Page 54 of Blind Spot
He emphasized the word brother as if I had forgotten our relationship.
“I’m saying that Ramon knew that she was struggling with missing me, her father’s new relationship, and losing her mother. That was the worst time for her. He took advantage of her at her weakest point.”
“He didn’t take advantage of her, Dominic. Don’t make it sound like Charlyse was a victim. I think even she would be offended if she heard you say that. She’s never been a victim. She’s a strong girl.”
“Everyone has their moments, Dad. She had a moment, and Ramon saw it, and he took advantage of it. All I asked him to do while I was gone was protect her. That’s all he had to do.”
My father shrugged, set his cigar down, and got up and walked to his bar. “That’s what he did. He did it the only way that he knew how, by making her his. But either way, he protected her.”
“He didn’t protect her, Dad. He victimized her.”
“Charly’s been coming around all this time. We’ve seen her. She didn’t look anything like a victim to me. This is another example of what you’ve always done, Son. You make questionable decisions and then blame someone else for them. You’re better than the decisions that you make.”
“Are you saying that I’m better than Charly?”
“No. You know that’s not what I’m saying. I’m simply saying that to get with her after she’s been with your brother is messy as fuck.”
A knock sounded at my father’s office door. “Come in.”
The door swung open, and Ramon stood there smiling at my father until he spotted me. His smile quickly turned into a mug that matched mine.
“The prodigal son finally returns home,” he stated with a sneer.
“Fuck you, nigga. I didn’t come to see you.”
“Gutter mouth. You don’t care about anyone except for yourself.”
“Funny, I guess we’re alike that way,” I grumbled.
“I’m nothing like you,” he replied.
“You got that shit right. You’re a bitch-made nigga who can’t deal with the shit life throws your way, so you take it out on a woman instead. Wonder how the fuck you would feel if a nigga treated your mama or grandma the way you treat women.”
He rushed me and clocked me in the side of the head. I came back with two to the jaw and one in the gut before we went down to the floor.
I heard my father hollering at us, but it was a few seconds before we were pulled apart. At the same moment, I realized that my big brother, Joaquin, was also in the room. I knew he had returned home, but I had yet to stop by and see him. He was the one who had pulled me back, while my dad had pulled Ramon back.
“What the fuck is wrong with you two? I should beat both of your asses for pulling this shit in front of me, and in my home at that. Both your sorry asses had better be glad your mother isn’t here. I’d fuck y’all up for behaving this way in front of her,” Daddy snarled. “And you? What the fuck is wrong with you? You act like your brother doesn’t have the right to be upset about thisbullshit. His woman runs away from home to his brother, and you welcome her into your bed. Kinda shit is that?”
“Fuck this. I’m so tired of being the so-called black sheep in this family! It wasn’t good enough that I took Ramon’s charge so that he wouldn’t get kicked out of school and lose his scholarship and internship, but I’m also supposed to give the woman I love to his ass, too, when he knew how I felt? Fuck that shit! Fuck him! Fuck alla y’all!”
“Dominic! What are you talking about?” A cold chill crept over me at the sound of my mother’s cool voice behind me. We all turned at the sound of her in the doorway.
“Gabriela, what are you doing here, baby?” Daddy asked, rushing to her side.
“Carmen wasn’t feeling well, so she went home to be with her husband, and I decided to come home, too, since it was just Sofia and me.”
“Is she okay?” my father asked about my mother’s sister.
“She just found out she’s pregnant. I don’t want to talk about that right now. What the hell is going on here, and what are you talking about, Dom? I heard you say that you took a charge for Ramon so that he wouldn’t get kicked out of school and lose his scholarship and internship.”
I turned my gaze back to my brother, who glared at me. The defiance on his face was almost like he dared me to say anything. I was tired of holding his secret, and I honestly didn’t care anymore.
“Dominic, you heard your mother. What are you talking about?”
“The night that I went to jail for the gun and the weed, I took that gun from Ramon. He left the house angry because Jordyn had some other nigga at her house. He used to beat that girl’s ass all the time, Daddy. Same way he did with every female he got involved with. You covered him on the others, and I covered himwith Jordyn. Turns out that we should’ve let him face the music. Maybe then he wouldn’t have had the chance to put his hands on Charly. Jordyn’s new man dared him to bring his ass over there and put his hands on her. He told Ramon he’d fuck him up the way he’d been fucking her up. Ramon rushed over there with a gun after I begged him not to.
“She had already called the cops and told them that he was coming. We arrived first, and Ramon and that nigga started fighting. I tried breaking them up. When the cops arrived, they searched everyone. I’d taken the gun from Ramon to keep him from shooting that dude, but he’d taken it back. While the cops were knocking at the door, Jordyn went to answer it, and I took the gun from him.
