Page 126 of Heart Of A Goon II

Corleon, Jeffie, Stevie, and Kora.

No one else had been allowed to understand the man that was Maverick Menace Caselli. I, now held a pass that was being welcomed into the crazy brain of us.

“How you figure, Mens?” Don questioned.

Out of all of us, Don was the lover. He asked questions and wanted to know because he cared, not because he was nosey. He loved to reassure us, even when we didn’t want to receive it.

As a sister, I failed because I never offered those things back. It wasn’t until I met Navy that I understood what she did for him. What she and her family did for him. He was the baby, and we often forgot that he lost parents and had to go through life without them too.

“They tried to kill her, Don.”

“And you sent the message. Why the fuck do you keep beating yourself up about it?”

He looked away. “Cause I pride myself on protecting my wife. She checking windows and shit before bed… waking up out her sleep in cold sweats. I did that shit to her, and I promised I would never allow that to happen to her.”

I touched his hand again. “As upset as Stevie was in there, she knows you would protect her with your life. I think you need to stop being so hard on yourself. Be with your wife and son.”

He nodded his head a few times. “Ight, ight…cool.”

“You didn’t say it out here, but you’ll eventually have to admit it out loud,” Don whispered to me.

I looked up at him and gave him a weak smile. “How does Gaston feel about the baby? Are you healthy and shit?”

I ignored him never calling Goo by his damn name. “He’s excited about it. I am excited about it, too… I’m happy, Maverick.”

He smiled. “Uncle-Daddy.”

“My child is not fucking calling you that,” I said, and walked towards the villa. My stomach was rumbling and I was starving.

“We’ll ask Gusto,” he called behind me.

I ignored his ass, while walking off the beach.

I held a lot of emotion from this conversation that I needed to process. Learning my parent’s fate and witnessing how much pain my brother was carrying was an eyeopener for me. I always said I didn’t care how he felt or if he felt pain. Seeing it up close hurt me, too. I never wanted him to hurt the way he was, and then to do it silently.

Menace had been a thorn in my side for the past few years, but Maverick was showing me that every rose had thorns, and they were still worthy of being picked.

FORTY

It was late when the jet landed in Grenada. I had half the mind to stay here tonight, but there was a small speed boat waiting for me once I landed. I wasn’t into boats or vast bodies of water, but I sucked that shit up because I wasn’t in the position to be acting on my fears.

The ride here was choppy like shit. I held onto my duffle bag like it could save me if this shit capsized. There were no life jackets on this bitch and the nigga steering the boat looked like he was twelve.

The fuck did I get myself into?

The man tossed out his rope and three other men on the dock pulled the boat in. Cappadonna, Capone, and Quasim were waiting on the dock. I had been running with my heart in my chest and those niggas were a sight for sore eyes. I snatched my duffle bag and climbed off the boat.

My chest ached when I saw my friend. I dropped the duffle bag as he came and wrapped his arms around me, scooping me into a hug. He held me tight, as I did the same, and he kissed my head.

“Fuck is with you? Don’t do no shit like that again… nigga we family. Your mess is our fucking mess, we riding forever.”

Emotion wasn’t something that I did. I didn’t like the feeling that overtook me. growing up, it wasn’t something that was welcomed in our home. The way I was choked up as I held onto my friend had me messed up.

Capone grabbed me, wrapping his arms around me. “We family, Forty. You kept me and my brother out of prison. Why the fuck wouldn’t we do the same?”

The one thing I struggled with was asking for and receiving help. I’ve always been the one to dish out the help and never needed anything in return. Shit was different now. They all had families and I couldn’t risk throwing them down in my shit.

I would never forgive myself if some shit like that happened to my niggas. This was my shit, and I needed to handle it. That was until I realized that I needed them. Even then, I called Zoya because I knew she would help me handle this.