The end is nye!
Mercedes
"Good night Mercedes." He replied before walking out of the house leaving her standing there torn.
Mercedes waited until she heard Sam's car leave before letting the tears fall, she had entirely too much going through her mind but one of them was to run after him. Tristen had been right about her overthinking everything but she also knew she needed time to process her feelings more.
She slowly headed upstairs, sniffling and suddenly exhausted. It has been a long and trying day, all she wanted to do was sleep but when she got to her room she looked at her bed. Sam had been the first guy in her room or her bed and even if she wanted to pretend like she was being dramatic, she could feel him there.
"Sweetie, are you okay?" Maxine asked, causing her to jump.
Mercedes turned, seeing her mother standing there with open arms. She felt her lip quiver before falling into her mother's embrace. "I…"
"I know, I know. It's okay to let it out." Maxine said, guiding her daughter to her bed.
"Why is this so crappy?" Mercedes asked, making her mother laugh.
"Love usually is, baby."
Mercedes sniffled. "Love?"
Her mother nodded. "And before you say it's not been enough time, love happens when it wants to happen. You give yourself the night and then you go after him if that's what your heart desires."
Mercedes sniffled again, nodding. "Okay."
It started with a strangled cry, then was followed by a lot of shouting before she saw the red and white lights flashing. She rushed downstairs, only slowing when she saw her father tightly holding her wailing mother.
"Momma?" She said, softly as she slowly watched paramedics rushing into the guest bedroom where her brother was. "Dad- daddy wh-what's going on?"
Her father looked at him with a tear-stained face, keeping his grip on her mother as he reached for her. "Come here Teacup."
His voice was crackly and hoarse, she shook her head and took a step back. "Wh-what's wrong?" She asked again, her body involuntarily starting to shake.
"Teacup… come here." He said a little harsher this time, reluctantly Mercedes inched closer to him before getting into reach and he quickly grabbed her pulling her tight.
She could hear rustling behind them and tried to turn but her father forced her to stay looking away. "Daddy, what's going on? What's wrong with Tristen?" She asked, looking up at him seeing the blank look on his face as her mother buried her head into his shoulder, sobbing.
"Moma, what's wrong? She asked, her throat growing a lump and her mind going a mile a minute and her shaking was increasing.
"He's gone baby."
Mercedes shook her head looking back at her father who was now looking at her, tears slowly trickling down his face. "NO! Daddy, no!" She shouted, trying to break free from her father but his grip was too tight.
"You have to let them take him…" He said, his voice cracking.
"Let me go! Let me see him! He's not…" Mercedes kept shaking her head, tears flowing steadily as she struggled against her father. "We can't just let him go alone!"
Kenneth looked away, feeling his heart shattering and trying to remain strong for them all but the levy was breaking. "He's not alone baby, we'll see him again… just not now."
Mercedes' legs gave out and she fell, try as he might but he couldn't catch them both. "NO! He was just talking to me. He was just here! NO! THAT'S MY BROTHER!" She screamed before she fell into tears, sobbing uncontrollably and feeling like her heart was being shredded because it was.
Maxine broke free of her husband, quickly moving over to Mercedes and cradling her. "I know baby, I know." That was all her mother could muster up to say.
Maxine had gone into the guest room to give Tristen his dose of medicine when she found him. She thought he was sleeping at first and tried to wake up but after several times saying his name to no response she resulted in gently shaking him to no avail. She shook him harder but he didn't respond and she started to panic.
She shouted for her husband, who came running when he heard his wife in distress. She tried everything possible to get Tristen to wake up before it finally dawned on her that her son, her baby boy was gone. The scream she let out was gut wrenching, she couldn't think and all she wanted was for Tristen to wake up but it didn't happen.
The days and weeks to follow were a pure nightmare for Mercedes and her family. She felt pushed and pulled in every different way but the way she felt she wanted to go. She had to help her parents plan her brother's funeral, help tell his wife that Tristen was gone and deal with her own personal grief.
It was all too much and she wanted nothing more than to ball up underneath her covers and never leave. It hurt knowing that there wasn't anything they could've done to prevent him from dying. His heart simply just gave out and it was too late when her mother went to give him his medicine.
"These things are so unpredictable and unfortunate… he went peacefully… deeply sorry."
"He was an amazing friend, son and husband."
"... survived by a loving mother, father, sister and wife…."
