Chapter 34 #2
“Yeah, and ya Uncle Yaro is the second oldest.” Niko nodded his head to the side pointing at Yaro who was seated next to him.
Yaro took after their dad with his warm brown skin, pretty slanted hazel green eyes, low cut caesar, full neatly trimmed beard and big lips.
Niko, Nakeem, and Sonni all took after Pricilla’s evil ass.
“Titon, and Nakeem wanted to be here, but they had to take care of some things, but they got you a bunch of gifts when they come see you,” Yaro told Sunshyne who jumped up in her seat with her arms extended in the air.
“I get more toys mommy!” Sunshyne pumped her little arms in the air bouncing in her seat.
“Okay, calm down,” I told Sunshyne, making her sit back down.
“Y’all really don’t need to get her anything else.” I smiled as I looked between Niko and Yaro.
“I hear you but we gotta make up for lost time,” Yaro said with a loop sided grin on his face. Yaro had always been the ladies’ man of the brothers. All five of them were ladies men but Yaro was a flirt and had no problem stealing other niggas girls.
“I’m sure the stuff y’all got her today is more than enough.” The two of them filled my trunk with bags and bags of toys and clothes. I couldn’t image what else they could have gotten for Sunshyne.
“She can have whatever she wants. As long as one of us are breathing,” Niko confidently replied. Niko had the kind of presence that screamed he was the leader. He had a powerful aura that made people gravitate to him naturally.
“Okaaay…Sooo if that’s the case where y’all been since Sonni died?” I asked the elephant in the room.
I didn’t understand if they were all so willing and ready to help now, where they had been all this time.
From what I gathered Nakeem, Yaro and Titon only did six months a piece and Niko had to do two years yet none of them tried to reach out to me or find out what was going on with Sunshyne and me.
I heard what Niko said when he told me about Priscilla, but they knew how their mama was, none of them thought to double check.
Even if she was supposedly taking money from them to give to me, it still never dawned on them to talk to me personally? It didn’t add up in my book.
Niko and Yaro shared a knowing look before Niko let out a sigh.
“If I’m being a hunnid with you, I figured our mama was up to some bullshit, but shit was hectic out there. None of us were in the place to do anything besides give you money to help with Sunshyne. We should have def put that money in ya hands ourselves. I guess I underestimated our mama.”
“Man,” Yaro cosigned. “That lady hell in heels.”
“Literally. To blame me for Sonni’s death and put me and Sunshyne out knowing we didn’t have a place to go.”
“That’s shit wasn’t ya fault. Don’t let her or nobody else tell you anything different. Sonni wasn’t living right and that shit caught up to him. Pricilla the only one who don’t want to accept the shit for what it is.” Niko snarled with a look of anger flashing across his face.
Hearing Niko not blame me for Sonni’s death felt good knowing everyone didn’t think like Pricilla’s miserable ass.
I wasn’t sure how I was about to maneuver allowing Sunshyne to get to know her uncles and dealing with my current situation.
Something would have to give because it wouldn’t be right for me to keep her away from them.
Not when it seemed like they were genuine in their actions.
“My daughter finna turn three next week. Can I come get Sunshyne for her party?” Yaro asked.
“Of course. I’m surprised you only have one daughter,” I teased Yaro.
“Nah, that’s Nakeem. I’m one and done. I’m tryna enjoy my wife before I have another seed.” Yaro laughed.
“You have any kids?” I asked Niko, turning my attention to him.
“Nah. I’m straight on kids. I’m cool with being the rich uncle.” He cooly replied with a smirk.
“I fee-” I lost my voice when I felt a foreboding presence stand at the end of our table.
I regretted my decision to look up into the malice filled eyes of Marlo. I was sure he wanted to kill me and that scared me. I never thought I’d see the day where Marlo would make me fear him. However, today was that day. Niko and Yaro quickly picked up on the tense energy between Marlo and me.
Oblivious to what was going on Sunshyne face light up when she saw Mikael.
“Unky! Look I got more Unkies,” she said to Mikael and pointed over at Niko and Yaro.
“Nah, little bit you only got one Unky,” Mikael gritted out sounding jealous as his eyes darted over to Niko and Yaro with his lip turned up in disgust.
“Bitch ass nigga you got me fucked,” Yaro chuckled angrily as he prepared himself to stand up but Niko placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Chill, our niece is right here. Let these corny ass niggas make it.” Niko said in a tauntingly calm tone.
