Destined Hearts in Corinthians

33. Four

Four

“Krude’s in trouble,” Judah whispered to me as we stood in line.

He wasn’t really paying me too much attention, which I was good with.

I was looking for his mama; I knew me coming around was going to fuck with her, but I was tired of hiding.

For the last four years, I’d made sure she never saw me.

I was giving her space and peace. But then I saw Judah again, a few months ago I knew I couldn’t do it.

He was with Nine and Ex and I was visiting.

I drove him home and came in. Being around Cori was like a breath of fresh air.

I never took Nine up on his offer to move to Kansas City.

I only visited from time to time. Now, I regretted that shit.

Not just because everyone else had moved back, but because I realized how much I missed out on.

Watching Deuce grow up through FaceTime and text just wasn’t it.

Our family was close, and me living so far away made me the odd man out.

I wasn’t having that; I decided to move to KC.

When I told Nine, he hooked me up with a realtor who found me a cool little house on the south side.

I was close to the office and family. My things got in yesterday, and I should’ve been unpacking, but Deuce told me his grandparents were cooking and invited me over.

Cross mentioned that everyone would be there and gave me an out because she knew I wasn’t really a people person, or so she thought.

I’d told her that because she’d invited me to so much shit with her family before.

I had to turn her down because I never heard from Corinthians.

I’d given Cori space, time to figure out what she wanted, and now I was here.

I’d only ever experienced peace when I was with her.

The first time, my heart raced, then calmed down.

I had the best sleep, the most calming night.

When I woke up, she and Judah were still asleep, cuddled up at my side, and I knew then that she was the reason.

I knew that our past was fucked up and traumatic, but I wanted to spend the rest of my life with them by my side.

My letter told her that; I begged her to pick me.

To let me love her. I wasn’t a dumb nigga and thought that everything from our past wasn’t going to be hard to work through, but I was going to try because she was worth it, Judah was worth it.

We were worth it. “I heard Madea say that he was going to stay in trouble until he learned his lesson.” Judah looked over at me.

His brows were damn near touching. “I don’t think he will ever learn. ”

“Why?” I chuckled and shook my head. Judah was smart and mature beyond his years, but with a mama like Corinthians, I could see why.

He told me all about how she lets him learn and do things for himself.

He said she told him her job as a mother was to love him unconditionally and to teach him how to navigate the world without her.

“I don’t know,” he answered with a shrug.

I picked up a plate for him then pointed to the silverware and water.

Judah got those, then we walked away. Pastor DeCorte had made a bunch of food, and we were eating buffet style.

I made him a plate: chicken, grilled broccoli and corn, a burger with everything on it, and pasta salad.

Pastor DeCorte had already blessed the food so we could start eating.

I sat there, looking around, waiting for Cori to come back.

Cross sat next to Nine; every so often, they’d look up at me, then go back to their conversation.

Deuce sat next to Judah, laughing and talking.

Krude sat at the end of the table fucking with Judge, and Ex sat across from them, laughing.

The only person that was missing was Mercy.

She’d recently signed with the Queens and would be moving back within the next few days.

“Four?” Judah tapped my arm. “Four?”

“He can't feel you hitting him,” Deuce told him. I looked over at the two boys.

“What do you mean?” Judah said, looking at Deuce. His brows were damn near touching again. “My hand is right here.” He placed his hand on my arm. “He can feel me.”

“No, he can't,” Deuce said, shaking his head. “He can't feel it.”

“Four?” Judah looked up at me. I could see the questions in his eyes. “You can't feel this?” I nodded. He turned back to Deuce with a smug look on his face. “See! He can too!”

“No, he can't,” Deuce doubled down. “My daddy said Four can't feel. His body doesn’t work like ours does.”

“I don’t believe you,” Judah told him. He turned, looked at me, then at his hand on my arm. “Four, you can feel, right?”

“I can't feel pain,” I told him. “My body doesn’t feel pain, but I can feel.” I looked up to see Psalms. Annoyance was evident on her face at the sight of me. “Probably more than I realized.”

