AN: There's really no words for how sorry I am. My family ran into some financial difficulties and we're still struggling. Keep my family in your prayers guys. But without further ado here's chapter 5.
Flashback * Mercedes*
When I was escorted to my seat I tried to focus on the game but failed. He had me sitting in his private booth with the football wives and sponsors. "Excuse me...are you Mercedes Jones?" I look up and nod. She begins beaming "Hi! I am a huge fan and 'Frankly' is my favorite song. It has changed my life completely..when my boyfriend broke up with me…..damn I'm sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Jazzay Tinsley. I'm Shane Tinsley's sister." She outstretched a hand and I take it reluctantly. "Nice to meet you." I reply. She plops down next to me. "So….are you single? married? dating?" I sigh "I'm dating Sam Evans." She squeals. "THE Sam Evans! The guy from the cover of People magazine?!" I nod "You are so lucky...If I had a man like that I would never leave the house. Or more specifically the bedroom." She winks and I offer her a smile. She spends the rest of the game chattering away never noticing the fact that I've barely uttered a word in response. When the game was over I hopped up and claimed nausea from the heat. "Oh my God I am so sorry. Are you okay? I had this friend once Tracy was her name. Or no was it Macy? No it was Tracy. Anyways she had this stomach ache that lasted for three days and then all of a sudden she kidney failure, Wait no- it was a urinary tract infection. Or maybe it was gallstones. Well it was really bad." I nod as if understanding
and I turn away practically running. Then my phone begins ringing I look at the caller ID and it's an unknown number so I send it to voice mail. I weave through the crowd looking for Shane so I can curse him out for leaving me with a migraine from hell. I see the back of his head and hear his booming voice taking to the press. "Well I knew that signing with this team would be the best decision of my life. But I really owe it all to my fans." I walk behind him and tap him on the shoulder. "Shane." I said angrily. "We need to talk." I pull him away from the group into the small hallway I saw earlier. "Whoa if I knew that you would be this excited to see me Merc-" He's cut off when I throw a punch landing on the side of his jaw. Cradling my arm to my body I say through clenched teeth. "I'm not in the mood for fucking games. You either tell me what you want or you get the fuck out of my face." He rubs his jaw and chuckles darkly. "Fine. My father is Randy Tinsley and he told me six months ago that my mother is your mother. I'm your half-brother Mercedes. But you know what pisses me off? The fact that our mother was a whore. She was one of my father's hoes. He had her on every corner in the town and she loved it. After she had me she continued on the corner until she met your father. The great reverend...he tried to save her and ended up falling in love with her. They fled that shitty small town and left me. But my father wasn't the type of man to just give up...especially on someone who made him as much money as she did. Years later my father found her through a private investigator. He went up to your house and knocked and then you opened the door. He told me that you were the spitting imageof mom. After he saw you he left. But he kept an eye on our mother. She was tricking again but on the low and out of the church no less. And your father had no clue. So one day Randy approached her. So she did what she does best...she ran. But your father he kept finding her. Trying to talk to her. Trying to get through to her. But of course she wouldn't listen. By that point she was back on drugs and went from man to man. She was and still is a no good slut. And eventually your daddy realized this. And he got remarried and moved on with his life . She never loved either one of us. Before my dad died last year he told me all of this found her Mercedes. She was living in Chicago on the streets with a new pimp. When I told her who I was she pretended she had no clue as to what I was talking about. But I insisted that she speak to me and she told me that she hated me. She hated everything that I stood for. She hated the life she had under my father. So she turned me away saying that she should've done what my father told her to when he found out about me...get an abortion. So I slapped her pretty hard and she blacked out. I decided that I was gonna get her clean and fix her. And imagine my surprise when she woke up and told me that the only child she ever wanted… was you Mercedes. So I told her about you and all the things you've accomplished. And then she threatened us. She said that she would go to the press about her son the NFL star and her daughter the future Grammy winner unless we each pay her 500,000 dollars. I'll make her go away Mercedes. This could ruin you you just started and I know you don't want to be the crackhead's daughter. Unless..." He says. Tears are running down my face at this point. "Unless what?" I ask hoarsely. "Unless you agree to be with me. I want you Mercedes. I want you to be mine. I have for awhile now that's why I made the Chargers contact you to sing at the Stadium. I just want to be with you. And if you agree I promise to make your career go off the charts. You will have everything you could ever want." He said smiling. I look at him in disgust. "You're sick. And disgusting. You 're my brother!" I yell. He chuckles. "Half. I'm your half brother Mercedes. It's hardly disgusting. I want you." He lifts his hand to stroke my face but I slap it away before he can make contact. I begin to walk away but he snatches my arm back painfully."Ow! Shane stop you're hurting me!" I exclaim in pain. "You will be mine Mercedes. Or she & I will ruin you." He lets me go and I begin running. Running away from him but mostly from my memories of her.
