Page 16 of This Is Law 3
“Cried. Two seconds away from getting her ass cursed out,” Law answered for me, getting me, my mom, and sister to laugh.
“You got through it the first time with having a set of twins, so I know that you’ll be fine this time. Plus, you have so much support. I’m so happy. I’m going to be a grandma again. I want it to be another set of boys. You and Shai scarred me. I can’t do no more damn girls,” I expected that answer from her.
We talked about it a little longer, and then my mom went back to the sink, so that she could finish washing the dishes.
“Sevyn, how are you feeling? Soraya told me everything that you found out with Dutch, and I’m so angry for you. You’ve been in my life since we moved right next door to you, so you already know that I look at you like a son,” my mom revealed, looking up from the dishes, so that she could focus her attention on Sevyn.
I heard him release a deep sigh behind me. His hands, already massaging my lower back where my top left me exposed, pressed harder. That told me that her question had definitely gotten a rise out of him.
“I’m just taking it one day at a time ma. I be trying to forget about it, but then the thought comes back into my mind, and I get angry all over again. Ima be alright though,” he assured her.
“What about your mom? How is she doing?” she wanted to know.
“I’m going to sit down with her this weekend. A part of me don’t even want to put this heavy shit on her, but I wonder if it will give her a peace of mind and help her become a little saner. Soraya told you that my mama been in my ear for years now, trying to tell me that I needed to watch out for Dutch? I can’t believe I had been ignoring that shit for all these years,” herevealed, taking his hands off my back, and he put them on my hips, giving me a squeeze with just a little bit of pressure.
He couldn’t keep his hands off me. This man wouldn’t give a damn that I was in front of my own mama, and my sister because he would still have me sit on him, feel all up on me, and I truly believe that it was something that he couldn’t control. If someone were to call it out, I don’t think that Law would have any knowledge of him always doing it because it had become something that he was used to. It wasn’t being done in a sexual way, where the two of us would need to excuse ourselves, or anything like that. It was just him, always needing some part of my body in his grasp, and I didn’t mind him doing it at all.
“Don’t put that blame on yourself. You didn’t know. With everything that your mom has going on mentally, I can see why you never thought to dig in deeper to the things that she was saying to you. I don’t want to give you more shit to stress about, but I know about the fight that took place between you, and Dutch too. With the charges and stuff that he’s facing, and with him being angry at you because not only are you not going to defend him, but because ya’ll are now on bad terms, are you worried that he’ll have someone on the outside try to come to the facility where you mom is, and possibly cause harm to her?” my mom asked Law the same question that I’d asked him the same day that he came home to me, and told me the things that happened between him, and Dutch at the jail.
“I thought about it, but just like I told Yaya, it’s not something that I’m worried about. It’s not something that I’m going to lose sleep over. To be real with you ma, that nigga not in no position to move like that right now. He can’t call them kind of shots from the inside like he thinks he can. Anybody from outside that he would be able to hit up, they right in jail with him because the feds swept up his entire crew. All motion that he used to have is gone once niggas finds out that he’s responsiblefor killing a legend. As far as my mama, I have her in one of the best facilities that money can buy. That facility has round-the-clock security, cameras all throughout that bitch, with nurses and staff that work there that knows my rules that I have in place. Any visitor that steps foot into that building that wants to see my mom, they have to get cleared through me, meaning the staff has to hit me, and find out from me if it’s okay for them to be let in her room. When Dutch was outside, he did have soldiers out here that would move when he told them niggas to move, but the second I learned about him crossing me, all that power went out the window. Trust me, he knows that, and everyone else going to know it too,” Law was so cool, and collected about his response.
When Law admitted to my mom and me that he wasn’t losing sleep over Dutch trying to send someone after his mom at the facility, I believed him. I just hoped they would leave her untouched. Dutch had quickly become someone I couldn’t put anything past. Even behind bars, I had no idea what his next move might be.
Chapter Six
VIVIAN STERLING
It was after ten at night, and I was in my bedroom, sitting at my desk that was off in the corner. There were flashcards spread all over, my laptop was opened, and even my notes in my journal were on display, as I was studying for the world history exam that I had tomorrow morning at school. I’ve been studying for this test all week because when it came to my education, I just happened to be one of those kids that put a lot of pressure on myself, and the need, and desire that I had to be perfect in school was through the roof.
I was a product of smart parents. Both my parents did well in school all their lives. They went on to big, ivy league universities, where they both studied law. The hard work that they put in is the reason why our lifestyles were so grand. My parents wanted the best for my brother and I, and they wanted us to follow in their footsteps when it came to being successful, and that’s the reason why I pushed myself the way that I did. All I ever wanted to do was make them proud.
I had about an hour left of studying, but this past hour was hard to push through. My dad had just got home about five minutes ago, and my mom had been downstairs, looking over a case that she had in the morning. Literally, the second that hestepped foot in the door, the arguing began. I was in a space where I was used to my parents arguing, but these days, it has truly been spiraling, getting out of control to the point that a couple of times, my brother and I had to step in.
