Love. Pain. Piece

By J. Latrice

Milan and Melanie are best friends but when tragedy strikes they are forced to live together. Love starts to blossom between Milan and her mystery man while Melanie is left to her own devices with a mutual friend turned lover. Pain drives these friends further apart and both girls’ lives start falling apart Piece by piece.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9781669874829

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Melanie

Tap! Tap! Mel! Are you up?! Mel! I slowly opened one eye while whispering Damn! Not again! I knew that it was no one other than my bestfriend Milan. This was her 3rd time this week coming to my home after 1am! I sat up, wiped my eyes & made my way to my window to see Milan standing in the yard wearing Nike slides, booty shorts, & an oversized hoodie holding a joint with a big smile on her face. I put on a fake smile because I was tired as hell but I knew she needed me. I tiptoed downstairs cautiously trying not to wake my parents. Before opening the door, I turned the alarm off. I lived in a quiet neighborhood with green grass, porches, & nosey neighbors. Milan lived totally opposite. She stayed in the hood. The hood that never slept. Everyone knew everyone & there was always some drama going on no matter the night. Her mother did her own thing & dealt with numerous men & had. Drug problem. Milan & I didn’t talk about it much but her being at my house was her way of escaping.

I never was much of a smoker until I met Milan. She wasn’t necessarily a bad influence but there were so many things that i got introduced to because of her and needless to say my parents didn’t care for her because of it.

Girl! You ain’t gonna believe who asked about you! Milan said while taking a hit of the blunt.

Who! I questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Milan smirked & said

Giiiiirrrrl! He’s tall, brown skin, got the kind of waves that make you sea sick, & got a big dick! She chuckled, passing the blunt to me.

Oh my god Milan! I laughed. Jamel? I guessed. Yep! Milan exclaimed

Wait... how do you know he has a big dick? Milan please don’t tell me you…
Milan burst into laughter cutting me off.

No! I wouldn’t do that to you! I know that’s your man. In your mind. She whispered with a smirk.

I gave her a side-eye.Whatever.

Truthfully, I really did like Jamel. He was always so nice. He complimented me often and was always a gentleman. He even used to walk Milan and I home from school before he got a scholarship to that private school to play basketball.

Jamel was good at all sports really. He played a little of everything. Basketball, football, baseball, and soccer. He even ran track. He had many friends & tons of girls who would have loved the chance to be with him. He was never the player type though. He lived in the same neighborhood as Milan & was raised by a single mother. His mother was nothing like Milan’s mom though. She was a hard worker. Went to college & had a good job at the hospital as a RN. She was gone a lot so Jamel & his brother pretty much did what they wanted but he was just the type of guy that I could see myself with

We continued smoking, laughing, and carrying on. When I looked down at my watch I realized it was almost 4am. I got up abruptly and whispered Shit! I really needed to get to bed. I had a huge exam in the morning. I always did well in school but had been slacking a bit as of recently and lord knows I didn’t want to hear my parents’ mouths about me failing another test. This would for sure get me grounded. I always felt guilty for leaving Milan because I knew that she had no one to talk to.

I sat on the step for a while pondering my next move. I knew Milan wouldn’t be happy about me calling it a night.

If you gotta go then go. Milan finally spoke.

Are you sure? I could stay a few more minutes I replied, not wanting to upset her.

Bye Melanie, Milan said in an annoyed tone.

She stood up, dusted the debris from the porch steps off her butt, and began to walk off throwing up the peace sign.

I knew Milan was upset but I was sure she would get over it. She always does!

A few hours later I woke up to the smell of blueberry waffles and turkey bacon. I sat up in bed and wiped my eyes, removing the little bit of sleep that I did get from them. I hopped off of my bed as my stomach began to growl and threw my slippers on. I went into the kitchen to greet my parents and baby brother Mason. Mom smiled at me warmly while breastfeeding mason & said Morning Mel Bell. How did you sleep?

I plastered a smile on my face and spoke back Okay I guess. Dad looked at me eagerly while stirring his coffee and said,

You probably shouldn’t have been up all night with Milan then. I know dad I retorted, rolling my eyes.

I’m just trying to be a good friend to her. You know her situation, I continued. Yes, Mel & that’s very unfortunate. Mom chimed in. But that doesn’t mean putting her before your responsibilities and well-being. Don’t you have a test today? "She asked. I nodded my head in disappointment. I knew they were right but I felt they didn’t really understand how close Milan and I really are.

