by Nikki Brown
K.C. Mills Presents
He Brings Out the Hood in Me 3
Nikki Brown
© 2019
Published by Supreme Works Publications
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or print, including photocopying, recording or by information storage retrieval system, without the written permission from the publisher, writer, except brief quotes used in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Unauthorized reproduction, in any manner, is prohibited.
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Mama
“I’m done with this Mega, I’m telling them today. We can’t keep walking around with this, what if they find out from someone else? Huh? Can you imagine how they would feel?” Siya’s eyes glossed over. Mega hated when Siya got upset. After all the issues they had when they were younger, he vowed to only make her happy. “I had plans on never letting them find out, but you fucked that up for me.” A tear slipped out of Siya’s eyes. Just the thought of seeing her boys hurt, hurt her and to know that she played a hand in it pained her even more.
“When Kahleno gets here, we will tell them. This ain’t on you, you did what you had to do. I should have been honest, we could have prepared for this.” Mega placed his hands in his pockets just as Cassidy came bursting through the door.
“What’s good peeps?” He hugged his mother and dapped up his father. He looked around the restaurant space. They were supposed to be meeting to finish the final paperwork on the family restaurant. “This gone be dope. That nigga Kahleno is a fucking business genius.” Cassidy nodded his head.
“Yeah, he’s damn good at what he does.” Mega looked around and then at his watch. Kahleno was usually the first one there, he wasn’t sure why he was late, he knew it had to be a good reason.
A few minutes later, Adoreé made his way in the door. He seemed to be in better spirits, Siya gave him a small smile and met him for a hug. AD was her baby, she always made sure to give him extra love.
Grabbing the sides of his face she looked deep inside of his eyes, there was something dark in there, almost like it was empty or something was missing. She knew that if he just would get it off his chest then he could begin to heal, but they had been trying to for years and to no avail.
“Chill ma,” he flashed her a small smirk.
“Have you talked to Icelynn?” Siya asked.
“Not yet but I will.” He kissed his mother on the forehead, he wasn’t in the mood to discuss his relationship with Icelynn and he had no plans on it. “Where is Kahleno? I need to holla at him about something.”
“Me too,” Cassidy said leaning against one of the tables. “I know who touched Vinny.”
“Who!” AD yelled heading in his brother’s direction for answers.
“Key was cleaning up her station at the shop and found a ring, her mother’s ring, up under it. She called me flipping out about it. Come to find out that’s the ring that Trouble’s bitch ass tried to propose to Sutton with, ain’t that some shit?” Cassidy said nose flaring.
“Let me go call that nigga because I know he gone be out for blood and we need to move smart.”
“Fuck yeah and so am I.”
AD headed in the direction of the door right before it opened. A beautiful woman walked in, she had skin the color of melted chocolate, with crazy slanted eyes and a wide smile on her face. She was a little on the tall side for a woman. Her eyes were trained on Mega and Siya who both wore scowls.
“I’m looking for Adoreé Maler,” she said sweetly but her eyes radiated evil. Her sole reasoning for being here was to hurt Mega and Siya Maler for ruining her life.
“That’s me, who you?” AD looked from his parents to this woman and then back to them. His heart started to beat at an unusual rate as he watched his parents silently panic. This woman was about to bring some news that he didn’t want to hear, he could feel it. Mega opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by the mystery woman.
“My name is Ziva, I’m your mother.”
“The fuck?” AD’s eyebrows furrowed as his attention turned from the mystery woman who he now knew as Ziva, to his parents, the people that raised him and had been there for him throughout his life. There was no way that this woman could be telling the truth.
AD felt his heart stop when the first tear slipped down Siya’s face. Before that moment he would have contested anything that woman said, but his parent’s guilt-ridden faces told him everything that he needed to know.
Taking a step back, his hands hung loosely by his sides. He could hear his heart beat in his ears as the air around him became thick. Anger slowly crept into his veins causing them to pulsate. Everything around him became a blur as the words, “My name is Ziva, I’m your mother,” played over and over in his mind.
“Ziva leave, now!” Anger roared through Mega, his hand shook as he took slow and deliberate steps towards her as a warning, that he was close to ending her. Ziva didn’t take heed to the silent threat, instead she broke out into a huge smile.
Mega shook his head as he stopped shy of where she was standing, he hated the day he ever laid eyes on her. He cursed the day that they crossed paths and he kicked himself for ever letting his guard down around her. She took advantage of him and his wife’s situation at the time and Adoreé was the result of that, the only good thing that came of that.
“What Mega? Don’t you think that it’s been long enough? Don’t you think the boy has a right to know whose blood is flowing through him?”
“Maler blood is flowing through him.” The darkness that surrounded his words caused Siya to grab hold of his arm. She knew how her husband could be, especially when he got mad and as bad as she wanted to see the woman that she hated more than anything perish, her son’s emotional wellbeing meant more.