“Let me show you lame,” Mikeal replied back evenly.
“Marlo,” I called out to him. I wanted to nip this in the bud before things escalated.
Marlo worried me the most because he had yet to address anyone.
The calmness he was showing outwardly didn’t match the energy coming from the inside of him.
“This is Niko and Yaro,” I pointed to each brother as I said their names. “They’re Sunshyne’s uncles.”
“I really don’t give a fuck who these niggas are. Really the only reason I’m not on no other shit it cause of Sunshyne.” Marlo coldly said giving me a heated glare.
“And you don’t have a reason to.” I replied back evenly, not breaking eye contact.
I can imagine what was going through Marlo’s at the moment.
But he drew his line in the sand, and he couldn’t go back on it because he saw me around other niggas.
That wasn’t how this was going to work. The main reason I offered him an explanation was to deescalate things.
Having Sunshyne’s uncles beefing with Marlo and Mikael over nothing would be stupid because they were going to actively be a part of our lives.
I’m positive this wouldn’t be the last time they’d run into each other.
“Ain’t you carryin’ my seed?” I gave Marlo a blank expression, he was stating the obvious.
“Solana, this nigga be putting his hands on you?” Niko spoke up before Marlo could say anything else.
“Nigga you sound dumb as fuck. Who the fuck I look like?” Marlo replied appalled with his face bawled up.
“No, Niko I-” I said, placing a hand up only to be cut off.
“Don’t explain ya self to this nigga. The fuck, I’m the only muthafucka you explain ya self to.” Marlo said, cutting his eyes to me.
“Aye, come mer. Unky got you something.” Mikael said as he reached over, picking Sunshyne up out of the booth.
I made eye contact with Mikael thanking him with my eyes. Marlo didn’t come here for peace and Sunshyne had heard enough of the heated exchange.
“Nah, let me up. Ion trust that nigga,” Yaro made his way out the booth following behind Mikael and Sunshyne.
I blew out a breath of frustration. This was too much for me. “I’m shooting no questions asked behind any of my brothers.” Niko said, sitting back down in his seat.
“Guns bust both ways. Cause Ion play about mine either. It ain’t nothing, just say the word.” Marlo grunted looking at Niko with hate in his eyes.
“This is so unnecessary," I groaned looking between the two of them. “Marlo, I’m only explaining this to keep confusion down. I ran into Niko a while ago. Found out there had been some misunderstandings about somethings and they wanted to establish their relationship with Sunshyne. That’s it, that's all. Niko, this is Marlo, he’s helped me a lot. He’s not a threat to me or Sunshyne. ”
“If you gon’ introduce me do the shit the right way.
I’m her nigga, Sunshyne’s stepdad and she carryin’ my seed.
A nigga like me ain’t found of niggas poppin’ up outta nowhere.
Especially when they left my girl in a fucked up situation.
” Marlo easily replied, placing his hands in front of himself as he squared his shoulders.
Niko didn’t say anything, he calmly looked up at Marlo. I tensed up waiting to see how he’d react. Niko might have been the calmest out of his brothers, but he still had a temper when it came down to it.
Niko gave a side grin, then he said. “I respect that. I know how I’d be over my bitch. As long as you doing right by my niece and Solana we good. We just tryna be a part of our niece’s life. She all we got left of our brother.”
“We can make that happen as long as no bullshit going on.” Marlo replied.
“Fa’ sho,” Niko nodded.
I sighed a breath of relief, happy that they didn’t let their egos make this situation worse than it had to be.
“Come here, I need to talk to you,” Marlo said, nudging then grabbing my hand to pull me up.
I rolled my eyes because I really didn’t care to hear anything he had to say but I went to keep things calm.
“I’ll call you Niko and we can set up a time for y’all to pick up Sunshyne.”
“That’s cool,” Niko replied and I saw the frown on Marlo's face when I mentioned calling Niko, but I didn’t care.
“What the fuck,” Marlo said with a grin once we made it outside to the parking lot.
“Look at these niggas,” Niko chuckled as he came standing next to me.
“That’s better!” Sunshyne happily said, clapping her hands together. “My Unkies can’t fight now. Member if you fight again you gotta hug for five minutes next time. Sunshyne said, holding up her five fingers.
