When the storm comes

Crossing Over P1.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Clark Sisters, Karen Clark Sheard or Quintella lol.

Notes:

Don't listen to "How Can I believe" yet I'll tell you when. I used Faith Evans because y'all know Karen's her musical teacher 💅🏾 and sometimes they sound very much alike and plus I thought this song fit very well especially because of the organs and just the message tbh even though it's unreleased.
- This was exactly in 1998 y'all! I got like two songs of Faith Evans in this one chapter.

So just imagine Karen singing this in her voice. Continue on to the story. 😩♥️

It's been one year since, Karen has quit being a stripper because she was honestly tired of being around nothing but drama and constant disrespect even though she was bringing in more money for the strip joint where she worked at. So, she contacted one of her old manager's and said she wanted to try something new and they got her a second manager who managed artists in secular music.

"So, let me get this straight you want to cross over into R&B music?" Her manager asked her as she sat across from Karen who had big shades on and was wearing a black dress with a light black jacket. "Yes, I mean I just wanna do something for me." Karen said but also knowing that God was giving her a chance to go back to gospel or to try to tie it in so, she find her way back home. But she was ignoring that last half. "I can't believe this." She said slouching back in her chair. "I never would've believed. Never would've thought you of all people with your background." Her manager said knowing how the late-great Dr.Matti Moss Clark was with them. "I know it seems strange but I just feel like I have to do something new and different with music." She told her manager even though it was hard to wrap her mind around it. But her manager agreed.

"Listen, Karen." Her manager started to say, "Quintella." She said correcting herself after seeing her eyebrow arch. "But your family have been worried sick about you and most definitely your sisters especially Dorinda." She said, "rumors are going about in Detroit about your last place of work." She said and Karen didn't seem to really care. "Don't you care about going back to them? They miss you and the Bishop is just as understanding as he wants to be." Her manager said, tilting her head trying to make sure that Karen got the picture that she could return back home and her family wouldn't even be mad about it. But the young woman shook her head. "I'm not ready yet to face everything. I still have unnecessary panic attacks thinking I see the bastard every where I go." Karen said shaking her head. "They say they want me back but what if they're lying huh just to want me back only to berate me huh?" Karen huffed. "Karen they're not going to do that they know it wasn't your fault with what happened." She said trying to talk some sense into her and Karen just turned her head away zoning out. Her manager knew she had to drop the conversation about her family.

"Alright, I guess I'll set you up a meeting with "Bad Boy Records" I think you'd be a good fit there with everything that's going on and these new changes. Her manager said still not understanding as she shook her head. But before they left Karen gently grabbed her manager's wrist. "And please don't tell my sisters this stays between us." Karen said as she got up from the table. "But does this mean you'll be going back to the East Coast?" Her manager asked, Karen as they left the restaurant in L.A. "I guess so, but I'm still not ready to go back home yet. I'll be staying in New York to make things easier." Karen said.

Play "How Can I believe what's real?":

One year later:
Karen sat back in the studio as she just got finished with the last song on her album. She had been in New York for about a year now and she couldn't believe how fast she had written and co-produced some of these songs when usually the norm would be about 2 years or so to make an album. But she guess she just had a lot on her mind and more inspiration from everything that happened within the last few years. She just hoped that her family wouldn't be too mad that she crossed over into the secular world to try out this new music. She felt that she needed to write this and record it. She wrote this as a poem at first but then changed into a whole song thinking it would fit better with her new R&B album. She hoped it would make it onto the album considering the fact that she worked so hard on it and it also had a double meaning.