Yesterday's Tomorrow

By Danielle Seck

Who says a girl needs her mother to teach her how to drive down the road toward womanhood? That may not necessarily be true, but for Alyx, she can’t help but wonder if her mother could have at least helped her avoid some of the potholes; potholes that often leave her broken down and inoperable.

It doesn’t matter that growing up Alyx’s mother turns a blind eye while Alyx is one punch away from getting a black eye as a result of the torment her mother’s boyfriend, Tony, puts her through. As if that isn’t enough, Tony invites his son to participate in the destruction of Alyx’s childhood. In spite of it all, even as an adult Alyx longs for the love and comfort of her mother. But at some point a girl has to realize that when someone doesn’t love her, perhaps she needs to let the relationship go, even if it is with her mother.

Bound and determined to jump behind the wheel without a license and find her way to her destiny on her own, Alyx does what everyone expects of a girl who ended up in foster care as a child; she gets lost. For once in her life she’s relieved when she meets a man who she feels she’s headed in the right direction with. When he turns out to be someone totally opposite than who Alyx thought he was, she finds herself at a fork in the road. Decisions have to be made. It’s a matter of life and death; and not just for Alyx.

• Language: English
• Publisher: D. Smith Enterprises
• Release date: Dec 30, 2016
• ISBN: 9780998496511

Book preview

Yesterday’s Tomorrow

By Danielle Seck

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Published by D. Smith Enterprises

700 Morse Road

Suite 207

Columbus, Ohio 43214

Copyright©2017 by D. Smith Enterprises

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior consent of the publisher, except for brief quotes used in reviews.

Printed in the United States of America

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This is a work of fiction. Any references or similarities to actual events, real people, living or dead, or to real locales are intended to give the novel a sense of reality. Any similarity in other names, characters, places and incidents is entirely coincidental. This book is the product of the author’s imagination and is not to be construed as real. It is not meant to depict, portray or represent any particular real persons. The content is not meant to be offensive, but a work of fiction for reading entertainment only.

Library of Congress Control Number 2016920838

Dedication

To my first born, Deja. You have been my sunshine since day one. Thank you for making me a better person, mother, and woman. I love you with everything in me. I thank God I will never know life without you.

Acknowledgment

I thank God for being an amazing Father! I thank Him for protecting me as a child and into adulthood. I am thankful and honored that He trusted me to write this story and help others. I thank God for the people He placed in my life so that I could realize that there are wonderful people in this world that will love me unconditionally.

I am thankful for my amazing husband, Abdoulaye, who has been a shoulder during this process. Thank you for being the calm to my storm. Thank you for being supportive and listening to all of the ideas that come to me (even at the craziest hours). You have wiped my tears the nights I went through a cleansing process to get this story out, and I am appreciative. Thank you for seeing more in me and pushing me. Thank you for choosing to love me .

I am thankful to my oldest baby girl, Deja, who helped me through this process by naming characters and letting me know that I had to take this step and write my first book. Thank you for loving me when I didn’t understand or know what love meant.

I am thankful to my youngest two babies, Saliou and Amina. You came into my life at a great time where I had grown so much. I am thankful for everything you have taught me; mainly patience. You two have shown me how to love in a new way, and I am so grateful God gave me the privilege of raising you guys. I love everything about you, always and forever!

I am thankful for my mother, Catherine. Thank you for being here at this point in my life. We have come a long way and I am grateful to God for that. I am glad that you have allowed this story to bring healing to us and others. I love you bunches.

To my wonderful leaders, Apostle and Pastor Maurice Broomfield of Power and Glory Ministries International; thank you for being loving and caring. Your prayers and support have meant everything to me. Pastor Sherry, your smile is warm and welcoming, and you have been a great example of a mother, wife, and woman of God! Thank you for all of the smiles, telling me you love me, the hugs, prayers, telling me to be encouraged, and more. I have never taken for granted any time you spoke life into me. I am grateful for you being obedient and saving my life in 2003 from the thoughts and planned acts of suicide. Thank you for never pushing me away. I love you both!

