"And as is with the white roses you are able to see the purity they represent even when they have thorns to show for it. You knows there's some kind of innocence worth protecting."
"Amber, hurry down now! You know today is the day you're supposed to meet Martha at the higher education center.", Charlotte yelled upstairs to her younger sister from the kitchen.
"Dang, Char... I'm coming. If I'm late, Mrs. Cartwright is just going to have to reschedule again.", Amber retorted.
"Nah, nah," Charlotte replied, "you've rescheduled and cancelled on Martha enough and at this point, she's only doing this as a favor to me because we went to school together. Your constant cancellations have given her the impression that you don't care, which isn't true right?.."
"Righttt," Amber replied with the slight roll of her eyes in a monotonous tone.
"Now you've had excuse after excuse for the past 2 years now with Emery being the main factor, but Emery's older now and between the help of myself, Aunt Ann, and her daycare, there's zero excuse for why you shouldn't make it to those meetings nowadays."
"I know, I know Char and I get it. I promise I want this, not only for my baby girl but for myself to prove that I'm not a quitter and that I can actually get something done in my life even if it's something as small as this."
The "this" that Amber is referring to is getting her G.E.D. She dropped out of high school at 16, a year after her daughter Emery was born. It was the same year that her and Charlotte's parents died in a fatal car accident and the events of it all was just too much for her. Charlotte, their Uncle Sylvester, and Aunt Ann all tried to convince Amber not to take that route and that her parents would want her to finish out her high school years but to no avail. Charlotte loved her little sister to death but she also knew that her sister was stubborn as fuck and that once Amber's mind was set on something , it was over with for anything else. Amber was her own person and was going to do what she wanted to do regardless and despite her opinion on the matter, Charlotte didn't want to make Amber feel any more alone or not supported than she already was.
***********
Amber got pregnant with Emery at 15, it was a mistake, as you may have guessed. She was messing with this no good boy Laurence, whom made her believe that he loved her. Unfortunately, after Amber revealed that she was pregnant that summer, Laurence looked at her with shock and left her at the spot that they always met at to hide from their parents. She was hurt by his reaction , but she knew that it was a lot to take in since they were so young and that maybe he needed to be alone to really grasp the idea of their upcoming bundle of joy. Amber assumed that he would need a day or two to process it so she would give him just that.
Except, Laurence didn't come or call her back the next day or the day after that. She didn't want to show up at his house like a mad woman but she had to talk to him.
*knock . knock.*
Amber stood in front of the door of the house biting her nails , a thing she only did when she was nervous as hell.
After what felt like the longest 30 seconds of her life, a middle aged lady opened the door.
"Umm hi. I'm Amber. Is Laurence here? I'm a friend of his and I haven't seen him in a while and just wanted to know if he's ok."
The woman, who looked at Amber with her nose tilted up replied "oh, so you're the little fast ass girl who trapped my baby." Amber couldn't believe what she was hearing and wanted to go off on the lady right then and there for speaking to her in such a tone but she refrained from that because she was always taught to respect her elders and at the end of the day, she was at this lady's house, knocking on her door.
"Ain't no use for you to come see Laurence now because he's gone to Michigan to stay with his grandma and grandad which is where he will remain til he graduates high school. You see, my boy has something going for him self with basketball and his academics. Now I don't know what you did to him or told him to even get him to fuck your lil hot ass raw but he won't be having any parts of that," the bitter woman continued as she made a circular hand motion in front of Amber's belly. Then she slammed the door.
However, Amber wasn't even stuck on all of the disrespect that Laurence's mammy spewed at her. All she could think about as her feet stood planted in front of the woman's door was that Laurence had left her alone with a baby and he wasn't coming back. She couldn't fathom the thought of Laurence even feeling this way and agreeing with his mom because she thought that he loved her. Now she was stuck with facing her family alone after telling them the news, a baby, and a broken heart.
**************
"Pregnant?!" , her father bellowed, "what the fuck are you going to do with a baby at 15, Amber Lorelle Henry?!"
"And who's the little ass nigga who even got you pregnant? Is that fucker gonna help with anything?", he added.
"N- no.", Amber said as tears ran down her face. "After I told him, I didn't hear from him for a few days so I went to his house to check on him. His mama yelled at me and was basically calling me a slut and said that her son had moved to a different state with his grandparents."
"Aw hell, we'll isnt that great!", her father, Richard added as he threw his hands in the air.
Amber rushed off to her room crying.
"Richard, calm the fuck down. Hollering at her and making her feel worse than she already does isn't going to change anything. What's done is done," Pam, Charlotte and Amber's mother added. "Listen, I know you're mad and I'm pissed the fuck off too but we're aware that there's a baby in there. Stop yelling and stressing her out."
Between both of their parents, I guess you could say that their mother was the most calm and rationale one.
Richard took note of what his wife was saying and finally calmed down a bit. Truthfully, he wasn't that mad at his daughter; it was more so disappointment. He looked at his daughters in the highest light and he and his wife only wanted what was best for their children and surely a baby before high school or even college didn't fit into that equation. But like his, wife said, what's done is done so he decided to calm down and extend his full support for his baby girl because deep down, she was scared and alone. He knew that she would need the love and support of her family to get through this.
***********
Martha Cartwright was one of Charlotte's friends from college who worked as an administrator at the Zanesville Higher Education Center up town. It was this place where people, like her, could continue their education if they didn't finish high school. Like, Charlotte mentioned, Amber was supposed to have completed the course around 2 years ago but she never got around to it; making excuses like "Emery needs me home", "I don't have a babysitter.", "I'm not feeling well today." But Charlotte knew that it was bullshit because Amber was full aware that if she had something to do, Emery was always accounted for by either her when she wasn't working or their Aunt and uncle , who adored keeping little Emery . Aunt Ann, specifically, enjoyed the company of the little girl whilst her husband, Sylvester was working throughout the day at his mechanic shop. Ann was Charlotte and Amber's late mother's sister. She and her husband didn't have any children of their own so they always thought of their nieces as their daughters as well. When Richard and Pam died, it was only right that they step up in anyway possible to help with the girls, whether it be lending money or babysitting Emery when the girl's were busy.
********
"I'm leaving now, Char. Love you," Amber said as she rushing around the kitchen.
"Love you too, sis. Good luck. And try not to be so hard on yourself . I know how you are. You've been out of school for quite some time now so all of the info and concepts aren't just gonna roll into your head from thin air. This is what the course is for... to catch you up, refresh your memory, and teach you new things." said Char.
"I know. Martha mentioned a pretest today for to test where we're at. Ill try not to get into my head too much," Amber added.
"And love you Emmy. You be good for Teetee, ok?" she added while saying her good byes to her daughter.
"I will mommy. Love you!," Emery's little voice yelled as she blew her mommy a kiss.
"How much does mommy love you?", Amber asks as she prepares for Emery to say their favorite goodbye lines that they say each day.
"Til your last breath mommy.", Emery says.
"Yes, baby, til my last breath," the young mom says as she looks at her baby with adoration.
"Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory." - Dr. Seuss
A/N- hey yall ! I'm new asf to this lol. So take it easy on me. How did I do? I wanted to start the story off to provide a bit of background on the Henry sisters, especially Amber. I hope this shit makes sense to y'all lol . I know I'm gone have to do some heavy ass editing
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ROSES: White • Red • Black
Mystery / Thriller"But he who dares not grasp the thorn, should never crave the rose" -Unknown In the wake of a tragic event, a young woman is consumed by grief, rage, and the desire for vengeance. White symbolizes the lost innocence-both in life and in death. Red em...
