After Eight years, Ghenesis Santiago leaves for Atlanta, Ga to try having a relationship with her father and his new family. While having to maintain her senior year in highschool and working with her brother and his Crew under her father's orders...
“I—I’m sorry, boss. My bad!” he stammered, scrambling to his feet, damn near trippin’ over his own laces as he took off runnin’. You could hear the others murmurin’ under their breath, respect thick in the air.
I exhaled slow, my chest tight but proud.
To lighten the mood, I gave a little smirk, rubbin’ my belly absentmindedly — not that anyone noticed. “Well… good news is I finally got in touch with my stepdad....Said he free tomorrow night and wanna do dinner.”
That shifted the energy. Nico looked up grinnin’. “For real? Thought dude was off the grid in the mother land or some shit.”
“Still is. But he comin’ through. He always kept a burner number for me, and I guess he been waitin’ on me to call it. Said it was time.”
“Shit,” Dice said, noddin’, “a New whole world we are about to explore." Everyone laughed lightly, and the tension slowly dissolved as we all moved toward the upstairs office — a spot we used for debriefs, lowkey business, or just catchin’ our breath.
Zeus walked ahead, movin’ slower now, but strong. Always strong. He sat down behind the desk like he was slidin’ into a throne, then reached out and caught me by my wrist gentle as hell. I ain’t resist. I just let him pull me down onto his lap, my legs foldin’ around him easy, my arms wrappin’ around his neck as he leaned his face against my chest.
“You okay, Papa?” I whispered, runnin’ my fingers through his hair, scratchin’ his scalp slow.
He nodded, just once. But I felt him tremble.
It wasn’t big, just a little quake, like his body was tired of carryin’ everything and was tryin’ not to collapse under it. But I felt it. Every piece. Every damn second of the pain Charles tried to inject in him — not just through the drugs, but through control, through silence, through all them invisible chains he still tryna break free from.
I held him tighter.
“You strong, you hear me?” I whispered. “Ain’t no dope in this world stronger than what God put inside you. I got you, Zeus. Always.”
He didn’t say nothin’. He just kissed my collarbone and let his breath settle against my skin.
And in that quiet, I decided — I ain’t tellin’ him about the baby yet. Not ‘til he can hold himself without shakin’. Not ‘til we got one night where death don’t feel like it’s waitin’ at the door.
But soon. Real soon.
Because if this world ever had a father worth bringin’ a child into it for… it was the man holdin’ me right now.
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