Read Online The 'N' Word, Book 1 by Tiana Laveen - Free Book Online Page A

again, her chin held high as she forced a smile, leaving her cousin in the dust. After a few moments, she could hear her cousin racing after her, her bright, neon green Nike sneakers slamming against the pavement from a short distance away. Trudy gently pulled her arm, made her turn to her, look her in the damn eye.
    “Mia, okay…okay. But I’m here for you no matter what, alright?”
    “Alright. I know that, and I love you for it.”
    The woman nodded and patted her back, like an old friend who’d found out about a great loss. Her gesture of affection was unintentionally unnerving. Mia forced her smile to go wider, pushing herself along, playing the role. Yeah, the breakup was the damn pits, but what disturbed her even more was that she had so much love to give, but couldn’t bring herself to trust anyone. She knew it sounded foolish; there was no need to tell Trudy she believed most men weren’t shit, to boot. Besides, that would sound like sour grapes, and she wasn’t in the mood for wine… Her thoughts drifted to her previous relationship, to times she wanted to forget…
    Rodney had ideas that didn’t mesh well with mine. We’d been together so long…
    It was hard to say goodbye to an old friend. Small tiffs turned into long drawn out painful arguments until they both realized they loved one another, but were no longer in love… Nothing seemed to help or remedy the situation.
    So now she was having her moment, and was just fine being alone… or so she told herself on a continuous basis. Though sometimes, in the middle of the night, as she clutched her poetry book to her chest and her scented candles burned down the wick, she’d gaze out the open window and whisper inside her crowded mind…
    I hate feeling this way…but I just don’t know what else to do…

    “ T HAT’S FOR CRAZY people. I’m not crazy,” Aaron protested as he leaned back further in his seat and ran his fingers along the glossy walnut finish of the arm of the chair.
    “Aaron, seein’ a psychiatrist isn’t for crazy people. Now look, Dr. Owens and I had a nice discussion about you and he thinks—”
    “Who the hell is Dr. Owens and why are you two talkin’ about me?”
    “Now you look here, Aaron Pike, you get that goddamn hump off ya back, ya hear?” He leaned over his desk and jammed his finger in his direction. “Don’t you sit in my office with that high and mighty attitude and act like you are runnin’ shit! That may work on the others, but it sure as hell doesn’t work on me and you damn well know it! I’ll knock some sense into you!” The man harshly opened a desk drawer, reached for a cigarette, and lit the damn thing.
    Aaron slumped further down into his seat and slowly rolled his eyes as if having the beginning stages of a damn seizure. It took everything in his freaking body to not go the fuck off… but he knew warden Huckleberry wasn’t the one to incite. He may have a cute last name, but he was the wrong bastard to toy with. After all, the man had his fate in his hands.
    “Now, you’re going to see Dr. Owens and that’s final.” His eyes constricted as he lazily blew out coils of smoke. “He’s a new psychiatrist we hired… should be better than the program we had previously.”
    “And how many times do I have to see this guy?”
    “I don’t know.” He shrugged. “That depends on his assessment and what he thinks… and on what you do, too. You can do this the easy or the hard way,” He gave the cigarette another inhale. “Makes not a damn bit of difference to me, but best believe, you’re doing it. And trust me, I won’t make any excuses or bones about it. I want you out of my damn prison, Aaron.”
    “Last I checked I wasn’t tryin’ to stay in this son of a bitch!”
    “Makes no difference!” The man stabbed his desk with his index finger “You’re in here now. Wherever you go, wherever you look, walk or talk, fires ignite. So either the crazy farm or the grave can be your final