“So, if I stabbed you with this fork, you couldn’t feel it?” Judah poked my hand with his fork, and I shook my head. “I could cut you? And nothing?” Again, I shook my head. “That’s. So. Cool!” he jumped up from his seat. “Auntie Bug! Four can’t feel pain!!”

“Judah!” Madea called out.

“Madea, he can't feel pain!” he told her excitedly, then turned back to me. “Have you broken a bone?” his eyes narrowed. “What would happen if you were run over by a car? Would you die?” His eyes got big. “You’re like a superhero! Oh, that’s so cool!

” He turned back to his aunt. “Auntie Bug, stab him with your knife!” he pointed to me.

I looked up to see Psalms nod at Judah, then started walking towards me. Her hand went to her thigh, and she discreetly pushed her dress to the side to take out a knife.

“Psalms DeCorte!” Madea yelled and jumped from her seat. She got to Psalms before she could get to me. “Have you lost your damn mind?” she snatched the knife from Psalms and threw it into the ground. “Why the hell would you listen to that boy? He’s four!”

“He’s five,” Krude said, walking up to them. He took a bite of his burger, looked down at the knife, then back at Psalms. “And y’all call me irresponsible? She was about to send that nigga to the Golden Gates.”

“Stop talking, Genesis,” Madea said, pointing towards the door. “Four, go in the house, please.”

“But Madea-“

“Judah, I wasn’t talking to you.” She cut her eyes to him then looked at me. “I need to talk to my grandchild, and I don’t want you to see that part of me just yet. You still think I’m nice.”

“Oh nah, Madea, let him stay,” Krude protested. “Let him see your crazy now so it won’t surprise him later.” He pointed at me. “He gotta see it, Best Friend. I saw that look in his eyes. Trust me, he needs to see it.”

“Sit the hell down,” Madea said to Psalms. She sat in the empty chair then cut her eyes to me. “Go on.”

“Madea-“

“Genesis.”

“I’ma shut the fuck up, Best Friend,” he said then bit into his food. He looked at me, mouth twisted to the side, and shook his head. “Lucky nigga.”

I walked into the house, not caring about the conversation they were about to have.

Judah’s response was typical of a kid. Well, not the stabbing thing, but I’d excuse it for now.

I looked around the living room at pictures lining the walls and made my way through the house.

I knew from years of sneaking in where Cori’s room was.

I knocked on her bedroom door, waited for a beat for her to answer, and when she didn’t, I turned the handle.

The decor in her room had matured; the posters on the wall were gone.

Now, the wall was matte black with a few pictures of her and Judah from the last few years.

I closed the door behind me. Her king-size bed, end tables, and dresser were all the same black.

She had gold-and-cream bedding, and a vase in the corner holding the prettiest red flowers I’d ever seen.

Her curtains were drawn, making the room dark but allowing just enough light so that it wasn’t too dark.

I went to the flowers and touched them. They were real.

Her sister was a botanist; I didn’t expect it to be fake.

I went to the same corner that I sat in as a kid and waited.

I don’t know how long Madea planned to talk to everyone, nor did I care.

I was going to use this time to relax. I took my hat off, set it on the floor next to me, and waited.

“Shit,” I hissed as I opened my eyes. I stretched my legs out in front of me and my arms above my head.

“You said a bad word,” Judah said. I looked to my left to see him sitting in his mama's bed. His hair was tied up, and he was wearing plaid pajama bottoms and a tank top. He looked over at me, smirked, then turned back to the TV. “I’m not going to tell, though; Madea already fussed at me today. She don’t need that dollar. ”

“Oh yeah?” I chuckled, wiped my hand over my face, then rested my head back against the wall.

“I’m supposed to apologize for asking Auntie Bug to stab you,” he said. “I got excited.” He looked at the door, then at me and smiled. “You’re a real-life superhero, aren’t you?”

I put my finger to my lips to shush him, and his eyes got big. I wasn’t a damn superhero, but if he needed me to be one, I would be for him and his mama.

Judah jumped off the bed, ran to me, and dapped me up. “I knew it,” he whispered. “I knew you were a super-hero; you’re too big not to be.”

“Don’t tell nobody,” I told him. I watched as he pinched my hand. “It doesn’t hurt.”

