Free Keeping Secrets by Treasure Hernandez Page A

what Secret wanted to say so badly, but she knew she’d be collecting her teeth up off the floor if she did. So instead, she just stood there boiling inside, biting her tongue.
    â€œLet me stop talking about this poor baby daddy of yours. At least the fool is going to pay for the abortion.”
    Secret’s eyes cast downward.
    â€œHe is paying for it isn’t he? I mean you the one who got to put your body through all that bullshit. The least he can do is pay for it. I ain’t never had one personally, but one of my homegirls did when we were younger and she said it ain’t no joke. She said it’s like they put a vacuum stick up in you, hit the on button, and just suck the life out of you.” Yolanda chuckled. “I guess they are sucking the life out of you.” She laughed louder.
    Secret cringed.
    â€œOh, girl, woman up. Put your big-girl panties on. Hell, you done took ’em off to get screwed. Now put ’em back on and go take care of your business. And if you need me to go over the mutherfucker’s house with you and get that abortion money, you ain’t say nothing but a thang. You might have fucked my daughter, but you ain’t about to screw her over.”
    Secret had to admit, Yolanda’s willingness to support her and have her back on trying to shake down the baby daddy for money felt good. Unfortunately, that’s not exactly what Secret needed from Yolanda.
    â€œMa, I’m not trying to do all that,” Secret said. She paused before fixing her lips to say, “I was just hoping that, you know, you could help me.” Secret swallowed hard. She was nervous about asking her mother anything. Needing help from her mother and actually asking her were two different things. If Secret was lying in the middle of the floor with a knife wound, bleeding all over the place, she felt her mother might help her out of human instinct, subconsciously. But if she straight-out asked her to help her, she felt her mother was the type of person who might let her lie there and suffer a little longer just to spite her—her own natural instinct.
    â€œHelp you how?” Yolanda was quick to ask, snapping her neck back.
    â€œWell, I wanted to use the health card to get some money taken off the cost of the procedure. And maybe if I could borrow whatever else I might need, that would be—”
    â€œHold on.” Yolanda put her hand up. “You want me to be the one to take care of you getting an abortion?”
    Secret shrugged; then there it was again—that loud, screeching laugh.
    â€œBitch, you done lost your mind. I wish the fuck I would. All you’ve done these last few months was walk around here like your shit don’t stank, acting like you better than me. And now you want me to help yo’ ass. Bitch, fuck you! That’s just what you get.”
    Yes, Secret liked to think she was immune to all the “bitches” and “fuck you’s” her mother spewed out. Perhaps it was the pregnancy, but her emotions were on high. It was like with every word that came out of her mother’s mouth, her blood began to boil.
    Yolanda continued her rant. “Been shitting on me but now you want me to wipe your ass.” Yolanda walked up on Secret and got in her face. “Face it, Mama is always right. This is who you are.” She grabbed Secret by the cheeks and turned her head to face the mirror. Both women stared at their reflections. “This is who you are always going to be. You are me.”
    Words have power. Secret remembered her grandmother telling her that. If her grandmother was accurate, then that meant the words Yolanda had just spoken could possibly manifest themselves. No way Secret could allow that to happen. She’d managed to pretty much remain tightlipped through all of her mother’s tirades over the years. But she had to take away the power of her mother’s words, even if that meant finally finding a