2. Mercy
MERCY
“Run, Mercy!” Krude’s loud voice echoed through the room, and I grunted. “Run!”
“I’m trying!” I replied as I continued to tap against the keyboard. My character wasn’t moving fast enough for me, and it was pissing me off. “Where are you?”
“In the fort above you!” he screeched. “Damn it, Judah, you better not kill me.”
“Stop acting like a punk, Krude!” Judah replied, then laughed. “You told me you would show me how to handle big business, remember?”
“My partner sucks!” Krude yelled, and I reared back in my seat to look over at him. How the fuck was he sitting over there talking about I sucked, knowing that I didn’t usually play games online. “You know Mercy weak as fuck. Stop playing and give me a little leeway!”
“Never!” Judah replied with a laugh. “’Member when I was learning, and you told me I owed you a band if I cried? Keep that same energy!”
“You little silver cap demon!” Krude threw his controller down next to him and stood up. “You legit have the upper hand right now!”
“It’s always war!” Judah said as he jumped from his spot across the room. He danced like his character before turning around and bucking at Krude. “Pay me my money!”
“Krude, you bet him?” I laughed as I pushed back from the desk. “Like legit bet a five-year-old money?”
“Every time we play, it's for a band.” Krude shrugged as if what he said made sense. “His mama stays making deposits into my account because he is weak.”
“I wasn’t weak today!” Judah argued. He picked Krude’s phone up from the table and handed it to him. “Now, pay up so I can ask my mommy if we can get some chicken nuggets.”
“You about to spend my money on some damn chicken nuggets?” Krude reared back in surprise, and I shook my head. “You not even trying to get a big boy meal and eat steak and potatoes? What kind of little nigga shit is that?”
The sound of money being deposited into Judah’s account sounded off, making him check his phone.
I shook my head at my cousin’s interactions.
Krude was a grown-ass, married man with a newborn, and Judah was a five-year-old who’d just started kindergarten, yet they acted the same.
“It’s my money now, so don’t worry about how I spend it,” he quickly replied, then ran out of the room.
“I’m about to snitch and tell Madea he is running in the house,” Krude smirked and took off behind him. “Madea, the silver cap demon running in your shit like he pays the bills!”
“He gonna get in trouble, Mercy?” Deuce questioned from his spot.
I looked over at him and shook my head. Deuce was still trying to get used to being around us, and even though I knew it could be overwhelming, he was doing good.
The fact that Krude and the other older boy cousins treated him like he’d been raised with us, like Judah, probably helped a lot.
“Krude will get in trouble before Judah does,” I laughed, and his eyes returned to the door. “You hungry?”
“I could eat,” Deuce answered and stood. “I don’t want nuggets, though.”
I stood, put my hand out for him to take, and we headed out of the game room.
Granddaddy always complained that we spent too much time at his house, but he always added to it.
As we got older and our family expanded, they renovated to accommodate our family.
They’d moved out of the house we were raised in years ago, and while this one was bigger, it was starting to feel too small.
We’d brought up buying them a new house a few times, but Granddaddy always cut the conversation short and told us his house wouldn’t feel small if we stayed out of it.
That wasn’t happening, and both our grandparents knew it.
“What do you want?” I questioned as we walked into the kitchen.
Madea sat in the corner, listening as Krude and Judah argued.
The fact that she was sitting there listening to them go back and forth was comical.
She was the only one in the family with the patience to deal with Krude and did not end up committed.
“Some wings?” Deuce suggested, and I nodded.
“I know just the place. You want to ride?” I asked. Deuce looked over at Krude and Judah, who were now slapboxing, and nodded. I grabbed my keys from the island, and we left.
Twenty minutes later, we pulled up to Cool’s and got out.
Usually, I wouldn’t have brought Deuce with me, but I knew this was a slow time, and Willie wouldn’t trip because Deuce knew how to act in public.
One thing I would always give Cross props for was that Deuce was a respectful ass kid and knew not to show out.
We got out of the car and went inside. Just like I thought, there weren’t many people here, and we’d be able to eat without problems. I gave the bartender a small wave as we passed her and went to a table at the back.
Deuce's eyes bounced around the well-lit restaurant. He was, indeed, his parents’ child. He missed nothing and was on guard.
“You ever had Cool’s before?” I asked Deuce once he was seated.
“My daddy got it for my mama last week,” he said, nodding.
His locs fell into his face, and he pushed them away before looking around one last time.
He pulled a small toy knife from behind him and set it on the table, and I lifted my brow in surprise.
“Krude said never leave home without it.” He had the nerve to pat the toy knife and smile.
I wanted so badly to be surprised, but all I could do was laugh.
Krude and Judah were rubbing off on Deuce something vicious, and I knew he was causing his parents straight hell at home.
“Does your mama know you’ve been carrying that around?” I giggled, and Deuce shook his head.
“You gonna snitch?” his little face twisted up just like Krude and Judah’s did when they were plotting, and I shrugged.
I had no intention of snitching, but I wondered what he would do if I did.
Deuce sat forward, resting his arms on the tabletop, and squinted his gray eyes. “Mercy, you not about that life?”
