30. Corinthians #2
“Hi big man,” I sighed. “I missed you. Did you miss me?” His chubby hands went to my face like they always did, and he babbled as if he were fussing.
“I’m going to take that as a yes.” He continued to babble, then stopped and smiled.
I kissed his forehead, then walked back to the living room to check on Psalms. “You get a hold of anyone?”
“Everybody said yes, but Cross said she is working and can’t do this week. Mercy offered her house for the weekend,” she answered.
“Okay, pack up.” I switched Judah to my right hip and bounced him. “I want to leave tonight.”
“What’s the rush?” she asked, lifting her brow.
“I just want to get away,” I told her. “I’m about to be swamped at the shop and just need the time away.”
“Alright,” she slowly replied as she nodded.
“Wryanne usually calls me when she’s on her way home from work, so I will tell her that we are leaving tonight.
” Wryanne was Psalms' best friend. They met when they were kids; Psalms never strayed away from the garden, so Wryanne always went to play with her there. They’d been inseparable since.
“Okay, I’m going to pack our bags.” I patted Judah on the back. I turned around and headed back to his room.
“Corinthians?” Psalms called out.
I stopped walking but didn’t turn around. “Yeah, Bug?”
“You good? You seem antsy. Is there something wrong?”
“I’m good,” I lied. “Just ready to go.”
Five hours later, we walked into the hotel suite we’d decided to book before take-off and kicked off our shoes. We’d lucked up and found a flight that left two hours after I’d decided on the impromptu trip. We all had to rush to pack and get to the airport, but we’d made it.
“Oh, look at you,” Mercy said, taking Judah from me. “You are getting so big!” She kissed his cheek.
“Hi,” Judah laughed as Mercy continued to love on him.
“When did you start talking?” she reared back in surprise. She turned and looked at me. “And why didn’t you tell me my guy could talk in complete sentences?”
“He said hi,” I replied, then set our bags down.
“Hi and no are complete sentences, Corinthians,” she sighed.
“I check in weekly; this is the first time I’m hearing him say hi.
” She hugged him, making his face smash against hers.
Judah was used to the affection my family gave him, so he didn’t move.
He just let her hold and love him. When he was tired of it, he would push her away. “Next week he will be giving speeches.”
“You’re being dramatic,” I replied, waving her off. “Come on, big man.” I reached for Judah, but he pushed my hands away. “Oh, you staying with Mercy? Fine, be a trader. Don’t try and cuddle with me later when you’re sleepy.”
“Don’t try and make my guy feel bad because he wants to hang out with the cool one in the family,” Mercy laughed. She walked to the kitchen. “Y'all hungry?”
“Nope, I want to sleep,” Psalms yawned.
“Same,” Wryanne said, nodding. “I’ve been in court all day. I had enough time when I got off to go home, pack, tell Thomas I was leaving, and get to the airport. I am struggling in the best possible way and need this vacation.”
“So y’all staying at the hotel is what you’re telling me?” Mercy asked, sounding disappointed. “No hanging out, going to the bar, finding some niggas?”
“Tomorrow,” Wryanne yawned. “Tonight we are relaxing.”
“Thank goodness,” Mercy laughed. “I’ve been at the arena all day practicing. Legacy just got into town a few hours before y'all did, and we just want to do nothing all weekend.”
“I’m thankful for having friends who own hotels,” Psalms laughed as she went to the balcony and looked through the large glass door. “Citrine knows what he’s doing when it comes to this shit.”
“I know,” Mercy agreed. “I’ve stayed at a few of them, and they are all nice like this.”
“How many rooms does this suite have?” Wryanne asked, looking around.
“We have the entire floor,” I told her. “This suite has four rooms; the one next door has two and the other has three.”
“More than enough room to move around without sitting on top of each other,” Mercy said, nodding. “I like it.”
I approached her again and reached for Judah. “Come on, big man. I was talking shit, but I’m the one who wants to cuddle,” I told him. Judah laughed then jumped into my arms. “We are going to take the suite with two rooms so that we won't wake y’all up.”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” Mercy said, shaking her head.
“Trust me, it’s for the best,” I told her, laughing. I patted Judah’s back. “We are up early, watching cartoons and eating cereal. This is a vacation for everyone.”
