Here is Chapter 4 for you all! Sam really stepped into it and it doesn't look like its gonna get easier but you fight for what you want. Enjoy! Also I keep forgetting to post this because I have been asked a few times. Yes I knew from the first moment the Harp gracefully stepped onto the stage it was Amber. The first note sealed it for me. Harp for the Win like I knew she would be!
We are feeling better. Its slow healing but we are healing. Love you all!
Mercedes sat on the edge of Malaya's bed, watching her sleep. She looked so peaceful, so innocent. She sighed; it wasn't fair that she would have to be the one suffering due to the parents she was born with. Kissing her forehead Mercedes stood and walked out of the room.
"What did you do?" Mariah asked, and Mercedes jumped, seeing her sister.
"What the hell! You scared me!"
Mariah held up her phone. "I can't believe you caused a scene in front of that club."
"What are you talking about?" Mercedes said, taking the phone and looking at the TMZ article. "This literally happened like two hours ago; how the hell is the story up already!"
"He's famous, that's how. You know people love commenting on their lives."
"NFL Quarterback Sam Evans caught in Altercation with Beautiful woman over lovechild?' Who writes this shit?"
Mariah reached for her phone. "It says you bitch slapped him."
Mercedes pulled her phone out, looking up the article. "I did no such thing! It was a gentle pressing of my hand to his face. And I was well within my right to slap him. And to say how I felt! He had no right to ambush me like that, and he had no right."
"The photos have you looking good, though…that dress was a winner."
"Stop trying to make this better! I was humiliated when he left me, and now I am humiliated again!"
Mariah pulled Mercedes into a hug. "It's okay, baby sis. It's all going to work out. Sam deserved to be called out, and the rest will work itself out. I promise."
Mercedes nodded as she walked to her room; she sat on her bed looking over the article.
"Squeaky clean Bengals quarterback isn't as clean as we thought. In a video of an altercation outside of club The High Note in Lima, Ohio, Evans is seen arguing with a beautiful woman about him not stepping up as a father. Yes, it turns out Sam Evans left his high school sweetheart when he found out she was pregnant. We have reached out to his representative but have not heard anything back yet. We don't know who the woman in question is, but it's clear she has a lot of anger toward Evans. More to come on this growing story."
Mercedes scrolled down, looking at all the comments, shaking her head in both anger and embarrassment.
Womanlover29: Damn Evans hit that? Who knew he loved anything other than blondes.
Thatone: Ooo, I knew he liked melanin!
Roxi320: Ugh that's so classless look at her; he's better off taking the kid and leaving her.
Merica4U: Your grandpa did what was right
Bengals4Life: Oh, you trash? Unfollowing
Merica4U: Who here actually believes he got her pregnant?
Roxi320: Right! She probably is just after that Nine Million contract he just signed.
SamEvansfangirl12: Let's riot! Sam is innocent in all this!
Bengalsfan93: Damn, did ya'll see the ass on that one. Of course, Evans hit that! Only a saint wouldn't
Azimolivinlarge: I'd know that ass anywhere; she was a glee girl for sure!
SamEvansfangirl12: I don't care who she is she's ruining everything
The comments were coming in faster than Mercedes could read, she wanted to tear her eyes away from them, but she couldn't. Her phone vibrated, and she sighed, seeing a text from Sebastian.
Bas: Sooooo, how's it going?
Mercy: Why does a part of me think you already know how it's going?
Bas: I mean…I can read.
Mercy: He ambushed me! Did he really think things would be civil?
Bas: I think he saw you in that dress, and his seventeen-hormonal self took over. You looked sexy, by the way; it made me question if I was gay.
Bas: FYI I made out with Hunter and remembered, yes, I was.
Mercy: I am glad you guys are still going strong.
Bas: Yes, he found your outfit sexy too. Said if I wasn't gay, we would marry you and we could become a throuple.
Mercy: Can you please be serious right now!
Bas: No!
Bas: Because you don't need to be serious. You need to be taken out of this.
Mercy: Why now? Why after eight years does he want to just show up?
Bas: The only person who can answer that for you is him.
Mercy: But I don't want to talk to him
Bas: Babe, eventually, you are going to have to talk to him. Eventually, you two will have to be on the same team in order to protect Malaya.
Mercy: Why would we need to protect her?
Bas: Once they find out who you are, they will know who she is.
Mercy: Shit.
Bas: Yeah
Mercy: Do you think he will try to take her from me?
Bas: I don't know. But I think if you keep her from him, he might.
Mercy: Yeah
Bas: Go get some sleep, and I will talk to you tomorrow
Mercy: Night. I love you.
Bas: Love you too
Mercedes tossed her phone and laid back on the bed. The emotions from the day getting the better of her as she finally let the tears fall from her eyes. Finally, she let herself feel the emotions she had been trying to hide since she found out he wasn't coming back.
"How could she do this! To say those things!" Sam snarled.
"Sam, you need to calm down." Stevie said. "You are turning red.
