24. Merci
MERCI
Early November
Cujo was cute. If I could think of any way to describe him, he was like a grizzly bear shielding a person with his body in the cold.
He might not have had the warmest or softest personality, but his character and integrity had been speaking volumes since the day we met.
He’d been a present force for Hammer and me since he found out what happened.
Hammer mentioned appreciating the way my family showed up for me after we lost the baby, and I believe that made everything come to a head for him.
For a while, it seemed as if he was in a depressed state.
Though he didn’t want to burden me with his feelings, he did talk to Cujo about it, and Cujo shared enough with me to not break his brother’s confidence but let me know what was going on with my man.
Apparently, he was thinking about his own childhood and how they’d never really had a real family beyond their mother.
He really was looking forward to the family we’d create, and though he knew we’d have that one day, he was most hurt about us not having it now.
Eventually, he was able to swim through the mud and clear the fog in his brain, and once he did, he was ready to sit down with my family.
I didn’t know how this was going to go. I wasn’t worried about him and my daddy at all.
Him bringing me to them after the miscarriage increased my father’s respect for Hammer and made him believe he could trust him.
It also softened him toward Hammer. It was my brothers I was concerned about.
Cujo was here, which was to be expected, but I was scared.
I knew my family could be violent, and I knew what they were capable of.
But I’d also witnessed what Hammer and Cujo were capable of, and I genuinely never wanted them to come to blows or start shooting.
“What you looking scared for?” Hammer asked with a smile.
I thought I was hiding my feelings well, but clearly, I wasn’t. “I just want this to go well. You and Daddy might not be each other’s favorite people, but at least y’all made some kind of progress. It’s my brothers I’m worried about.”
“Yeah. Surprisingly, he called and checked on me a few times. I know it’s going to take some work for us to trust each other, but I feel like it’s possible.”
“Aww.” With a smile, I leaned forward and kissed the corner of his mouth as the front door opened.
My heart skipped a beat before it palpitated. Marz and Neptune had no idea Cujo and Hammer would be here, and I prayed surprising them wouldn’t backfire. The moment they rounded the corner and entered the dining room and saw them, they instantly drew their guns.
“The fuck?” Neptune seethed.
“Put them guns down,” Mama said, but neither of them listened.
I didn’t even realize I’d jumped up and spread my arms in front of both Hammer and Cujo until Hammer used his free hand to lower me back down to my seat. They’d pulled their Glocks too, and I looked at Daddy for help.
With no words, he motioned with his head for his sons to lower their guns, and slowly, they did.
“I’on know what y’all got going on, but this is some bullshit,” Marz said. “The hell are they doing here?”
“We need to settle this once and for all,” Daddy said.
“Ain’t shit gon’ be settled as far as I’m concerned,” Marz replied. “You think I’m about to trust you or my sister with them?”
They continued to argue, and their voices escalated to the point where I couldn’t understand what any of them were saying.
“I was pregnant!” I yelled, shooting up from my seat.
Mouths snapped shut, and all eyes were on me.
“And I lost my baby. And you know what? Maybe that was God’s way of protecting them from being born into this bullshit!
We were raised in love, and I want the same thing for my children.
Regardless of how y’all feel about it, Hammer is going to be my babies’ father in the future, so y’all need to get along.
I don’t know what it’s going to take for y’all to trust that these men aren’t here to bring me and Daddy harm, but y’all need to figure it out.
They ain’t going nowhere, and y’all not gon’ keep pulling guns out around my man and brother. ”
Neptune scoffed and shook his head, but I could tell my words had softened Marz. Neptune had always been the one who preferred facts and logic over anything else. Until he knew without a doubt that Hammer and Cujo could be trusted, there was a chance nothing I said would matter.
“I’m sorry to hear that, little sis. Damn,” Marz replied, shoulders caving as he tucked his gun.
“What can we do to gain your trust?” I questioned.
His head shook as he chuckled, hardening all over again. “It don’t seem like it matters.”
“It matters to me.”
“Obviously, it doesn’t. If it did, you wouldn’t have kept this from me.”
“I didn’t find out who their father was until you did, Marz. That’s not fair.”
“Alright, that’s enough,” Daddy said as he stood.
“I understand your anger and lack of trust, but whether y’all want to accept it or not, she’s going to be with him, and they’re going to be around.
” Daddy paused and looked down at Hammer.
“When your sister lost the baby, he brought her to me. To us. The whole time he talked, he used the word we—not she. The loss affected him just as much as it affected her. I trust him with your sister, and you need to as well. So, if y’all need to get a fair one out the way to release that frustration, do that.
But we leaving this house today with everyone on one accord. ”
“With all due respect, Merc, I’m not fighting your sons,” Cujo said with a smile.
“Yeah, we ain’t gon’ stop, and we ain’t gon’ lose. Y’all gon’ have to kill us,” Hammer added.
I knew them, and I knew the warning was sincere, but my brothers’ egos had them ready to get wild all over again.
“Marz, wait,” I said as he set his gun on the table while Neptune took off his shirt. “They aren’t saying that to be cocky. It’s really the truth.” I took Hammer’s hand into mine and made him stand up. “Show them, bae.”
Hammer’s brows wrinkled as he stared at me. I could tell he didn’t want to, but he sighed and took off his shirt. Turning, he showed them the scars his father had left behind. Mama had the same reaction as I did. Her eyes watered as she covered her mouth. Daddy stared, face hardening in anger.
