Joseph finally found out the information about Dylan Frazier. He met with Mason and Charles, who was with Elliot to talk to them. I arrived thirty minutes later to yelling.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Mason barked.
"Do I look like I'm kidding?" Joesph asked as Charles put his face in his palm, and Elliot rolled his eyes.
"I told Carri to stop seeing that woman!" Mason exclaimed.
"Well, little brother didn't listen," Joseph informed him.
"No, shit! I'm not fucking stupid!" Mason snapped.
"Are you sure about that? Even you didn't know what Carri was doing," Elliot reminded Mason.
Mason's head snapped towards Elliot. "It's not the time for your condescending bullshit," Mason warned Elliot.
Now while my brothers are discussing an urgent matter about me, they forgot I was arriving.
"Mason, there's nothing we can do to change the fact that Dylan Frazier is Carri's son," Joseph mentioned as I walked into the house and stood there, stunned.
"Dylan's my son?" I asked, shocked.
My brothers turned to see me standing there.
"Christ," Mason mumbled.
I suspected when I saw the kid, but I didn't think it was possible, but it all made sense now. I walked over to my brothers.
"So, it's true? I have a son?" I asked, looking at Joseph.
"Yes," Joseph answered, handing me a file.
I took the file from Joseph, opening it. I started reading the information as I walked over to the couch and sat down. Joseph found everything he could on Dylan Frazier, including his birthday, blood type, and other vital information. It included his school record and test scores.
I stared at the information. This kid is my kid, all right. I'm surprised Dylan didn't get expelled for half the shit he did. Then something caught my attention, making my anger boil.
"Maurice is putting his hands on my kid," I whispered, seething.
"Carri, I'm taking care of that situation," Charles informed me.
I stood up and looked at Charles, angrily. "You're taking care of it? Did you know that Dylan is my son?" I snapped.
"No, not until today. I suspected, but I didn't know. The only thing I learned was Dylan's father was hurting him. I offered a haven for him," Charles answered.
"That's not your decision Charles," I barked. "You know Dylan belonged to Gloria, yet didn't tell me? What the fuck?" I yelled. That pissed me off.
"You want to go there? Okay, let's go there," Charles replied.
"Charles," Mason warned.
"No, Mason, our little brother is forgetting he did shit behind our backs, hiding an affair after you told Carri to stop. Now, his actions are biting him in the ass," Charles remarked as I stood there, angrily.
Charles walked over to me.
"Do you know what you and Gloria did? You produced a child who knows nothing about your extracurricular activities and suffered from it. All for what? So that you can disregard everyone else," Charles told me.
"You forget you're not as innocent as you claim," I retorted, angering Charles. I didn't care if he's angry. Gloria kept my son away from me.
"Watch your tone, Carri," Charles warned.
"Enough!" Mason barked. I looked at Mason as he walked towards me. "You disobeyed me when I told you to end the relationship. I warned you, Carri, but you chose not to listen. Now, there's a kid involved from you ignoring us."
"I need to talk to Gloria," I said as I started for the front door. Elliot stopped me and shook his head. "Let go, Elliot," I growled.
"No, Carri. You showing up at her house to confront her will make things worse," Elliot informed me.
"What are you talking about, Elliot? I have a right to confront Gloria," I said emphatically.
"Not when it involves a situation, we are dealing with now," Mason mentioned as I looked at my brothers. "Look, I'm handling particular situations, and I don't need you going there with guns blazing."
That pissed me off. My brothers wanted to stop me from confronting Gloria about Dylan to further their agenda. I stormed out of the house, not saying a word. I had a right to find out answers, yet they tried to stop me.
Joseph stopped me as I reached the car.
"Carri, you don't want to do this," Joseph reasoned.
I looked at Joseph with furrowed brows. "That's my son, and Gloria kept him from me!" I snapped as my voice cracked, and tears roll down my cheeks. "A son I didn't get to know for years! Do you know what it feels like to have something ripped from you? To know that you would do anything, but not given a choice?" I screamed at Joseph. I was furious, and everyone's keeping me from my blood.
"Carri, I know you're angry, but there are issues with the Frazier's. If you go to see Gloria now, it will cause Maurice and Gloria to flee, taking the boy with them. Since Ryan is friends with Dylan, we can keep an eye on the boy," Joesph explained.
"I don't care. Dylan is my son, and I will take him. Maurice won't stop me," I declared.
"No, but Maurice will kill Gloria, then Dylan because Dylan refuses to leave her. However, you feel about Gloria at the moment; it doesn't compare to how that boy feels about her. Dylan doesn't know you're his father. He knows Gloria is his mother. You get his mother killed; he will never forgive you," Joseph warned.
I looked at Joseph. I hated to admit he's right, but I wanted my son.
"Fine, but you tell our brothers to figure it out before I take control of the situation. If I find out Maurice laid another hand on my son, I will kill him," I threatened as Joseph looked at me.
I got into the car and left. My brothers are on borrow time. I know the Frazier boys and their temper. I drove home and went inside to have Nikita jump out at me, wearing a hideous looking mask. I looked at her as she removed it.
"Carri, you're supposed to scream like a little girl," Nikita told me.
"I'm not in the mood for jokes," I answered, walking by Nikita.
Nikita removed her mask and followed me. "Carri, what's wrong?" She asked worriedly.
I went into the bedroom and sat down on the bed. "I found out Dylan Frazier is my son," I said. Nikita looked at me. "For fifteen years, I didn't know until I went to see Charles. Then I see this kid that looks like me. How do you keep a secret like that?"
I sat there, baffled. Nikita sat down next to me on the bed.
"Maybe the mother had a reason," Nikita said as I looked at her. "I'm not saying it's right, but neither is what you did. We all have our reasons why we do what we do, Carri," Nikita reasoned.
"I always said if I had kids, I would protect them. I feel a failure with Dylan," I mentioned.
Nikita took my hand in hers, holding it.
"You aren't. Now, you got a chance to give Dylan what he needs," Nikita said.
"What's that?" I asked.
"A father," Nikita smiled. I looked at my wife with wonderment. Most women wouldn't tolerate a child showing up unexpectedly in your life, but Nikita knows how I feel. That helps a lot.
*****
After my talk with Nikita, I decided to keep my eye on Dylan. I didn't care what my brothers said. I wanted to know about my son.
I watched Dylan with Ryan. Ryan towered over Dylan but protected Dylan. I saw Dylan cling to Ryan. Even though Ryan showed annoyance to Dylan, I watch his actions with my son. At least I knew Dylan had someone looking out for him.
As I kept an eye on Dylan, I noticed another boy hanging out with them. The boy looked familiar until one day; I saw Frank Shaw in the school parking lot. The boy argued with Frank, then flipped Frank off.
"You get ass home now, Jordan!" Frank barked.
"Screw you, dad!" Jordan yelled back, walking over to Ryan's car.
If Maurice and Frank are in town, that meant Greg wasn't far behind them. Something told me when Greg arrived; all hell will break loose.
They say our past has a way of biting us in the ass. Our children's paths are a direct result of our past decisions. Something told me these boys would be a force of nature of their own. It's a loyalty like no other.