Felicity and Jason: A Southern Love Story

By Tabeitha Pollard

Jason Miller is a man of means. He owns his own record label and movie production studio. At the age of thirty-five, he has proven himself to be as much of a success as Tyler Perry. He has money, property and can have whatever woman he wants at his disposal.... except the one woman he gave his all to. After his wife walked out on him to be with one of his former artists, Jason swore he would never love another woman that deeply again. Soon after his divorce he became known in the industry as a player. He was going through life thinking he was just fine until one audition would change his mind and make him think that maybe his life wasn’t as great as he thought it was after all.

Felicity Brooks is what you would call a quadruple threat. She can act, sing, dance and model. A former child commercial actor, she left the acting world behind when she started high school to have a chance at a normal life. At least that is what she led everyone to believe. In reality she got pregnant at fourteen and had to bow out of the limelight to raise her daughter and go to school. The residual money she had was supposed to last her at least until she graduated from college, but that wasn’t the case. Her parents blew through her money forcing Felicity to join the Army after she graduated high school so she could provide for her daughter. She packed up her daughter and relocated to Atlanta to audition for a part in a new pilot about military spouses. She felt that with her background in acting and military, she would be perfect for the role. But at the audition she got more than she bargained for.

The connection between Felicity and Jason was almost instant and had them both questioning everything they said about love and relationships. They try to keep their relationship light and casual, but you know what they say... even the best laid plans can crumble once that thing called love is added to the mix.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Royalty Publishing House
• Release date: Sep 24, 2019
• ISBN: 9781648402463

Tabeitha Pollard

Tabeitha Pollard is a lifelong native of Virginia. Spending most of her childhood in Lancaster County, she developed a love of books at an early age. Citing Maya Angelou as one of her literary heroes, she has tried to develop a style of writing similar, yet unique. She is a graduate of Hampton High School and spent two years in the United States Army where she was a Medic. She now currently resides in the Middle Peninsula region of Virginia. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Book preview

2010

"J ust one more push and you’ll have your baby. Come on Fefe, push!" my mom called out.

I wanted to cuss her out, but that would be rude considering I was only fourteen. Yes, I am a fourteen-year old pushing out a baby. I had my life planned out. I was going to stop acting in commercials and start doing movies. My manager was my mom and I know that she was pissed at me.

I got pregnant by another child star, Dylan James, who acted on The Young and the Restless. He caught me on a weak moment. He was older, seventeen, and told me that I was pretty. He showed me all the attention that my parents didn’t, and I fell for it. He thought I was older and the next thing I knew I was in the back of his Benz getting my cherry popped.

Mom, this really hurts! I cried as another contraction hit. I felt this burning sensation in my cookie. It felt like someone stuck a hot branding iron down there.

Did it hurt when you laid down and made this baby? Did it hurt when you ruined your career and threw all that money away? Stop whining and push! my mom yelled at me making me cry.

Okay, that’s it. Mom, you’re going to have to leave, the doctor said.

I most certainly will not! my mom exclaimed.

Ma’am you most certainly will. She may be fourteen and she may be your child, but at this moment she is my patient. She is young, innocent and scared. The last thing she needs is you in here talking to her like that. Now you can stand over there or get the hell out! the doctor demanded.

When the doctor yelled at my mom, my mom left the room. I relaxed instantly. I gathered up enough strength to lift my body up and push. I gave one good, hard push and then I heard my baby crying. I was officially a mother. They let me hold my daughter for a few seconds before they took her to clean her up.

She’s beautiful. She looks about seven pounds. Despite what your mom has been saying all day, you’re going to be a good mom, she said.

I hoped that she was right because I had no clue as to what I was doing. I just hoped that I made my daughter proud.

Four years later…

M om! What the hell is this shit? I only have two thousand dollars left from my commercial money! What the fuck! I yelled.

