Page 26 of Stolen Moments with a Bad Boy

Seven Years Later

Erie

“Lorenzo and Alessia!” I yelled for my son and daughter.

Lorenzo was the oldest triplet, and Alessia was the second oldest. They tried tiptoeing behind me, but they walked too damn heavy for it to work.

I heard the quiet chatter before they walked in.

Those two always conspired together. I assumed they tried to come up with a story before I let loose on them.

They appeared in the doorway of our huge kitchen.

I continued to roll the cookie dough for their school bake sale.

I never thought in a million years I’d be rolling dough for a school bake sale.

Hell, I didn’t even expect to have three kids at the same time, but I did.

Lorenzo and Alessia damn near parasailed out of me, but little Enzo crowned, so they had to do an emergency C-section to remove him.

“Yes, ma’am,” they whispered in unison.

“Oh, so y’all can speak at a lower tone. It’s funny how the baby voices only appear when bad behavior has taken place. What’s this I hear about you two yelling at the math teacher today?”

Silence greeted me like a long-lost friend.

“Well, don’t all speak at once. If I ask one more time, I will call y’all daddy.”

Like clockwork, they spoke over each other.

“One at a time please.”

Alessia cleared her throat. As usual, I knew my little social butterfly would speak first because she was so fierce and a leader by nature.

“Mommy, before you go bringing in reinforcements, we have a perfectly good explanation.”

“I’m listening, Alessia.”

“Renzo and I yelled at the teacher because he’s always allowing the kids to pick on Enzo.

No matter how many times we tell him what’s going on, he still does absolutely nothing.

He’s the adult. He’s supposed to have each of our best interests at heart, yet he doesn’t.

It was during recess that Byron kept teasing Enzo about his eyes.

I told him to lay off, but he didn’t stop.

“I warned him what would happen next if he didn’t let up.

So since he didn’t listen, I ignored his cries from the blows I gave him.

I pinned his arm behind his back like daddy taught me until he cried harder.

I admit, Mommy, I may have gotten a little carried away, but he shouldn’t have messed with my brother. ” She let out a sigh of relief.

I placed my rolling pin to the side and cut out the cookies.

“Lorenzo, how did you get involved?” I asked him calmly.

There was some light shuffling behind me before he responded.

“I got involved when Byron’s fourth grade brother tried to hit Alessia, Mommy.”

I sighed. “What did you do, Lorenzo?”

I continued to cut out the different shaped cookies.

“I pieced him up. I taught him a very valuable lesson about trying to put his hands on a girl, my sister on top of that. I bet he won’t do it again.”

They snickered together.

“Why do you guys think this is funny? Does it look like I’m cracking jokes!” I snapped and turned around to them.

“Come on, Mommy. You know it’s best that we took care of them and not Enzo. When pushed too far, he would have unleashed a world of hurt on them. Dad is the only one who can reach him during his Hulk phase,” Alessia replied.

“Besides, we’re triplets. What do those kids expect to happen when you touch one of us? It's three of us. The odds are always against them,” Lorenzo added, making Alessia chuckle again.

“You both are grounded for two days since y’all think this is a game.”

“Aww, Mommy,” they whined in unison.

“I don’t wanna hear the whining. You’re not grounded for fighting but for yelling at your teacher. I told you guys this before. You all deal with the kids, and Daddy and me will handle the adults. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, ma’am.” They pouted in unison.

“Where is Enzo by the way?” I inquired curiously.

“I’ll give you one guess,” Lorenzo commented.

“Go and wash your hands for dinner. That homework better be done, and your chores better be completed before bedtime,” I professed.

“We’re on it, Mommy,” Alessia responded.

They raced out of the kitchen. I placed cookie sheets in and out of the oven as I thought about my Enzo. He was sometimes teased by the kids in school because of his one blue and one hazel eye.

Lorenzo had my hazel brown eyes, and Alessia had Ro’s blue eyes. On the other hand, our little Enzo was what I liked to call our combination baby. He was the perfect blend of Janeiro and me. Both of our features were so pronounced in him.

As sweet and innocent as Enzo looked on the outside, he was far from it.

Enzo was a quiet storm just like Janeiro.

Sometimes, I barely got two words out of him.

The most he ever talked to me was when he helped me prepare dinner and bake.

My baby had a sweet tooth just like his mommy.

Just like me, preparing food seemed to be an escape for him.

He wasn’t troubled, but my sweet boy had a very short fuse.

Some kind of way, he harnessed all of Janeiro’s pinned up emotions from the past. The only person he engaged with the most was his daddy. Enzo and his siblings had a very tight bond, but Janeiro and Enzo had an unbreakable bond.

In his spare time, Enzo loved to paint. It was something he took joy in. It helped to be a great emotional relief for him.

Once the cookies were done and cooled, I placed them all in my big purple Tupperware bowl and put them in the fridge.

I dried my hands and looked at my smart watch.

Janeiro would be strolling in any minute.

I had a few minutes to check on my Enzo.

Maybe he’d confide in me before his daddy.

I knocked on his door, and he told me to come in.

It meant so much to me to show up for him because I would hate for him to hate me like my own brother once did.

Lorenzo may have been the spitting image of Janeiro, but Enzo was Ro through and through from his mannerisms to the way he walked, the sound of his little voice, and how he always kept a close eye on everyone. Most importantly, he was a neat freak.

