Black & Ugly as Ever by T. Styles Page B

Carmen called out adding to my fury.
I felt like a fool. I was running down the block with my ass out no panties. When I finally got my pants up I ran smack dab into a police car. I turned around to see where Carmen was and noticed she was gone. That dirty bitch must’ve seen them coming and didn’t warn me.
The officer jumped out of the car and instructed me to put my hands on top of it. “Put your fuckin’ hands on the car!” the black male officer screamed.
“What’s the charge?” I asked already knowing the
answer.
“Indecent exposure,” he advised. Moving in closer he really let me know how he felt when he said, “And for being a dirty fuckin’ whore who’s pregnant!”
And that’s how I found out I was carrying a baby. Shit! Now what?!!!

Parade
    Our kitchen always made me relaxed. The royal blue painted walls with yellow highlights on the borders gave it a rustic and quiet appeal. And the stainless steal refrigerator, countertops and cabinets made it look even more powerful. I had prepared dinner and all of the lights were out with the exception of the long candles I lit on the table.
    Although everything appeared perfect on the outside, for real it wasn’t. I caught Smokes putting something in my toner and I needed to know what it was. The sad part is, I’m afraid to ask.
    “How’s dinner?” I asked Smokes as we enjoyed our meal. I looked at his handsome face across the candle’s glow. I prepared steak, mashed potatoes and garlic green beans.
    “It’s cool; I got some things to take care of later so I can’t eat long.” He placed the silver fork in his mouth before reaching for another bite.
    “I understand,” I said cutting a piece of my steak. “I have a few things to talk to you about, though.”
“Like what?”
“Today… I came in the bathroom and saw you putting something in the toner for my face? What was it?”
He dropped the fork and carefully picked it back up. He looked as if I’d caught him in something. But what?
“It’s nothing. Just skin bleach.”
Skin bleach? I thought.
    “I don’t understand,” I frowned and could feel my blood boiling. “Why would you do that?”
“Because I’m looking out for you that’s why,” he said with ease. I sensed that he didn’t care about how he made me feel. “Anybody on my arm has to look the part. You know that.”
“Oh,” I whispered. His reason hurt. One minute I was pretty enough and the next minute I wasn’t.
“So what’s the other thing?”
“Huh?” I asked still confused by his response.
“You said you had to talk to me about a few things.”
“Oh yeah,” I focused on my plate instead of his face.
“Cause I actually want to talk to you about a few things too,” he took his final bite before dropping his fork on the plate.
“Did you want to go first?” I questioned wondering what he could possibly want to talk to me about.
“Naw…tell me what else is on ya mind. It’s obvious the bleach thing wasn’t all you wanted to know. You been kinda short all day.”
“Ok,” I wiped my mouth with a paper towel. “Baby, this is hard for me but it has been on my mind. Uh…ah…don’t know how to begin.”
“You want to know if I still plan on killin’ you and your friends.”
Long silence.
I stared into his eyes wondering how long he had known that I wanted the answer to that question. And most of all why he kept me in suspense so long.
“Yes. That’s it.” I was unable to look at him.
“I got to give you credit.” He laughed. “Talk about unconditional love. You waited until now to ask me about that shit accepting my ring and everything. You pretty, gangsta.”
I felt desperate.
“But since I plan on makin’ you my wife we might as well get the shit out in the open. But after this, I don’t want to talk about it again. Got it?”
“Yes.” I smiled weakly.
“Cool,” he paused. “when I found out that my wife had been killed at the party ya’ll went to, I was fucked up. I couldn’t understand how