DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GLEE NOR ANYTHING ELSE MENTION.
ENJOY :)
Mercedes threw on her USC sweatshirt over her black leggings as she stood in front of the mirror. Putting her hair into a ponytail and sliding into her boots, she turned off the lights to the bedroom and made her way down the stairs. She heard talking in the kitchen and she knew who it was before even walking in. Dwight had went to pick Stephanie and Stacey up from the airport this morning. Before she could even get into the kitchen good enough, she was attacked with a big hug from Stacey.
"I've missed you so much."
Mercedes smiled as she hugged the girl back, "I've missed you too Stacey." She chuckled when Stephanie pulled the young girl away and hugged her, "And you too Steph. I'm so glad you guys can stay this whole week."
"I know right." Stacey said with a big smile as she sat down on the stool, pouring some cereal in the bowl.
"Where's everyone else?" Mercedes asked when she noticed that it was just them.
"Dad took Ari to the park, Stevie went for a run and Sam is.." Stephanie sighed as she opened a bottle of water, "He's outside talking to his lawyer."
Mercedes looked at her in shock, "What?"
"He called last night wanting to get the full story straight in case that ass tries to press charges on Stevie." Stephanie said angrily as she crossed her arms over her chest.
Stacey wrapped her arms back around Mercedes, laying her head on her shoulder, "I'm sorry you have to go through this."
"It's okay." Mercedes rubbed her back, staring at Stephanie who looked like she was in tears, "Seriously guys, I'm fine. Please understand that I'm not just saying it for the hell of it because I'm not. My skin has gotten really thick over the years, words don't affect me like they did in the past." She watched as they nodded quietly, Stacey letting go of her. She headed to the living room to pick up her purse and head towards the front.
Stevie took his earphones out of his ears and wrapped them around his iPod. Unlocking the door with his key, he opened it up and stepped into the house. He closed the door behind him and made his way up the stairs, only stopping when he heard Mercedes' voice.
"Take a shower, get dressed and meet me in the car."
Stevie turned and watched as she headed out the door, sighing, he walked up the stairs to do what she said.
Sam ran his fingers over his forehead as he listened to the man go on and on. He was honestly still very much pissed off over what happened and his lawyer was only making him more pissed by the second. There was no way in hell that asshole was going to press charges on his little brother..if he knew what's good for him. Finally, he got him off the phone, only to have to answer his manager, Brandon, call, "What do I owe the pleasure of hearing your voice?"
"I'm going to need you to turn to ESPN now."
Sam placed his phone on speaker and turned on his iPad that was in front of him, clicking the app, he immediately saw the live press conference coverage and he turned the volume up, "Oh goodie, let's see how he's going to take up for his coach on this one." He said sarcastically as he watched UCLA's athletic director began to talk.
"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I'm sorry that we have to meet under these circumstances. I would first like to apologize to Mr. Samuel Evans and his wife. I'm honestly really sorry for the unfortunate events that happened Friday night. I'm not going to lie, it's pretty messed up that those words were even said. I want to assure everyone but especially Mrs. Evans that we do not tolerate behavior nor people like that in our program. With that being said, the coach that was involved in this horrific event has been fired. Drunk or not, those comments shouldn't never left his mouth. On behalf of the UCLA athletic department, we are really, really sorry to not only Mrs. Evans but to anyone who was hurt by this."
"I don't know about you Sam but I believe them." Brandon said as he looked on with a sigh, shaking his head, "Fucking asshole. I can't believe this happened."
Sam was half listening to Brandon as he continue to watch. A slew of texts came in from his bosses and he started responding to them before answering him, "Yeah B, it was sincere but it doesn't change the fact he said that shit. I'm not letting it go, so I'm informing you right now as my friend and my manager, shit is going to go down and there's nothing you can do to stop me. When you come for my fucking wife, don't expect me not to retaliate."
"I've been knowing you for years. I don't expect you to let this go. I'm taking off my rational manager's hat and putting on my friend hat, do what the hell you have to do man."
"I will." He turned around when he heard a knock on the door, seeing his sister telling him to get off the phone, "I'm going to let you go man, have a good holiday."
"You too, Sam. Say hi to your family for me."
"Okay." Sam said his goodbyes as he hung up his phone, picking up his iPad and making his way into the house.
Stephanie folded her arms across her chest and scanned her brother's face, she took note of the serious expression plastered on it, "What's up?"
Sam looked behind her and noticed that Stacey was on the phone, moving in closer to her, "Do you still talk to Demarcus?"
"From time to time."
"Do you know if he still lives here?"
"Yeah." Stephanie said slowly, noticing that all too familiar devious smirk twitching on his lips.
"Great. I'm going to need his number. I'm have a business question." He said truthfully as he walked passed her and headed for the kitchen.