Present Day SAM POV
"Sam! Sam no! No give me the phone!" She tried to grab the phone out of my hands but I had the advantage. She looked at me pointedly and I smiled at her. "Well well well isn't this a surprise. Did Mercedes finally tell you to your face that she was done with you?" Shane laughed in my ear. I scoffed and said "No but she told me that she was in love with me." "Really Sam? I have a hard time believing that seeing how Mercedes knows what's at stake here. Her career, her livelihood and yours too. I own 89% of stock in your stupid comic book. If I want I can end it all right now by pulling out my money. I own her. And you too, and if you want to continue trying to take what's mine. I will take your sister off the donor list, Fire your father and foreclose on their home." I stayed quiet silently steaming. "You can thank Mercedes for all of this. After she left you she said she wanted to make sure that your family never had to go through pain again. So I indulged in her little obsession with you. IF she agreed to stop talking to you. So tell me once more what Mercedes said to you?" I look Mercedes in the eyes and mutter "Nothing. Nothing at all." He laughs again and I hang up the phone. She has tears in her eyes and whispers "I'm so sorry Sammy. I thought- He said that...I'm so sorry. It's just me he wants. And I should have never done this. I can't talk to you anymore." I look at her angrily. "Really Mercy? You're trying to leave me again?. I can't believe this? I'm not giving up on you. I'll find a way around this. Do you forget that some of our best friends are the most successful people on this planet? I know you want to run and hide and just give up...But please...please don't Mercy. I need you. If you really want to go then I'll let you go but not until you tell me it's because you're in love with him for real….So are you Mercy?" She walks close to me and puts her hand on my cheek. My eyes lock with her chocolate orbs and my heart skips a beat. She leans in and presses her lips to mine sweetly. She eases my mouth open with hers. I slip my tongue in her mouth and we begin to dance with our mouths. She conveys all the pain and fear she's been through in the past in this kiss and I express all the hurt and loneliness I felt. When we pull away to catch our breath she says "I love you with my whole heart Sam. I could never love anyone the way I do you. I'm sorry that I lied to you and left you like that. I know that I hurt you really bad. But I will do everything in my power to fix this. To fix us. But first I need to tell you everything. I need to tell you about Shane." My breath catches in my throat. I'm suddenly nervous. As if sensing this she grabs my hand and kisses it. "Sam ...Shane's my half brother….My mom. My real mom was …..involved with his father. I haven't heard from her for almost 20 years. Then out of the blue Shane told me that he knew where she was….We made a deal. He would keep her out of my life if I agreed to marry him. We signed a contract and everything." She laughs to herself. "But Shane fucked up...He put two clauses in it. Should either party be unfaithful the marriage deal is null and void. And the other if she makes any contact with me then the contract is no good too. Anyway I come to Shane's office one day and he was fucking this girl on his desk. I took a picture so I could present it to his lawyers. It was actually pretty hilarious. He jumped up and the bitch fell off his lap. And he ran towards me, pants down by his ankles screaming 'Mercedes! This isn't what it looks like' and I laughed in his face. A day later I got a phone call at 2AM. It was Carolyn. My mom. She said that she got my number off of Shane's desk and she had called me once before. We talked for a few minutes and not once did she mention me by name. She kept calling me sweet girl. Then she started asking me for money. She said that it would be a loan and that she would pay it back to me on the first. I told her no...that I couldn't no I wouldn't do that. Then she cursed me