Page 146 of 4 Corinthians

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“What’s up, big man?” I said to Judah when I walked into the kitchen. He sat at the island, a bowl of cereal in front of him and his iPad next to it. He looked up at me and smiled. I searched his face, trying to see if I could see Robert anywhere in his features. I didn’t; he still looked like Cori to me. The only thing that wasn’t her was his eyes. They were a light brown color.

“Hey Four,” he replied after chewing his food. “You sleep good?”

“I did,” I chuckled. I got a bowl from the cabinet and poured a bowl of cereal. “I was going to make you breakfast, but I guess I overslept.” I hadn’t been asleep; I was more so watching his mama sleep. She finally stopped crying in her sleep after a few hours but didn’t let me go. When she woke up a little bit ago, she went to the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind her. I was going to give her a little space for now, but we weren’t done talking. I wanted to know all the information about the niggas that came with Robert. “That’s on me; I got you tomorrow.”

“It’s alright,” he said, shrugging. “I’m good with cereal. And tomorrow you can't cook breakfast.”

“Why not?” I asked as I ate. “I thought you said my cooking wasn’t bad.”

“It’s not,” he laughed and shook his head. “But tomorrow I have to be at church early.”

“Why?” I asked. “What’s going on at church?”

“We are practicing for our next performance with Krude. Something with the Black Excellence group,” he answered with a shrug. “Krude is in charge of the children’s choir.”

“Does your mama know?” I laughed. The last time Krude was in charge of the kids' choir, they’d done a full selection from Kirk Franklin. The DeCortes were stressed the entire time, while the church had fallen in love with the performance. Afterward, Madea cussed Krude out and banned him from directing the kids' choir. “Or better yet, do Madea and Granddaddy know?”

“Nope,” he laughed and smiled. “Krude said it was our secret.” He looked over his shoulder to make sure his mama wasn’t coming. “You gonna come, right? I been practicing a lot with Krude. He’s going to let me sing a solo.” He drank his milk from his bowl. “I know you have to go out of town for work today. You coming back soon?”

“Yeah,” I answered. My work trips were typically quick. I didn’t like being away from Cori or Judah, and knowing what I know now amplified that feeling. “I’ll be gone less than a day. More than likely, I’ll be back before church.”

Judah got down from his seat, took his bowl to the sink, rinsed it out, then put it in the dishwasher. “Okay,” he said, coming back to his seat. He grabbed his iPad, then pushed his chair in. “You okay?”

“Yeah, why?” I replied as I ate.

“You keep looking at me funny,” he replied with a shrug. “I’m just making sure you’re okay.” He grabbed my wrist and looked at my bracelet.

“What are you looking for?”

“Mama told me about your bracelet,” he answered as he continued to look at it. “She told me when your color isn’t green that something is wrong. I’m just making sure that everything is green.”

“Everything is green,” I chuckled and nodded. “But I appreciate you checking. It means a lot.”

“No worries,” he said, letting my wrist go. “Family is supposed to look out for each other, right?”

“Right.”

Judah left the kitchen and went to his room. Once I heard the door close, I got up from the island and went to the back porch and sat down. I called my brother.

“Hello?” Trey answered.

“I need some information,” I told him. I was facing the house and watched as Cori came out of the room. She was dressed in jeans, a fitted T-shirt, and Nikes. Her eyes were still swollen from all the crying she had done. She walked into the kitchen, grabbed a bowl of fruit from the fridge, and sat at the island.

“What do you need?”

“In a few hours I’m going to call you back and give you four names. I want everything you can find out about them, and I mean every little detail, Trey.” I wiped my hand over my mouth. “Can you do that?”

“Yeah,” he replied. “Now do I want to know why you are calling me and not asking Nine to get you the information?”

“Because I’m asking my brother for help,” I told him. “Cori told me about the night she got pregnant.”

“Four-“

“Look, I know you’re busy working your case. I get it, you’re working double time right now. I wouldn’t be asking you for shit if it wasn’t important. This is Cori, man.” I wiped my hand over my mouth. “I’m not in denial about the fact that I've been in love with her my entire life. I know that shit. I thought staying back would keep Robert away, but it didn’t. I left her to fend for herself and that nigga…he…” I stopped talking and shook my head. I wasn’t mad at anyone but myself right now. I failed Cori. I left her to protect herself knowing the type of nigga Robert was. That was my biggest regret. “I’m going to find out the names of every nigga who was in the room and kill them. I’m not asking you to be my eyes and ears no more. You want out, right? Pull the fucking plug on that shit and get away. Take Eight with you. Start making moves. I’m good with it.”

“It ain’t that simple,” he chuckled. “If it were, then I’d be gone. I got too much at stake now. Robert has his hands in all kinds of shit. With all kinds of people. It ain’t even safe for me to think about making a move right now.”