Hold U Down Read Online Free

brain disease. Unique tried to help her mother, but nothing she did seemed to make the situation better.
    Syleena was in and out of mental clinics Unique’s entire life. She saw her mother locked up and put in restraints too many times to remember. Unique and her little sister, Patience, were often sent to live with their Aunt Teresa, Kiara and Kay Kay’s mom, when Syleena was sent away.
    To make matters worse, Syleena blamed Unique for her mental state. As a teenager, Syleena was raped on her way home from school by an unidentified man and became pregnant. The police never caught him.
    Being brought up in a heavily religious home, Syleena’s parents refused to allow her to get an abortion. Syleena was distraught, to say the least. She hated the idea of having a rapist’s baby. She tried everything to get rid of the fetus—everything from not eating to hitting herself in the stomach—but nothing worked.
    By the time she was in her third trimester, Syleena came to the realization that no matter how much she wished and prayed the baby away, she was gonna have it. Still, she didn’t like the idea. She detested the child inside of her. When Unique was born, she refused to hold or feed her. Syleena’s mother had to do all the work. As Unique got older, the hatred her mother held toward her seemed to only manifest more. Syleena seriously thought that God was trying to punish her by having Unique, and she constantly reminded Unique of this. The words You’re a curse from God replayed over and over in Unique’s head.
    Trying her best to make life easier for her mother, Unique began working at different fast food restaurants to support them, but the money wasn’t enough. Bills were stacked up to the ceiling, the rent was past due, and every time she looked up she had a 42-year-old and a 12-year-old mouth to feed. Stealing was her only other option, so at the age of 18, Unique began helping herself to a five finger discount wherever she went, but that didn’t work either. They were so far behind on the bills that one time when Syleena was sent away, Unique and Patience got evicted from their house.
    With nowhere to go and only two hundred dollars saved up, Unique and Patience slept on the streets and ate fast food for meals. They could’ve gone over to their Aunt Teresa’s house, but living on the streets was a far better choice. Teresa’s house was like living in a death trap with a street name, but once Patience became sick, Unique saw that she had no other choice, and she took her sister to their aunt’s house.
    As they got off the bus, she saw that everything was still the same in the Walnut Park section of St. Louis: same old run-down houses, dirty-ass kids running around, crack fiends begging for a hit, and nickel-and-dime dealers on the streets. Shaking her head, Unique knew that she could only live this way for so much longer. She was tired of giving her all and still having nothing.
    Walking three blocks, she found Aunt Teresa’s house and knocked on the door.
    â€œWho is it?”
    â€œIt’s me,” Unique mumbled, unsure of what to say.
    â€œMe who, goddamnit!” her aunt yelled from the other side of the door.
    â€œIt’s me, Unique, Aunt Teresa.”
    Cracking the door open, her aunt peeked her head through. “What you doing here? Ain’t you supposed to be in a group home or something?”
    â€œNah, Auntie. Me and Patience were evicted from the house. Momma gone to the clinic again, and Patience is getting sick,” she spoke, holding back the tears.
    â€œHumph. Well, what you want from me?”
    â€œI wanted to know if we could stay here for a little while, you know, until I get on my feet.”
    â€œYou got some money? I know you got some ends.”
    â€œYeah, but all I got is fifty dollars,” Unique lied, rolling her eyes. Her aunt couldn’t care less about them. At the end of the day, she was all