Mega looked back at his wife and then down at her hand that was holding him back. He saw the regret pouring from her eyes, guilt was cutting the both of them deep but he knew that now wasn’t the time to dwell on what should have been, it was time to fix the situation and fast. AD’s mental stability depended on it. Shaking his head, he looked to AD who was standing off to the left, his face was void of emotion.
“Yeah Maler blood is flowing through him, but so is Whyte blood and he deserves to know.” Even though the smile on her face was welcoming, the tone of her voice housed hints of evil. “I mean I would want to know how I was torn from my mother’s arms so that I could be raised by a bitch that couldn’t grow a baby if you paid her.” She laughed and Siya’s fists balled involuntarily. “Tell him how you made me give him up so that you could make your bitch happy!” Ziva spat with the same smile that she wore when she first entered the room.
“I was protecting my son, you tried to kill him!” Mega was furious, all he wanted to do was to wrap his hands around her neck and squeeze until there was no life left and then squeeze a little more for the anguish that she was putting his family through. He knew that doing so would ensure a war that he didn’t want to deal with so he tried his best to stay calm.
“Because you wouldn’t be with me!” Ziva yelled back.
“I did what was best for my son!” Mega pounded his chest with a closed fist.
“No, you did what was best for your bitch!”
That was all that Siya could take, within second
s she was in the face of Ziva delivering the most powerful punch to her bottom lip that she could. The two women began to go at it. Siya was swinging with everything in her, she wanted to exude every ounce of hurt and pain that she was feeling right now on to her.
“You stupid bitch, that’s my fucking son!” Siya said as she made her way on top of Ziva, grabbing her long dark hair and using it as leverage to bang her head off the floor.
“Alright Siya that’s enough!” Mega said as he tried his best to get his wife to let go of Ziva. Siya was small but she was strong, especially when she was pissed off.
“Let me go!” Siya yelled as she tried her best to get to Ziva again. “That’s my son got damn it! I raised him, I showed him what love was! Me, not you! What kind of woman tries to kill her own flesh and blood!”
“I never had the chance,” Ziva said trying to launch at Siya while Mega held her but Cassidy caught her in mid-air and threw her back.
“Touch my moms and you die.” Cassidy’s teeth were clenched so tight that spit flew out with every word. When his eyes met AD’s, he felt a sharp pain in his chest causing, him to grab it. His brother’s pain was his pain, they were just that close. So, everything that was flowing through his brother’s body was affecting him too.
He felt movement to the right of him where Ziva was standing and he saw her pull a gun out of the back of her pants. Cassidy grabbed her arm and twisted it back behind her back.
“Owwww!” Ziva cried out, she had no plans of things going this far. All she wanted to do was taint the picture of the perfect family but seeing Siya with Mega brought something out of her that she just couldn’t explain.
Taking the gun out of her hand, Cassidy shoved it into her mouth. He bit down on his bottom lip so hard that it drew blood, watching her eyes stretch in fear brought on a sense of satisfaction in this moment. Her dead body would have been the perfect resolve to the issue at hand.
You could hear the gun tapping her teeth as Cassidy’s hands shook with anger, he had no control over the way he was feeling. His family was falling apart before his eyes and he had this woman to blame for it.
“Son!” Siya said from the other side of the room, pleading with Cassidy with her eyes to just let the woman go. Cassidy on the other hand was taught never to pull a gun unless he was going to use it and he had every notion to do just that.
Cassidy looked from Ziva whose eyes were letting him know that it was probably a good thing to kill her, but when he looked into his mother’s eyes, he reluctantly removed the gun from her mouth and let her fall hard to the ground, with a loud thud.
Ziva didn’t care what they did to her, she was going to speak her truth in hopes of ruining the Maler Family. No one knew the lengths that a broken heart could take you, but they were about to find out. Sliding up to the sitting position, she turned towards AD.
“Adoreé, did you know that your real name was Legend? I wanted to name you that because I knew that’s what you’d be, a legend. I always wanted a son, and when I had you, I just knew that me and your father was gonna raise you to be an amazing man.” Ziva’s eyes began to water, not because she felt for AD but because of the thoughts of her and Mega being together and raising their son. “But this bitch and her bastards stood in the way of that.”
Siya broke loose from Mega and charged at Ziva again. “Son grab your mother!” Mega yelled at Cassidy as he tripped over a chair and went tumbling to the ground before he could get to her.
“Nah fuck that, this bitch talks too much!” Cassidy yelled and stood back and watched as his mama beat the shit out of Ziva. Mega shot his son an evil look before making his way to his feet and over to his wife. He pulled a tear-faced Siya off of Ziva once again. She was both mentally and physically drained at this point but right now she had to get herself together. The one person that was affected by this the most was having to witness all of this nonsense.
Making her way to AD, she wrapped her hands around his waist. He didn’t reciprocate the hug and a surge of panic filled her belly. Her biggest fear had come true, she was losing her baby boy because of a technicality that her body couldn’t help.