I had just come from the bank so that I would be able to move some money from my main account into the trust that I put in place for my daughter Avalon Bailey. But imagine my surprise when I get there and find out that the ten thousand dollars that I was trying to move was gone.

That was my last residual that I had. That was the money that was supposed to pay for my first semester at college and to make sure my daughter was straight. I should’ve known my dumb ass parents would do some foul shit like this. It was in their nature to do some shit like that.

It wasn’t like they gave a damn about me anyway. I made my folks rich for years while doing commercials for stores like JC Penny, Macy’s and McDonald’s. I was once known as the little girl from the Cheerios commercials. I was cute and funny. People loved me and I was set to star in a new series, but I got pregnant and had to leave Hollywood for my mom’s home state of Virginia.

We were living in Hampton and I was doing good. I was now a senior at Hampton High and about to graduate with Honors. I had a partial scholarship to Virginia Union, and I was ready to get the hell away from my drunk ass parents. But now I had to make other plans because my safety net was sitting in the registers at local liquor stores.

That’s the family money. I’ll spend it anyway I want you, dumb bitch, my mom slurred.

That was the money to take care of Avalon! I hate you! I screamed.

You think I give a rat’s ass. I never wanted to have you anyway. Thank your father for that shit. If I had a choice you would’ve been sucked out my pussy like the rest of them. You were only good for a check and you fucked that up when you had that little brat. I guess now that I had turned eighteen a week prior, she could tell me how she really felt about me.

All of the loving words she used to say to me before auditions and at dress rehearsals were just that, words. She didn’t want me or even like me. I was just a burden to her, and I was real life hurt behind it.

Why in the hell are you all yelling? A man can’t sleep around here with you bitches cat calling, my dad groaned as he sat up on the dingy gray couch that he always slept on.

I just sighed and went to my room and slammed the door. I took a deep breath and changed out of mt JROTC uniform and put on a pair of PINK tights and a matching shirt. I had thirty minutes to myself before I had to pick my daughter up from the babysitter.

I was so grateful that a neighbor offered to help me watch Avalon, because the way my parents were set up, my child wouldn’t have made it past a month. Miss Gina was a godsend because she made sure we both ate, and she taught me how to be a mother and let me know that I was doing a good job.

I took a look at myself in the mirror and gave myself a self-satisfied smile. I was a beautiful girl. I was five-seven with skin the color of semi-sweet chocolate with hazel eyes and wild, curly hair that reached the middle of my back. My eyes were wide-set and round. I had a small nose and full lips. I had one dimple under the right side of my mouth and a mole on my left temple.

My body was slim thick since I had Avalon. I used to be shaped like a board. No ass, no titties, just hair. But as soon as I got pregnant my body changed. I started to look like a woman, and I loved my new curves. The only thing was, my fatherhad noticed too.

I would notice how he would eye me when I would walk around the house doing things for my daughter. It got so bad that I spent most of my nights at Miss Gina’s house. I had a feeling that my father would try me soon after graduation. For some reason my parents had finally shown me who they really were now that we were broke.

I’m gone, I said and left out the door without looking back.

I climbed into the Honda Civic that I bought myself when I turned sixteen and pulled off. I drove to the next street towards Miss Gina’s house and I finally felt like I was able to breathe. I pulled up to her cute little three-bedroom ranch style house with the huge magnolia in the front yard and a bunch of beautiful begonia bushes by her door.

Come on in here and fix you a plate. I just finished cooking and my little buzzard is already at the table, Miss Gina said as soon as I walked in.

As soon as I walked in the door, I felt like I was at home. I could smell the smothered pork chops, mustard greens, corn pudding, stewed tomatoes, cornbread and sweet potato pie. I walked through her neat, yet cluttered living room, and followed her to her kitchen and saw my beautiful baby sitting in her seat coloring a picture.

