"... Thelma couldn't take it anymore. The neglect, the hurt, the shame. It coursed through her veins all at once. She felt suffocated. She couldn't breathe. She had to leave. She just had to!

As she was running, she imagined what the people watching must have been thinking of her. Could they see his handprints on her body? If they were close enough, could they smell his heavily-scented perfume? Would Gladys notice that her furry Balenciaga heels were missing?

What if the press was around? Would they write a story about her? She imagined what the headlines would be like on social media. 

It would go like this: "Thelma Kimi Frost, child of a successful chef, Alex Frost, and socialite, Elizabeth Johnson, was seen running barefoot on Goldfield Street by 4 am on Thursday." 

Panting, she laughed out loud at how hysterical she was being. That wasn't the right headline. Besides, no one could see the rape. Or could they? "

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thelma Frost, a 17-year old girl, an only child born out of love, pain, and two separated parents who grew up in the suburbs of Okonia, is confused about how to navigate life. Every time she thinks she's grown up a little, she is dragged into another whirlwind of emotions.
Things take a turn for the worse when her parents get separated, choose to follow their dreams, and chase their careers, neglecting their daughter's desperate need for emotional support in the process. 

Thelma grows accustomed to living without any of her parents there to care for her. She finally finds a coping mechanism, but something unexpected happens and it shatters her whole world. She eventually meets Kenan Black, a 19-year-old boy who shows her a different side of life.

Will Thelma's parents be there for her before her life falls apart? Will Thelma ever really recover from the scars of her childhood? Will Kenan end up just giving her the tools to destroy her own life?
_________________________________

It was Once Black or White

"Stay still Thelma! What is wrong with you today?" 


They were in the living room. Eliza was dressing Thelma up for Adrianna's birthday party. 


"Mummy! Mummy! Why are you dressing me up? Is there a party?! Tell me, tell me is it a party?" Thelma asked enthusiastically in her small changing voice. 


"You're dressing up for Adrianna's birthday party. Remember? Today is her birthday." 


"That sounds like fun! Are you going to come?" 


"No, darling. I'm going to be working but I'll try to see if I can get out early enough. Don't worry Aunt Soph will be there to watch you, okay?" 


"Okay, but why can't you come?" Thelma sighed audibly hoping to get a change of mind from her mother. 


"Honey I'll come when I get the chance, okay? But right now I gotta get to work or I'm gonna be late" 


"Thelma! Thelma! Thelma!" Her dad boomed from behind her. 


"Yes, Daddy!" Thelma half shrieked, half yelled. 


"Come on let's go we're going to be late!" he ordered. 


"Good night Mum," Thelma said softly as Eliza tucked her in. 


"Good night baby." Eliza smiled warmly in response and kissed her forehead as she always did every night. 


Eliza was slowly tip-toeing away when Thelma asked "When are you going to stop working so much?" Eliza blinked rapidly. She was too stunned to answer immediately. 


"Oh, baby! Soon! Very very soon!" She replied as she walked back towards her tiny infant's bed. 


"Okay, Mum. I love you" She said sleepily in a childishly content voice. 


"I love you too baby." Eliza said but deep inside Eliza knew 'soon' would never come. 


PROLOGUE