Enzo knew where everything was in his room. Not an article of clothing was on the floor. Not one toy was out of his toy chest. His clothes were folded and placed neatly in each drawer.

When I entered his room, he was lying in his bed, facing the window with his back to me. I walked around his bed and removed my shoes. Gently, I lay in his full-size bed and stared into his beautiful eyes.

“How are you, my sweet boy?” I rubbed the side of his face lovingly.

“I’m okay, Mommy.” Enzo stared at me. His eyes wandered all over my face.

“Regardless of what those kids say about you, you’re not a weirdo. They’re the weirdos.” I exhaled. “Let me tell you a story. You’re mature enough for this story, but keep it between us. I’ll tell your siblings at a later time.”

Enzo nodded in agreement.

“My mother died giving birth to me. It wasn’t my birth that killed her. She had an active tumor on her brain that no one knew about. Most of our relatives took her death well while others brewed a pot of vengeance. My older brother, Troy Jr., was the one brewing the pot.”

“Mommy, you have a brother?”

“Mommy had a brother, baby. He hated me my entire life. There wasn’t a good memory we shared together.

From the moment of my birth, he hated me.

As time went on, his greed and selfish ways fueled his hate for me more.

One day, he took out a contract to kill me. The assassin he hired was your father.”

His eyes bulged out of his head. The surprised look turned into pure rage.

“Daddy tried to kill you?” he quizzed in an angry tone.

“No. Your father didn’t try to kill me. He took the time to get to know me. In the process of getting to know me, we fell in love. Your dad and I had a very unusual relationship because he had a very sad childhood.”

“Why, Mommy?”

“Let’s just say some bad people hurt him when he was a little older than you guys.

They’re no longer here, though. You get my drift?

My brother made a few attempts on my life.

I was shot twice when I was pregnant with you guys.

I had no clue at the time. When I was six months pregnant with you guys, he hired someone to kill me again.

Daddy handled business again. After that day, I never saw my brother again. ” I released a deep sigh.

“You okay, Mommy?”

“I’m good, sugar. I said all of that to say this.

It doesn’t matter if you’re doing something right or not, people will dislike you because of their own insecurities.

Never allow anyone to dim your light because they’re jealous of the radiant light you give off.

We all cling to you, Enzo, because of your loving and protective nature, not because we think you’re fragile.

I named you Enzo because it means gift from God.

You are my little gift, and don’t you ever forget it. ”

I tapped his little nose.

“You don’t have to be anyone in life but Enzo.”

“I love you, Mommy.”

“I love you too, sugar.”

“Mommy, there’s something I want to talk to you about.”

His eyebrows scrunched together. That was my sign; I knew this conversation was about to get really heavy.

“I’m listening with my ears free of judgment, baby.”

He sat up and folded his legs under him then looked me deeply in my eyes.

“Mommy, I want to be a killer like Daddy and both of my papas. I have my first kill already mapped out.”

I sat up and faced him. “Enzo, that’s a big decision to make at such a young age. How did you come up with that idea? Wait. Who is it that you want to kill? Is it someone in this house?”

“Of course not, Mommy. You guys make me so happy. I would kill anybody who harms anyone in our house. Mr. Wilson, our math teacher, has to go.” The words he spoke were delivered with finality.

“Baby, can I ask why?”

“He’s a pig. Not only does he allow the kids to pick on me and call me all kinds of names, he creepily watches the girls in my class. He pays extra close attention to them.

“Last week, I caught him eyeing Alessia. She wore her yellow shorts with her pink, yellow, and white baby tee. I watched how he licked his sweaty lips as she bent over to grab her math book. I don’t care about the kids in my class because they’re no match for me.

My concern is my sister and all the other girls in our class,” he asserted in a serious tone.

“If it was anybody else, I would second-guess them, but I know you have an eye like your dad. You watch and observe everyone. So, I trust your opinion, baby. Don’t you worry about a thing.

We’re going to take care of it. If being an assassin is what you want to be, then I support you all the way.

You’re surrounded by strong men who will help you excel at your new career choice.

Dinner will be served in ten minutes, baby. Wash your hands then come downstairs.”

I kissed the top of his wild curly hair and exited the room. When I made it in the hallway, my fine ass husband stood there. His body was more defined and toned. Ro’s face was a little leaner, and he sported his full beard like a GQ model.

Our bodies were so in sync with one another. We didn’t walk, we didn’t run, we glided to one another. The magnetism of love always pulled us together. My lover and I embraced in a tight hug.

“How long have you been standing there?” I queried when we separated.

“Enough to know that my son wants to be a killer and my daughter’s second grade math teacher has been watching her like prey,” he stated in his deep tone.

His merged brows revealed that Enzo’s statement wouldn’t go unnoticed. Ro would take action sooner than later.

“Baby, let’s have dinner first, and afterward, we can talk everything out tonight. I promise you.”

Ro gazed at me until he subtly nodded.

“Alright, Bella,” he replied, way too calm for my liking. He kissed my lips, and we descended the stairs to the kitchen.

Minutes later, we all sat at the dinner table and ate and laughed. It warmed my heart to see how far Ro and I had come. I looked into all three of our children’s eyes, and my heart just swelled with more love.

I’d do anything for them. After dinner, everyone washed up and were tucked in for school the next day. I finally dozed off to sleep. When I rolled over to grab Janeiro, his side was cold and empty.