"She called me a racist! Said she thought I was just like my grandfather! She wouldn't even talk to me!"
Stevie ran his hands through his hair. "Can you blame her!?"
"Can I blame her?! Whose side are you on!"
"I am on her side, Sam! She is the one who you left. You had a choice and chose wrong. She knew pawpaw didn't want you together because she was black. And instead of working with her, instead of talking to her, explaining things, you bought her off and sent her away, so hell yeah, I am on her side."
Sam shook his head. "Some brother you are."
"Sam, you may be a victim here, but you aren't the victim. Your daughter is. She is the one who is going to suffer from all this, and she is the one who is going to get hurt in the fallout if you don't fix this!"
Sam sighed as his phone beeped. Seeing another article, he shook his head. "Fuck!"
"What's wrong?"
"Apparently, Penny is telling people that we are engaged and that this is a stunt planned by a jealous ex."
Stevie took Sam's phone. "Fiancee of Sam Evans, Penny Owen, gave a quote to the Enquire today. 'Sam is the golden boy everyone thinks he is; this is nothing more than a stunt from his ex, who wanted him when I got him. Sam has no daughter, and anyone who believes the vicious lies of someone like that isn't a true fan.' "
Steve read in a high-pitched voice. "Didn't know you were engaged."
Sam shook his head, "I'm not! I can't believe she did this."
Mike walked into the room. "Sam, your mom, let me in; we need to talk."
Stevie smiled. "I am going to leave you two alone. But Sam, I know you are angry with Mercedes, but try to see things from her point of view." He patted Sam's shoulder as he left.
Mike held up his phone. "Did you see this?"
"Which one, TMZ, where I am a racist, or Enquire, where Penny sat there and told the world we were engaged."
"Yeah, I read both of those."
"Mike, you need to fix this!" Sam said, tossing his own phone.
"Sam, when it comes to Mercedes, I warned you not to ambush her! And as for Penny, I don't know what you want me to say? That woman is crazy, and we need to make a statement."
"Yes, let's do that!" He said sarcastically. "Let's tell everyone that I left my child! Let's tell them that I am a racist, like everyone believes! Oh, and don't forget to mention I am engaged to a money-hungry harpy who just told the world I don't have a child. She complicated this even more!"
"No one who knows you would ever think that! Sam, this is a bad situation, but it's not as bad as it could be. Just be honest. Tell them the truth and take it from there."
Sam sighed, thinking about what Stevie said; he was right that he needed to think of things from Mercedes's point of view. He really was still angry with her, but not as much as he knew she had to be with him. "I don't want to make a true statement until I talk to Mercedes. This is about us, and I owe it to her to finally do right by them both."
"Okay, so how about this…." Mike jotted something down. "Sam Evans is not without fault. As regards to his family life, he will give a statement in the near future, with what is best for his family in mind when he does."
Sam sighed. "I suppose that can work for now. Now I just need to get Mercedes to talk to me."
"That I can not help you with. I will say that this time around, do it in your home or hers, somewhere you won't be seen."
"Ahem." Came from behind them, and Sam turned to see both his parents staring at him.
"Stevie tells us that you are engaged," Mary said.
"I am gonna go," Mike said. "I will work on this statement and call you later."
Sam looked after him before turning back to his parents. "I am not engaged. A girl I have been seeing jumped the gun. She likes to think that we are together in a loving relationship even though I explained we weren't."
Dwight sighed, sitting on the bed. "Sam, we need to talk."
"Let me guess, Stevie also told you about the fight with Mercedes?"
"No," Mary said, shaking her head. "We came across that information all on our own. What were you thinking? This is a delicate situation that can not be fixed by you just willing it to happen."
"I made a mistake and was trying to fix it."
Mary took his hand. "Well, you tried and failed. So I am going to do what I should have done in June when I learned I am a grandmother."
"Mom, don't," Sam said. "IF she won't talk to me, she won't talk to you."
"Who said anything about talking to Mercedes? I am going to talk to her mother. And then we are going to get you two on the same page because it's Christmas, and I will be damned if I don't see my granddaughter before the new year!"
Mary stormed out of the room, and Sam looked at his dad. "Do something!"
Dwight shook his head. "Yeah, I am not touching that. Your mom has that determined look on her face, and I am not going anywhere near her! Besides, I agree with her; she will have a better chance to talk to you if you let the mother's work this out."
Sam sat on his bed. "This is so bad, dad. I saw her, and I don't know, I just lost it. She is so beautiful, and I just jumped right into that mode of wanting her. I don't think I ever truly stopped."
"You don't think you ever stopped what?" Dwight asked.
"Dad, there is a reason I never dated much, why I kept Penny around even though she is nothing like my type. Why I don't go for my type."
"Okay, I'll bite. Why don't you go for your type?"
"Because…Mercedes is my type. She always was and always will be. And I can't imagine my life with anyone else. But I have a feeling that she doesn't want me in her life anymore."
"You keep stirring, Lil one; I will be right back!"
