45. Four #3
“What was it?” I asked. I knew Robert well enough to know that whatever it was would never be good.
“You’ll see.” Uncle Bradon answered.
The drive to the house was quick. When we pulled up, Tulane didn’t wait for the driver to come around and open the door. We got out, and he led us up the stairs and to the front door.
My hand went to my back and wrapped around my gun.
“You ain’t gonna need that,” Tulane said, shaking his head.
He opened the door and stepped inside. “He ain’t been back.
” He flipped the light switch, and I walked into the house.
It reminded me of my childhood home with dark floors, white walls, and no personal touches.
The walls were bare, and the furniture looked like it had never been touched. “This way.”
Tulane and Uncle Bradon headed up the stairs. I followed behind them. Even though he said my gun wasn’t needed, I still had it in my hand. When they got to the top of the stairs, they turned right, then walked to the last door and opened it. They stepped back, and I walked in.
The first thing I noticed was it was a kid’s room.
Specifically, a room for a little boy was decorated with a superhero theme.
“What the fuck?” I said, looking around.
My watch started beeping, but I didn’t turn it off.
I walked to the bed and snatched the wooden letters off the wall.
“What the fuck is this shit?” I threw the H across the room.
I stepped on the bed and walked across it when I noticed the pictures lining the wall.
They were all of Judah, from the time he was born until recently.
All in the same park, him playing, laughing, running with Corinthians.
I could tell she didn’t know they were being taken because in none of them were they looking at the camera.
Next to the pictures was a height chart.
It was dated with ages and his height and weight, like Judah had grown up in this room.
“Four,” Uncle Bradon called my name, but I was already on the move again. I went to the closed door and pulled it open to see it was filled with clothes, all of Judah’s size. I stepped back, shaking my head. “Four.”
“Uncle Bradon, he wants my son?” I asked, looking at him. “Huh? He wants my fuckin’ son?! To do what? Raise him! Make him a monster like he did me? His mama? Is that what you’re telling me? He wants Judah?”
“Not just Judah,” Uncle Bradon said. “Follow me.” He walked out of the room and to the other side of the floor.
When he got to another room, he pushed it open, and my stomach dropped again.
The room was identical to Cori’s room at her house.
Every detail was the same, down to the small scuffs on the floor.
It even smelled like her. I approached the bed and for a second just stood there, staring at it. “Four.”
I picked up the cuffs attached to the bed and my head started to spin. I could hear my bracelet alerting me about my heart rate, but it didn’t matter.
In the background I could hear Uncle Bradon talking, asking me to calm down but I couldn’t. Uncle Bradon stepped in front of me and put something to my ear.
“Uri?” Cori’s soft voice came echoing through the speaker. “Uri, baby, breathe.” I closed my eyes at the sound of her voice and did what she said. “There you go baby. Do it again.”
“Cori-“
“Come home, Uri,” she told me. “Whatever it is can wait. Just come home.”
***
From the moment we left Robert’s house until I saw Cori standing at the airstrip was a blank.
I couldn’t get my mind to stop spinning; every so often, I would hear my bracelet start beeping.
Eventually Uncle Bradon called Nine and had him turn off the sound.
But it didn’t matter; I could feel my heart slamming against my chest the entire ride.
When we landed, I got up, walked off the plane, and right into my woman’s arms. She stood there, waiting, worry and fear etched into her pretty-ass features.
“Where’s Judah?” I asked her as she drove.
“With Deuce,” she answered. She stopped at the light and looked over at me. “You hungry?”
“No.” I sat there, scared as fuck at the thought of telling her what I saw. She was going to run; there was no doubt about it, and truthfully, I didn’t blame her right now. Robert had made her life a living fucking hell. I licked my lips then rubbed my hand over my hair. “We umm, need to talk.”
“Okay,” she said. The light turned green, and she pulled off. “Now?”
“Let’s go home first.”
For the rest of the drive, we were silent. Cori was giving me a chance to get my thoughts together, and I appreciated it. She parked in the garage, waited for me to check the house, then I took her to the living room.
Cori sat on the opposite side of the couch. Her knees pulled to her chest, her arms wrapped around her legs. She rested her chin on top of her knees and watched me. “You can't handle what I told you?” she asked.
I sat there, staring at her, confused as fuck at how she decided that. “What?” My brows damn near touched.
“Look, I get it. Finding out that Robert could be Judah’s daddy is a lot.
I don’t blame you for wanting an out.” She looked away without turning her head.
“I don’t know what I will tell Judah, but I’ll figure it out.
He told me that y’all had a friendship before we became a couple.
All I’m asking is that you don’t cut him out of your life completely.
He really loves you.” She looked back at me.
“But I get it if you can't. It’s a lot. I know.”
“What, you thought that I was leaving you?” I asked her with a laugh.
Wasn’t shit funny, but I couldn’t help but laugh.
“You think I give a fuck about who his biological father is?” I wiped my hand over my face.
“I mean yeah, it matters, but not for the reasons you think. Baby, I’m not leaving you!
” I stood up and started to pace in front of her.
“What the fuck do I look like leaving you because of something Robert did? You didn’t consent to that.
He took it. Like he’s taken so much from you. ”
“But you left,” she reminded me.
“That shit was a coincidence,” I told her. “I already had that quick trip planned you knew that. I had a meeting with my Uncle Bradon and someone else. I-“
“I forgot,” she sighed, then gave me a small laugh. “So, we aren’t breaking up?” she asked.
I stopped pacing and looked down at her.
“Are we breaking up?” I repeated. “Fuck no, we aren’t breaking up!
We are locked in for life. I’m going to marry you, give you and Judah my last name despite the bullshit linked to Robert.
” I lowered myself to my knees in front of her.
“Cori, do you realize how much I love you? Love Judah? How in love I am with y'all?” I cupped her face and wiped her tears. “Baby, I’m not going no-damn-where!”
“Then why have you been quiet since I picked you up? Why did your uncle call me? Because your monitor was going crazy. Do you know how scary it is to get that alert? Every time my phone beeps and I know it’s your alarm, I’m scared as hell.
Then your uncle calls Nine, and he sounds nervous, damn near stuttering, and all I can hear is your monitor going off.
He says he can’t calm you down and doesn’t know what to do.
Nine doesn’t even think about it; he says to put you on the phone and then handed it to me. ”
“That’s how he got you on the phone?” I chuckled, and she nodded. “My uncle called Nine, and he called you?”
“I was with him and Cross.”
“Okay,” I said, nodding. “Listen to me, alright? I’m not going anywhere.
That shit earlier was me being stressed about something.
The second I heard your voice, I calmed down.
You are my peace. The only person who can get me to calm down by just saying it.
Don’t nobody else got that kind of power over me.
Just you, only you, always you.” I got up and sat down next to her.
Cori climbed into my lap and wrapped her arms around me.
“What scared you earlier?” she asked.
“It doesn’t matter,” I told her, shaking my head.
“It does.”
“It doesn’t because I’m going to handle it,” I replied.
I couldn’t bring myself to tell her, at least not right now.
I needed to come up with a game plan first. I couldn’t have her around me scared to move, but I also couldn’t have her walking around unaware of what Robert was planning.
I kissed the top of her head. “Trust me.” I closed my eyes.
“I do,” Cori softly replied.
“Uri,” Robert chuckled and walked around the ring. “Uri!” He slammed his hand on the mat. “What did I tell you? Huh? What did I say? You don’t stop fighting, no matter what the other person says or does. You don’t stop fighting!”