“I live here,” Mercy laughed.
“Pretend you don’t,” I told her. “Now we will see y’all in the morning.”
I made my rounds, letting Judah get hugs from everyone, then went to our suite.
Psalms helped me with the bags, then went to hang out with Wryanne while I got Judah ready for bed.
I bathed him, fed him a quick meal, then rocked him to sleep.
Once he was good and asleep in his Pack ‘N Play that we’d brought from home, I grabbed my things, then went to take a shower.
I didn’t close the bathroom door all the way in case Judah woke up.
I was putting on my clothes when I heard the front door open.
The only person who had a key besides me was Psalms, but I knew it wasn’t her because of the sound of heavy footsteps echoing through the room.
My favorite knife sat on the counter. I grabbed it, flipped it open, then slowly pushed the door open.
Judah’s Pack ‘N Play was empty. I pushed the door all the way open and stopped dead in my tracks at the sight of Uri holding Judah.
“He looks like you,” he softly said. He looked up at me with eyes filled with tears. “He has your cheeks and nose.” He smiled. “He looks like you.”
“P-p-p-put him down,” I said, looking at Uri.
“Please put him down.” As much as I wanted to attack him, I couldn’t.
Even as a grown man, he looked like the little boy I’d met all those years ago.
The one who wouldn’t fight me. The one who sang to me so I wouldn’t hear the rats.
The one who took more beatings than I ever could.
Then he wouldn’t hurt me, but I didn’t know about now.
I didn’t know him. What he’d been through once my parents were killed.
I didn’t know the man he was now. “Please, put my baby down.”
Uri looked down at Judah still asleep in his arms, then nodded. He approached me and handed him to me. I took Judah and stepped back.
“We need to talk,” he said, looking at the knife in my hand. “And put that away. You already know you can't hurt me.”
“I could kill you,” I replied.
Uri chuckled, shook his head, then wiped his hands over his face and stepped back. “If anyone could do it, it would be you,” he said.
We stood in a stare-off for what felt like forever.
Me coming here was supposed to give me time to think.
To figure out what the hell I was going to do to protect myself and everyone around me.
He was here because Robert had figured out what we’d done to the Franklins.
I knew it would come with repercussions, but I didn’t think that he would send Uri, but I shouldn’t be surprised.
Tyrell only showed up to the shop when my family was around.
A constant reminder that Robert could touch anyone at any time. His sending Uri was different.
“Tell me why you’re here,” I finally said. “Why did Robert send you?”
Uri’s face twisted in anger. “Robert didn’t send me,” he denied. “I haven’t seen him in years and not for lack of trying on my part.”
Hearing him say that gave me a small sense of relief. Robert hadn’t sent him, but he was still here. It had to be a reason why.
“Then why are you here after all this time?” I asked him. “It’s been years, Uri. Why now?”
He smirked, then licked his lips. “It’s been years for you, not me.
I’ve always known where you were. I’ve been around, standing in the shadows.
” He’d known but never said anything until now?
I thought back to the few times I thought I saw him but swore my mind was playing tricks on me.
At a store or out running errands. Times when I felt like someone was watching me and chalked it up to being paranoid.
“Why?” My brow lifted in surprise. He started to answer, and I held my hand up to stop him. “It doesn’t matter. You can't be here. Not now, not after all this time.”
“Co-“
“You can't be here,” I said again. “Go back to wherever you were hiding.”
“I can’t,” he told me. “I’m here. My cousin, he’s in-“
“Was that your doing?” I asked, lifting my brow. “Huh, was that your doing? Sending your cousin here to get in good with my family and then following him?”
“No,” he denied with a shake of his head. “That was fate. Nine and all his shit was fate.”
“I don’t believe in fate, Uri.” His eyes narrowed when I said his name. “So, tell me why I shouldn’t call my cousins and tell them that you’re here, that Nine is your cousin.”
“And that we have a past?” he asked me, and I stopped talking. “If you tell them that, then you’ll have to tell them about your past. About what you fought so hard to keep a secret. Can you do that, Cori?”
“Don’t call me that,” I said, shaking my head. “Don’t call me Cori. My name is Corinthians. Cori was the little girl who had to learn to fight to survive.”
“Then, call me Four,” he countered. “Uri was the boy who didn’t know love.”