The funeral was a blur, from her getting dressed to walking into the ceremony to them riding in the procession. Everything seemed to be happening around her but she wasn't really present, she kept trying to wrap her mind around how her brother was gone. It didn't hit her until two weeks later when she was sitting on the sofa with her parents and a commercial about his favorite fast food came on, her parents weren't really paying attention but she was and the tears immediately started to fall.
She tried to remain as silent as she could but she couldn't, her heart was ripping and she just wanted one more moment with her brother. Her father and mother shared looks, Maxine unable to fully process how to handle this moment so Kenneth got up and moved over to Mercedes.
"Let it out, teacup. You've been strong long enough." He said, wrapping her up in his arms. It hurts like hell grieving the loss of a child while also having to watch another child grieve.
Maxine looked away, wiping her own tears. She'd been feeling horrible since the funeral because she didn't know how to get out of autopilot. She could tell Mercedes needed her but her mind still couldn't fathom Tristan being gone, a piece of her was no longer there and it hurt.
"I'm sorry… it just hit me." Mercedes said, sniffling. "He loved those damn burgers."
Kenneth tilted his head before a deep laugh escaped, shaking his head as he continued to laugh. Mercedes looked at her father before realizing she hadn't heard him laugh since that night and couldn't help laughing with him and before long Maxine joined in, all of them laughing because it was true Tristen had an odd obsession with the burgers.
"I say we have them, I think he would like that very much." Her father said.
"I agree, as awful as those things are, I will eat one for him." Maxine replied.
Mercedes smiled nodding. "I'll go get my shoes." She said, wiping her tears then heading upstairs and for the first time in a while she realized she hadn't checked her phone. She picked it up but it was dead so she quickly found her charger and plugged it up before putting on her shoes and heading back downstairs.
After they got back home her parents decided to retire for the night and Mercedes figured it was time to reconnect with her friends back in Savannah, so she went to her room to check her phone but was completely caught off guard with the amount of messages she'd received.
It was well over a thousand notifications, she looked at her phone before putting it down. She was entirely too drained to tackle everything that was waiting for her so she got undressed before getting comfortable in bed and just as she closed her eyes she remembered she was supposed to give Sam an answer.
"Shoot!" She muttered, sitting up and grabbing her phone. She let out a long breath when she saw how many times he'd reached out to her. She felt so bad and started to reply when she fell upon the emails he'd sent as well.
She read them all before slowly placing her phone down and letting out a long breath. She wasn't entirely sure how she felt about the emails but she knew that some of them had to have been when he was in a drunken state. Picking up her phone again, she dialed the one number she figured that would help her better understand how to handle this situation.
"Hello?"
"... you said I could call, I think I need your help with something."
"Child, if it has anything to do with that fool, I am all ears because he is just a mess!"
Shifting in her bed, she sighed. "I wasn't ignoring him."
"Hell I would be, damn fool acting the world is centered around him."
Mercedes couldn't help snickering. "I just wanted to know what I should do? There's so many messages and emails… I know I should've called him sooner but a lot has happened." She explained.
"That doesn't excuse his behavior, he's a grown ass man throwing a temper tantrum all because he was made to wait." Unique said letting out a breath. "If you want to talk to him, I can get him right but only when you're ready. He needs to sober up before you get here."
"Where is here, exactly?"
"New York. He left Savannah after waiting impatiently but if you decide to come back make him work for it! Damn Evans men believe the sun revolves around them."
"I'll reach out to him in a few weeks… I have a few other things I need to deal with first."
"Handle it, honey! I'll get his ass together and when you get here come see so I can make sure you make him drool. Call me!" Unique replied before hanging up.
Mercedes let out a shaky breath, she would give her a little more time to get ready to face Sam but she wanted to go back to Savannah first. She spent the next hour booking her flights and texting her friends back home. She wasn't entirely sure what was going to happen when she did see Sam again but she knew it was time to be bold.
After telling her parents she was finally ready to head back to Georgia she decided to stop by Tristan's grave before heading to the airport. She didn't let her parents take her because she knew they were still going through the emotions as was she but she couldn't stop living- she wouldn't because she knew deep down that's something she would've done before. Her brother told her as much and this time she would be the one taking the leap.
Walking up the path, she let out a shaky breath. His grave still had dirt that was visible.
Sniffling as she placed flowers down as she sat. "You know it was an asshole move to drop all that advice just to turn around and die like that, right?" She said, letting her tears fall.
