AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“My Pops was in debt after a string of bad debts. He took some money without Uncle Ross and Everett knowing. He tried to cover his tracks which backfired on the Ricard Family. It was easy to sell that it was his impulsive son, so he used me to cover his ass,” I recalled, unloading a secret I had been holding for too long.
“Why didn’t you say shit?”
“Stupid, I suppose,” I inhaled, considering Mack’s question. Hindsight was twenty-twenty, so yeah, I should’ve spoken up, but a part of me felt loyal to my father even if he wasn’t loyal to me.
“That’s fucked up. I would’ve fought that nigga.”
“Fighting his old ass won’t do much damage when he’s been living in hell for twenty-plus years. Miserably in marriage with a woman, he never grew to love. They had to make it work for the sake of tradition. She’s just as miserable, so while he gambles to deal with his failures, she drinks to get through the day. That leaves Sol and me fucked up somewhere in the middle.”
“Goddamn,” Gi exclaimed while Mack sat quietly, taking in everything.
“Don’t act like that shit is a secret. I know Sol tells you everything.” Another hidden jealousy I possessed. Gianni was closer to my sister than I was. She tried at times, but I was so angry about a lot of shit that I didn’t always receive it.
“She never said it was that bad,” Gi revealed.
“We got the short end of the stick while y’all both had parents who would do anything for you. Why do you think Solana damn near moved in when she was sixteen? Home was fucked up.”
“Every house has its shit,” Mack volunteered, trying to ease my pain, but I didn’t need that.
“Yeah, well, I would’ve gladly traded with y’all. I told myself I would never be like that nigga, but I might’ve fucked that up. Kyerra is pregnant.”
“Damn,” they replied in unison as if they were singing background vocals.
The room fell silent, processing all the information I shared when Mack asked the tough question. “You sure it’s your baby? Kyerra was fucking with you. Then she got with Gi and went back to you. It’s no telling how many other nigga’s she fucked.”
“I told her we needed a DNA test.”
“Good, but if it’s yours. You step up like a man and handle it. You may not love Kyerra but never let that come between the love you have for that kid,” Gi offered, being that a few months ago, he also found out he was having a baby with a woman he wasn’t in love with.
“That’s easy for you to say. Hailo got yo’ ass pussy whipped.”
“Whipped,” Mack added, and we all laughed harder at the smirk on Gianni’s face and the fact that he didn’t deny it. Gi was happy. He deserved that.
“Nigga you don’t have much room to talk. Over there playing stepdaddy and shit.” Mack flipped Gi off for calling him out. “The point is, Lo and I are good now, but neither of us knew it would turn out this way. We made a decision and worked at it. Glad I dodged that bullet. Thanks, Ty.” Gi smiled, patting my back before he started laughing.
“Nigga, please. You had to break up with Kyerra. Don’t let that nigga play you, Ty.”
“I wouldn’t have been if I knew she was fucking with Ty first,” Gi replied.
“But you were,” Mack joked.
Gi ignored Mack’s comment and offered more advice. “You can’t fix everything, Ty, but you can be a better father than you had.”
“Preciate it, Gi.”
“Always, baby. We got you.” Gi and I slapped hands, maneuvering through the signature handshake we hadn’t shared in quite some time.
“Enough of this soft shit. I need my shooters with me tonight,” Mack announced.
Gi went home to check in on Hailo before we agreed to meet at eight. Mack reminded me he was proud of me before pulling me in for a hug. Mack was lowkey affectionate, a characteristic only people close to him knew about. Usually, we all dismissed it, but tonight, I accepted his embrace. I missed my brothers and was glad to have everybody on the same page.
Instead of going home, I dropped by my parent's house. I wasn’t ruling out the idea of Trent and TJ, but I had another suspicion that only my father could answer. Climbing out of the car, my phone buzzed with a text from Kyerra.
Kyerra: We need to talk.
Me: We don’t have shit to talk about until there’s a DNA test.
Kyerra: We won’t need one.
