“He knows? Did y’all plan this, Janel!” Dru’s voice thundered. Janel’s sobs deepened as she folded her arms around her body. She looked so innocent, so harmless, but Dru now knew otherwise.
“No, please don’t say anything. He is all I got left… since you don’t want me!” She cried. She was clearly out of her mind. Dru was starting to think that she may need a mental institution.
“What the fuck you talking about, planned?” Max questioned. Dru lowered his gun and turned to Janel. He wasn’t worried about Max shooting him. He was a bitch that had probably never shot a gun before. He could tell by how he was standing there holding it sideways.
“Tell him,” Dru demanded.
“What he talking about, Janel?” Max yelled.
Janel fell to the floor, sobbing. “I’m sorry… I… I…” She couldn’t form the words through her tears. Dru didn’t have time for this. Quickly, he took out his phone and showed the DNA test to Max. Max moved closer, squinting his eyes as he stared at the screen. Dru watched as anger, sadness, and confusion displayed across his face. His gun lowered.
“Move that fake shit out my face! How you get a test with yo’ name on it claiming my kids? What the fuck is going on?” Max was confused, but Dru was about to shed some light.
“I’m sorry.” Janel whimpered again. “I switched the test… The one Marli received was photoshopped, and it came from a fake email address.”
Dru shook his head at the lengths Janel had gone through to pass on this lie with hopes of them being together.
“You did what, bitch?” Max attempted to rush her, but Dru jumped in between them. Janel was wrong, but he didn’t condone violence against women.
“She switched the tests, man. The boys are my kids.” Dru patted him on the shoulder. Dru didn’t fuck with Max, but finding out two kids you’d believed was yours for four years weren’t, had to be hard. Dru’s heart went out to him.
“Man, fuck you, fuck her, and that bullshit ass test. Those my boys.” Max’s voice thundered as he turned and exited the house. Dru wanted to go after him. This was a lot for everybody, but he decided against it. Maybe alone time to sit and think would do Max some good. He turned to Janel. She had all but fallen apart on her living room floor.
“I hope you can sleep at night knowing you deprived two little boys of knowing their biological father. You changed the course of all our lives forever.” He stared down at her. His words were laced with hate and disgust. “You better hope that my sons don’t have permanent damage for this stupid shit.”
“I’m so sorry!” She cried, grabbing onto his legs and wrapping her arms around his ankles.
“Know that a nigga should and could wring yo’ fucking neck, but I… I had a hand in you losing yo’ damn mind. So I’ll let you breathe. Let this be a lesson to you, J. If a nigga make it clear that he doesn’t want you, no amount of scheming, sex, tears, or ultimatums will make him change his mind.” Dru kicked her off his legs.
“Don’t come around me, my place of business, or nothing. I won’t give your foul ass this same grace again. I hope you understand me.” He turned and walked away.
“Oh, and I hope you had a savings because the bank of Dru is closed.” He was glad that they’d never officially decided on a number for severance pay. Dru had planned to wire her a million dollars and fund her start, but that wasn’t happening now.
“I don’t have anything or anyone. All I want is you!” she pleaded. Dru blew out a deep breath. The love he had for Janel wouldn’t let him leave her like this, even after all that had just been exposed.
“You need help, J. I’ll have someone here in the morning.” It was clear that she needed mental help. That was the least he could do, and some people would consider that too much after all she’d done. Dru exited Janel’s house without looking back. He had to get away from her. If he stayed in her presence any longer, there was no telling what he would have done. Sliding into the back of the car, Dru looked up at Janel’s house. He knew, this time, he wouldn’t be back. The chapter was officially closed.
“Where to, boss?”
“My brother’s house. I need to see my sons.”
“Sup, nigga? I thought you said that y’all was going to pick up the boys tomorrow?” Blue questioned as he opened the door. Dru responded by handing his brother his phone with the DNA results pulled up. He could hear Blue gasp and then call his name, but he had tunnel vision. He wanted to see his sons. He needed it more than anything else in the world. He moved briskly up the stairs to where he’d heard the kids playing. They must have been in Iman and Imani’s playroom. As he got closer, his thoughts ranged in topic, but the one he’d settled on was Tres’s gray eyes. He should have known. That should have been a dead giveaway that something wasn’t right. Marli’s eyes weren’t that color nor were Max’s. It was a trait that his father passed down. His grandfather had them, his dad, Blue, Imani, and now Tres. He felt stupid for not pushing the issue.