Stephanie turned and raised a brow at him, whispering to herself, "Business question my ass, little brother." She pulled out her phone and sent her old college friend a text before looking back at him. There was only one reason you called Demarcus and she was going to pretend that she didn't know.
Mercedes held onto the basket as she walked down the aisle. She was picking up everything that she needed for something for tonight and Thanksgiving dinner Thursday.
Stevie came back and sat the two turkeys in the basket, wiping his hands on his jeans, "They were almost gone. I had to snatch one of them out of some dude's hand. I had it first."
Mercedes snorted as she hit his shoulder, shaking her head as she grabbed two bottles of vanilla flavor, "That's why I wanted to go ahead and get this out of the way. It's going to be a mess in these stores the next couple of days." She crossed that off her list and began pushing the basket, glancing at him, "You alright?"
Stevie nodded as he turned the hat on his head, placing his hands into his hoodie pocket, looking forward as they continue to walk through the store, "After I finally calmed down, I sat in the room and thought about what happened. I don't regret what I did but I blacked out and I could get in trouble for it."
"You're not going to get in trouble Stevie." Mercedes reassured him as they came to a stop, standing in one of the check out lines, "I'm not going to let that happened and I'm pretty positive Sam isn't either."
"That's what Sam said when he talked to me this morning but I don't know." Stevie sighed as he looked down at her, "I'm still trying to figure out why he thanked me."
"Because you saved him from getting locked up. Your brother has a tendency to snap, much like you but he's worse." Mercedes said honestly as she looked at him, "Like I was telling you last night, this is not the first time something like this has happened. In college, me and Sam went to a bar with some of his teammates after one of their games. We were having a good time until some of the players from the team they played earlier came in. Let's just say, I got called out of my name multiple times, which caused a bad reaction from everyone. It turned into a huge brawl, and your brother blacked out. He went after the captain who said it and ended up breaking his jaw. Josh had to tackle and pin him to the ground to stop him."
Stevie eyes were wide as he listened to Mercedes. He knew his brother was protective but damn, he didn't realize how far he would go, "Why didn't we hear about this? Does dad even know?"
"Your father does know." Mercedes said as they moved up in the line, "As for why you didn't hear about it, it was kept under wraps because nobody snitched that night. No matter how much the other team tried to say Sam did it, people in the bar that night said that they didn't see a thing."
"Wow." Stevie said in shock as he looked at her for a moment, "So both of you meant that literally?"
"Yeah." Mercedes gave him a small smile, "Stevie, Sam would do whatever it takes to protect his family. I realized that all way back in high school. But as I got older, I really saw it. That's why I know for sure you're not going to get in trouble for anything."
It was a lot to process for Stevie as he moved up, starting to put their items on the counter.
Mercedes pulled her wallet from her purse, turning around when she felt someone tap on her shoulder. Seeing the taller nervous looking boy, she gave him a confused look, "Can I help you?"
"Um, yeah. My name is Cody Brown and I'm the quarterback for UCLA." He said as he watched the boy behind her come to her side almost immediately. He realized that it was the same one from the other night and he needed to get what he came over to say out quick, "I just want to apologize for what happened."
"That's sweet but you don't have to do that. You weren't the one who said anything."
"I know but I feel like I need to. It wasn't right for what he said." He sighed as he looked at her again before sticking his hands into his pockets, "I should let you go. I just wanted to come by and say that."
"Well thank you for doing so. It really means a lot to me." Mercedes gave the boy a sincere smile.
Cody nodded with a smile, starting to walk backwards, "Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Mrs. Evans."
"You too." Mercedes said as she gave him a small wave before he walked off, turning on her heels, she looked at Stevie and patted his back, "Let pay for this so we can head back."
Stevie nodded before he went back to place the rest of the things on the counter, deep in thought of everything that was going on.
Sam chuckled to himself as he watched his little girl try to take her shoes off but was having a hard time doing so. He would help her but his little munchkin was so independent that when he tried to, she pushed his hands out of the way.
Letting a small huff escape her mouth, the one year old frown slightly as she looked up at her father, lifting up her legs, "Daddie."
"Oh so now you want my help?" He smirked as he lifted his pouting daughter up and placed her on the side of him on the couch, untying the show laces of her purple converses and taking them off her feet, "There you go."
Ari smiled as she stood up on the couch, wrapping her small arms around his neck.
Sam leaned back, pressing kisses across her face, earning squeals and giggles. He placed a kiss on her nose before staring at her, "I love you." He couldn't help but smile as he watched her mouth move, trying to form the words he just said.
"I luv yew."
Sam laughed as he kissed her cheek, "You're one smart cookie."
Arianna beamed brightly as she laid her head down on his chest, yawning as she closed her sleepy eyes.
Sam rubbed her back, swaying slowly so that he could help her fall asleep. Hearing footsteps and paws against the hardwood, he looked up when he saw Mercedes come in with Rocky beside her, "Hey."
