damion was curled up on Hazelle's legs.
The brunette leaned against the counter, sipping a small glass of water. When Jameek entered, she glanced up at him.
"The plan is in motion?" Jameek questioned, smirking at her.
"Hell yes."
~XO~
OOOO THERE'S A PLAN! ;D Sorry for the late update, people, this weekend has been so hectic, especially with Easter and all. But I'm working on chapter three, where I'll be introducing my third girl! Happy holidays to anyone who celebrates Easter or Passover! Sorry if the whole 'I'm pregnant' scene wasn't dramatic enough; I didn't wanna do the whole 'guardian gets mad and flips out' kind of reveal, I just wanted it to be more dissappointed than mad. XD R&R for me!
I'M A GENIE FOR YOU, BOY! :p