"I was so angry at you for leaving me… I am angry that you left me and I can't even ask you to help me this time because… you're go-gone."
She waited a moment, breathing heavily. "I'm going to go and kick some major ass then go tell a guy that still intimidates me that I love him… before you act all brotherly, he intimidates me because he allows me to be me. He never asked that I changed. Not like Matt, I'm sorry I never told you about that but you probably would have killed him if I had…"
"I felt something real with Sam and even though he's sent me some crazy text messages and emails, I think I made him feel something real too. So why not find out right?" She asked, nodding her head. "Yeah, I agree. I should do that."
Standing, she dusted off her pants. "When I come back, I expect more from you." She said with a soft laugh. "I miss you T and I hate that you had to go but I understand. I love you."
Her flight back to Savannah was easy, she only had a few things she needed to take care of before heading to New York and her first stop was at her old job.
Walking past security she smiled and waved at Shane the guard. "Long time no see." He said.
"For good reasons, is Anthony in by chance?"
Shane nodded, typing something on his pc before handing her a pass. "I'm not supposed to grant you access but it's my last day here anyway."
"Really? Why?" She questioned taking the pass.
Leaning in, he smirked. "Quiet as kept, I was offered a better job working with Evans and Symthe but also someone bought Mr. Rashad out and he's been going nuts for weeks. He came back a while ago with a black eye and busted up lip."
"Well can't say that I'm surprised but I'm happy you are able to move on to something better." She said, "And thank you for this, I'll be in and out."
He winked, before buzzing her in. She quickly went to the elevators and headed straight to Anthony's office. She shifted, needing to hype herself before the doors opened and she let out a gasp.
The entire office had been wrecked, there were papers scattered everywhere, her desk looked completely destroyed and she saw bits of glass littered on the floor.
"What on earth?" She muttered, carefully watching her staff as she continued.
Cautiously peeking her head into his office, seeing that it was also destroyed. She stepped inside, shaking her head. It had taken her three weeks to get his office to his specifications and this probably only took a few enraged hours for him to undo it.
"I knew you'd come crawling back… Evans had such high hopes but I knew you would come back here."
Flinching, she turned to see Anthony standing behind her. Instinctively covering her nose at the strong smell of whisky and body odor, she took a step back further accessing his appearance. The once polished and well dressed man was now replaced with someone who was currently sporting a half button shirt with stains and a pair of boxer briefs.
"What… umm, what happened here?" She asked, holding her breath so she wouldn't have to smell him.
Stumbling forward, he pointed at her. "You happened! You just had to open those pretty little legs of yours!" He slurred.
She rolled her eyes. "I'm not the reason this is happening to you, you are." She retorted. "You didn't read any of those documents I gave you and now you're acting like a child."
His brows furrowed as he took a sip from a half empty bottle of whatever he was drinking then he threw it across the room. "You don't come here acting all high and mighty like you didn't help him steal my business from under me!" He spat, spit actually flying out of his mouth causing her to step further away.
"I didn't-"
"YES YOU DID!" He shouted. "You just had to come dressed the way you did that night, you made him want you! Well here's a little secret, Evans can't be seen with you without ruining his brand." Anthony added smugly.
"I didn't come here to hear the ramblings of a drunken fool, I came here to get something out of my desk drawer." She said, pushing past him.
He grabbed her arm, pulling her close. His eyes were glossy and he reeked. "I met his father, you don't fit the brand. Evans won't go any further than he already has… trips away from the prying eyes and you underneath him. You thought he was trying to protect you? HA!"
Mercedes didn't expect his words to sting like they did but Anthony had been in business with Sam far longer than she'd even known him. Shaking her head, she yanked away and looked at him for a moment before walking over to the rubble that was now her desk. She carefully sifted through all the debris until she found what she was looking for, it was a keychain her brother had given her when she first moved away.
She smiled, picking it up before letting out a soft sigh. "Regardless of what you think." She said looking over at Anthony. "I know if it was real or not and he did protect me. Doesn't matter the circumstances, you stand there drunk and angry because you got bested at your own game. You can't handle rejection and you're too arrogant to comprehend what I just said. I wish you the best and when Mr. Evans fully acquires your business, don't be a bitch about it."
Anthony looked at her shocked. "What the hell has gotten into you? You were never like this, you're-"
"No longer a doormat? Yeah I know." She replied, walking away before stopping and looking over her shoulder. "Did you send Sam those pictures?"
Anthony staggered, letting out a breath. "What pictures?"
