21. Warren ‘Wolf’ Bennett
WARREN ‘WOLF’ BENNETT
It was after three in the morning, and I was at the crib, with my iPad in my lap, looking into things for my business. I was so hungry for the business that I ran, so here I was, looking at stones for purchase.
I worked with a private supplier out of Belgium.
I’ve been doing business with them for the past two years or so.
Because we’ve grown a tight relationship over the years, I was going through the collection of stones that he’d sent over to me.
He would typically send it to me first before making it accessible to other buyers.
He sent over all kinds of pictures, videos, prices, and measurements.
Both my stores could use new inventory, so I was happy to be looking at these stones.
As I was deep into the video, with my notebook sitting on the bed because I had been taking notes of what I wanted to order, my phone buzzed. I quickly picked my phone up because I thought that it was Deja texting me back, either letting me know how work was going, or that she was on the way home.
It wasn’t her that texted me though. It was a message from my mom.
She sent it to the group chat that consisted of me, and my three brothers.
An image came in of a minor child. If I had to guess his age, I would say that he was no older than 13 years old.
It was a football picture. A professional football picture.
Seeing the image, all I could think to myself was that he looked like me, and my brothers, but it was Demarco that he really resembled.
He had long hair, that was styled in single plaits.
Braces on his teeth with a nice smile. Before me, or either one of my brothers could text back, asking who the kid was, another message came in from our mom.
Emaye
Hi sons. Say hello to your father’s youngest son. His name is Wesley.
Immediately seeing that shit, I started calling her. She forwarded my call though.
Kingston
Emaye, answer the phone!
The fact that Kingston texted that over in the group chat, let me know that he was blowing her up just as I was. I could see the message bubbles in the chat, indicating that she was texting something else.
Emaye
Oh, and sons, not only is there Wesley, but your daddy also has a daughter on the way. The woman is due any day now.
Right after that, she sent us plenty of images. She sent the ultrasound photos of this new pregnancy, and more pictures of Wesley, our dad, and whoever this woman was. From the looks of things, this woman was getting ready to have our father’s second child.
I removed the iPad from my lap, as I sat back, and processed this shit. That nigga has done some foul shit over the years, but nothing to this extent. He has a teenaged son, meaning that’s a secret he’s been hiding from our mom for years. As I sat, processing it, another message came through.
Emaye
If you still want to have a father, I advise that one of you come and get him before I kill him.
That’s when I hopped my ass up from the bed, so I could throw some clothes on.
Our mom didn’t even speak that way. She was soft.
She was gentle. All the shit that our father has ever done to her over the years, she’s never threatened to kill him.
She had years of hurt behind her, so I believed that she might get a hold of one of those many gun that’s stored in that house and try to take him out.
I wasn’t hopping up to run to that nigga’s aide. I just wanted to get to her before she did some shit that she was going to fuck around, and regret.
I rushed inside my closet, throwing on a hoodie. I kept my joggers on that I was already wearing, and with the white socks that were already on my feet, I slipped into a pair of slides. I quickly grabbed my gun off the dresser, wallet, and keys, racing out of the house.
I made it over to the elevators quickly, took it all the way down to the parking garage level, and the second the doors opened, I zoomed out of the building, racing through the underground garage.
It didn’t take me long to make it to my car.
This was probably the fastest I’ve ever started my car up and pulled off.
The whole time I was in the car, I kept blowing my mom’s phone up, but he wouldn’t answer. She was still declining my calls.
I broke just about every traffic violation to get to their house.
They stayed twenty minutes from me, but I was able to get there in twelve.
My parents lived in a gated community, but luckily there wasn’t a line at the gate.
Security at the gatehouse knew me, so once I pulled up and they saw that it was me, I was quickly let in.
I rushed inside the gate, speeding through the community, sloppily parking my car in their driveway.
I bolted out of the car and made it over to the front door.
My parents had a code to get inside, that I quickly keyed in, and the second I granted myself entry, I could hear R.
Kelly’s, When a Woman’s Fed Up, blasting from the speakers.
Rushing to where the music was coming from, which was the family room area, I spotted my mom sitting in the accent chair.
She had her legs pulled up Indian style, and I looked to see what she was holding in her hands.
It was an 8 x 10 frame that held a picture from her, and my father’s wedding day.
A Glock rested in her lap too. Her eyes were red from crying.
From where I was standing, I could only see her, but when I heard moaning, that’s when I rushed over, and she had my pops down on his ass, lying in his own blood, groaning from the pain that he was in.
I wasn’t sure where she had shot this nigga, but there was plenty of blood on the floor. The way he was clutching at his knees, lying on his side, I’m going to assume that she’d shot him there. I didn’t see any chest shots, or head shots.
“Emaye, chill the fuck out! Give me the gun,” I said, walking over to her, wanting to get the gun out of her lap, but she put her hand up, and stopped me. With a single tear flowing down her face, she released a pain filled laugh.
“I laid on my back, and I had four children for you. After I gave birth to Warren, the doctor told me that I shouldn’t have any more children.
He told me that another pregnancy could possibly kill me.
You held onto my hand when he told me that.
You were there. My body struggled to carry your babies.
You knew another baby could possibly kill me.
I knew it could possibly kill me, yet I still foolishly gave you one more.
You want to know why I gave you one more?
Why I risked my life? Because I loved you,” there was so much hurt in her voice as she said this to him.
“Baby… I’m sorry. Let’s talk about this,” my pops begged, weakly. It was evident he was in pain.
The front door opened, and just like I rushed in, my brothers came rushing in.
All three of them. They ran into the family room, where we all were, and once they saw the seriousness of what was going on, they paused in their footsteps, looking down at my father on the floor, and then back at our mother.
“I gave you those beautiful boys. Even when my body couldn’t handle it, I still carried them for you. All your sons are healthy. I did that for you. I gave you the sons that you told me you always wanted,” she calmly talked to him.
“I gave up my life because of you. Came to the states at just twelve years old with my parents. I had nothing but big dreams. I wanted to work in the medical field. Wanted to become a nurse. I met you. My parents hated you from the jump. You told our sons that they never accepted you and didn’t think you were good enough for me when that isn’t true.
I let you run with that narrative for years.
Why? Because I’ve shown that I’ll do anything for Wallace.
My parents didn’t like you because they saw right through your bullshit, and here I am, all these years later, and I finally saw what they saw.
I see the piece of shit that they always saw.
I see the man that they told me was going to ruin my life.
I defended you and chose you over my own blood,” she went on, and then let out a sinister laugh.
“Look at me. Nothing going for myself. Living in my husband’s shadows.
I don’t even have a name. They know me as Wallace’s wife, or Mrs. Bennett.
Very rare that I’m address by Liya. All I ever did was stay home, cook your food, and raise your boys.
I forgave you again, and again, and again, and again,” she just kept saying that last part.
To stand here, and to look at my mom, and see her broken like this, it fucked with me hard.
“As if the bitches that you would sleep with behind my back wasn’t hurtful enough…
you go and you have outside children! A son, Wallace?
A fourteen-year-old son, that you probably just expect me to accept, just like I did everything else, huh?
You want me to accept your daughter that’s due next month too, huh?
” she asked, looking down at him, allowing the tears to just fall.
“I accepted hurt. Embarrassment. Lonely nights when you didn’t come home. Forgetting to wish me a happy anniversary. My years of acceptance are over. You stole my life, so now it’s only fair that I steal yours!” she raised the gun and quickly aimed it at his head.
“Emaye, wait!” Demarco yelled out, but the gun had already gone off.
From that single shot, I knew that our family would never be the same.