We all laughed watching as Yaro and Mikael pulled back from the awkward hug, they were just in. Leave it to Sunshyne to have two grown niggas hugging it out in the parking lot.
Mikael and Yaro both gave us deep scowls and Mikael discreetly flipped us off.
_______________________
That Night
“How long you finna keep ignoring a nigga?” Marlo asked, blocking my path from the shower to my closet.
Looking at Marlo, I kissed my teeth then processed to turn around.
I didn’t have anything to say to him. Just because he was ready to talk now didn’t mean I had to talk to him.
He’d given me his ass to kiss and now it was my turn to return the favor.
Him claiming me as his girlfriend earlier didn't mean anything to me.
Marlo wanted to mark his territory in front of Niko and Yaro.
It should take seeing me around another nigga for him to claim me as his girlfriend.
He couldn’t say much to me when we first got home because Mason, Mallory and Sunshyne were all over us but once they went to sleep, he hadn’t stopped getting on my nerves. Every five minutes it was, can we talk? I continued ignoring him as he followed me around like a lost puppy.
“Let me apologize Solana, damn.” He said in an aggravated tone lifting me off my feet. My back was pressed to his chest as he sat us down on the bed. He wrapped his arm around my midsection and placed a kiss on my neck.
The moment I felt his embrace I was fucked. Being in Marlo’s arms was my weakness and he knew it.
“Apologize for what?” I said in a hostile tone, folding my arms across my chest. Just because I was weak on the inside didn’t mean I had to be on the outside.
“For how I been acting. So much shit came out a niggas head is still spinnin’.”
“Okay,” I shrugged my shoulders. “That means I get the short end of the stick when all I’ve done is to be there for you and be understanding?”
“Nah, you don’t. That’s why I wanna say sorry.
I been taking my frustrations out on you.
I shouldn’t have. I let what I’m going through make me question everybody around me.
I been on some fuck shit. I can admit that, but Imma do better when it comes to you and my seed,” Marlo emphasized rubbing my nonexistent pouch.
“Besides, I miss you. I miss my best friend. I haven’t been able to think straight.
I couldn’t figure out why. Then it hit me, I hadn’t talked to you.
You keep a niggas head on straight and I need that back. ”
“That’s fine. We can be friends or whatever,” I replied, slightly disappointed that he was still on the friendship thing. I couldn’t force him to want more. I’d just have to go along with it for now.
“Why you say it like that?” I could see the frown on Marlo’s face out of the corner of my eye, as he looked down at me.
“Not a thing, friend.” I smartly replied ready to get up from his lap.
“You’re more than a fucking friends Solana you know that shit. I ain’t gotta tell you that.”
“I don’t know shit besides what comes out ya mouth.” I
“My mutha fuckin’ actions speak louder than my words.”
“Nigga your actions have been real fucked up lately,”
“My attitude has been fucked up but that don’t change the fact that I’m in love with you.”
“I’ll believe when I see it friend.”
“I’m not just ya friend smart ass. I’m ya nigga too.”
“Sorry, that position isn’t available right now. I’ll let you know when applications reopen.”
“Them bitches ain’t never gone reopen. That spot filled fa’ life.”
“Yeah whatever. So, you gone tell me why you went to jail and been acting like an ass hole since?”
“Fallon fucking my daddy and the nigga say Mallory might be his.”
“What?”” I said, turning to look back at Marlo in shock. “Iii thought Rahmeek, might have been her dad? Theres no way Fallon is fucking your dad.” I said still in denial but the serious expression on his face let me know he wasn’t playing.
“If I didn’t see and hear that shit myself, I wouldn’t have believed it either.”
“Wow, I’m sorry.” I said turning my body around so I could hug Marlo.
“I’m dealing with this shit the best I can.” He said in a defeated tone pulling my heart strings. “I got the results back from Mallory the other day.”
“What did they say?” I eagerly asked, pulling back from my hug to look at his face.
He shrugged his shoulders, “Ion, know. I didn’t read them. I feel like it ain’t gone change shit cause no matter what she gone be my daughter. So, what’s the point? I already started the custody shit so fuck it.”
“I understand that” I replied as I stroked his back lovingly. “I’m sorry you gotta deal with stuff like this. But I’ll be here for you as long as you treat me right.”
“Imma do more than treat you right. Imma love the fuck outta you,” He sweetly said then pressed his lips against mine.
All I could do was go by what he was saying and move accordingly if he didn’t.