“I just had to be sure,” he said, letting me go. He got back in bed and picked up the remote.

“What time is it?” I asked instead of answering him.

“My bedtime,” he answered. “You been asleep for a long time. My mama woke up a long time ago.”

“Yo mama?” I lifted my head to look at him.

Judah nodded then turned the channel. “She was asleep next to you,” he said without looking at me. “When she woke up, she told me to be quiet and leave you alone. Her and Madea are outside talking.” He slowly turned his head to look at me. “Four?”

“Yeah.”

“My mama cries in her sleep,” he told me. “I hear her all the time. I don’t think she knows she does it.” He shook his head then turned back to look at the TV. “But she didn’t cry when she was asleep next to you.”

I got up, told Judah I was going to grab something to eat since I hadn’t eaten earlier, then went to look for Corinthians. We didn’t have to talk if she didn’t want to; I just wanted to be next to her. I walked into the kitchen to see Madea sitting at the table, reading a book.

“Did Judah wake you up?” she asked when she noticed I was standing there.

“No,” I answered, shaking my head.

She closed her book, nodded, then stood.

“Alright, yo plate in the microwave.” I looked at the microwave, then to the back door.

I could see Corinthians and the rest of her cousins outside.

“She’s out there, lost in her own thoughts but pretending that she isn’t.

Go on out there. Them grandkids of mine know that I’m going to bed.

” She patted my arm as she passed me. “You take care of yourself, Four.”

I waited until she was long gone before walking outside.

As soon as I opened the door, the sound of their laughter hit me like a ton of bricks.

Cross sat, cuddled up next to Nine. Krude’s wife, Megan, had shown up some time while I was asleep.

She sat next to him, laughing at something he said.

Exodus and his fiancée, Paxton, sat next to Judge and his girlfriend, Sasha.

Psalms was next to Wednesday. I wasn’t sure of their relationship status, but it also wasn’t my business.

The only empty spot was next to Corinthians.

“Come on, Chopped and Screwed,” Krude said, waving me over. The group turned around and looked at me. Psalms' face was tense, but I was more concerned about Corinthians. She barely looked in my direction.

“Do I want to know why you call him that?” Judge asked, then drank some of his water.

“Oh, he stutters,” Krude answered with a shrug. “Y’all ain’t heard him?”

“You foul,” Exodus told him, shaking his head. He turned to me. “Don’t pay that nigga too much attention. Our grandparents dropped him as a baby.”

“That shit ain’t been proven yet,” Krude denied. He pointed to the empty spot next to Corinthians. “Sit down nigga damn. She ain’t gonna kill you.” He smirked, took a pull from his blunt, and glanced at Psalms. “She might though.”

“Leave him alone, Krude,” Megan said, swatting at his arm. “Damn.”

“Fine, fine,” Krude laughed. “I’ma let him live this one time since it's his first time around all of us. But the next time I’m doing double time.”

I laughed and shook my head as I sat. Corinthians pulled her feet under her and wrapped her arms around her legs.

I tried not to stare but I couldn’t help it.

She was so damn beautiful. She’d changed over the last few years.

Her aura was calm yet protective. Her right arm was covered in a full sleeve.

I wanted to ask her about the tattoos, what they meant, how she decided on them, but I didn’t.

I just stared, coming up with my own story in my head.

Krude passed her the blunt, and she took a pull.

Seeing a woman smoke had never been attractive to me until now.

I watched the smoke slowly flow from her nose, her eyes slightly lowered, and her lashes brush against each other.

She handed Exodus the blunt, then turned to look at me.

The smoke pooled around her face, and she licked her lips.

My bracelet beeped, but I didn’t give a damn.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Cross and Nine exchanged a quick conversation through sign.

Nine nodded, then took his phone out of his pocket, swiped it, and the beeping stopped.

My watch flashed green three times, and I knew he silenced the alarm.

He’d have questions later, but I appreciated that he was looking out for me.

“Nigga That Stutter,” Krude said. I looked at him and lifted my brow. “What the fuck got you to move here finally?”

“I want my family,” I answered.