The closer he got to the playroom, the louder the sound of laughter became. His hands trembled, and his forehead began to sweat. Dru had never been so nervous in his life. He had seen and talked to Duce and Tres plenty of times, but this was different. They were his sons. They shared his blood. He didn’t remember reaching the door or swinging it open. It all happened so fast. The boys were playing with dinosaurs and running around the room with Iman and Imani; it all stopped the moment he entered.
“Uncle Dru!” They all yelled in unison, running to him. Dru hugged his niece and nephew first before dropping to his knees and embracing Deuce and Tres. As he held them, he couldn’t hold back the tears that poured from his eyes. Dru didn’t cry. He always had control. It was one of the things he prided himself on, but he couldn’t control this. Everything he’d missed in the boys’ lives flooded his brain. He had missed their first steps, their first words. He didn’t get to read to them at night. His heart swelled as he felt a wave of love wash over him. He was grateful for the relationship he had with them, but it was one of an uncle, not a father, and that had him holding on to them, sobbing silently. A soft hand touched him on the shoulder. When he looked up, he noticed it was Marli.
“I’m so… sorry!” Her voice was soft. Her eyes were puffy, and her cheeks were red from crying.
“It’s not your fault,” he replied as he waved her over. He had texted her in the car on the way over to meet him there. He knew that she had so many questions, but he wanted to tell her in person. Marli let go of her friend Erica’s hand and moved to her knees. Marli wrapped her arms around Dru and the boys and allowed the tears to flow. The boys looked confused, but they just held onto him.
“It okay, Uncle Dru.” Tres patted his back.
“It okay, Mama!” Deuce patted Marli’s back. This was a lot. Dru didn’t know how they would tell them he was their real dad. He and Marli would have to sit down and come up with the right place and time, and he only hoped they would accept him and understand.
“What is happening, mijo?” Dru heard his mother’s question. Someone must have filled her in because before long, she had joined them, sobbing on the floor.
“My nietos! My grandbabies!” Natalie cried. Everyone around them—Blue, Kay, and Erica—looked on with tear-filled eyes. Nothing needed to be said; they all deserved this cry. It was a happy one, a dream come true. Dru couldn’t wait to finally be a part of their lives. He had missed out on so much. He would make up for it, though. He was going to be the best father to them that he could be, and he would love them unconditionally. He already did.
Twenty
Two Months Later
Marli
“Wow.” Marli spoke under her breath as she sat inside the crowded courtroom. The judge had just read Max’s verdict. He would spend five years in prison for Class B child endangerment. Marli wasn’t quite satisfied with the verdict because with good behavior, he only had to serve sixteen months in prison. A year and four months for nearly killing her baby boy. The judge had given him a deal for turning in the other person who was present at the time of the shooting, Janel. Marli couldn’t believe that Janel and Max had been fooling around. Honestly, she didn’t know Janel had it in her to fuck anybody but Dru. The fact she was fucking Max only showed her obsession with Marli. The night Tres was shot, she had been there that day. It had been exactly what Marli had said. Max and Janel were in the back room having sex and had left Deuce and Tres unattended around Max’s loaded gun. Janel had her day in court last week and was sentenced to only three years in prison. Again, Marli wasn’t pleased with the verdict, but there was nothing more that she could do. Her son was alive, and the people who were responsible for his accident were facing some sort of justice. For that, she was grateful.
At the beginning of the investigation, Max claimed that he was alone and that the boys had got into the closet where he kept his gun, put away. He was trying to protect Janel, but it seemed that after learning that she’d switched the DNA tests, he changed his story. Max had been hurt by the discovery. The day he’d found out, he showed up to Marli’s old condo. When he discovered it empty, he flipped out, calling her and blowing up her phone. It had taken him weeks and a lot of help from Dru and Blue to calm down. Dru had been talking to Max more than she was these days. He said it was men business, so she stayed out of it. Marli had only spoken to Max to dissolve paternity.
The trial had been a difficult experience for her, but she was lucky she didn’t have to testify and that Dru had accompanied her both days. She hated having to relive the details of Tres’s incident repeatedly in front of a courtroom full of people, but at least it had shed some clarity on the situation. It had been refreshing to see Max take responsibility and apologize. She didn’t believe that Max was a bad person, but he was childish, and his judgment was off. Maybe this time in jail would do him some good. The judge’s gavel sounded, and Marli took a deep breath before standing up. Her feet led her to where Max was being handcuffed and detained. She never let go of Dru’s hand. As she approached him, she didn’t know what to say. Everything had been so complicated over the last two months.
“I deserve this.” Max spoke the first word.
“You do, even longer,” Marli responded. Max’s head dropped.
“I’ll take that. I was careless.” He looked between Dru and Marli.
