This Bitter Earth by Bernice L. Mcfadden

Author:Bernice L. Mcfadden [Mcfadden, Bernice L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical Fiction, Fiction, General, Historical, Female friendship, Sagas, Blessing and cursing, Psychopathology, Psychology, Addiction, Social Science, African American Studies, Ethnic Studies, Saint Louis (Mo.), Teenage Girls, African American women, African American, Arkansas, Narcotic Addicts
ISBN: 9780452283817
Publisher: Plume
Published: 2002-12-30T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

SUGAR was repeating something over and over in her sleep.

Mercy wasn’t looking at her, but she knew that Sugar’s head was twisting back and forth against the green-and-yellow vinyl of the headrest. The shh-shh noise Sugar’s hair made against the material reminded Mercy of secrets, her own and the ones that kept Sugar sipping from the silver flask she kept inside of her purse.

Mercy rubbed her arms to try to quiet her veins. They screamed out to her as her blood ran hot and then cold through them. Mercy licked her lips and tried not to think about the black balls and needles that danced in the darkness of her mind every time she closed her eyes against the breaking dawn.

She was trying to think of something else when the bus began to sway, slightly at first and then in large snake-like movements that tumbled people out of their seats and sent one mother’s infant flying from her arms, over the seat and into the lap of an elderly man.

“God help us!” the driver screamed as he fought to keep the bus on the road. The elderly man echoed his appeal and Mercy’s head slammed up against the window, her ear exploded in blood and pain and then everything went black.

When Mercy came to, she was stretched out in a field of wild verbenas and yellow jasmine. Above her, the early-morning sun beamed and the pointed peaks of the pine trees pricked the deep blue of the sky. The majestic Ozarks loomed off in the distance and all around her was the curling cry of whippoorwills.

Mercy was sure she was dead and in heaven until Sugar pressed her palm against Mercy’s forehead.

“Hi,” Sugar said softly when Mercy’s eyes fluttered and then focused on her face. “Don’t worry, you’re fine. We’re all okay,” Sugar said, giving her a weak smile. “One of the back tires blew out ... or something like that,” she mumbled and then looked off toward the bus.

Mercy didn’t feel all right, her head was throbbing and her ear hurt.

She closed her eyes and concentrated on the cool dampness of the ground beneath her.

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