I’m so thankful for my best friend, Davina. You are thee best friend anyone can have. Words cannot express how I feel about you, but I will try . You came into my life when I was at my lowest, and you were the light that I needed. You have been consistent since day one. Thank you for loving and accepting me and my family. Thank you for all of our talks. Even when you were putting me in my place, it was in love. During our talks you would always tell me about your mom and the wisdom she left with you. It  made me want to be a better mom. You have been my cheerleader from day one, and I can never repay you enough. Every I love you I received from you gave me strength. You helped me understand unconditional love, and with that I was able to find happiness. Thank you for being you. Thank you for allowing me to be the fourth sister in the Jackson squad! You have shared your wonderful and amazing sisters, Delica and Darla, with me, and you ladies have been amazing examples to me and my family, especially Deja, and I am forever grateful. Thank you for loving and accepting me.

Thank you to Elder Scott and Prophetess Roberson for all of your prayers and support. I have never taken for granted, and never will, one conversation we have ever had. I am honored that you two love me and my family and want the best for us.

To my amazing editor, Joylynn Ross; You have been an absolute delight to work with. I am so honored to work with you. I am at awe how you put your pen to the same paper as I, and how what comes from your ending product is pure excellence. You inspire me and push me. Thank you for being a teacher, leader, and an amazing example. I am so glad I stalked you and finally opened my mouth to talk to you. You have been exactly what I needed at the exact point in my life. Thank you!

To my sister girl, Kizzy Cassell; Thank you for pushing me to start this book. One conversation at your restaurant turned into this book. Thank you for helping me with everything I have done. Your push and drive have been inspirational. You have opened your network to me and have been so willing to share your knowledge with me. Thank you for reminding me that there are no limits to what God can help me to achieve.

Thank you to my cousin, Saundrea, for believing in me and loving me. You have been instrumental, and I am grateful.

Thank you to Leann Brown for reading my manuscript during the last stages and giving me your feedback. Thank you for all of your encouraging words. I am honored to know and work with you.

Kelli Bolton; thank you for your advice and friendship. You are one of a kind, and I’m so honored that God placed you in my life.

Nicole Farve, you are a great example of a sister. Thank you for your prayers, support, and love. You have blown my mind with the support you have given me, and I will forever be grateful.

There are so many others that I can name and thank, and I promise I will in the next book. Hint, hint . . . there will be a part two.

Chapter 1

Every evening I had to walk the dog. Poor dog; I can’t even remember its name. I do remember that it was a boy dog; an adult size Doberman Pincher. The four legged pet was his dog anyway—Tony’s dog—not mine. The dog came with Tony when Tony had entered our lives—my mother’s and mine—one year prior. He’d had it for a long time he’d said. That dog was truly my friend. Dang, why can’t I remember his name? I suppose anything that pertained to Tony I wanted no part of then, let alone memories of now. But taking the dog out had become my chore. That much I do remember, because thanks to one night in particular, it will be hard for me to ever forget.

Hey, Alyx, get up and go take the dog out, Tony ordered me. You know the drill. It’s getting late. What do you want him to do, crap all over the house? Which suits me just fine, because if he does, guess who has got to clean it up? He let out a sound that was a cross between a harrumph and a snicker.

I cringed inside at just the sound of Tony’s voice. It always seemed to put tiny cracks in my spirit that were slowly, but sure enough spreading. It was kind of like the small fracture in a windshield that the tiniest pebble shooting from under a semi’s tire could cause. It started out small, but before you knew it, the entire windshield had cracked. I’d endured the wrath of Tony for quite some time now. I didn’t know how much more time needed to go by before my spirit would no longer just be chipped, but completely shattered . . . broken.

Now! Tony roared before I even had time to get up from the Indian style position I’d been seated in on the living room floor in front of the television.

