One

Click. Clack!

Everyone in the vicinity halted what they were doing at the sound of a gun being cocked. The man on the ground eyes widened in horror. He had just been knocked off his ass not even five seconds ago, and before he could even blink, he was literally eye to eye with the barrel of a gun. 

“Give me one good reason I shouldn’t send this bitch right through yo fucking skull?” the voice on the other side of the gun said.

“Lo—look , man. I—I ain’t—”

“What bitch? Huh? What you say?” Priest further humiliated then man as he pressed the gun more into his eye.

Nobody bothered to intervene or attempt to call for help. 

“Yea nigga, you ain’t so tough now, huh?” Pardon mocked while aiming his gun at the man’s head.

Priest just cut his eyes at his younger brother but didn’t offer up a response. He would handle him later, at this very moment, his attention was focused on the man who thought it was a good idea to gamble with his life today. 

“Wrap this shit up,” Purpose told his two younger brothers.

He wasn’t in the mood for this shit tonight. He had better things to do than to be standing on a corner at two in the morning because of his dumb ass siblings and their dumb ass ways.

“I’m not done with his nigga, Purp. Plus, you know it would be rude of me to pull my gun out and not actually use it.” Priest smiled devilishly. 

Pop!

Just that quick, Purpose had sent a bullet right into the man’s face without even taking his eyes off his brother. He was an assassin. This is what he did. Even though he didn’t come along for this, he knew his brothers weren’t going to leave until this nigga was handled so he decided to speed up the process. 

“Now, let’s go.” He said as he walked off towards his truck. 

He was tired of this shit. It was always something with these two. Especially his brother, Pardon. Every other weekend he was getting into some shit and always calling Priest to play captain save a nigga. 

“Fuck them niggas doing?” Pain asked as he glanced in the direction his brother had just walked from.

He was just there for moral support and to talk his brothers out of some dumb shit incase anything was to pop off. He was known as the voice of reason and the most calm one out of his siblings. Purpose just huffed as he saw his two brothers jogging to the car.

“Man, shut that shit up, Priest. I don’t wanna hear that shit.” Pardon waved his brother off as they hopped in the backseat of their brothers truck.

“See, that’s yo fucking problem now, you don’t wanna hear shit. Next time, don’t call me nigga.” Priest fussed at his brother.

Purpose just skirted off while shaking his head at his two brothers. One minute they were best friends then the next they were bickering like school yard kids. Priest was right though. Pardon didn’t like to hear anything if he didn’t think it was beneficial for him. He was the problem child, or the wild child as their mother liked to call him. She always said she knew when he was born he was going to be the rebel because he was the only one of her kids that came out with red hair. 

“Alright, Priest damn! You talk too fucking much! Don’t nobody wanna hear that shit all the damn time!” Pardon spat. Getting irritated with his brother and his preaching.

He was now even regretting calling him, just like he knew he would. he was starting to regret his decision to call him even more so because he pulled up with Purpose and Pain.

“Aye, yall chill out with all that. Pardon, you already knew what it was gone be when you called Priest in the first place. And Priest, stop coming to be in the middle of this nigga’s bullshit if you just gone complain about the shit after you done. Problem solved.” Pain said, being the peace maker as always. 

Even though Pain wasn’t the oldest child, he was the oldest out of the quad that was in the car. He was the Quintero with the most sense. His siblings valued what he said and listened when he spoke.

“What was the problem this time, anyways?” Pain questioned after the car had been silent for a moment.

“These niggas was getting pissed because I was taking they fucking money so they started talking crazy and saying all what they was gone do. You know me, I ain’t never the one to let a nigga talk crazy so I hit that nigga in his shit.” Pardon explained.

“What I don’t understand is why the fuck you continue to do bullshit,” Pain said to his brother. “You know who our family is, the shit we’re into, and how important it is for us to stay lowkey but yet you constantly do dumb shit. What the fuck was the point of you even coming down here in the middle of the damn night to shoot dice on the corner?” Pain asked a rhetorical question that he knew his brother wouldn’t even bother to answer.

That’s the thing that irritated Pain the most when it came to Pardon. He was always doing something unnecessary that brought too much of the wrong attention to the family. He knew just as well as all the rest of the siblings that their father hated that shit. Pain had no doubts that their father was going to get wind of Pardon’s little stunt and the fact that Priest took part in the bullshit and call a meeting up just to get on their ass. Being on Pezi Quintero’s bad side was not something any of them cared for.

“Don’t preach that shit to me, Pain. You need to be talking to the nigga sitting to the left of you. Purp the one who just shot a nigga in his face.” Pardon said, trying to get his brother off his case.

He had heard enough preaching from his brothers tonight and was tired of hearing it. He was tired of his family treating him as if he was just a total fuck up. Every single one of his siblings had their own issues but everyone just acted like he was so out of control.

“Nigga, don’t worry about me. I’m a grown ass man who can handle my own shit and don’t have to call my brothers to handle my shit for me. You ain’t me and I ain’t you.” Purpose said softly. 

He wasn’t the type to raise his voice or a man of many words at all for that matter. He was the silent but very deadly sibling. He would rather his guns do the talking for him. He always said he’d rather be felt than heard and he lived by that. 