out. Told me that she should've gotten an abortion. ThatI was the biggest mistake she had ever made." Her voice breaks. "She hung up on me. My mother...she hung up on me. And I just sat and cried and cried. I wanted to call you and cry but I figured you would never want to see me again. The next day I went to Shane's office again to rip up the contract and come home to you. But when I sat down with him he pulled out a manila envelope. Inside there was the deed to your family's home in Tennessee, your father's employment contract, your sister's medical bills, and the tax forms to your comic book stating that Shane had backed it 89%. When he made me break up with you I told him that I would walk out if you and your family weren't taken care of. He said that he would handle it. I had no clue..Sammy I'm so sorry. After that he told me that he would ruin us both. And I knew that you have a dream...and Stacy she needs new lungs. So I sacrificed myself for them..For you."
I sit down on the bench and try to absorb the stream of information I just got. She sits down beside me ,nervously wringing her hands. "Sam? Sammy…?" She says timidly. I run my fingers through my hair. "Did you….Did you guys ever..? Did he touch you Mercy?" I ask body already shaking from anger. She shakes her head no and I sigh in relief. She leans closer to me and wraps her arms around me and gently presses a kiss to my neck. "Sam...you're the only person that has and will ever touch me. I don't want anybody's hands on me but yours." She places a couple more kisses on my neck and then inches upward and whispers in my ear. "I'm all yours Sam. Nobody else's." She nibbles on my ear and a growl reverberates through my chest. I grab her quickly and reposition her so she's straddling my hips. Looking in her eyes I say "I'm yours too Mercy. I'm not gonna lie after you sent me that message I went fucking crazy. I'm so sorry I sent you that message and called you those names….I was drunk and-" I'm cut off by her pressing a kiss to my lips silencing all my apologies. She pulls away and I break the silence by saying "I almost beat the crap out of Mike. And then I started going on dates with women who were the opposite of you. And then I met Penny." She tenses at my words and I rub the tension out of her arms and chuckle "Relax babe. She's a non factor when it comes to us…" She sighs and gets off my lap. "Sammy...I have to tell you something. Penny ...she's working for Shane. He told me earlier tonight." I sighs and run a hand over my face. "I'm going to fucking kill her Merce." I breathe out. I gently push her off my lap and stand up grabbing her hand heading back to the party. "Sam." She repeats my name over and over but I'm a man on a mission. When we walk past Roderick I give him a nod and proceed into the club. I locate Mike and head towards him all the while Mercy is repeating my name. "Mike man!" He turns around at the sound of my voice. He looks over at us and gives Mercedes a curious look that I can't decipher. I shrug it off as nothing and ask. "Mike I need you to keep Mercy with you for a couple minutes. I don't care if she has to use the bathroom you go with her .Understand?" Mike nods simply and takes Mercedes' hand. All the while she's struggling and I look her in the eyes. "Babe. You've got to stay with Mike. I promise I won't do anything crazy I'm just gonna go have a conversation with the guys okay?" She lets out a long breath of air and I take that as acceptance. I place a kiss on her forehead and walk away in search of Penny the backstabbing bitch.
AN: How did you like it? Do you feel sympathy for Shane? Or disgust? Don't worry I will answer a lot of questions in the next chapter which I'm already halfway through. Mike is a key figure to Mercedes' past in this story and in the later chapter I'll dive into what happened there. I really am sorry about the mini-cation I took I hope you enjoyed the chapter thanks to all the people who have given me tough love and people who liked or favorited this story…..Love you guys XOXO