"The ones of you and whoever that fake imitation of me was."
Smirking, he shrugged. "Funny you asked cause I told him you'd been sucking me off and he believed me!" He answered with a laugh. She nodded before turning, quickly stalking over to him and punching him square in the face. "Ow! What the fuc-"
Mercedes punched him again, this time making him fall over. "That's for lying and this-" She said, punching him again. "This is for being such a shitty person and this-" She slapped him. Hard. "This is for ever thinking you had a chance in hell at getting me to suck you off!"
She shot him a final look before huffing and walking out of the office to the elevators. Her entire body was shaking with adrenaline, she wouldn't deny that she liked the feeling of standing up for herself and she damn sure liked hitting Anthony. To her defense he had it coming and she wasn't entirely sure Sam didn't have it coming too. When the elevator opened back in the garage, she felt like a different person coming out.
"I'm guessing this will be the last time I'll see you again, huh?" Shane asked and she smirked.
"Maybe not, if Mr. Evans doesn't fuck up." She replied, handing the badge over and Shane chuckled.
"Give 'em hell." He replied.
Mercedes sat, looking out at the water. She was the definition of sitting on pins and needles. She'd sent Sam the email to meet her here, looking at her watch she knew or rather assumed he'd be there early. She tucked some hair behind her ear, fighting the urge to look around for him.
"You are in control." She said to herself, she had been repeating it since she met up with Unique.
Looking down at the dress Unique said she just had to wear today, she pulled the hem down admiring the strappy heels. She really needed to get Unique to stock her closet after this was all done. She honestly had no idea what direction their conversation would lead but she did know she was her to take that leap of faith.
She checked her watch again before she heard footsteps, looking up she let out a shaky breath when she saw Sam walking towards her. He looked handsome but of course he did, he wasn't in a suit which surprised her. Instead he was in jeans, a black v-neck shirt and sneakers, simple but effective to make her swoon but she made herself snap out of it. When he approached she could smell his cologne and had to look away for a moment before looking back at him.
"Hey." She said and he shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Hey baby."
Mercedes shot him a look, her heart fluttered at the pet name and the fact he was standing here in front of her. She had to stay strong though, no more allowing fear or nerves to take over.
"No, you don't get to call me that." She said firmly and he nodded slightly before giving her a sad smile.
"Right…sorry. It's just been awhile since I've seen you and…I guess I just slipped into it again." He said stepping closer to her, she felt butterflies in her stomach at his nearness but stood firm.
"It's ok but like I said, you don't get to call me that anymore. We're not together so…it wouldn't be right." She said and he nodded again before looking out towards the water with a sigh.
He cleared his throat before looking back at her "So what did you want to talk about? You said it was important?" He said and she nodded with a deep breath.
"Yeah…I did…I wanted to talk to you about us, about why we're not together anymore." She said and he nodded before looking away again and she could tell he was trying to hide his emotions.
Nodding, he shifted before looking around. "I thought of a million ways to apologize for my behavior but none of them seem to suffice."
Placing her hand above her eyes to shield the sun, she looked at him intensely. "I read every email and text message you sent me, I just couldn't bring myself to respond." She said and he looked shocked before scratching the back of his neck nervously.
"So you were getting them, you just ignored me?" He said and she shook her head.
"No, I hadn't touched my phone since the day you went back to Savannah." She answered. "I… I don't understand why you spiraled the way you did. You said you would give me two months…"
Sam ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "And I did! I gave you the space you needed but after that I reached out but you never contacted me. What was I supposed to think?"
Mercedes hung her head in shame before looking up at him, her eyes full of sorrow. "Sam, I… it's not that black and white. My brother died and life just stopped. I couldn't think and I didn't even think about my phone or anyone I just… got lost in the wind with everything that happened."
He stepped closer to her, but she took another step back and shook her head. "Mercedes, I'm so sorry. I… shit… had I known… I would've been there for you."
She nodded. "I forgot the world was still moving around me, but it was, rolling on without me knowing what had happened in the past six months. When I finally got a moment of peace and quiet that's when I realized that I hadn't checked my phone."
He shifted his weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other as he spoke. "Mercedes… I can't ask you to forgive me for what I said-"
She interrupted him with a question. "Did you believe Anthony?" The look on his face answered her question before he ever found the words. She was sure she didn't want to hear them anyway. "So you just think I'm out here giving random men blow jobs?"