Dad walked over to me & kissed me on the foreheadYou have such a good heart Mellie but I just want the best for you.

I know dad. I whispered back while picking through my breakfast. I had suddenly lost my appetite

My parents were well aware of Milan’s living situation. We had been friends since the 9th grade. My mom tried to be there for Milan because she knew how important it was to me but Milan never respected my parents. Honestly she didn’t respect anyone. Once while Milan’s mom, Sherry was out of town and Milan stayed with us, my mom overheard Milan tell me to lie to my parents about where she was going. She would sneak out & come back inside smelling of weed and sometimes liquor. The smell was so strong it would linger through the house. I tried to warn Milan several times that she had to calm down if she wanted my parents to like her. She didn’t care though. She did what she wanted at home and felt my house should be no different.

After breakfast, I ran upstairs to get dressed for school. I had tons of clothes and a beautiful room. I had a large vanity mirror where I would often play in my makeup and a tall door mirror where I would go through several outfit changes. I’m not very conceited but I knew my parents had good genes. I’m average height for a 16 year old girl but I’m also very fit shoulder length curly goldish/reddish hair & curls that were a good mix of my mom’s straight hair and my dad’s coils. My Skin the color of butterscotch with a face full of lightly marked freckles. I inherited them from my caucasian mother. My full lips were an indication of my African American DNA.

People would always accuse me of thinking I was all that because of how I looked. I would often go home in tears because I was always picked on. That was until I met Milan my freshman year of high school. I was the new girl. I had just transferred on the account of my dad’s new job as a lawyer for a large law firm. Before I had arrived from Michigan I had no problem getting friends but when I moved to New Orleans girls my age saw me as being stuck up which was far from the truth. I always smiled but I didn’t talk out of turn when people talked around me. I didn’t want to seem too desperate or needy for friends.

It had been about 2 weeks since I started here & I hadn’t made any friends. The girls would walk by me & laugh. I’m guessing it was an intimidation tactic & back then it worked. They would pretend to be my friend to get me to let them copy my class work. I had mostly honors classes & I took my school work seriously. I was naive and desperate for friends so i agreed. They would go as far as calling me a hoe if they saw a guy flirting or being too nice to me. I didn’t even like any of those guys but my mom always told me to accept a compliment. I hated that people didn’t try to get to know the new girl before they passed judgment.

After 3 whole weeks of being picked on & pushed over, I sat alone at a lunch table in the corner. I put my head down and began to sob silently. I heard footsteps approaching the table so I pulled myself together.

Hey! Milan said loudly.

I sat up hesitantly & replied Oh hey…

When I looked up, I saw a very pretty girl standing before me wearing some distressed jeans and an oversized graphic tee with Tupac’s face on it. She had jet black hair that was blown out and pulled up into a messy bun. I could tell that despite it being a messy bun she took her time on her hair because her edges were laid.

Immediately I prepared myself for embarrassment. I thought that Milan was there to make fun of me or to pretend to be friends to get something in return.

HI. I’m Milan. She said with a slight smile.

You’re the new girl? she asked with her arms folded across her chest.

Yeah…I’m new. I replied.

Look, if you wanna come sit at the table with us you can. While pointing across the lunchroom to a group of guys being rowdy, laughing, and clowning with one another. I was for sure that it was a set up but that didn’t stop me from agreeing.

Milan hung out with guys. Most females got on her nerves with their emotions and jealous ways. With guys Milan didn’t have to worry about all the cattiness and she was comfortable around them. She was also pretty tomboyish despite how pretty and put together she was.

Walking up to the table Milan motioned for me to sit across from her while pushing the boys over a bit. I took a seat next to this 6 foot, 180 pound, football player. He didn’t even try to scoot over and make room for me. I just kept thinking about how rude he was. I mean half of me was hanging off the chair & I had to use my foot for support so I wouldn’t fall.

Milan cleared her throat trying to demand attention from the boys. They stopped & looked at her with inquisitive faces. She did a once over of all the guys at the table & made direct eye contact with the guy Ray, who I was sitting next to.

Y’all are so rude! she said in an aggravated tone.

The guys still looked confused wondering what Milan was talking about until Ray glanced over finally & saw me sitting next to him.

Aww snap! Ray exclaimed. I ain’t even notice you sitting right here. My bad. My name is Ray he continued trying to flirt with me. I decided to be polite even though i really wasn’t interested. I figured being rude wouldn’t increase my chances of being friends with these guys.

Hi, I’m Melanie. Nice to meet you. I said, smiling at him.

