Page 119 of 4 Corinthians

“I got something to do, but another time.”

“You sure?” I asked following him out of the office. When he moved, I noticed scratches and bite marks on his neck. “You good, Unc?”

“I’m surviving,” he answered with a nod. He looked over his shoulder at me. “And no, before you ask, I don’t want to talk about it. I’m good. Old age is just a bitch sometimes.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m good, nephew,” he said, sighing. “Now take your ass outta here so I can go about my business.”

I stood there, debating if I was going to take his word for it. Uncle Bradon wasn’t known to lie, and I had to go with that thought even though something was bothering me about the whole thing. I wiped my hand over my mouth, then nodded. “Alright.”

We dapped each other up, and I headed to the front door.

“Ay Four?” he called. I turned around to face him. “You been doing therapy, right? Not skipping sessions?”

“Yes, sir,” I answered. “I been to every damn one, putting in the work.”

“Then yeah, I want to meet this other Bible Thumper and her son. I gotta see the woman that makes you smile like that.”

“Yes, sir,” I said. I approached him, pulled him into a hug, and kissed the side of his head. “Thanks, Unc; you ain’t have to do the shit you did, but you did. For that, I’m always going to be thankful.”

“It was my job, nephew,” he said, returning my hug and patted my back. “Now get your sappy ass outta here. Go spend time with your family.”

“Yes, sir,” I chuckled and stepped back. “Catch you later.”

“I’ll be here.”

I parked my car in the parking lot, then looked around. Judah asked me this morning to come to his match tonight. Without even hesitating, I said yes. If he wanted me there, then I’d move mountains to make it happen. I got out of my car, locked the doors, and headed into the building. I looked around for the two people I was here for. Instead of finding Cori and Judah, I noticed Psalms was being held back by Wednesday. He was trying like hell to calm her down. Judah stood next to her, a mug on his face and his fist balled up. A man stood in front of them, dressed in a karate Gi, with a smug look on his face. It was something about this nigga that rubbed me the wrong way.

I crossed the room, only stopping when I was close enough to Wednesday.

“The fuck is going on?” I asked, looking at Psalms. She was seething; the little bit of control she had snapped when she saw me. Her hand went to a slit in her skirt, and for a second, I saw the flash of something metal.

“Get Judah out of here so I can show my entire black ass,” she said, looking from me to her nephew.

“What’s wrong?” I asked her. I put Judah behind me. He was so mad I could feel him shaking.

“This muthafucka…” Psalms stopped talking, laughed, and shook her head. “This muthafucka…”

I looked at Wednesday for some answers.

“I don’t know, I just walked in and saw her pacing. I seen her like this before; it wasn’t good.” He glanced down at Judah. “What happened, big man?”

I looked over Judah to see him watching us. His brown eyes were filled with anger and sadness. I hated seeing my boy like this. I knelt, getting eye level with him. “What happened?”

“GiGi’s hurt,” Judah quickly answered. “We were being taught a new move, a kick. He pulled GiGi into the ring and kicked her.” His eyes narrowed as he looked at the instructor. “Four, he kicked her hard. She was crying.”

“Where is she?” I asked, looking around. I got here early, so the dojo was basically empty.

“In the back with mama,” he answered, pointing to the back door. “She was crying so hard and saying her side hurt. He sent her to the back because she wouldn’t stop crying. Mama and Auntie Bug came back from getting something out of the car and heard her crying from the back. Mama asked what was wrong, and he said GiGi was fine. But I told Mama what happened.”

“Judah, that wasn’t your place,” the instructor said. I’d completely forgotten about him until he spoke. I looked over my shoulder to see him standing there glaring at Judah. Psalms let out a humorless laugh. “Discipline and correction are needed in karate. I know your other Sensei has told you this before, and if he hasn’t, then I will be the one to teach you.”

It was something in his eyes, that cockiness as well as the way he spoke. This nigga wasn’t right; I don’t care what anyone else thought. I stood, placed Judah behind me, and shook my head. “Ain’t no reason for a grown ass man to ever hit a little girl,” I told him. I could feel my anger starting to get the best of me, but I was holding strong.

“I kicked her,” he smugly replied. “And it wasn’t even that hard. I pulled my kick.”

“I’m not going to pull mine,” Psalms said from beside me. I glanced over to see Wednesday had finally calmed her down. They stood side by side, both with angry expressions. “As a matter of fact, the only thing that I’m going to pull slowly is my knife from your jugular as I kill you.”