May 15, 2023 (Monday)
"Okay. No, don't. I'll call mom too but if you talk to her first, just tell her to ignore him. It's not happening. Yeah…I love you too…bye."
Mercedes hung up her phone and let out an aggravated sigh. She was sitting in the recording booth, the day after her very first Mother's Day, taking a break from recording her fourth song. Her brother, Marcus, called her to deliver news that completely countered her joy of being back in the studio and happiness from her previous day with Sam and the twins.
Lauren was sitting behind the soundboard beside famed producer Rick Rubin. She had her head bowed, smiling at her own phone while Rick sat back in his chair with a bottle of water. Lauren looked up, however and noticed the troubled look on her friend's face. She pushed the button for the booth intercom, leaned towards the mic and asked, "What's up, Mercedes? Everything okay?"
With a small shake of her head, Mercedes answered back, "Not really but it will be. I just need a minute—do you guys mind?"
Lauren shook her head and Rick leaned towards the mic, "Take your time, Mercedes. You're album's coming along really well for it only being week two of recording."
There was a definite stiffness to Mercedes' smile; grateful as she was for Rick's compliment, she couldn't bring herself to cast a genuine one to him right now. She pulled her headphones off, slid off of the stool and walked out of the booth with her phone. Her fingers were already working to find her mom's cell number and call her.
"Hi baby!" Viola answered on the second ring; right away they went to a video chat. "How was your first Mother's Day?"
"It was fun. Sam made me breakfast in bed and drove me and the kids down to Venice Beach for the day."
"Awww that sounds like a great day and I hope there's pictures. Now why don't you sound happy? Or look it, for that matter. Something happen in the studio today?"
"No but it's funny you should mention pictures. I just got a call from Marcus. You didn't catch E! N News earlier, did you?"
Viola's face twisted up like she had just bit a lemon, "Honey please, you know I don't watch that trash news."
"Well apparently the paparazzi got some photos of Sam and I with the kids yesterday. They ended up in E! News' Mother's Day re-cap this morning…"
"So? You know those camera folk are always snapping pictures of you whenever you're out."
Mercedes shook her head, "That's not it, Mom. Bobby contacted them not long after. He's speaking through them to me, demanding that he meet his grandchildren."
In a matter of no time, her mother's nonchalant expression darkened to pure ferocity. "Oh did he now? The nerve of that man—thinking he can get around his restraining order like that!"
The singer let her mother rant for a moment and when her mom asked, "Did Marcus tell you anything else?" she responded, "He was quoted saying that he didn't care about the guy I married but he's entitled to know his grandkids."
"The nerve of that man!" her mother repeated vehemently. "You know what? I'll call him and give him a piece of my mind!"
"No, Momma, don't. All he's gonna do is send your blood pressure up."
"It's too late for that!" she sassily replied.
Mercedes chuckled dryly, "Momma, I didn't call you to tick you off. I just wanted to know if you knew."
"Well I'm glad you called me anyway, Mercedes." Her mother's tone was sharp now, "If your father thinks—"
"He's not my father. Listen, I'm gonna handle this once and for all."
Her mother's eyes widened, "Mercedes Charice Jones-Evans, you are not bringing my grandbabies near that man."
"No Momma, I'm not. I'm going to have a talk with him."
After getting a hold of a contact at E!, Mercedes received her father's current phone number. She didn't recognize the area code to his number—not really caring where it was that he was living at now—and called him from a blocked number. When he answered, she kept her conversation with him brief, telling him only to keep his phone nearby for a lengthier conversation later that evening.
"You gonna let me see my grandbabies?" he wondered with a gravelly voice.
"Just keep your phone nearby."
"Yeah, okay. Talk to you later, little girl."
Mercedes hung up, fuming. It took everything in her not to send her phone flying into the nearest wall as she marched back inside the studio.
Rick and Lauren were picking up their things when she entered the control room. They both looked up at the singer and rick explained, "I didn't really catch the time until we took a break. How 'bout we call it a night, eh? We'll pick up in the morning and finish laying the rest of the track down."
Mercedes nodded to him but her eyes went to Lauren, who was staring down at her phone again with the same smile plastered on her face.
"Thanks Rick. The timing couldn't have been better anyway. But I'll see you in the morning." She brought her gaze back to her friend, "You coming Lauren, or are you taking the bus home?"
"No, no! I'm coming" she said through her grin. The brunette picked up her purse and folders and followed Mercedes out of the control room. As they walked the halls Mercedes raised her brow; for a moment she could push aside thoughts of her biological dad to ask, "Alright who are you texting?" She already knew the answer but it was more enjoyable to hear her friend say it aloud.
"Please, like you don't know."
Mercedes was the one to grin now, "So you and Puck thinking about getting back together?"
"Oh please, you know I'm gonna make that boy work a little. But, I will say that some things about him haven't changed. You know what he told me?"
Mercedes shook her head and Lauren went on, "When he was going through some old stuff in his apartment last night, he found an old notebook of his where he would write random stuff in. And he came across the page where he wrote 'Big Ass Heart'." She giggled, "I can't believe he still remembered that song!"
"He sang it to you?" Mercedes asked—her grin growing. They reached her BMW.
Lauren smirked proudly, "Hell yeah he did. It sounded a little rough but let me tell you, it brought back some memories. For both of us, actually. Like he told me that after we broke up senior year, he said I was the one that got away."
"Aww. I didn't know you were into all the romantic things, Laur."
"Well, I don't like the overkill. Too much makes me gag. Literally—it's just ridic. But even I know that anyone who says they don't like a little romance now and then is a damn liar."
Mercedes chuckled, "That's true. I'm glad to hear things are going well with you and Puck though."
