Page 9 of Love & Vendettas

“I walked in on them.”

“Fucking?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s fucked up.”

“Don’t I know it? Then she tried to get with me while she was fucking him.”

“Word?”

“Yeah, she’s got this mirror over her bed.”

I told Parker all the details about what happened on the way to the store. He shakes his head. “That’s a grimy bitch.”

“You telling me. Anyway, I don’t want my mom stressing about this bullshit. I wish she’d just leave him.”

“She can’t take care of six kids on her own, man.”

“I know. I’d help her, though.”

“And what? Drop out of school?”

“If that’s what it takes to get him to wake up, then hell yeah. Maybe he’d come to his senses and be a real man.”

“I don’t know. Maybe leave well enough alone. Six kids ain’t no joke. Even if you were working and she was working, you couldn’t do it. That’s why your dad hustles the way he does. That nine to five ain’t taking care of y’all alone. Hell, both of their nine-to-fives can’t do it.”

I sigh because I know Parker’s right. After I pay for the diapers, I head back home. My dad is there talking to one of his boys when I walk in. He still hasn’t thought about the diapers. I guess he figured I’d do it.

I throw the diapers on the kitchen counter, and my mom looks up from cooking. She leans over and smiles at me before she kisses my cheek.

“Thanks, Zaire. You’re a good son.”

I nod and head back to the room that I share with my twin brothers, Aspen and Denver. They’re only six. Savannah and Cheyenne are only four years apart, and they share a room. Damascus is two, but he sleeps in the crib in Mama and Daddy’s room.

I lie back on the bed, put my earphones on, and listen to some music, eventually drifting off to sleep.

I have some things to figure out to get us out of this mess.

5 – ZAIRE – BOYS IN BLUE

THIRTY YEARS EARLIER

Damascus is screaming. That’s the first thing that I hear before the crash. The next thing that I hear is the girls screaming, “Let my daddy go!”

I jump out of bed, and the twins instantly wake up.

“Go back to sleep, boys.”

“What’s wrong, Z?” Denver asks as tears fill his eyes.

Aspen rubs his eyes sleepily and yawns.

“Go back to sleep. Both of you and I ain’t playing with your bad little asses. It’s gonna be okay. I’ll be back in a minute,” I tell them. “I’m gonna lock the door. Don’t open it for anybody but me, you hear?”

They nod, but the fear doesn’t erase from their eyes as they lie down in their twin beds. I slip out of our bedroom, locking the door behind me.

“I said, get on the floor!” I hear someone say as I creep toward the other room and stare at the chaos.

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