Page 21 of Make Me Remember

When the realization of what bothered him hit me, my mouth dropped. Uncle Kenny, Aunt Keisha, Kingsley, and Kane ran after him. It was way down the line, but technically… Cassie was related to us by her biological mother. Cassie’s second great grandfather had raped my second great grandmother, producing my great grandmother. I felt like I wanted to throw up, so I could imagine how he felt. They’d just gotten back from Dubai, having the most peaceful time they’d had since they’d been together, only to find out this shit.

“I’m so sorry, y’all. This shit could be anybody’s story. There was so much rape and incest back in the day. Your own siblings are probably your cousins too. The point is, these people have been after y’all. When Sedonia married a Henderson, they were jealous of the family she married into. The Hendersons have always been a powerhouse family. Now let me tie all this shit up for y’all.”

He took a deep breath and flipped a few pages. “The Andersons back then were sharecroppers, meaning they leased the land and farmed on it. That land belonged to a white man named Frank Westinghouse. It was discovered that this man was sleeping around with the women in the Anderson family, some still young girls. A couple of them had babies from him, which tied their families forever. Well, guess who the judge is related to? That white family. And guess who’s being blackmailed by the Andersons with that information? Yep, you guessed it. The judge.”

“So let me get this shit straight,” Aunt Tiff said. “The Andersons can’t stand our black asses because we made something of ourselves. My great grandmother turned fucking lemons to lemonade by carrying and raising a child that reminded her daily of her assault. Then her daughter… my grandmother married a Henderson and leveled up in the game, adding insult to injury.”

“You right so far, Tiff.”

“Since they can’t win with our asses, they are recruiting help from that judge because they have secrets about his family that they are threatening to go public with, that could possibly destroy their family’s reputation.”

“Correct. Cassie’s biological mother, Shayla, has an ancestry account, and the judge is listed as one of her DNA matches. So, for her to be there the night Kane got shot makes sense. She already has an inherited hate for y’all too, but when Cassie married KJ, that shit tore her fucking insides up. She so damn jealous of her own daughter it’s ridiculous.”

“Ain’t no way we kin to those muthafuckas... Martha either. They not like us. I’m gon’ mess around and fuck up the first one I see after all this information. Sometimes you gotta pop out and show niggas,” Uncle Storm said.

That nigga was wearing that damn Kendrick Lamar song out like he was studying it. “Shit! How did Ali find all this shit?” Jakari asked.

“Man, I don’t know. I don’t ask questions, because that nigga will never say. He’ll kill me before he tells me his secrets. He’s always accurate as hell, though, as you could see by the info I provided and what y’all were able to confirm. I’m sorry all this shit seemed to destroy some of y’all, especially Rhonda, KJ, and Cassie. I’ll have to tell him what my homeboy’s nasty ass used to say once he can joke about it.”

“So how can we even fix this?” Uncle WJ asked. “I’m not seeing a solution. Is JT still alive?”

“No. He died a few years ago. There isn’t much you can do to rectify any of this shit. None of you were wrong for what you did. They started the shit with the rape back in the day. They shouldn’t be angry about your family’s reaction to their bullshit. I just don’t understand it, man. I swear, I was blown away earlier with all the shit Ali gave me. Mister Wesley and Mister Thomas, y’all have my respect. Mister Thomas, that was real man shit what you did. I hope you don’t have any regrets.”

Uncle Thomas swallowed hard and glanced toward the foyer where Rhonda was. “I just wish I would have told her instead of her finding out this way.”

The tears seemed to pour from his eyes. Malachi and Thomas Junior embraced their father, and I swore I was about to cry too. The shit was painful to watch. I couldn’t believe our family had been through so much with them niggas. It was like Romeo and Juliet without the love connection. My second great grandfather had killed one of those muthafuckas, and now, I had too.

I slowly shook my head as Christian made his way to me to help me from my seat. “So it seems like Courtney and Jameka reignited all this shit, huh? I wish we would have been thinking with the right heads.”

“You and me both. I think I’m gonna go meet Uncle Jasper. We finna be at the throne of grace together.”

“Shiiiid, I’m wit’chu.”

When we walked outside, Rhonda was seated on a bench between our mothers, crying her eyes out. I didn’t know if she’d felt like she didn’t belong or if she went through anything as a child to make her feel like something wasn’t right, but if she did, her questions were now answered. Uncle Thomas made his way outside as well, and Rhonda stood from her seat and ran to him, falling into his embrace.

I took a deep breath and nodded, knowing that they would get through all this bullshit. KJ, on the other hand, would take a lot longer. He married his cousin, no matter how distant; that shit would fuck with anybody. While it was distant, it wasn’t that damn distant. I knew it affected Cassie as well. Before they could fully get out of the door earlier, I could see the tears falling down her cheeks.

How do you knowingly continue to sleep with a woman, the love of your life, knowing that you’re related? That was the bullshit they would have to overcome, and I felt sorry for them. I was more than sure Karima would have her hands full in a little bit. I couldn’t dare reach out to her to talk to me when I knew she would be trying to help KJ and Cassie through their feelings.

I got in the truck with Christian, and we made our way to Uncle Jasper’s. I hoped Unc had enough shit for the entire family because I could imagine that no one would get much sleep tonight.

CHAPTER 8

MEKAYLA

When I got to Jacob’s house, I was nervous as hell. Cars were everywhere. There were never more than one or two cars at his home. There had to be at least fifteen cars here. I quickly got out of my car, grabbed my bag, and headed to the door. Something had to have happened to him for all these people to be at his house.

The minute I got to the door, I could smell the faint scent of marijuana. That was weird as hell. Jacob had never even insinuated that he was a smoker. Before I could ring the doorbell, a man opened it with a blunt between his lips. That was why I smelled it. He was close to the door.

“What’s up? You must be Mekayla. I’m Uncle Jasper,” he said, taking the blunt from his lips and chuckling.

I frowned slightly and shook his outstretched hand. “Umm… nice to meet you.”

“Nephew in there high as shit… just like me. That should make him easier to work with. Just be careful, niece. You may get a contact high, ’cause this shit is potent!”

He laughed and walked past me like he knew something I didn’t. The nigga called me niece. What had Jacob been telling him? We had gotten nowhere close to even having a relationship, let alone marriage.

I walked inside and saw so many people moving around. They were cooking, talking, and a couple of people were cleaning. My spirit eased when I saw him sitting on the sofa talking to somebody with a blunt between his fingers. He lifted it to his lips and took a long ass pull from it then passed it to the guy next to him.

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