"You have to tell him!" Alyssa blurted madly. "I know. I know, but this isn't what I had in mind. What if he freaks out and all chaos and hell breaks loose?" Emmalyn responded, her head in her palms. "He won't. Trust me." She assured, adjusting Nathaniel's position on her lap. "Nathan, stop that!" Alyssa scolded, gently tugging her necklace away from the five-month old child. "Did you have it confirmed yet?" she questioned her friend and now bouncing the young child blond haired on her lap. Emmalyn nodded somberly.
"Oh stop looking unhappy." She reproached, placing a hand on Emmalyn's shoulder. She sat up straight and pulled an envelope from beside her. Alyssa received it cautiously, her mouth dropped once she pulled out its contents. "Oh, my. Good gracious, you would've gone through the entire thing and not have known!" she exclaimed, Emmalyn shushed her immediately. "I'll tell him, once he gets back from Donnie's?" Alyssa nodded her head, blowing kisses on her son's chubby cheeks. "If Maero doesn't come running like lightening to Matt's tonight, I know you didn't tell him." She giggled, preparing to leave.
Emmalyn walked her friend and nephew to the front door, hugging them good-bye. "I'm here if you need me!" Alyssa hollered from across the yard. She shut the door, sighing heavily. She sat on the couch, eyeing the envelope on her thighs. It wasn't long before Maero had come home because she could hear the Compensator grumbling down the road. "Fuck!" she yelped, scurrying to wipe the dried tears from her face. She dashed to the downstairs bathroom, effectively forgetting the packet on the living room sofa. She splashed water all over her face and pitching her cheeks and tried to appear happy.
The front entrance opened and slammed shut; she could hear Maero angrily stalk into the front room. This only made matters worse. She left the bathroom, easing her way down the hallway and poked her head around the wall. "Did Donnie piss you off again?" she solicited. Maero growled, his answer yes. He was sitting on the enormous recliner, feet planted firmly on the floor. Taking a deep breath, she entered the living room and eased on his lap, kissing him. "Babe, I told you he's not worth you getting that wound up over. Just let it go." She advised, running her fingers through his hair – it had a way of calming him.
"I know, but that weasel has a way of getting under my skin Emma, I swear I just want to wring his neck. He forgets what place he's in." He ranted. She kissed his forehead as he pulled her closer, kissing her lips. The two broke free; she was giggling and had seemingly forgotten her previous dilemma. That is, until he noticed the envelope lying delicately on the couch. "Babe, what is that?" he asked, pointing at the item. She froze, feeling numb momentarily. Emotion washed over her as she found the strength to go retrieve the life-altering piece of information. "Well, am I allowed to see it or not?" he questioned, perplexed by his woman's sudden stiffness.
"I didn't know how to tell you…" she murmured and could feel her heart beating like an untamed drum. He cackled at her, taking the envelope and flipping it open. His own face flushed when he pulled out the news. Emmalyn broke into tears. "Babe, why in the hell are you crying?" he blurted out, his own eyes filled with tears. "I don't know, I'm just….emotional." she answered, his arms around her. "It's alright woman." He joked, holding her close. "I don't know, I thought you'd be upset." Emmalyn wiped her eyes dry. Maero laughed. Kissing her one last time, he departed to go upstairs.
From beneath the bed, Maero reclaimed a small box. It took a bit of might to force the box to open. Inside, was a menagerie of photos, some of which were on the verge of withering. There, he placed the most recent memories with the rest, but one picture caught his awareness. He gently picked up the photo, perusing over it. In the photograph, stood three small children standing on the front porch of a rather aged home. Each child was ostensibly petrified. Behind the children stood a dumpy man dark haired man, his face was stuck in an irritated and psychotic state. His hands were on the shoulders of the two young boys, the small girl was standing off to the side, near the woman. He was clearly their father, Carlos Rodriguez. A rather tall, lean beautiful strawberry blonde haired woman stood next to him. She was the solitary person smiling.
Whenever he came across this photo, he could never seem to remember who the other young fellow beside him was. The twins, Alyssa and Maero, were only three at the time, the boy seemed to be around the age five or six.
Carlos was the iniquitous, sadistic, Los Carnales lieutenant. For as long as Maero could remember, his life was constantly embroiled in gang activity. His father was often out and about with other Los Carnales, fighting, killing, stealing, drug dealing, cheating and drinking. Whenever he did come home, life would be plunked upside down. Their mother, Bethany Bellevue, was the chief target of his drunken physical and verbal diatribes. She had a revolving door history with the Stilwater Hospital.
Exactly at the age of sixteen, the Los Carnales had been disbanded by the early 3rd Street Saints, his father gravely wounded in the closing assault. This was the final moment he ever saw Carlos. The night of the attack, Carlos once more, came stumbling home, lurching upon Bethany while she was cooking dinner. In the midst of a struggle; Bethany stabbed her husband in the chest. Per usual, she was wounded and as she hobbled to escape, Carlos took her down with him. Managing to trip and stab her as well. The very next morning, Alyssa and Maero were taken into foster care, separated for two years.
The twins were stigmatized within the community. Mainly due to their family's gang affiliation, cycle of domestic abuse and racial prejudice as Bethany was Caucasian and Carlos of Mexican descent. Feeling the sting of pariah-hood, on his eighteenth birthday Maero left the foster care system and seized Alyssa and a small number of other untouchable teenagers of various racial backgrounds in his district, thus the birth of the Brotherhood. They soon gobbled previous LC territory, terrorizing and making known of their presence.
To this very day, neither Maero nor Alyssa could figure the identity of the boy in the picture.