Quickly, Hammer put his shirt back on as I said, “Hammer’s daddy, the man y’all swear he’s here to get revenge over, did that to him.”
“That was the last time my brother lost a fight,” Cujo said.
“Pops said he was going to beat us like that every time we lost, so it trained us to make sure we never lost. That man beat the fuck outta us and our mama.” He lifted his shirt, exposing a long, thick scar that went down his chest and stomach.
“After he damn near killed my brother, I beat his ass. He left for a while, pride, I suppose. When he came back, it was the middle of the night. While I was sleep, he literally tried to gut me like a fish. I get why it’s hard for y’all to believe we ain’t here on no get-back shit, but we not.
Our childhood was so abusive and toxic, and he had us so brainwashed, we didn’t really realize how fucked up shit was until after he died.
We rampaged for a while, but when I almost died, we realized how dumb it was for us to be going crazy in the streets over a nigga that tried to kill us both. ”
“I fell in love with y’all sister the moment I laid eyes on her,” Hammer said, taking my hand into his.
“My brother tried to talk me out of it, and I knew the risks, but I pursued her anyway. I should have come forward and let Merc know who I was from the beginning, but I knew this would happen, and I didn’t want to lose her.
” When he looked down at me and winked, I couldn’t help but smile.
Even in the midst of chaos, Hammer was truly my peace.
“I know it’s going to take some time for y’all to trust us, but we ain’t going nowhere.
This is my wife, and y’all stuck with me and my brother for life. ”
With proof, Neptune bobbed his head and his knuckles tapped the table.
“Fucked up y’all had to go through that.
I can admit it was hard for us to believe y’all because of how we were raised.
How hard we’d be coming behind Pops. I can’t imagine not having my pops as my first protector.
Fucked up how Gatlin did y’all. For real. ”
“I don’t respect you keeping this from us, but I understand why, and I can respect and accept this moment,” Marz said.
“Y’all shake hands,” Daddy ordered. “Welcome them in.”
My brothers did as they were told, which made me happy.
I knew it would take time for them to really trust each other, but as long as they were willing, it would happen.
One thing about my family was, we were family for life.
Friends became brothers, and there was no doubt in my mind that would happen with Hammer and Cujo too.
Daddy stood and handed Cujo his phone, saying, “Put ya number in there. Y’all got a real father, a real family, now.”
That brought tears to my eyes, and I could tell Hammer and Cujo appreciated the sentiment because they did that whole handshake that turned into a hug thing with my daddy.
Once the smoke cleared, Hammer and Cujo agreed to stick around for dinner, which turned into a little party, as it always did. I thanked God for this growth and hoped they’d get along more each time they were in each other’s presence.
One Week Later
I wrapped my arms around Marz from behind and placed a kiss on his cheek.
It wasn’t lost on me how quickly he covered one of the papers on his desk so I wouldn’t see it.
All I could make out through my nosiness was the name Casper, and if I remembered correctly, that was the man Iman had been trying to get Marz to get some diamonds from.
Last I heard, that was over. Was Marz considering going after the diamonds himself?
My biggest brother was crazy, but he had a heart of gold.
Neptune had surprisingly opened up to Hammer and Cujo more over the past week, but Marz hadn’t really made any more effort.
I could respect that, but I also felt like it was on me to soften Marz up a bit.
Daddy had invited Cujo and Hammer to go fishing, and I wanted to make sure they’d have a great time, so I pulled up on my big brother so we could have a one-on-one conversation.
“You still mad at me?” I asked sweetly, sitting across from him.
“I’m not mad. I’m disappointed.”
“Why?”
Marz sighed and lifted his head from the papers he was looking over.
“You didn’t allow me to protect and preserve you.
If something would have happened to you, it would have killed me, Merci.
I know you didn’t know the extent of what he was hiding, but you knew he had a secret and that he was hiding something about his family.
I understand you’re a grown woman, but you will always be my little sister.
You can’t keep shit that could potentially hurt you from me again.
Even if you don’t tell our parents, we’ve always been close enough for you to trust me. ”
“I know, big brother, and I’m sorry. You’re right. Under different circumstances, I definitely would have confided in you.”
“So what made this different?”
“Truthfully… I just wanted him and our relationship to myself. Even with me knowing he believed we’d break up when I found out the truth, I still wanted to be with him for as long as I could.”
“You like him that much?”
“I love him that much,” I clarified, making Marz smile. “You risked it all for Heir, and Hammer risked it all for me.”
Sighing, Marz sat back in his seat with a shake of his head. “Alright, alright. He’s good. Just promise me—”
“I won’t keep something like this from you again,” I assured him, tugging him up from his seat by his hand. “Come on. I’ma take you shopping. What do you want? A new watch? New instrument?”
“Un unh. I want you to go to the drive-thru zoo with me. Heir said she ain’t going with me again.”
I burst into a fit of laughter. “Oh yeah. She told me what happened when you took her. I wish you would have had a video. Was she really crying?”
Marz laughed. “Crying, snotting, and about to throw up. She said it was so horrible she don’t want me to have my farm animals when we get married no more.”
We laughed as we headed out of the office in search of Neptune so we could take a quick little trip to the drive-thru zoo.
I wondered if I should ask him about Casper, but I knew he’d just brush it off and tell me I was nosy.
For now, I’d let it ride, but if he was doing what I thought he was doing, I couldn’t wait to get even and snitch to Daddy.