Page 43 of Merci

“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 usandour 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 moreover 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 willalwaysbe 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?”