I mimicked his actions and tried not to laugh.
“What life are you talking about, Deuce?” I questioned and lifted my brow.
As laid back of a family as we were, we didn’t do that hood shit.
Yes, we were killers, and yes, some of us took contracts, but we didn’t just go around killing people because the wind blew too hard.
We kept the kids far away from our lives, but I started to wonder how much we were actually shielding them from.
“Krude said you got hit in the head with a basketball a lot when you were little,” he said as he nodded. My cousin and I were going to have to talk about exactly what he was saying to the younger generation.
“What does that have to do with anything?” I questioned.
“It explains everything,” he said as he sat back. I laughed out loud and shook my head. I’d just been insulted by a six-year-old, and I’m pretty sure he called my ass slow without saying it.
Deuce’s eyes went from me to the left of me, and he reached for his knife just as a sweet voice said, “You’re Mercy DeCorte!”
I reached over, covered Deuce's hand, and turned to face the prettiest girl I’d ever seen.
Her skin was the color of melted chocolate, and she had a round face with full lips, a small round nose, and big, expressive eyes filled with excitement.
Her hair was braided to the back, and she wore black ball shorts, a KC Queen’s shirt, and my signature shoes on her feet.
“Hi, sweetie!” I greeted her with the same excitement in my voice that she had in hers. “How are you?”
“Oh, I love you! Can I have your autograph?” she bounced her feet and put her hands together in front of her face like she was begging.
“Yep,” I laughed as I dug into the Ahh Real Monster fanny pack I’d stolen from Krude yesterday. He hadn’t noticed it yet, but I knew he would lose his mind once he did. “What’s your name?”
“Faylin Robbins!” she replied, and I nodded. “Can you sign my ball?”
“Sure,” I answered.
“Okay, I’ll be right back. I gotta get it from my daddy’s car!” She took off before I could even reply. I watched her run to a tall figure near the front door and tilted my head. Even though I couldn’t see his face, I knew whoever she was talking to was watching me hard.
“You don’t wanna sign her ball?” Deuce asked, and I turned to look at him.
“No, why do you ask that?” I questioned.
“You sighed; my mommy only does that when she’s annoyed or has to deal with Krude,” Deuce answered. I covered my face with my hands and tried not to laugh. Krude worked everybody’s damn nerves.
“I’m good,” I replied, and he continued to stare at me as if he didn’t believe me.
How could I explain to a child that even though I loved that little girls looked up to me, especially little black girls, I was tired?
It sounded ungrateful, and one thing I was not was ungrateful.
I didn’t take for granted the fact that I was a household name.
I was able to do what I loved, but that came with restrictions on how I moved and acted.
I just wanted to be myself, free of the world's expectations.
“Daddy, see, I told you it was her!” Faylin said, coming back to my table.
To my surprise, Givens Robbins was trailing behind her with a mug on his face.
Instantly, I was turned on and hated myself for it.
Givens was not the type of man I needed to be attracted to.
He had a reputation as a bad boy, giving people hell wherever he went and a PR nightmare.
I was on board when Pyrite contacted me a few months ago about joining the KC Queens and being a silent partner.
I was always looking for ways to grow my money, and being an owner of a team sounded like an ideal opportunity; what I didn’t expect was to find out that Givens was also a partner.
“Faylin, let her be; she is eating with her kid,” Givens’ deep voice echoed through the room. He was fine, but the way his voice seemed to echo out of his chest when he spoke had my damn panties drenched. “I’ll hit her agent up and have her sign some shit.”
“No, it’s alright,” I said, shaking my head. Faylin handed me her ball and a Sharpie, and I signed it.
“My daddy signed me up for your basketball camp,” Faylin said, and I nodded. “Are you going to be there?”
“Yep.” I handed her the ball back. “I’ll see you in the morning then, huh?”
“Yes, ma’am!” Faylin smiled as she traced her fingers over my signature. “I’ll be the first one there and the last to leave. I want to be a part of your youth squad.”
“Are you old enough?” I couldn’t help but ask. She looked young; my team's age bracket was fifteen and sixteen-year-olds.
“Yes, ma’am,” she nodded.
“Well then, I’ll see you in the morning,” I replied.
Faylin gave me one last wave before walking away, with her father not too far behind her.
Our food came, and we bowed our heads to pray.
“Mercy?” Deuce called my name in between bites of food. I lifted my brow and continued to eat. “I’m going to marry her.”
“Who?” I laughed and covered my mouth so food wouldn’t fall out.
“Faylin Robbins,” he said, nodding as if his mind was already made up. “She’s going to be my wife.”
“Deuce, you’re six.”
“And?” He grilled me as if reminding him of his age was an issue. “My daddy said he knew he was gonna marry my mama the second he saw her.” He pointed in the direction that Faylin had walked to. “That’s my wife, Mercy. Faylin's gonna be a Strong.”
I wanted to argue with him, but I knew better. Deuce had decided on Faylin and their destiny, and who was I to say he was wrong? After all, he was a DeCorte and a Strong, and if Faylin was strong enough to handle that combination, then more power to her.