"Yes, mommom," Malaya said, stirring the cookie mix.
Amelia wiped her hands on her apron as she rushed to the door; with everyone out of the house but her and Laya, they were baking cookies. Opening the door, she froze, seeing Mary standing there.
"Mary, this is a surprise. Though I can't say, I haven't expected this visit for some time now."
Mary offered her a smile. "I know this is long overdue…though, in my defense, I just learned about my granddaughter."
Amelia moved to the side, letting her in. "Come on and sit down. I can see we need to talk."
"Mommom, the oven's ready!" Malaya said, running into the room. "Oh, hello."
Mary gasped, seeing the young girl who was her granddaughter. If the photos didn't tell her that Sam was this young girl's father, the beautiful green eyes and lopsided grin atop beautiful sandy blonde rings of curls sold it for her.
"Hi." Mary managed.
"Hi! I am Malaya Samantha Jones…Laya for short."
Amelia smiled. "We were making cookies. Laya, would you be okay if my dear friend Mary joined us?"
Malaya smiled. "Do you know how to make them!"
Amelia nodded, giving Mary encouragement.
"I do; I make them all the time with my kids."
Mary followed them into the kitchen as Malaya spoke up.
"We are making sugar cookies and frosting! I know how to decorate really well; my mom taught me when I was six."
"Oh, and how old are you now?"
"I am almost nine. My birthday is coming up soon!" She said happily.
"Laya, sweetie, how about you start scooping out the cookies."
She nodded as Amelia turned to Mary. "I know this might be a lot. But she's such a happy girl."
"And very polite. Mercedes did a wonderful job raising her…." Mary sniffed. "Had I known…had I …"
Amelia shook her head. "Don't do that to yourself. You didn't know, and it's okay. You can make up for it now. I am sure Mercedes will come around and talk to Sam, though hearing he was engaged and how that woman spoke about her didn't make things better."
"Yeah, ironically, the girl who said all that isn't even his girlfriend. Not really. But that's not what's important. I look at that beautiful little girl, and all I want to do is tell her that I love her already."
Amelia nodded. "I know the feeling."
"Done! Oven time!" Malaya said, and the older women went to her side to help her put them in the oven.
"Laya! Mom! We're home!" Mercedes yelled as she pulled her coat off.
"Mommy!" Malaya said, running into the living room. "Guess what?"
"What?" Mercedes said, hugging her.
"We made cookies, and Mrs. Mary said I am the best decorator she's ever seen. That I could be on a baking show one day."
"Mrs. Mary?"
"Hi, Mercedes," Mary said, walking out of the kitchen.
"What is this? What is going on? Why are you here?"
Amelia put her hands up. "Laya, how about you take Poppy and Miles to the kitchen and show them the cookies, but only let them take two."
Malaya smiled, taking them by their hands, and Mercedes folded her hands across her chest. "You two better start talking now!"
"Excuse you, little girl. I am still your mother, and you will still be respectful!"
Mercedes sighed as Amelia continued. "Mary stopped by to talk to you and ended up seeing Malaya, so I asked her to stay."
"That should have been my choice!" Mercedes shook her head. "It's my job to protect her, and I am supposed to take care of her and having you here…having your son…."
Mary stepped closer to her. "Mercedes, I would have been here years ago had I known that you… Mercedes, my father-in-law, was not a good man, but his views were not ours. He convinced Sam that he was doing the right thing coming home. When he got there, Dwight was in the hospital. I don't know why Sam didn't tell us about you, but I know it's not because he didn't think we would accept you, accept her."
Mercedes wiped her eyes, shaking her head. "He was horrible."
"I can imagine he was. George was not that kind to me when he learned I was pregnant with Sam, and I wasn't good enough in his eyes, so seeing you, I can imagine how he acted. He hid your letters."
"What?" Mercedes asked, finally looking at her.
"We found them in June, right before he passed away. Sam thought you didn't want him after a while, and I know had he gotten those letters, he would have been there."
"Why are you telling me all this?" Mercedes asked softly.
"Because that little girl in there deserves to know her father like he deserves to know her," Mary said. "I didn't tell her who I was, but I would like to one day. I would like to get to know her better, and you too."
Mercedes sat down, placing her head in her hands, and Amelia sat next to her. "I know you are upset. But we always said that if Sam ever wanted to be in her life, and we would give him that chance."
"But it's not we, mom. If he hurts her like he hurt me…."
Mary sat next to her. "How about you and Sam talk, really talk. And then, if you still feel like it's not time, we give you that time. Sam may not agree fully, but I know he will want to do what is best for Malaya…."
Mercedes was silent for a while before looking up with a nod. "Miles is taking Laya Christmas shopping tomorrow. Sam can come over, but I can't promise that …I don't want to..." She hesitated for a moment, closing her eyes. Her heart breaking at the thought of Malaya meeting her dad just to have him not want her.
"Mercedes, right now, all that matters is you are open to talking to him," Amelia said.
"I agree, it may take more than one talk but just taking this step… it's important."