The Help (MB)

I remember it like it was yesterday,the day momma left us. We were all young and skinny from lack of meals. I was only 10 years old. Peyton was 6,just learning to read. Amaya was about to turn 5,and poor little Penny was only 9 months old. We were holding tight to our last string as it was. My poor excuse of a mother was standing in the mirror when she told me. She was getting dressed for her job as a stripper at the local strip club down the street. She had on a mini skirt that showed some of her butt cheeks,and a bra type shirt. She had just flat ironed her new weave,and she told me,nonchalant,"I'm gonna miss you guys." She glanced at me,then back at herself in the mirror.
I was doing my homework for the weekend,and I glanced up at her. "What do you mean?" I said,starting to play with my fingers. "What I mean,is it's time for you gals to take care of yourself. I'm going off with a new young lad I met last week. Says he's taking me to LA." She did jazz hands,looking in the sky as if daydreaming. "Filthy rich." She mouthed,sighing in relief. "What about us? What are we gonna do?" I asked,focusing all my attention on her as she sat to put her heels on.
"I don't care what you do,just stay out of trouble. Take care of your sisters,Kenya." She said,not even looking up at me or showing concern in her words.

"M-Momma I can't raise them! Not by myself." She laughed,taking another swig of her vodka. "Chile,I been raising children since I was 17! Just call this an early start." She slurred her words then stood up,ready to leave. "Y-You can't just leave us here!" I screamed,tears filling my eyes. "Sure I can," she said,uninterested,"watch me." I grabbed onto her leg,crying in protest. "What are we going to do? We don't even have money! Can you at least give us money?" I asked,letting go as she looked down at me. "Go find your daddy." She simply said,laughing. I looked at her,clearly hurt. None of us even knew who our dads were,but Momma sure did. We all had different daddies. Each had left her as soon as she found she was pregnant. "I-I can't do this,Momma." I said,my voice uneven. Peyton looked up at us,confused as I was,but she said nothing. She's never been the kind to talk much. "Sure you can,mommy's princess. Fly awaaayy!" She said,swaying her hips,in the doorway of our one bedroom,run down apartment,clearly drunk as ever. Tears fell down my cheeks uncontrollably,and I watched her.
"Fly awaaayy,fly awaaayyy," she said,swaying away and stumbling over her heels,"go and find your daddy,fly awaaayy.." She said,turning the corner. That was the last I ever heard of my mother. Last time I seen her.
If I were to see her today,I sure as hell would have some words for her. Maybe I wouldn't even muster up the ability to speak. She's probably somewhere rotting away,and that definately doesn't phase me.

The next day,the apartment people came by,kicking us out. Apparently,Momma hadn't payed the rent in over 3 months.
We packed what little belongings we owned in our run down book bags. We went off,searching for something. A sign from God,a loving family,happiness. We walked for hours and hours. Men from the streets called inappropriate things to us,and my grip on Penny just got tighter. I held hands with Amaya and she held hands with Peyton. We walked,heads straight and not responding to foolishness,just as momma had taught us.

"Hey,little girl," A bald,scruffy man yelled my way,"where yo momma at,little girl?" I flinched at his words,giving Amaya and Peyton a look so they'd know keep quiet,and walked faster. "Y-You hear me talking to you,little girl?" He asked,his voice getting louder. I still said nothing,just held my head straight and continued to walk. I felt a pressure on my shoulders,and felt myself being pressed against a wall. I noticed that I no longer held Amaya's hand,and they stood behind the man,who was now forcing his weight down on me. I was against a brick wall,still safely holding Penny in my arms. I got a good look at the man,and he was missing a few teeth. I barfed on the inside as his foul breath entered my nostrils.
"Well,my my,aren't you a pretty little girl!" He said,looking at my body all over,leaving me standing there uncomfortably,unable to move. His hands traveled down my waist,and landed on my hips,which hadn't even developed yet. "What's your name,little girl?" He asked,his hands now landing on my butt. My breathing became uneven,my voice shaky,as I answered,"S-Stacy." I lied right through my teeth. There was no way I was letting this man know who I was.

I made eye contact with Amaya and Penny as he squeezed my butt,tears filling my eyes. "P-Please stop." I whispered,my voice no longer available. "You know this feels good.." He said,starting to kiss on my neck. I shook,feeling Penny start to move around a bit from the uncomfortable state we were both in. Peyton looked from me to the man,trying to decide what to do.

"Hey!" I heard Amaya's small,adorable voice call out. "Get your hands off my sister before I beat you up!" I stopped breathing as the man paused,looking back at Amaya and smiling a toothy smile. My stomach dropped as I remembered telling her to say that when necessary. That was back when I was teaching them things Momma never bothered telling them herself. "Well well,I didn't see this one right here." He said,looking down at her. "You're pretty too.." He played with one of her black,bouncy curls in her hair.

"No!" I yelled,looking at him. "Sh-She's too young! Please." I said,snatching Amaya away from him.
Anger quickly filled his eyes,and I felt a powerful sting on my left cheek. I gasped,and Penny started crying. Tears were now falling down my cheeks. "Who the fuck do you think you're talking to?" He slurred,his foul breath filling my nostrils once again as he got in my face. "Curtis,leave them children alone,now. Go on somewhere,mind your business." I heard a deep,lady like voice from up in the balcony of the building somewhere. I looked up to see an old,heavyset woman,sitting in a rocking chair. She had a baby in one arm,fly swatter in the other. She had an old moo-moo gown on,and a scarf on her head. Her face showed no mercy,but she looked like such a kind lady.