"Weeell, let's not get crazy. Like I said before, I'm gonna make that boy work a little. He knows it and seems a little more eager to do that this time around."
"It's that Marine in him!" insisted Mercedes with a laugh, "He's all ready to show he's the best for you and you're the lady for him."
The two continued chatting away until they reached Lauren's Santa Monica apartment.
"Thanks for the ride again, 'Cedes. Hopefully my car will be out of the shop tomorrow. I never told you this, but you were always my favorite back in glee club."
"Next to Puck," Mercedes added, smiling again.
"…Mm…nope, not even Puckerman's badass enough to outshine all the awesome you got goin' on."
The singer giggled, flattered, "Thanks Lauren. I'll see you tomorrow."
As the two parted ways and Mercedes made the drive to Beverly Hills, the temporary distraction of a flirtatious Puck and Zizes started to wear off while the reminder of her impending phone call arose. Mercedes' hands gripped her steering wheel unnecessarily tight for several miles and didn't realize it until she got home.
When she came through the front door, she was greeted with the low sound of boiling water, along with Sam speaking softly to one of their children.
"…and your Uncle Stevie loves you, and your Auntie Stacy loves you, and your Uncle Marcus loves you, and Grandpa Dwight and Grandma Mary love you, and Nana Vi and Papa J love you…" As he listed off their family members, Mercedes could hear a lip-popping kiss follow.
She smiled softly and walked further down the entry hall until she could see the inside of the kitchen to her left. Sam was holding one child in each arm, to her surprise, but both children had their resting faces turned in towards his chest while they slept.
His green eyes glanced up to meet Mercedes' pair right before he told their kids, "And Momma and Daddy love you the most." He approached his wife after triggering a smile on her face, and bent his head to give the last kiss to her. Once he pulled apart, he quietly asked her, "How was your day, Baby? By the way, I just finished making chicken alfredo, so I hope you're hungry."
Mercedes smiled weakly at him, "I am but…I have to take care of something first."
Sam's brows came together; he read the upset in her eyes and asked, "What is it?"
"Bobby Jones. That's all I'm gonna say for now."
Sam clenched his jaw, "I see." He followed her back to their bedroom, "What happened?"
As she set her purse down and sat on the bed to remove her shoes, Mercedes filled him in on the phone calls she had with her mom, brother, and her biological father. By the time she finished, her anger returned in a greater magnitude.
"Can I be with you when you call him?" Sam asked.
Mercedes looked up at him gravely but then her eyes went to their children, sleeping against his chest and she smiled. Their sleeping faces were identical—pouting bottom lips just like Sam's when he slept. "Why don't you go lay the munchkins down first?" She stood up to kiss their cheeks and faintly rub her thumb along the back of Ariesa's clenched hand before Sam turned and headed out for the nursery.
Mercedes sighed, sitting back down on the bed and redialed the number given to her, after making sure that her number would be blocked. After a few rings, her father's voice came through the receiving end. His voice was gravelly from too many years of smoking but his tone was unnecessarily friendly.
"Hey little girl, I was wonderin' when you were gonna call me back."
"Look, I'm not gonna make this a long conversation, Bobby."
"Bobby? Little girl, I'm yo daddy—don't you be callin' me by first name now. Just 'cause you grown and famous."
She clenched her hand tightly to her phone, "Okay first of all you're not my daddy and you haven't been for years. And second, age and fame haven't gone to my head so let's just make that clear right now."
There was a beat of silence before her father mumbled, "Always did have a mouth on you—just like your momma."
Her brows furrowed angrily, as she opened her mouth to retort, her eyes snapped up to her husband as he returned to the bedroom.
"You've got one hell of a way of trying to get me to let you see my children. Not that it matters anyway. I just called to personally tell you the answer is no. The answer will always be no and you need to leave me, Mom and Marcus the hell alone. Don't try talking to me through E! or any other media outlets. Don't contact my family or try to hunt down my friends to get messages to me. I don't want nothing to do with you and my children don't need you in their life. They have their grandpas—both of whom love them very much."
Sam sat down beside her and rubbed her back in a soothing manner while she spoke. But his hand slowed to a stop as he heard the irate muffled tones of her father's response.
"Fuck you! Fuck your mother and yo' brother! You's my kids and those are my grandbabies, dammit! If I wanna see them, I'm gonna—you hear me? Just 'cause you winning shit, don't mean you can talk to me however you want to Mercedes Jones, do you hear me? G'on and play house with that white boy all you want. Just remember who your family is! Remember where you come from and who brought you into this world. And when that boy drops your ass for one of them skinny little Hollywood bitches, I'll get what's mine!"
Mercedes hung up before he could go on. Her face was stony and slightly pale, and her eyes filled with an over-abundance of moisture. She felt Sam pry her phone out of her fingers and then he closed his arms around her without a moment's hesitation. Her sternness with her dad dissolved under the protection of her husband. She squeezed her eyes shut and let herself sob quietly into his chest.
Sam didn't bother asking what was said; he had heard enough just from sitting beside her. His arms were tight around her, and after a minute or so, he whispered into her hair, "He's wrong. He couldn't be more wrong. I'm never leaving you. And DJ and Aries aren't going anywhere near him. Ever."
"I..I know, Sam. But..it still hurts. Y-y'know?" Her head stayed buried against his chest as she said this but she was fairly certain that he understood all she had said. Her air hiccupped as she continued to cry in his arms. No matter how much she tried to mentally prepare for her conversation with her father, nothing had prepared her for the verbal abuse she had just been assaulted with.
Please leave reviews! Sorry this chapter ended up being so long! More to come! My plan is to cap this fic at 40 chapters or less, but we'll see! :) THANK YOU all so much for the loyalty, support, reviews, PMs, alerts, & subscriptions to this fic!