I had always been really shy. I admired the way Milan demanded attention from others & I wanted to be more like her. I needed a friend that would help me gain some confidence, that would encourage me to stand up for myself, a friend that wouldn’t judge me & from then on I could tell Milan would be that friend. As much as I felt I needed Milan, I knew she needed me too.

Milan

I can’t believe she bailed on me like that. I mumbled for blocks before getting home. Mel was always there for me but lately she had been a little distant. I was positive it had something to do with her parents not liking me but fuck it. As I approached my door i saw my mom standing outside talking to Mrs. Ethel, our nosey ass neighbor. Not only was she nosey but she was super judgemental. Thought she was better than everyone because she went to church every sunday and wasnt on drugs.

"Damn!’I whispered to myself. I walked past them quickly and my mom grabbed my arm.

You think you’re grown now? she shouted. Where the hell have you been this time of night? she continued.

Mom I was by Mel. I yelled back, snatching my arm away from her trying to open the door.

Mrs. Ethel looked at me. Then made eye contact with my mom. Mrs. Ethel just shook her head and walked towards her door mumbling something.

Ya lying! You out here being hot in the ass lil girl!

I rolled my eyes and proceeded to walk in the house. My mom was all talk...most times.

I ran in my room and shut and locked my door.

I’ll just shower in the morning, I said to myself. I don’t feel like dealing with her tonight.

Later that morning I was awoken by the sun shining through my window. I looked at the time on my phone and saw it was already 8am. I was running late for school. I grabbed my pink sweat pants and my white cami and headed to the bathroom to hop in the shower. Once I got out i began to get dressed. I threw my hair in a half down, half up top knot bun. Before I left the bathroom I called Melanie to let her know that I’d be to school soon. I only lived a few blocks away so it would only take about 10 minutes to walk there.

As I walked out of the bathroom My mom’s boyfriend came walking towards me with this heinous grin. I really hated Mr. Kenny. He would slap my mom around occasionally, and degrade her daily. He kept her on drugs which in turn kept her incoherent & didn’t know what was going on. A lot of times while she wasn’t around he would say slick shit to me.

One time I was walking out of the kitchen to my room with a soda and he stood in front of me and said I bought that soda. If you want it, you gon have to show me something. My skin crawled as he smiled unbuckling his pants. I didn’t want anything to do with him so I walked back to the kitchen and tried put the soda back in the fridge. Nah. he said grinning. You already opened it.’’ I turned to walk away and he grabbed my arm pulling me towards him. You owe me little girl." he whispered in my ear. I kicked him in his balls and ran out of the door. That night i stayed at Mel’s house. I couldn’t believe my mom kept allowing him to come around. I just tried my hardest to stay away as much as I could.

I hadn’t really saw him around since that soda incident. Either he would be leaving as I would be coming home or he’d be pulling up as I was leaving. Here he was today though, staring me down like i was a piece of meat. My mom was still knocked out from whatever drug she was on so he knew she wouldn’t be of any help to me. I tried to hurry in my room but he stuck his foot in the door before i could close it. Using all of my strength i pushed on the door but i was no match for him. He pushed open the door and came charging at me. He grabbed the back of my neck and whispered in my ear. I’ve been waiting on you.

Let me Go! I screamed. I tried to pry his hands from around my neck but he wouldn’t budge. He gripped my neck tighter as he pulled me toward him. He turned me around facing him and unzipped his pants as he whispered look. He began stroking himself and grabbed my hand trying to make me do the same. I burst into tears and jerked my hand away rapidly. He dug his nails into my skin and pushed me down on my bed. Before I could get up he punched me in my mouth. My mouth started to bleed and I was only focused on my pain as he loosened the string on my sweats. He tugged at them to get them off. I was screaming No! Stop! crying uncontrollably. I kicked and pleaded with him as he tore off my underwear. He put them up to his nose and took a big wif and smiled sinisterly. It was disgusting. I looked around the room for something to hit him with so I could get away. Just then my mom burst into my room.

Kenneth! My mom yelled. What the hell are you doing? she continued while walking up to him. He turned around, walked up to her and punched her in her face so hard that she flew against the wall. I hopped up off the bed grabbing the 1st thing i could find to cover my naked bottom. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Mr. Kenny approaching me. I turned around to see my mom get up and charge at him. She jumped on his back chanting Son of a bitch! Son of a bitch! He stumbled around trying to get her off of his back knocking her against the wall hoping she’d let him go. He finally threw