''The Pathways of Life - Uncensored''

By Sarah L. Breeden

Finally, the Author gives us The Pathways of Life Uncensored, a page turner. It talks about the paths we take in life and the repercussions that follow, some good, some bad. She says paths are something we as human beings have to take in life, some more interesting than others, but in living life they must be walked upon!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jan 29, 2011
• ISBN: 9781456857844

Sarah L. Breeden

Sarah L. Breeden is currently an undergraduate at South University – Columbia Campus. She is acquiring her Associate of Science Degree in Medical Assisting. She, for sometime has been wanting to write a book. Finally, she gives us The Pathways of Life – Uncensored, a page turner. It talks about the paths we take in life and the repercussions that follow, some good, some bad. She says paths are something we say as human beings have to take in life, some more interesting than others, but in living life they must be walked upon!

Book preview

Chapter 1

Janet, where the hell are you?

Man, I tell you that woman has to have the biggest mouth the world has ever heard! I mean I’m not the only child she has, but you wouldn’t know it by her mouth.

Mom, I’m in my room doing what you told me to do fifteen minutes ago, dang!

Ever since we’ve moved down South from New Jersey due to the fact my sister CT got knocked up for the second time, my mother has been getting on my damn nerves. I see why my brother left to live with my grandmother—too many controlling women in this camp.

CT just couldn’t keep her damn legs closed. I can understand a slipup the first time, which ended up in an abortion, but the second time within a year, that girl was doing it out both pants legs! So here we are in South Carolina—CT, Angela, Mom, and me.

Mom, where are the curtains you said I can put up in my room?

Ooh shit, girl, I think I put them in the attic already.

The only good thing about moving to South Carolina is I get to have my own room, and it is about time. Hell, CT and Angela—just two dirty hoes. Okay, maybe that is taking it too far. Maybe unkempt is a better word. They just throw their stuff in the corner. Like when we got home from school, Angela just threw her stuff in the living room corner, and CT is no better. Hell, I can just see when that crumb snatcher is born. She isn’t going to have a role model if it means it being CT.

That is why I stay in my books. I don’t have time for boys or babies. My mind is being set on becoming a model. I’m five foot ten inches, so I know I got the height as well as the looks. I’m light skinned, have long hair, and have sex appeal—not bad for a fourteen-year-old. I’m not quite sure what sex appeal means, but that is what my mom’s man friends tell me. I guess as life goes on, I will figure that out.

Angela, Mom said for you to go to the car and get the rest of the stuff out of the car.

No, she didn’t, Janet. I heard her when she told you when she got home from work to do it, liar! Maybe if you keep your ugly ass out them books, thinking you going to be a model, you will know that!

Girl, who you calling ugly with your tar black ass? You just jealous your ass can’t be one!

If y’all don’t shut your ass up while I’m on this damn phone, I will knock both of your asses into the middle of next week, so shut the hell up! And where the hell is your sister CT at with her hot ass?

Lord, she really don’t want me to answer that question.

Mom, she went with Matthew, remember—to meet his mom? I don’t know why she is just meeting her. Hell, the boy already knocked her up. Talk about putting the horse before the cart!

Janet Mack, if I hear that again in my house, someone will be pulling my foot out your ass. Now go up to the attic and get your curtains for your room you keep bugging me about, and I better not hear another word coming out bad about your sister, you hear me?

Yes, Mama.

I really don’t think to me that saying what I said is so bad. It’s the heavenly truth. I just don’t get grown-ups sometimes—they are so confusing. I mean they tell you to tell the truth always, and then when you do, they always threaten you with knocking you somewhere. I mean my mom had to struggle real hard with raising us and all, but still I think she loses it at times.

Maybe I ought to give South Carolina a chance. The weather sure is better than Jersey, but the only thing I can’t stand is school. All these people talk funny, and all my friends and family are up north. We have family down here on my grandmother’s side, but hell, the only time I have ever seen them was during funerals, weddings, and family reunions.

Janet, Mom said if your ass doesn’t go get those curtains by the time she gets off from work, you can hang up getting them. She don’t care if you hang a towel up. I close my door. Mom, Janet said she don’t care.

Mom, I did not, but like always it fell on deaf ears. She was gone.

Around four, CT brings her butt home with Matthew, and his brother, Tony.

Hey, how you doing, Janet? says Matthew.

I’m fine. How are you doing, Matthew?

Good.

So Matthew is the only one you see?

Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t know much about boys, but I guess you can say Tony was what you would call cute. To me he had the prettiest smile like his brother Matthew. They live in the country and were part of a good family. Now I consider a good family any family that isn’t like mine. I’ve only met his siblings, but they seemed like good people.

So are you going to show me your room?

CT told me you had your own room. Now why would that tramp tell my business like that?

No, I’m not. I have to finish fixing it up, and if it was fixed up, no boys are allowed! I have to get some things for the room anyway, so if y’all will excuse me.

Boys don’t have a clue! If he thinks he is going to get to me like Matthew got CT prego and all, he can forget it. I’m going to be a famous model, and that word does not have baby in it!

Well, let me get these curtains. One thing my mom, Naomi Banks, is is that she is true to her word. Climbing up the attic stairs, I never knew from this point on that all my dreams were going to disappear in the blink of an eye. While turning around to go down the attic stairs, the stairs gave way and all I could feel was a knifelike feeling going down my left side and me feeling nothing under me. All I could do was yell for my mother. Before I realized it, I was at the bottom of the attic’s pull-down stairs. I couldn’t feel my left leg at all.

What the hell y’all looking at? I said.

Don’t move, Janet. CT is on the phone now, calling your mom, said Tony. Damn, look at her leg. She might have to get it cut off.

At that very moment, I looked at my left leg, and what I saw made chills go all over my body. What used to be my left leg was now a leg that looked like someone had been playing with very sharp knives because my upper leg and bottom leg on the side was showing to the white meat. All I could do was yell and scream. All my dreams, hopes, and desires died when that happened. How can I be a model with a leg like that? Then I did what most women do—I fainted.

I must have been out only a few minutes because when I came to, my little sister Angela was crying something fierce and my sister had my mother on speaker phone.

Mom, I’m not playing, and this isn’t a joke. Janet fell from the attic, and her leg is cut open, said CT.

CT, if I have to take off work behind some bullshit when I get home, I’m going to beat everyone’s ass that is in my house! Like I told y’all if you’re not dead or bleeding to death, don’t call this damn job!

Mom, please come home, or do you want me to call the ambulance? said CT.

No, don’t call anyone. Who all is at my damn house?

Mom, it’s only Janet, Angela, Matthew, Tony, and me.

CT, why those boys in my house while I’m at work? Never mind, I’m on my way.

I’m lying on the floor with my leg cut open and all that woman is thinking about is who is in her house! At that very moment, what relationship my mom and I have is now no more. My mom comes home from work, yelling and screaming about how she has to take off from work for bullshit, yet I’m lying on the floor with knifelike marks going down my leg, which, Tony tells me, came from the nails I encountered going down the ladder.

My mom takes me to the hospital with my little sister Angela. I guess CT had more important things to do than go with her family to the hospital, but like I said, we are a fucked-up family. Our priorities are shot to hell.

Mom, will she have to get her leg cut off? That’s what I hear Angela ask Mom. At that very moment, the doctor comes in and asks her if he can speak with her alone.

My mom says, Anything you have to say you say here.

Ms. Banks, we are in the process of calling child protective services because we feel that those cuts—

Wait a damn minute, says my mother. Are you trying to tell me that you think I did this to my own daughter? Let me tell you something right now. That is my daughter, and I will beat her ass as I see fit if she does something wrong, but I didn’t do this, so let’s get that straight for the record right now, Doctor.

Ms. Banks, all I’m doing is following protocol for situations like this. If it turns out that this is not as they appear, you have nothing to worry about.

Doctor, please do what you have to do for my daughter so I can take her home.

Well, after I was stitched up with two hundred and forty-four stitches on my left leg—this I knew because my little sister Angela counted everyone of them—we were visited by child protective services. I can tell you my mom isn’t a black woman you want to get mad, but they would soon find that out if they kept fucking with her. All I can really tell from the movement of my mom’s head and the way she snatched those papers out that lady’s hand was that she is going to find some reason to blame this on me. I tell you, had that been Angela or CT that fell, I really do believe she would have acted different from the start of all this.

I’m not saying this just to be saying this, but I really think my mom doesn’t like me. I mean she treats me different and has since I can remember. Angela I kind of figured out already because she is the baby, but CT tells her she is prego again and nothing. Now had that been me, I still would have been walking back from next week where she had knocked me to with no front teeth!

"Janet, get your damn head out the clouds and get in this damn wheelchair because I’m not in the mood and I need to get home, away from these