Page 29 of 4 Corinthians

Madea sat on the couch, rubbed my back, and sighed. “Make her unbusy, and if she's mad, tell her to come tell me herself,” Madea told them. “Close the door, Gabriel. They’ll be back.”

“Mama!”

Granddaddy closed the other door in their faces, and I held on to Madea tighter. Psalms wasn’t at a friend's house; she was with Jonathan and had been since last night.

“Alright now, you want to take a nap in my room until your parents get back with your sister?” Madea asked. She tried to pull back, but I held on tight.

“No, ma’am,” I said, shaking my head. “I want to stay right here. With you.”

“Alright then,” Madea laughed and held on to me. “We will stay right here for as long as you need.”

***

“Didn’t I tell you your parents don’t run shit?” Jonathan yelled at Mama. He grabbed the front of her shirt and pulled her to him. “What did I say about my time with Psalms?” He was so mad that he was shaking, and spit was flying from his mouth. “Huh? What the fuck did I say, Angel?”

“That she was with you until you said otherwise,” Mama mumbled her answer.

“And did I say otherwise?” Jonathan questioned her, and Mama shook her head. “That’s right, I didn’t. So what does that mean for you, Angel?”

“I have to replace her for the time you missed,” Mama replied. I looked over at Daddy, who was busy talking to Robert. He didn’t care that she was getting yelled at or that she was in trouble. The entire car ride over, Mama had begged for Daddy to talk to Jonathan, and he said no. He told her that since it was her parents who wanted to see Psalms, it would be her who had to deal with Jonathan and whatever punishment he decided on.

“That’s right,” Jonathan laughed. He pushed Mama away from him, making her fall to the ground, and shook his head. “You interrupted a training session, so that means that you will deal with all the punishment that Psalms would have to.”

“But-“

“No buts, Angel,” Jonathan said calmly. “Get on your knees.” His hands went to his belt, and Mama looked over at me standing in the middle of the ring.

“My daughter is right here!” Mama said, pointing at me.

Jonathan barely looked my way before he shrugged. “Not my concern what Robert does with his Pet,” he said. He unbuckled his belt, took it off, and stepped around Mama. “This punishment might teach her a lesson as well.” Jonathan never took his eyes off me as he looped the belt around Mama’s neck and then pulled it. Her hands went to the belt to try to loosen the pressure, but Jonathan wasn’t letting go. “You want your mama to live?”

“Pet!” Robert called out, but I didn’t take my eyes off Jonathan. He was choking Mama, and still, Daddy did nothing. “Pet! Come here!” Mama’s eyes started rolling in the back of her head, and her hands dropped from around the belt. “Let Angel go, Jonathan.”

“Lesson one.” Jonathan laughed as he loosened the belt. Mama dropped to the ground, coughing, and rolled to her side. “Your daughter takes her lessons better.” He stepped over her and walked to the edge of the ring. “You’re lucky your owner called for me to stop; otherwise, you’d be down a parent.”

“I wouldn’t have cried,” I told him, then walked away.

Uri

“Talk to your brother and have him ready to fight before I come back,” Robert demanded as I stood in the back of the room. Kenbral stood in his cage, bleeding from his mouth and nose, and his eye was starting to swell. My hand went to my side, not because it hurt, but because I had to be mindful of my injury. Robert made me and Kenbral fight Corinthians. I didn’t want to. I refused, but she couldn’t. He used her sister against her. Seeing her little sister in the corner of the room with Jonathan told me everything I needed to know and why my decision not to fight back was easy. She would win every fight. No matter how much Robert and Logan yelled or punished me.

The door slammed, and I looked up from Kenbral to see Robert gone. I turned back to my brother.

“Stop letting her win, Uri,” Kenbral said, staring at me. “You have to stop letting her beat you.”

“No.”

“You have to stop!” He slammed his injured hand into the gate. “She’s going to kill you if you don’t.”

“No.”

“Do you want me to die?” he asked. No, I didn’t want him to die, but I also couldn’t keep watching Corinthians fight. She was getting tired; I could see it in her eyes. She needed me to let her win so that she could have something to hold on to. If I didn’t, Robert would keep breaking her down until there was nothing left. When I didn’t answer, he laughed; it was nothing funny, but more than likely it was the only thing he could do. “You do want me to die, huh?” He held up his shirt to show me the scars and bruises.

“She has to win to save her sister.”

“And you have to win to save your brother!” he cried. “To save me, Uri!” He let go of his shirt and grabbed the gate. “You’re picking her over me?” Tears fell from his eyes. “You would rather her win than me live?”

Sighing, I sat back down in the corner of my cage and watched him. I wasn’t helping Kenbral, not this time. Not after seeing what he’d done at the ring when Jonathan had choked Angel in front of Corinthians. I’d seen the joy in his eyes. He liked watching Jonathan torture her. He was no better than Robert and Logan.