Chapter 20

Twenty

Neo

One Week Later

I was havingsuch a good time with Merc's parents, Porsha and Frank, that it was scary. Marz was truly a small replica of his father. They all had welcomed me in with open arms, making my first visit to his parents' home a success. We'd spent the evening having dinner and talking. When it was over, the music started up, and like a true southern family, it led to drinking and dancing.

He'd told his mom I was into embroidery, and she knitted, so we'd made a date to do both tomorrow. As good of a time as I was having, I couldn't stop myself from blurting, "I don't want to fall in love with you." My eyes watered, causing me to avoid his.

Merc probably thought I was crazy. I'd just told him how much fun I'd had as we left the house. Now, at his car, I was on the verge of having an emotional breakdown.

"I wouldn't let you," Merc admitted. I looked into his eyes. "Falling suggests an accident. Something unintentional." He stepped in front of me and tilted my head by my chin. "I'm going to be very intentional with everything I do to make you grow in love with me."

Nibbling my bottom lip, I blinked back my tears.

Merc kissed me tenderly, pulling me off the car and into his embrace.

"Does that sound okay with you, baby?" he asked, and between his smooth tone and charming smile, I would have agreed, even if I didn't want to.

"Yes," I almost whispered before going in for another kiss.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Being vocal when you were overwhelmed instead of staying in your head about it."

I chuckled as I placed my hands on his chest. "Yeah. As we left out, I was thinking about how much fun I had and how much I could love your family. Then I started thinking about how much I could love you. And that scared the shit out of me."

"It doesn't have to. I'ma keep saying this like an affirmation until it sticks in your head and your heart. You're safe with me, Neo. In all ways."

That pulled me off the ledge, so I nodded and gave him another hug. Merc opened the door and let me inside. Our drive to his home was filled with singing and rapping along to his '90s playlist. I knew we were going to have a good time tonight when he stopped by Beethoven's place to reup on his personal stash of marijuana.

When we made it to his home, Aries was seated in the living room, waiting for him.

"I'll uh… give you two some space," I said, preparing to head to his room.

"Nah, you can stay," Merc said. "She don't mind putting Omar in our business, so I don't mind putting you in ours."

I felt like he was saying that to be petty. He'd told me about what happened when we first came back. I didn't want to be used as a pawn between them, but I also wouldn't leave him if he didn't want me to. We all sat down, and I felt so awkward, listening in on their conversation.

Well, if they would even have a conversation. Aries immediately broke into tears. I wanted to console her, but since I didn't really know her that well, I shoved Merc in her direction. With a huff, he stood and walked over to her. Seated next to her, he held her until she was all cried out. When her tears stopped, Merc stood and made his way back next to me.

"What was that about?" Merc asked, checking the time on his Rolex.

"Omar and I… we're over."

Merc smiled. I elbowed him, and he grunted before wiping his smile away.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said, smile returning. "What happened?"

"After you assaulted him a week ago, he started acting funny."

"Wait, what?" I said, turning slightly to face Merc. "What did you do?"

"It's in the past," he grumbled, scratching his nose. "It wasn't nothing he didn't deserve, though."

Aries rolled her eyes and sat up in her seat. "He didn't deserve that, Merc, and that's the problem. You feel like because I'm the mother of your child that you have a say in everything I do. It's not fair because I don't do that to you."

"I don't feel like I have a say in everything you do, but I do have a say in everything that concerns my son. That's what you can't seem to understand. Regardless of who you marry, I'm still Marz's father. You can't make decisions for him without consulting me, Aries. I don't understand why you can't accept that."

Her shoulders slouched as she sighed. "You're right. I know that. I guess I was just… so caught up in my happiness and getting married that I didn't want to let you ruin that. When I got pregnant, the pressure to detach myself from you felt worse. So when Omar proposed and asked me to move with him to Atlanta, I agreed."

"Okay, so what happened? I know he didn't break up with you because I gave him a few punches."

"One of his teeth came out, and another one was chipped," she said through gritted teeth.

"Oop, gahdamn." I meant to mutter, but it came out louder than I'd meant for it to, causing Merc to laugh. "Sorry."

"He's the one that should be sorry. Omar said he wants nothing to do with you, so he basically said Marz has to stay here. He wanted me to come here to spend time with my son just to avoid you."

"And I know you weren't going for that shit," Merc said.

Aries smiled for the first time since their conversation started. "Hell nah. I told him if he didn't want my son, he didn't want me. I did admit that I hadn't been communicating properly and sticking to the boundaries you and I had in place, which caused you to show your ass. I told him if I stopped doing that, things would get back to how they used to be. That's when he straight up said I had to leave Marz here, or we were done." She scoffed and crossed her legs. "Can you believe he told me to give him the ring back so he could use it to buy a plane ticket?"

Now that got a good laugh out of Merc. "What happened to all the money he said he had saved?"

"Apparently, that was a lie. When we were in Mississippi, he said I needed to get ready to start working again so I could help with bills. That's what led me to tell Marz about the move. I wasn't fully on board with it, but I was willing to do what I had to, to keep my family together."

"I can respect that," Merc said with a bob of his head. "So what does this mean for the little one?" he asked, pointing to her stomach.

"Now that, I don't know." Aries sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "From the looks of it, he's leaving for good. I don't know if he plans to be here for the baby or not."

Her eyes watered and head hung. This time, I didn't have to tell Merc to go and comfort her, because he did it on his own.

"I'm sorry, Aries. For real. I wanted shit to get better, but I didn't want him to break your heart. I just… knew you deserved better than what he was offering and didn't want you to settle or put my son in an environment that wasn't healthy." He paused. "You don't have to worry about what he does. Whether he's present or not, I'll be here for you and the baby. You can still stay here until you find a man that's truly worthy of you and can provide you with the lifestyle that you and my son are used to getting from me."

"Thank you," she whimpered, hugging him tightly.

When he kissed her temple, the gesture made my eyes water. Merc was truly a standup guy, and I'd never be able to deny that. The longer they embraced, the more uncomfortable I felt. I knew Merc said there was nothing romantic between them, but my trauma was far too recent. The wound was still open, and thinking about something developing between them had my heart hurting already. This was exactly what I wanted to avoid.

Quietly, I stood and headed to Merc's room to request an Uber since he'd picked me up from my parents' home. I wasn't sure what would happen between us in the future, but I knew for right now, his hands were too full juggling his family, and I didn't know if that family would fit me.