Ever since her mother's car accident, Kelada's life has been miserable. Being her mother's next of kin, Kelada is swamped with medical bills and must pick up two jobs to keep from drowning. By day, she is a friendly face at the nearest Chick-Fil-A...
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𝐊𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐃𝐀 𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐒 𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐍
⚭
Kelada felt a sickness in her stomach so wounding, she could probably pass out if she was looked at the wrong way. She couldn't stop her thoughts from blaming herself; if she hadn't gone to that party her mother would be okay.
"Fuck!" She slammed her hand against the dashboard of the Jaguar, before pressing her forehead to her knees.
Nezra couldn't push the gas pedal fast enough in her opinion.
"It's gon' be alright." She could tell he was trying his best to provide consolation as he rubbed her back.
She didn't care, she just wanted her mother to be okay. Tears spilled from her eyes onto the sweats she'd borrowed from Nezra, and she felt like dying.
The headache she had from her extensive alcohol intake the prior night didn't add onto her problems.
Why couldn't she have a normal 24 hours? Why couldn't it have been her in the driver's seat on the day of the incident?
She wished she could've changed the entire situation.
⚭
A freshly 21 Kelada sat in the passenger side of her mother's Kia Sportage, waiting for the older woman to exit the house. The mother-daughter pair were going out to celebrate 21 years of Kelada's life and 42 years of Ciyva's.
With their birthday's so close, they always made sure to do their parties big. Her dad liked to joke that his soon to be ex-wife broke his pockets every birthday so their daughters had to do so of course.
Her parents had been separated for 2 years now, simply due to the fact that they had outgrown one another. Civya had always voiced her regrets on marrying her highschool sweetheart, but only in private conversations with her eldest daughter.
She always advised her not to marry straight from graduating anywhere, because people needed time to become the person they would be in adulthood.
"I'll talk to you later, I'm about to spend time with my mom," Kelada spoke to her fiancé, Sahir, over the phone.
"Okay, baby, I love you." Sahir reminded, his Spanish accent slipping out.
"I love you too." She gushed and hung up the phone. She had listened to the advice of her mother and not gotten married straight after high school graduation, but when Sahir had proposed last week she couldn't say no.
Since her first day seeing him in their Freshmen English course, she had loved him. Today, she would break the news to her mother and she hoped Civya approved.
The older woman with salt-and-peppered locs slid into the driver's seat, displaying an identical smile to Kelada's.
Kelada's dad, Damari, also liked to joke that he must not of been present during his children's creation because of Civya's strong genes.
"You look so pretty today, Kela," The older woman spoke and patted her daughter's thigh. She looked over her shoulder before backing the Prius out of the driveway.
"Thank you mommy, you do too." She smiled.
They had colored coordinated outfits of green and brown for the brunch Kelada had booked.
The duo talked for a while about a range of topics; from Kelada's approaching college graduation to trivial relationship matters.
"Speaking of Sahir, I have something to tell you." Kelada spoke up.
"Oh em gee, am I gonna be a Nana? I'm too young for allat." Civya laughed at her daughter's comical expression.
"Not yet ma. But um... me and Sahir are going to get married!"
She revealed the left hand she had been hiding under her jacket, flaunting the simple round Diamond and gold band.
"What! No way!"
She was glad the news has went over so well but it made sense. Ciyva always expressed her love for Sahir as an individual, and even more as a boyfriend for her daughter.
The women were so happy, in fact, they hadn't seen the 18 wheeler barreling past the intersection's red light until it was too late. They couldn't even hear themselves scream as the car flipped six times before the back half wrapped around light pole.
⚭
Kelada couldn't unbuckle herself from the passenger seat fast enough, falling over herself twice as she tried to get to Civya. She noticed that her dad's Benz was here, so presumably her siblings were too. There was also ambulance parked on the side of the street.
She was convinced her mother was dead or close to it as she rushed down the hall. The woman hesitated in front of the closed doors, trying to gain control of her emotions.
She was supposed to be the strong one — never wavering, never emotional.
Kelada looked to where footsteps were approaching, making tearful eye contact with Nezra.
"You don't have to be here," She voiced and blinked up the welling tears.
"It ain't nothin' to show up for you, come on." Nezra placed a steadying hand on the small of her back and let her push the door open.
There was a cluster of people around where her mother's bed was, and they all looked toward her once she walked in.
Her gaze was focused onto her mother's figure though, her breath catching at the sight.
Her mother, the person she had fought so long for, was conscious.
"Oh my god." Kelada choked on her words barely having the strength to approach her side.
Her mother's warm brown eyes crinkled as she smiled, "Kela."
She collapsed at the simple nickname, delicately hugging her body and letting sobs rack her own. Her mother's smooth palm rubbed over her brown skin.
The paramedics left after assuring Civya's bodily functions were intact, making Kelada even more grateful. It was okay; everything was gonna be alright.
After finally halting her blubbering, Civya spoke up, "Kela, I think we got some things to talk about."
Kelada followed her mother's gaze to where Nezra stood out of the way from her family, a coy smile crossing her face.
It was probably a shock to see him, instead of the man Kelada had been engaged to last she heard.