"Alright,Miss Alice Jean.." He said,looking burning holes in my face while backing up slowly. "You got lucky.." He mumbled,before walking off. I sighed in relief,catching my breath and trying to slow my heart beat down. I looked back up at the lady. "T-thank-" "No need to thank me,chile. I suggest y'all go on. Get where you was goin'." She said,nodding her head at me. My heart dropped,and I remembered we had no where to go. I was far too shocked to say another word,though. I nodded my head,turning to walk away and grabbing Amaya's hand again.

We walked on up some blocks,when our stomachs started to growl. I was weak in the knees from walking all day,and I felt as if I were gonna pass out any minute. I thought a minute,then turned us around,walking back to Miss Alice Jean's house.
"Okay," I said,bending down to Peyton's and Amaya's level,"we're gonna nicely ask Miss Alice Jean can we stay at her house. J-Just for tonight,though." I said,and they nodded. I hesitantly walked up the stairs,and stood at her door for a minute. I knocked three times,and after a couple of seconds she opened the door,looking down at us.

" 'thought y'all was s'posed to be on up the road by now." She said,then she glanced at Penny. "Yes ma'am. I-It's just that... W-We have no where to stay,and I was hoping if you would-" "Oh nooo... I can't take care of no more children. 'Specially now this old knee right here done worn out." She looked at me,then down at Amaya and Peyton.
"P-Please. My momma left us,a-and we have no where to go. J-Just for tonight? W-We'll leave first thing in the morning,I promise." I said,looking at her with begging eyes.

She stared at me a few moments,then reluctantly sighed,opening the door some more,and letting us in. I smiled,sighing in relief. "Sit down at the table over there." She said,pointing to the kitchen table. "Y'all look like y'all ain't ate in a month!" We all sat at the table,and she wobbled on over to the kitchen,pouring some kind of soup like substance into three bowls. She sat them down in front if each of us,then reached for Penny.

"Give her here. Smell like she badly needs her sack changed." She chuckled,warming my heart as she calmly took Penny,walking her to the back of her apartment. We ate,not even saying a word as food entered our stomachs for the first time in two days. Talk about delicious!

"Can she be our grandmamma?" Asked Amaya,looking up at me after emptying her bowl. I smiled,shaking my head. "No. We're leaving in the morning." I sat my spoon in my empty bowl. "But we have nowhere to go." Said Peyton,looking at me with those big,adorable eyes. "We're gonna find somewhere to go." I said,looking down and talking low. They stayed silent after that.

Miss Alice Jean came back in a few minutes later. "That little baby went to sleep fast as I can snap my fingers after I bathed and fed her." She looked at us,laughing. "Alright now,y'all best be washing up and heading on to bed. It's 7:30. Be in bed by eight." She said simply before showing us where we would be sleeping and where the bathroom was. We nodded. She walked off into a room,leaving us there. We each took a bath,changing into some more clothes and going to bed. I slept so good that night.


The next morning,we I woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs. I shook Peyton,who was beside me,waking her up,then I shook Amaya. We all got up and made the bed and grabbed our bookbags. I walked into the front room,and Miss Alice Jean looked at us,smiling. "Well good morning." She said. We returned the greeting. "Where's my sister?" I asked,looking at her. "She's over there,playing with her toys." She told me,and I walked over to Penny,picking her up. I walked back over to Miss Alice Jean. "Thank you for letting us spend the night" I said,my voice small. I really didn't want to go. "Where you think y'all going?" She asked,setting plates on the table. "I promised we would leave first thing this morning." I said,smiling sheepishly at her. "And you think i'm about to let y'all roam the streets out there like that? No ma'am. Sit down so y'all can eat." I felt my heart race. She basically gave us permission to stay,at least as long as we needed to. "Thank you." I said,smiling. "Mhmm." She winked at me. We sat down at the table. "Say your grace." She said,setting down our forks.
"What's grace?" I asked,as Peyton and Amaya looked at her. "Oh,chile. It's when you thank the lord for your food. You bless your food before you eat. Repeat after me: God is great," she closed her eyes,pressing her hands together. "God is great." We repeated. "God is good," she continued. We repeated. "Let us thank him," we repeated. "For our food," we continued. "Bow our heads. We are fed. Thank you lord for our daily bread. Amen." We finished. She looked at us. "Now I 'spect y'all say that everytime y'all eat." She looked at us. We nodded. She went to the back for a few minutes,and came back out with cleaning supplies.

"What's that for?" I asked,looking at her. "For y'all. You ain't think I was gon let y'all stay for free,did you?" She chuckled. "No baby,you gotta work for your stay here." She looked at us. She gave us our responsibilities and told us what all we had to do. "Now,y'all staying under my roof,I 'spect y'all to follow my rules. We had finished eating by the time she finished. "Thank you again." I smiled. "You welcome baby." She said. That was the first time I ever felt hope,or even a sense if it..


~ooookay! Got another story going!! This one is gonna be good! I promise I won't let you down!
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