I jumped at Tony’s voice. One would think I would have been used to it by now. But wouldn’t it have been a tad abnormal for a person to get used to something that made them feel bad? And Tony had a way of making me feel bad just by opening his mouth. Nothing nice, soft, or kind ever came out of Tony’s mouth. Just mean, hard, and rough words managed to escape. It was like he was always mad at the world. Or maybe it was just me he was always mad at. Not sure what all an elementary school aged kid could have done to make him so mad, but I had.

He had a deep, booming voice that paralyzed me. He would often have to repeat himself to me because the first time he’d speak I’d freeze up and wouldn’t react fast enough. And Tony hated nothing more than having to repeat himself, so I was always in trouble when it came to that.

Tony’s words moved like a serpent. They reached out and grabbed me by the throat, stifling my voice. His words would latch onto me and have me cemented to the ground where I couldn’t move. His words were his actions; they had limbs that scratched at my soul. They lived. They had life and somehow managed to take the life out of me.

I was able to jump to my feet to go take out the dog. Even though the dog wasn’t mine, I still didn’t mind taking him out. It often gave me an excuse to get away from Tony. That dog had been my salvation many of times, so I hate that I can’t remember its darn name. Doesn’t surprise me though; I don’t even want to remember its master’s name, let alone anything that might reminded me of its master.

I wish that God could magically wipe out the part of my childhood that involved Tony from my memory bank. But then what would be left? Certainly there was good buried somewhere in my mind. Must be piled up underneath all the bad. But boy would it be nice if all recollections of Tony could vanish just like the boogey man; that supernatural being that never really existed, that was nothing more than a  mere figment in a child’s mind. But Tony was real, real mean, so I knew I’d better hurry up and take that dog out before things turned from just being verbal to something far worse.

I grudgingly dragged myself over to the living room closet to retrieve my flimsy, little pink coat. Like I mentioned before, I usually didn’t mind taking the dog out; gave me an escape from some of the madness that sometimes took place in my home. But as bipolar as Ohio’s weather was, it was having an uncharacteristically cold winter. I mean it was freezing outside! I knew Old Man Winter was going to eat right through my coat. We even had indoor recess at school because of the low temperature.

No matter how cold it was outside, Tony’s blood was about to boil over as he continued his rant. And remember not to come back in here until that dog craps, Tony reminded me as I walked over to the door. He barked more than that dog, and I learned the hard way that his bite was even worse.

Once I got to the door I looked at my mother. Can you come with me? I asked her. I’d walked that dog a plenty of times before. I don’t know why on this particular evening something inside made me ask my mother if she would go with me. It had been getting darker outside early since setting the clocks back an hour for daylight saving time. Why I asked didn’t matter, though, thanks to Tony.

No! Tony hollered before my mom could even answer. Do what the heck I told you. Take that dog and get on out of here.

I looked to my mom. Even though I’d never seen her override Tony, there was always hope. But she looked straight ahead at the television like I hadn’t said a word. She’d heard me though. There’s no way she couldn’t have. The television wasn’t even that loud. For some reason she just couldn’t turn and look at me.

I was my mom’s only child, so I didn’t even have any siblings I could ask to go with me out into the cold and darkness. Tony had two children, but they would only come over every other weekend.

Looked like it would be just me and the dog. I called for the dog and then grabbed the doorknob, prepared to go tackle the below freezing temperatures. I opened the door, looking back at my mom one last time. She hadn’t budged. My mom must have been as afraid of Tony as I was, which was why I couldn’t understand why she’d chosen him for a boyfriend. Who wanted someone they were afraid of as their boyfriend? But I was just a kid at the time. What did I know? What I did know was that my mom had good reason to be afraid of Tony. He’d hit her before. I’d seen him hit her. Even behind the closed door in the confinements of their bedroom I could hear the beatings that took place. Later there would be proof positive on my mother by