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Hard Knocks

Jasmyne Suggs

    Yvonne and Cassandra Vasquez grew up in Cape Girardeau Missouri in the late 1990’s. They lived on their own at seventeen. Their mother died shortly after giving birth to the twins due to the effect of Aids. They didn’t know their father and had no knowledge of living relatives. They stayed with their friend in a crummy one bedroom apartment. Cassandra made due with sleeping on the sofa in the living room while Yvonne slept in the bedroom with Sean, a ruthless 22 year old male who tried to turn his life over after jail and drugs. He and Yvonne were good friends. They had known one another since they were younger. Sean took Yvonne and her sister in since he had an apartment of his own, so they agreed to split the rent and the bills three-ways.
    When Sean got hooked on drugs he and Yvonne’s friendship drew further apart. While Sean was out getting high and not taking life seriously, Yvonne went back to school. She dropped out in the eleventh grade after she got pregnant, but later that year she had a miscarriage. The baby’s father had bailed out long before he found out the outcome of the baby. He wasn’t ready for a child and neither was Yvonne. She had a sensee of relief and depression at the same time.
    Sean didn’t care much because at the time he wasn’t in the right state of mind because of what the drugs had done. Yvonne resented him for that. He hated that she didn’t come to him for advice and rely on him as she used to. Now everything was broken. Cassandra on the other hand was going to school and working so she could afford to get more things than her sister. Yvonne began to become jealous of what her sister had and she did not.
    While Cassandra was in her room Sean and Yvonne were in theirs and they got closer and closer. Cassandra had told Yvonne not to get to close to him again because he is trouble but she didn’t listen. She longed for the friendship they had. Cassandra noticed something different about her sister Yvonne wasn’t acting like herself. She was having weird cravings and began to be very moody. She asked what had happened and she came out and told her that she was pregnant.
    Yvonne was now three months pregnant and her sister had a hint who the father was, but Yvonne never clarified it until now. Cassandra just knew it was Sean’s kid , Yvonne felt so bad about it and told her sister she’d slept with her boyfriend Michael out of jealousy and envy of their relationship.
    Cassandra was in rage and she didn’t talk to her sister for months on end. Yvonne’s baby shower was in one week and her sister finally decided to talk to her sister over what had happened. Her sister had been apologizing since the day it happened, Cassandra finally accepted her apology. When Cassandra accepted her apology Yvonne came out and told her she had already had her abortion completed two weeks prior.
    The two girls hugged and held each-other close. Yvonne was hurting she had to abort her baby because she knew she couldn’t provide for it. Just three weeks later Yvonne committed suicide. Cassandra was furious that her sister would take her life because the road got rough. They’d been through so much in life. They never once considered suicide no matter how much stress they’d gone through. She’d never have thought it would end up this way. Cassandra could not hang on long without her other half and managed to take her life.
    Moral of the story-Don’t let life knock you down.

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