"No, that's not- fuck. You knew him longer than you knew me and you had more access to him and… you never replied and then he says you're in town. What was I supposed to think?" He asked.
She felt a wave of anger surge through her body as she glared at him. "You should've had more faith in me!" She said, her voice rising with each word. "I would never and have never done anything like that!"
Sam ran his hands through his hair again, clearly frustrated. "Like you did to me? You saw another woman kiss me and just left! You wouldn't give me a chance to explain or give me the benefit of the doubt before leaving!"
Mercedes felt tears pricking her eyes as she struggled to find an answer for this. Her throat felt thick before finally managing to say something "I know… I should have given you a chance to explain but...I guess part of me was scared of what it meant if it was true…that maybe it wasn't meant to be between us after all."
Mercedes sighed and wrapped her arms around her body, as if to protect herself. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.
Sam stepped closer to her and reached out to touch her arm. "No, I am sorry. I should have been more understanding and given you the benefit of the doubt before assuming the worst." He paused for a moment then looked away before continuing, "I just… I felt so betrayed when you left without a word."
Mercedes felt a lump in her throat as she listened to him speak and she stared down at the ground in shame. She knew he was right, she had just left without a word after seeing another woman kiss him and it was an action that she deeply regretted.
"You don't understand," Mercedes said looking back up at him, "I was scared." She took in a deep breath before explaining further, "I told you I was new to all of this and I mean you've been with a lot of women… I didn't know where I fit in that or if what we were really meant something or not. You were always so confident and here I was out of my depth completely."
He nodded slightly, understanding washing over his face as he looked at her with empathy in his eyes. He opened his mouth to speak but stopped himself before saying anything else instead running his hand through his hair as if searching for the right words to say-words that wouldn't make things worse than they already were.
Finally after a few moments of silence he spoke up softly "I get it now…but please don't ever think that what we had wasn't real Mercedes." He took her hands in his own gently squeezing them gently for emphasis, "The way we connected…the way you made me feel is something that hasn't happened quickly with anyone else... It's why it hurt so much when you didn't respond."
Mercedes looked at Sam, shifting on her feet nervously. "Sam… I…" she began before stopping to think of the words she wanted to say. She paused for a few moments before finally finding the courage to continue, "I don't want this to end and… do you want to start over?"
Sam stared into Mercedes' eyes and saw the earnestness in her gaze. He felt his heart swell with emotion as he realized how much he still cared for her despite their recent issues. He took in a deep breath and nodded slowly before responding, "Yes, I would like that very much."
Mercedes smiled softly and gave his hands a gentle squeeze before she stepped closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck as Sam embraced her in return. They stood there silently for a few minutes, just enjoying being together again until finally Mercedes pulled away slightly and looked up at him with a mischievous glint in her eye.
"So I guess we should probably set some ground rules then right?" She asked teasingly, giving him a playful smile as she awaited his response.
Sam couldn't help but chuckle softly at her suggestion- it was clear that they were both committed to make this work this time around and he was relieved that she seemed just as eager as he was. He reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before nodding in agreement, "Yes, I think that's probably a good idea."
They spent the next few minutes talking about what they both needed from each other for their relationship to work out- things such as more communication and trust being two of the most important topics discussed. By the end of their conversation, Mercedes knew without a doubt that Sam truly did care about her and wanted them to start fresh with no doubts or reservations between them.
After they finished talking, the atmosphere between them shifted and Sam could feel his heart pounding in his chest with anticipation. He slowly pulled her closer until their faces were just inches apart, gazing intently into her eyes before finally leaning in to give her a gentle kiss. Mercedes responded eagerly, wrapping her arms around him and savoring the moment as it unraveled.
For what felt like an eternity, they simply stood there locked in an embrace- it was as if all of their worries, fears, and doubts had melted away for the moment and all that remained was their love for each other. When they finally parted, Mercedes looked up at Sam with a content smile on her face which seemed to reflect his own feelings perfectly.
He returned her smile and ran his fingers through her hair lovingly before pressing one more soft kiss to her lips. He took her hands in his and looked into her eyes as he said, "I think this time will be different. I really believe we can make it work." He said with confidence as he pulled away slightly to look into her eyes again.
Mercedes' smile revealed a twinkle in her eye, and she gave him a small nod of understanding before sinking back into his embrace. A wave of relief washed over her- this time things felt different, more meaningful than before.
Okay so we got them together... let's get into what happened to Dwight ass now!