Page 65 of Next Level
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath.
With my eyes still closed, I try to say calmly, “Blossom, I’mnotgoing to hurtyou, but Iwillhurtthemif any of them get near you while you’re half naked. Please let me hold you.”
When I open my eyes, they lock with hers. My face relaxes, and I try to rein in my anger. She needs me right now. I’ll deal with everything else later.
I take a step toward her, and Dawg stays between us. I move next to him, grabbing the blanket. She silently gives me permission to approach her, and in seconds, she’s in my arms.
I wrap the blanket around her and nestle her into my chest. Looking around the room, I see all my brothers standing around in shock.
Yeah. Shit just got real.
She’s mine. My Blossom.
After everyone calmed down, I told Dawg to get in touch with my ma and have her come down here. I took Cherry into the room and got her dressed.
I apologized for how I had reacted and assured her that I would never hurt her. I was upset with the situation and needed to know if my ma knew.
So we’re now out in the main area, sitting on the couch, and Cherry is in my arms. Her hair is wild, but she’s clothed now. Members are mingling around, trying to give us space. Dawg, Chewy, Zoom, and Lazy are sitting around us.
Dawg is passing around a blunt to chill everyone out. Cherry even takes a hit, surprising me.
An hour passes before my ma walks into the clubhouse. Dawg told her to come alone because I needed to talk to her. Ma’s not stupid, reading the room as she walks toward me.
“What happened?” she demands.
“Ma, sit.” I motion for her to sit across from me.
When Ma sees Cherry, her eyebrows raise. “Who’s this?” She points to her.
Cherry tries to sit up straighter, but I don’t take my arm from around her. Instead, I pull her tighter to my side.
“Ma, this is Cherry.” I pause. “My girlfriend.”
This takes my ma and even some of my brothers by surprise.
My ma scoffs. “Stop playing. You’ve never had a girlfriend in your life.”
My face hardens. “Well, I guess today is going to be full of surprises.”
Ma sits down next to Dawg and says, “So what’s so urgent?”
“Well, Cherry just told me some very interesting information.”
Ma looks back and forth from Cherry to me. “And?”
I decide to rip off the Band-Aid and just blurt it out, “Garrett is my half-brother.”
Ma bursts out laughing. “Fuck off.”
I release Cherry and lean forward, letting her know I’m dead serious.
“Seems good ol’ dad had a kid with Letti and had been sending money to him for years.”
Ma’s face goes from amused to shocked. “You’re being serious?”
Maybe she didn’t know.
“So you didn’t know?” I ask accusingly.
