“I shouldn’t have to!”
“Aye, what the fuck is going on?” I asked, motioning with my head for Heir to follow me as I left the backyard. “Do you need me to pull up, Sis?”
“You’re a joke, Raheem. I’m truly sick of your shit.” Ariel laughed, but I heard the break in her tone like she was about to cry. Her being sad and lashing out in anger only pissed me off more. I’d told Raheem if he ever hurt my sister that I was going to hurt him, and for whatever reason, he seemed to not take that warning seriously.
“Ariel,” I called, trying to gain her attention. “I’m finna come over there.”
“Look, just hang up the phone so we can talk. You can’t keep putting your family in our relationship, especially your brothers. Unless you’re about to leave me, you’re only doing more harm than good. You keep calling them on me and they ain’t gon’ ever like me.”
“Nah, don’t listen to his ass, Sis. He’s trying to manipulate you. Call me for whatever whenever. And you ain’t the one doing harm. It’s him. There should be no reason for you to even have to call me if he was handling his business.”
It was clear she had the phone down and didn’t hear a word I was saying, so when I got in the car, I hung up the phone and called her back.
“Hello?” she answered after several rings.
“I’m finna come over there,” I said, pulling out of the driveway.
Her breath came out shaky. “It’s fine, big brother. I’m fine.”
“No you ain’t. I can tell you crying.”
“I’ll be fine really. Raheem is right. I can’t always call y’all to fight my battles. He made me mad but it’s up to him to fix it.”
“Fuck that. I bet if I beat his ass good enough, he won’t make you mad again.”
Her laughter put out a little of my steam. “I love you, Marz. I promise I’m okay. I can handle it, okay?”
Sighing, I shook my head and tightened my grip on the steering wheel. “Are you sure, Ariel?”
“I’m positive. I’ll call you if I can’t, but we’ll be fine.”
“Aight, baby. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Love you.”
“Love you too.”
After disconnecting the call, I got so lost in my thoughts I forgot Heir was even with me until she took my hand into hers and kissed it. I looked over at her as I released a heavy sigh.
“I know it’s hard being the oldest, and it’s even worse having sisters. She’s gonna be okay, babe. And even if she’s not, she won’t let you help her until she accepts the fact that she’s not okay. Give her grace now and him mercy. When she’s ready for you to step in, she’ll let you. Until then, just pray and make sure she knows you’re a safe space.”
My head shook as I gritted my teeth. I needed to hear that. Often, I felt like a third parent to my siblings because of how close we were. How much I cared about them and wanted to keep them safe always in all ways. Whenever they had an issue, I wanted to handle it, even if that wasn’t healthy. Even if it kept them from growing and learning. Pops often had to reel me in and remind me to give them the space to take care of themselves, especially when it came down to my sisters. As much as I wanted to pull up on Raheem without even having all the details, I knew it was best for me to take my ass to the safehouse. So that’s what I did.
“You’re right, Wifey. Thank you. I needed to hear that.”
“I got you just like you got them. You’re not alone in this. Not anymore.”
The left side of my mouth lifted into a smile as I looked over at her. I gave her a quick kiss before returning my attention to the road. Heir was precious cargo, and I had to make sure I got her to our destination safely.
Chapter
Twelve
Heir
I pacedas I waited for Marz and Merc to finish their muffled discussion. Two days had passed since we went to his parents’ place, and Merc showed up today with a scowl. It melted away when he gave me a hug and kiss on the cheek, but he told Marz that he needed to speak with him privately, and I felt like it had to do with me, or at least something happening with my situation.
Tim tried to distract me with conversation while we waited outside, but it wasn’t really working. Marz and I were about to go for a walk when his father arrived like a raging bull, and I could only hope Merc was calm by the time he left. As the front door creaked open, me and Tim tried to make ourselves look busy, and that made me laugh.