Read Snapped (Urban Renaissance) for Free Online

two of the kids Ronald had delivered into the world. “Gina, I’m sorry. You are right; you’ve been there and I can’t deny it. My bad for even suggesting such a thing’cause I know better.” Bile rose in the back of my throat. While I believed Gina did everything she could do to raise a happy family, Ronald was like dirty laundry, if you didn’t wash it, it began to stink. “I can’t help it if I get mad every time I think about how he treats you. I want to whup his ass.”
    “Nobody wants to whup his ass as bad as I do, but I can’t.”
    “Hold up, I’m going to stop this negative thinking right now. The bottom line is you’re my friend and that is your man for better or worse.” Even as the words fell out of my mouth, I wasn’t feeling them, and I was sure Gina saw right through me. I paused to see which way she was going to take them. To my surprise, she actually believed me.
    “Are you for real?” Gina said.
    That answered my question. I could see the happiness on her face. She was only hearing what she wanted to hear. I wasn’t mad at her. She was dealing with what she could while she was in a compromised state. With any luck, she would regain her sanity once the baby was born.
    “Looks like I better start getting ready to be a godmother.”
    Gina looked at me and shook her head.
    My forehead wrinkled. “What do you mean no? Who else is going to be the godmother?”
    “I’m not having the baby, Tabatha. I know you don’t understand this, but I’m gonna do whatever it takes to keep my man.”
    I smiled, but it didn’t match my thoughts. I really wanted to tell her that she was the dumbest bitch in the world. But for better or worse, I was in it for the long haul with my friend.

CHAPTER SIX
     
    GAVIN MILLS
     
    Four Years Later . . .
     
    I was taking a trip down memory lane, and I wasn’t pleased by the memories that came rushing back to me after I saw my brother. Practically every ass whupping that Merlin ever got from ages five to sixteen was a direct result of something that I had done. I was not proud of that fact, but it was what it was.
    As children, Gina always told us to never back down from a fight and to always have each other’s back. More times than not, I wasn’t around when the fighting began. This, of course, was by my design. It wasn’t because I had some death wish for my twin; it was because I was tired of competing with him for my mother’s affection. So having someone else take him out seemed like a viable option to me.
    Merlin was the good kid, but he was easily misled. He did well in school, minded his manners, did his homework without being prompted, and kept his side of the room spotless. I, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. The only way I knew how to level the playing field was to create situations to bring him down a notch or three. It wasn’t personal, it was survival. Merlin used to love me and would do anything that I told him to do. Although I was ashamed of the things I’d done to Merlin, I was helpless when it came down to the love of our mother. As far as I was concerned, there was only one spot available in my mother’s heart and I aimed to claim it. Thus, it wasn’t hard to understand why he hated me now.
    “Merlin, get your ass in here!” He sat up in bed. I assumed he was confused as to why our mother would be calling him while it was still dark outside.
    “Huh?” he yelled back.
    I snuggled down deep in my covers and pretended not to hear the ruckus she was making. For good measure, I faked a loud snore.
    “You heard me. Get your ass down here.”
    “Shit,” he mumbled under his breath.
    My heartbeat quickened. Merlin was in for an ass whupping, and I could tell by the sound of my mother’s voice it was going to be a long night. For a fraction of a second, I pitied my brother because he was about to walk into the bowels of hell and had no clue why he was headed there. A slow smile came across my face.
    I watched as he pulled on