My dad has been so angry for a couple of weeks now. He was acting like he hated everyone in the house. He half spoke to all of us, and any time that my brother and I asked him something, he responded in a way like we were bothering him; sort of like he’s been doing my mom for years. Whatever answers that he would give me, his responses wouldn’t hold any kind of love, or softness to it because he was still angry with me for what I did on social media, when I went online, and I defended Creed. Our relationship has been choppy ever since, and I hated to say it, but I believed that he hated me in the same manner that he did my mom, which hurt me because although I could very well see that my dad wasn’t the best husband to my mom, he had still been good to my brother and I along the years, and I’ve always been a daddy’s girl.
“If this is the way that you are going to act every day when you come home, then Edward, you need to leave! You are changing the whole dynamic of this entire family. You are ruining your entire family with your shitty ass attitude! Have you not noticed the disconnection that we have with our children? I asked Allen this morning why he’s staying in his room so much these days, and he says it’s because it’s depressing when he steps out of it! You will not damage my children, so if this isn’t where you want to be, then you need to get the hell out!” I could hear my mom yelling at my father from downstairs.
I quickly rose up from the chair that I was sitting down on, and I rushed over to my bedroom door, so that I could crack it open. I wanted to hear what my dad’s response was going to be.
I could hear their footsteps. They were walking up the stairs now, so whatever was getting ready to be said, I would be able to hear it clearer.
“If anyone is going to leave this home, it’ll be you. Not me! Let’s get that clear right now! My hard money went into this home! Not yours! Twenty years ago, when I purchased this land, it was me that sat down with the architect, and I laid out to them how I wanted every room in this house, down to the damn laundry room! I looked at every blueprint that was shown to me, picked out the perfect final finishes, making sure that this home was going to be something that was perfect for my family to live in, and something that we grew old in together. You didn’t play a part in any of those things. Work took up all your time. Let’s also talk about bills! I pay every single bill in this house, so given all of that, what would make you believe that it would be me to back my bags, and leave, and not you?” he barked at my mom.
“You like to tell Vivian that when she gets married, she needs to make sure she marries a man that’s going to provide for her, and someone that she doesn’t have to split the bills with, and I always remove that nonsense from her ears because it’s a power move. You just stood here and boasted about everything that you’ve done in this home, and the bills that you pay! Edward, you chose to do that. When we met many years ago, one of the first things that you told me was that you would always handle the bills. Is that not what you told me? So, don’t try to stand here, and throw that up in my face now! You say that as if I don’t have money of my own to contribute to this home. I see the money that comes in, and out of this home. I make twice of what you make!” my mom yelled at him.
For her to go that far, I know that he had to have gotten up under her skin because my mom was truly quiet, and soft, and she knew how to tune my dad out, and try not to argue with him, especially in front of us, but tonight, he’d pushed her.
“Oh wow. That’s how you want to do this? You want to go below the belt? Let’s do it then! These days, I feel like I don’t have shit else to live for anyways. You want to bring up the fact that you make more money than me, like that’s not supposed to hurt my feelings, well lets hurt yours then. Truth is, your my wife, but I haven’t been in love with you in years. I love you enough for the sake of our children. The only reason why I haven’t left your ass yet is because I wanted to wait until the kids were eighteen, out of the house, and in college. That, and because yes, I was concerned about how bad it would make our image look, especially since people have glorified our marriage for years. I couldn’t be happier when you decided to stop sleeping in the bedroom with me, and you finally decided to sleep in one of the guest bedrooms. You suck as a mother, too. You’re too busy worried about that damn job, and trying to be friends with your children, that you don’t know how to properly parent them. If you were a better parent, there’s no way in hell our daughter would have been comfortable enough with sneaking that thug in our home while we were away. What kind of punishment did she get from you after all that? Nothing. All you did was help her with that bullshit speech that she put on social media. You’re a terrible mother, and wife!” his words cut deep.
Hearing the way that he would speak to my mom, it caused tears to fall from my eyes. If his words had the power to cut me the way that they did, I could only imagine how my mom was feeling now.
It’s like all movement stopped from them after he said that. I wasn’t sure if they were still on the stairs, or what, but you didn’t hear anything else after that.
“Now that I know what you think of me, I will gladly pack up my things, and I’ll leave. I have a daughter, and I never want her to believe that it’s okay for a man to talk to her in this manner.I’m also raising a son, and he should know how low it is for a man to degrade his wife, and the mother of his children in such a way. We’ll be on opposite sides of the courtroom soon because I’ll go ahead, and file for divorce, and I’ll come up with a plan on how we’ll split custody of the children. For now, my children are coming with me, and I dare you try to fight me on this! You should know how I am when it comes to my children!” her voice rose, and you could hear the way it cracked too.
“Victoria, wait. I’m sorry. Babe, I didn’t mean to say that. I’m sorry. I got myself into some deep shit, and I feel like I’m losing my mind. I don’t hate you. I don’t think that you’re a bad mother. I still love you. I’m in the middle of something big, and it’s causing me to spiral, and that’s why I haven’t been myself these past few days,” my dad’s voice sounded as if it was trembling. He genuinely sounded scared, which was new for me because I’ve never in my life heard him be afraid of anything.
I inched closer to the door because I was interested in hearing what kind of deep mess he might have gotten himself in the middle of.