“I am your mother Adoreé Maler.” Tears fell from Siya’s eyes rapidly. Feeling the wetness on his shirt snapped AD out of his initial state of shock. He looked down at his mother crying into his belly. Wrapping his arms around her, he held on as he let the tears that he willed to stay put, fall. “No, I didn’t birth you, my womb wouldn’t allow it, but my heart raised you and nothing compares to that.”
“Why didn’t you tell me ma?” AD placed his head on top of her. She could feel his warm tears on her forehead and it made her hug him tighter. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because my heart wouldn’t let me. You are my son and that’s all that matters to me.” Siya’s sobs got caught in her throat making it hard for her to swallow. When she felt AD loosen his grip, she held on to him tighter.
AD’s emotions were pulling him in all different directions; he was angry and hurt, yet confused, he felt betrayed but he couldn’t deny the love he felt in his mother’s arms. His chest caved in as he tried to catch his breath, it was like it was stuck and wouldn’t come out.
“Why me?” he silently sobbed.
Hearing him question why it was him that had to go through this broke Siya’s heart. Her mind was going every which way trying to figure out how she could make this better. She just wanted AD to know that who gave birth to him had no bearing on the relationship that the two of them had. No matter what that bitch Ziva had to say.
“I love you son. I love you,” Siya said. “None of this matters.”
It was like everything in the room grew cold, AD placed his hands on his mother’s shoulders and lightly shoved her away from him. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hands. He stared his father in the eyes and shook his head.
AD didn’t feel that he was mentally stable enough to stand there any longer. He knew that if he stood there any longer, he would have said or done something that he would later regret. Stepping out with his right foot, Siya stepped with him and blocked his path. Placing her small hands on his torso to stop him, she pleaded with him with her eyes.
“Just listen AD, we never meant to-” She stopped when AD grabbed her hands roughly and placed them back by her side, he stepped around her slightly bumping her in the process.
“Adoreé!” Mega quickly stepped to his son after seeing his wife stumble back from the force of AD’s body as he tried to get around her. Mega felt like that wasn’t necessary and he planned to let his son know that.
“No Mega.” Siya got her bearing and slid in between the two tall men. AD’s face housed so many emotions but hurt was definitely the most dominant. Allowing a lone tear to run down his face, AD took a step towards his father in a threatening way. Mega followed up with Siya pressing against his body. “It’s okay Mega, he’s hurt.”
“Fuck that, he ain’t about to be putting his hands on you-” he started but AD cut him off.
“Be a man of your word, or don’t call yourself a man at all.” AD’s shoulders rose and fell with each breath that he took. His fists were balled and clung to his side; you could see the thick vein poking out from his neck. He was doing everything in his power to remain respectful, but he was slowly failing. “Ain’t that what you said pops? Huh?” His voice trembled as more tears fell. “Ain’t that what the fuck you said?” He screamed in his father’s face.
“AD baby I love you more than you can ever know. I don’t care how you were brought into this world; you were brought here for me.” Siya patted her chest. “For me to love, care for, and raise just like I did. And there ain’t a person on this fucking earth that can tell you any different,” Siya’s face was soaked as she spoke between sobs.
Cassidy watched the scene unfold and as much as he hated to cry, he couldn’t help but shed a few tears that he wiped away quickly. His eyes darted to Ziva who watched with envy. Even though she knew she was coming here to cause chaos in th
eir lives she couldn’t deny the love that filled the room and she wished that even in this dark hour, she was in Siya’s shoes.
“You happy bitch?” Cassidy asked as he placed the gun that was still in his hands down in the front pocket of his sweats. Making his way to his brother, he placed his hands on his shoulder. AD snatched away from him.
“Did you know?” he damn near growled.
“What? Know? You know good and damn well I didn’t know that bullshit!” Cassidy retorted back stepping into his brother’s space in a confrontational way.
“Listen son, we didn’t keep this from you to be malicious. We wanted you to have the best life possible and that’s what happened. Ziva is a miserable bitch who thinks that because she stirred this pot it somehow gains her leverage in my life and that’s the furthest thing from the truth. We did what we thought was best for you. Siya is your mother, Ziva was merely a vessel to get you to us,” Mega’s tone was calm but firm.
AD was conflicted, he didn’t know what to think or who to listen to. All he knew was that on top of everything else that he was dealing with, he was now dealing with the fact that he didn’t know who he was. One last tear fell down his eyes before he turned to walk away.
This time no one stopped him. When he got to the spot where Ziva stood with a bloody face thanks to Siya, he stared into her eyes. He didn’t feel connected to her; it wasn’t like when he looked into Siya’s eyes and he got that warm and safe feeling. With this woman who claimed to be his mother, he got nothing.
Pushing past her she grabbed his arm to stop him. The minute her hand was on him, she felt a chill run down her spine, immediately causing her to let him go and take a step back to create some space between them. She opened her mouth to say something and closed it again.
“If you ever fucking touch me again without my permission, you die. Are we fucking clear?” He said through gritted teeth. In AD’s mind she was the reason he was feeling like he was at this moment. He was better off not even knowing about any of this.