𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐈𝐓𝐅𝐔𝐋 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 [𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝟸]

6.

Chapter 6: Home Sweet Home

𝙽𝚘𝚠 𝙿𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐: 𝚂𝚘𝚏𝚝 𝙸𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚕 𝙼𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚌

𝙷𝚊𝚣𝚎𝚕 𝙵𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚢
—

Hazel and Coco tucked the kids into bed, before kissing them goodnight and turning off the light. The door was closed, and they both headed down to man cave, Black once owned. No one had been down there in years due to the memories they roamed inside. The laughter, food fights, and football Sundays. Coco opened the door, standing there for a few minutes. Hazel noticed her facial expression, she put her hand on her shoulder.

"Ma, we don't have to be here. We can-" Coco shook her head, looking at daughter teary eyed.

"No, no it's okay. I have to do this. If I don't, I won't be able to move on." Hazel understood, they held hands making their way inside. The door was left ajar to keep an ear out for the twins.

They both walked over to the chairs to sit. There was short silence before Coco spoke first. "We need to talk." She started. "I just want you to listen and whatever you have to say, is completely understandable." Hazel nodded, silently that she understood. Coco sighed, rubbing her thighs.

It seemed like she was extremely nervous, like she didn't know where to start. "Take your time." Hazel encouraged with a closed smile. Coco nodded, sighing once more.

"Your uncle, Terrance...." She started. "and I, are seeing one another." Hazel's pupils dilated but she nodded with an "mhm". What?! Hazel thought to herself. She kept her composure and remain listening like her mother had gently instructed.

Hazel knew sometning was up when she saw that message three months back. "I can't say that I'm proud of myself for dating my deceased husband's brother. It feels quite odd, but he's a sweet man. I do want you to know him and Kim are no longer together. I made sure of that before continuing the contact. They've been separated for the last year now but their divorce settlement is still pending." Coco said, exhaling. When she didn't say anything else Hazel took the time to comment.

"Well, this is a big surprise." She chuckled, Coco did the same. "I will say I did see the message he sent to you. I didn't say anything because it wasn't any of my business. I figured you come to me eventually." Hazel stated, respectfully. Coco nodded, wiping away her tears. Hazel could understand why she was crying but at the same she couldn't.

"Well, we're in effect but I'm still trying to let go of your father. The scar still feels so fresh. Even though we fought and argued a lot, we still loved each other. The cheating, the late nights, the gambling, and somehow I still remained in love with, Atticus." Coco said. Atticus?

"Ma, who's Atticus?" Hazel questioned, conflicted.

"Your father's real name." Coco revealed. Hazel was appalled. How out of the teeny years she'd been alive she didn't know her father's real birth name? She always knew him as Black.

"So where did Black come from?" Coco chuckled.

"That was his street name. He wore black on most of the missions they had. He was the fastest one on the team. Your father did a lot of things I wasn't happy about, but it put food on the table." Coco admitted, her face holding a thinking expression. "I often wondered why he wanted to live so dangerously, when I was pregnant with you, I wondered if you'd make it or not. I stressed so much, scared I'd get a phone call that he was dead or locked away." She shrugged. Hazel couldn't believe what she was hearing. It was a lot to take in at once.

"Wow." Hazel muttered. She thought she knew her father but really, she didn't. The man was a thug.

"Will we ever know, about the men that killed dad?" Coco looked at her daughter with an expression she was unable to read.

"Hazel, to be honest. I think the men that took your father's life was one of his own." Hazel's mouth fell open. One of his own? But why?

"What? How?" Coco shook her head unsure. She was still trying to put the puzzle pieces together herself.

"I don't know, Hazelnut. Still trying to figure that out." Hazel quietly nodded, dropping that part of the conversation. She knew it was sensitive and her mother was still hurting. Hazel didn't want to make things worser than they already seemed.

"Want a drink?" Hazel asked, her mother nodded. Hazel lifted herself from the couch to grab a bottle from the bar. She grabbed to glasses, the bottle was opened and she filled them to the middle. They didn't need to get wasted, due to the children down the hall. They needed to be ready for any unexpected changes.

"Can I ask you something?" Coco asked, sipping from her glass. The hard liquor had burned her chest but she could handle it. 

"Of course ma." Hazel nodded, drinking from her own glass. Coco swallowed, before asking the question.

"The tattoos on your arm. I noticed them earlier but I wanted to wait to ask you." She said, taking another sip. Hazel paused, slowly pulling the cold glass from her lips. She was hesitant on revealing the identity of the ink on her skin. It was a sensitive topic for her but this was her mother. She had vented to her about her relationship and she had already told her what had been going on but obviously she had left some details out.

"Your grandchildren." Hazel answered, Coco furrowed her eyebrows, sitting down her glass.

"What?" Coco was concussed, but Hazel hadn't quite, thoroughly explained.

"Your grandchildren, that I couldn't save." She began pointing to each cursive name on her arm. "Noel, Amiri, and Alexander." Coco got up from her seat to sit directly beside her daughter. She wrapped her arm around her tightly. Hazel smiled, teary eyed.

"Three?" Coco's voice broke. Hazel nodded. "Oh my God." They both broke down together on the couch, wrapped in each other. The two women had been through alot and refrained from talking about it, until now.

Hazel usually write down what she felt but it had been awhile since she expressed her feelings. It felt good to get it out in the open, finally. Hazel felt a big relief lifted from her shoulders. Right now, her sibling and her mother were the only people she needed right. A man could wait. Bashar was a privilege, a choice. Not someone she needed.

𝙴𝙽𝙳 𝙾𝙵 𝚂𝙾𝙽𝙶 𝙿𝙻𝙰𝚈𝙸𝙽𝙶: 𝙲𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚕 𝙰𝚕𝚜𝚘𝚜 - 𝚂𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