Page 92 of 4 Corinthians

The decor in her room had matured; the posters on the wall were gone. Now, the wall was matte black with a few pictures of her and Judah from the last few years. I closed the door behind me. Her king-size bed, end tables, and dresser were all the same black. She had gold-and-cream bedding, and a vase in the corner holding the prettiest red flowers I’d ever seen. Her curtains were drawn, making the room dark but allowing just enough light so that it wasn’t too dark. I went to the flowers and touched them. They were real. Her sister was a botanist; I didn’t expect it to be fake. I went to the same corner that I sat in as a kid and waited. I don’t know how long Madea planned to talk to everyone, nor did I care. I was going to use this time to relax. I took my hat off, set it on the floor next to me, and waited.

“Shit,” I hissed as I opened my eyes. I stretched my legs out in front of me and my arms above my head.

“You said a bad word,” Judah said. I looked to my left to see him sitting in his mama's bed. His hair was tied up, and he was wearing plaid pajama bottoms and a tank top. He looked over at me, smirked, then turned back to the TV. “I’m not going to tell, though; Madea already fussed at me today. She don’t need that dollar.”

“Oh yeah?” I chuckled, wiped my hand over my face, then rested my head back against the wall.

“I’m supposed to apologize for asking Auntie Bug to stab you,” he said. “I got excited.” He looked at the door, then at me and smiled. “You’re a real-life superhero, aren’t you?”

I put my finger to my lips to shush him, and his eyes got big. I wasn’t a damn superhero, but if he needed me to be one, I would be for him and his mama.

Judah jumped off the bed, ran to me, and dapped me up. “I knew it,” he whispered. “I knew you were a super-hero; you’re too big not to be.”

“Don’t tell nobody,” I told him. I watched as he pinched my hand. “It doesn’t hurt.”

“I just had to be sure,” he said, letting me go. He got back in bed and picked up the remote.

“What time is it?” I asked instead of answering him.

“My bedtime,” he answered. “You been asleep for a long time. My mama woke up a long time ago.”

“Yo mama?” I lifted my head to look at him.

Judah nodded then turned the channel. “She was asleep next to you,” he said without looking at me. “When she woke up, she told me to be quiet and leave you alone. Her and Madea are outside talking.” He slowly turned his head to look at me. “Four?”

“Yeah.”

“My mama cries in her sleep,” he told me. “I hear her all the time. I don’t think she knows she does it.” He shook his head then turned back to look at the TV. “But she didn’t cry when she was asleep next to you.”

I got up, told Judah I was going to grab something to eat since I hadn’t eaten earlier, then went to look for Corinthians. We didn’t have to talk if she didn’t want to; I just wanted to be next to her. I walked into the kitchen to see Madea sitting at the table, reading a book.

“Did Judah wake you up?” she asked when she noticed I was standing there.

“No,” I answered, shaking my head.

She closed her book, nodded, then stood. “Alright, yo plate in the microwave.” I looked at the microwave, then to the back door. I could see Corinthians and the rest of her cousins outside. “She’s out there, lost in her own thoughts but pretending that she isn’t. Go on out there. Them grandkids of mine know that I’m going to bed.” She patted my arm as she passed me. “You take care of yourself, Four.”

I waited until she was long gone before walking outside. As soon as I opened the door, the sound of their laughter hit me like a ton of bricks. Cross sat, cuddled up next to Nine. Krude’s wife, Megan, had shown up some time while I was asleep. She sat next to him, laughing at something he said. Exodus and his fiancée, Paxton, sat next to Judge and his girlfriend, Sasha. Psalms was next to Wednesday. I wasn’t sure of their relationship status, but it also wasn’t my business. The only empty spot was next to Corinthians.

“Come on, Chopped and Screwed,” Krude said, waving me over. The group turned around and looked at me. Psalms' face was tense, but I was more concerned about Corinthians. She barely looked in my direction.

“Do I want to know why you call him that?” Judge asked, then drank some of his water.

“Oh, he stutters,” Krude answered with a shrug. “Y’all ain’t heard him?”

“You foul,” Exodus told him, shaking his head. He turned to me. “Don’t pay that nigga too much attention. Our grandparents dropped him as a baby.”

“That shit ain’t been proven yet,” Krude denied. He pointed to the empty spot next to Corinthians. “Sit down nigga damn. She ain’t gonna kill you.” He smirked, took a pull from his blunt, and glanced at Psalms. “She might though.”

“Leave him alone, Krude,” Megan said, swatting at his arm. “Damn.”

“Fine, fine,” Krude laughed. “I’ma let him live this one time since it's his first time around all of us. But the next time I’m doing double time.”

I laughed and shook my head as I sat. Corinthians pulled her feet under her and wrapped her arms around her legs. I tried not to stare but I couldn’t help it. She was so damn beautiful. She’d changed over the last few years. Her aura was calm yet protective. Her right arm was covered in a full sleeve. I wanted to ask her about the tattoos, what they meant, how she decided on them, but I didn’t. I just stared, coming up with my own story in my head. Krude passed her the blunt, and she took a pull. Seeing a woman smoke had never been attractive to me until now. I watched the smoke slowly flow from her nose, her eyes slightly lowered, and her lashes brush against each other. She handed Exodus the blunt, then turned to look at me. The smoke pooled around her face, and she licked her lips.

My bracelet beeped, but I didn’t give a damn. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Cross and Nine exchanged a quick conversation through sign. Nine nodded, then took his phone out of his pocket, swiped it, and the beeping stopped. My watch flashed green three times, and I knew he silenced the alarm. He’d have questions later, but I appreciated that he was looking out for me.

“Nigga That Stutter,” Krude said. I looked at him and lifted my brow. “What the fuck got you to move here finally?”