"Hi." She said as she made her way over to where they were, dropping a kiss to Ari's cheek then to his lips, "Someone's sleepy."
"Dad wore her out at the park." Sam said with chuckle, seeing that their daughter had quickly went to sleep on his chest, "I got her to say I love you."
"You did?" Mercedes asked as she lit up, sitting next to them, a smile plastered on her face.
"Mhm, it was adorable." Sam said as he kissed her forehead, turning his head to look at his wife, "Where were you earlier?"
"Stevie and I went to the grocery store." She said as she moved his hair back from out of his eyes, smiling a bit, "You'll never guess what happened."
"For my own sanity, I hope nothing bad."
"No." She reassured him as she leaned forward and kissed him, rubbing his cheek with her hand, "The quarterback from UCLA came up to me and apologized."
"Seriously?"
Mercedes nodded as she twirled one of her fingers into her daughter's curls, "Yeah. I told him it was really sweet that he did but he didn't have to apologize for someone else's actions."
"Seems like everyone is apologizing but the person who is actually responsible." Sam said as he gestured his head for his wife to look behind her. Watching her eyes go wide, he nodded, "They've been coming all day. I had to tell the delivery man to just leave the cards and take the flowers to surrounding hospitals."
"I'm glad you did." Mercedes said lowly as she stared at all the flowers and balloons, frowning, "The last thing I want is for people to feel sorry for me."
"I know babe and I'm going to get rid of the rest of them later on." Sam said softly as he looked at her, "I love you."
"I love you too." She smiled as she pressed another kiss to his lips, only moving when she felt Ari stirring, watching as the little girl scooted up some more on her dad and tightening her arms around his neck, "Daddy's girl."
Sam laughed quietly as he kissed the little girl's forehead, staring back at his wife, "She's my world..both of you are. That's why I would do anything to protect you two."
Mercedes tilted her head to the side when she noticed that look on his face. She was going to question him about it but got interrupted when she heard her phone ringing. She looked at the screen and frowned as she silenced it.
"Why are you looking like that?"
Mercedes looked back at him then the phone, handing it to him, "He won't stop calling."
Sam grabbed her phone from her hand and glanced at the screen, rolling his eyes as he sat the phone on the table beside him, "What the hell do he want?"
"Who knows." Mercedes said as she sighed, playing with the end of her French braid, "I made it clear that I wanted nothing to do with him after all the shit he pulled. Why all of sudden do he want to be in my life?"
"That's something I can't answer babe." Sam said sincerely as he turned to the side, handing her the phone back.
Mercedes ran her hands over her face, groaning when she heard it starting to ring again. She got up from the couch, going to the other room so she wouldn't wake her daughter up. She slid the answer button and put it to her ear, "What?"
"Mercedes, just give me a minute."
"Why should I?"
"Because I have no one." Michael said as he leaned back in the chair, staring at the pictures on his desk, "Karen moved out last month, Micah is out of the country and you're all the way on the west coast."
"Well Michael, whose fault is that? Everything that is happening to you, you deserve it. You treat people like crap so this is what you get." Mercedes said through clenched teeth, "I'm going to ask you again, what do you want?"
"I want to be in your life. I want to be in my granddaughter's life. She doesn't even know me."
"And it's going to stay that way. Goodbye Michael." Mercedes hung up the phone before placing it on the table, taking a deep breath as she shook her head, wiping the tears that escaped from her eyes as she let out a frustrated grunt.
"Baby?" Sam called out for her, not getting an answer. He laid their daughter on the couch before standing up, walking to the foyer, "You okay?"
"I'm fine."
"No you're not." Sam said quietly as he pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her.
Mercedes laid her head down on his chest, mumbling, "I'm so over this week already. All I wanted to do was enjoy our family and shit keeps happening."
"I think you need to take your own advice from last night and not let any of this mess ruin our week." He placed his chin on top of her head, rubbing her back, "Everything's going to be okay and I'm going to make sure of it."
Mercedes nodded her head, sniffling as she pulled back to look at him, teary brown eyes staring into his, "I love you so much."
"Ditto." He smiled down at her, placing his lips on hers, "Always and forever."
Mercedes gave him another kiss before letting go, grabbing his hand and leading him back to the living room. He was right. She wasn't going to let anything or anyone ruin this week for her. She was determined to have a great Thanksgiving with the ones she loved.
A/N. Love reading your feedback! I bet y'all want to know who the hell is Demarcus, but you will know soon enough. Stevie and Mercedes relationship is amazing. Are you really shock at how far Sam would go if someone says or do anything to hurt Mercedes? (I'm not) Ari is adorable, as always. She brightens up the story so much! And do you think Mercedes should let her father back in her life? Remember in a previous chapter it was stated that everyone was going to be coming to Cali for Thanksgiving..I meant everyone. The drama is far from over and this is definitely going to be a Thanksgiving for the books!