Avalon Bailey Brooks was my face in a preschooler form. She had my eyes, nose and mouth, and even the same dimple. The only difference was, she was light skin. But that was because her father was white. Dylan was non-existent in our lives and had yet to send us any money, and I refused to ask him. I was sure that his parents didn’t even know they had a granddaughter that was half-black.

Hi Mommy! How was school? my little munchkin asked me like she was the mother.

School was fine sugar. How was your day? I asked her.

It was fun! Granny took me to see the chickens and then I got a Happy Meal. Then we cooked dinner, she told me.

I smiled, kissed her on the forehead, and then went to the sink to wash my hands. I grabbed one of the light blue plates that Miss Gina had set on the counter and went to the stove to pile my plate high with food. I sat down next to Avalon and cut up her food before taking her hand and saying grace.

Did you get what you needed to get done today? Miss Gina asked in between bites of food.

I’m flat broke. I only have two-thousand dollars left from the fifty thousand that was in there two months ago when I bought my senior package. I can’t even go to prom now, let alone college, I said as my voice trembled.

Avalon, go to your room and watch some tv please. I need to talk you your mommy, Miss Gina said and looked dead in my eyes.

Okay Granny! Avalon grabbed her cookies that were by her plate and took off down the hall.

Don’t you ever let Avalon see any weakness in you. Now your parents should be ashamed of themselves. But they are some weird ass people. Don’t worry about prom either. I’ve been saving for prom since the day you brought that baby in here. Every dime you gave me, I put up for this day. Now go shower and get some sleep. You got school in the morning, she told me.

I swear I wish you were my mama, I told her as I hugged her.

I am your mama. Just not by blood, she said and then put me out her kitchen.

I went into the room that she made up for me and Avalon and looked at my baby girl watching Disney Jr. on the television. I was determined to be better than my parents were for my daughter, even though just by giving her a bath every night was better. Dylan was missing out on an amazing kid, and it was a shame that he was still ignoring her.

Okay sweetie time to get in your pajamas. It’s almost bedtime, I said.

We’re staying home tonight? she asked.

I felt really bad then. The house that we went to most nights wasn’t a home for us. Just a place to lay our heads until something happened. Miss Gina’s house was what we considered home and that was a sad thing. I paid for the house my parents destroyed and I didn’t even have enough fight in me to put them out. What was the point anyway? All they would do was probably go to the blogs and air my dirty laundry again.

Yes, we are. Now PJs on, I said and grabbed her Sleeping Beauty nightgown.

We climbed into the bed and Avalon cuddled up next to me before she fell asleep. That was the only way she would sleep, and she would go to sleep within seconds. It had been that way since she was about six months old. And she was still falling asleep on my chest every night. I never wanted this feeling to change.

D ammit! I need you to get this right Dylan. You wanted to rebrand yourself as an artist, now I need you to sing, I barked at my newest artist.

Dylan James was this former soap star that lost his mojo a few years back. He got fired from the soap and was just doing a bunch of Lifetime movies where he played the deadbeat teenage father or some shit like that. He was a big pain in my ass, but I was doing this for my wife. She claimed that he could make us real money because of his name.

But this dumb ass white boy didn’t have it. I mean, he had some vocal capability and shit, but he didn’t have that ‘it’ factor. He wasn’t Justin Timberlake, and I couldn’t even give him G-Easy. But let my wife tell it, he was the next Justin Bieber or some shit. All I know is that this shit is costing me a whole lotta money.

I just got a lot of shit on my mind. I can’t get my shit right, he mumbled.

You need to put that shit in a song or come the fuck out the booth. You wasting a lot of money and time if your head’s not in this, I said.

That was the one thing I hated about being a producer and shit. Artists wanted you to make the beat, coach them on how to sing, and be their fucking therapist. Shit was exhausting at times and I almost said fuck it a few times. That was until I saw the credit card statements each month.

Raven was the reason why my ass wasn’t fully legit yet. I was still deep in the game and making moves with her father. Raven’s ass was clueless to her father’s business moves, but my ass had been in the game since birth. My father