Pardon just smacked his lips as he slouched down in his seat. He knew the more he spoke, the more his brothers would counter back with something else. Therefor, he just stayed quiet the rest of the way to their destination.

 

Two

Prosper groaned as she reached over on her nightstand to answer her ringing phone. She saw that it was her brother calling her and had a mind to ignore it. She had a long night at work and just wanted to finally be able to sleep in for once but that obviously wasn’t going to happen today. Instead of sending him to voicemail, she went ahead and answered it.

“What?” she answered groggily.

“You still sleep?” he asked. “I’m pulling up. Get dressed and at least try to look halfway decent.” Prime said before hanging up.

Prosper just let the phone fall to the floor and tried to go back to sleep until her brother’s words hit her like a ton of bricks.

“Oh shit!” She said as she jumped out of the bed as naked as the day she was born. “Ziah, you gotta get up! Prime bout to pull up.” She said as she rushed around the room to pick up his belongings.

Prosper’s face contoured into a frown when she realized he continued to lay there as if he hadn’t heard her. Stomping over to his side of the bed, she snatched the covers off his chocolate body.

“Joziah, I said get up!” she fussed.

Stretching his long, lanky body. Joziah climbed out of the bed, towering over Prosper’s five foot one frame. He licked his lips as his eyes traveled over her body while taking in every inch of her.

“I’m a grown ass man, Prosper. I’m not about to keep hiding from your brother like I’m some type of bitch or something.” Joziah let her know.

“It ain’t even like that. I’m just not ready for—”

“For what?” Joziah cut her off. “You not ready for yo family to know you fucking with me but you okay with them thinking you still fucking bitches?” he threw at her.

Joziah just waved her off, not even in the mood to go through this shit with her today. All he wanted to do was spend some time with his girl for the first time in days but here she was on some bullshit. It wasn’t like he didn’t know Prime or Prime didn’t know him.

The two knew each other very well considering the fact that they used to be best friends. That was until they fell out over some bullshit that caused them to go from basically brothers to enemies.

That was the main reason Prosper didn’t want any of her brothers to know she was involved with Joziah. Once the Quintero’s considered you an enemy, they would always view you that way. They had blood relatives that they didn’t even fuck with and considered enemies. She knew she would never hear the end of it if any of her brothers found out she was messing with Joziah. Especially her brother, Prime.

Nobody understood the fact that it was hard on Prosper being who she was. She was the seventh child of ten and all six of her siblings that were older than her were boys. Until her baby sister Phoenix was born, she had been the only girl. Having a boyfriend or any male friend of the sort was damn near impossible. Her brothers and father didn’t trust many and only liked to deal with family. 

That was okay with Prosper anyways since she had considered herself to be gay. That was until she secretly started gaining feelings for Joziah behind her brothers back. Before they could even get deep into the relationship thing, Joziah and her brother stopped being friends and Joziah was deemed an enemy and stopped coming around. She was hurt and conflicted on what to do but she choose to follow her heart even if she had to do so behind her family’s back. She just wasn’t ready to bring their relationship to the light yet and she needed Joziah to understand that.

“Ziah, don’t do that.” Prosper said in defeat as she tried to reach for him.

“Gone bruh, don’t fucking touch me.” He said as he snatched away from her.

Prosper blinked back the tears that welled up in her eyes. She wasn’t soft by any means but she hated when Joziah acted like that with her. He was always so warm and gentle with her but right now he was being so cold and callous, and she couldn’t handle it.

Joziah refused to look at her as he got dressed. He knew she was probably feeling some type of way about the way he was treating her but he had to stick to his guns. He loved Prosper deeply but he wasn’t about to keep letting her treat him like he didn’t mean shit to her. He was too grown to be sneaking around with anybody. He was okay with the arrangement at first because he understood the situation and the position Prosper was in. He had been being patient with her on the matter for a whole year now but he just couldn’t do it anymore.

“When you ready to be grown instead of acting like a little ass girl who let her daddy and brothers control her life, get at me. Until then, it’s been real but I’m done. Love me in public for the whole world to see, or leave me alone and let another bitch do it. The choice is yours.” Joziah said after getting dressed.

He didn’t even spare Prosper a second glance as he headed out of her bedroom.

“Damn, straight up?” she asked in shock.

She wiped away the tear that had escaped her eye against her will. Being a Quintero, she had always been taught to be tough and show no emotions. So, the fact that she had even let Joziah get that close to her to even have that type of effect on her had let her know that she had fucked up. She knew she loved him and wanted to be with him but her loyalty lied with her brother. 

Getting her emotions in check, Prosper made her way to the bathroom so she could handle her hygiene. She turned her water on as hot as she could stand it while preparing to take a shower. She wasn’t worried about having to let her brother in her house because he had a key so he could let himself in.

The fact that her brother could walk through her door at any time he felt like it should’ve been reason enough for her to not allow Joziah to spends nights here or come over at all. The only reason she felt bold enough to do so was because Prime would never just pop up at her house unannounced. He respected her space and at least had the decency to call before he just showed up. She couldn’t say the same for her other brothers and that’s why they didn’t have keys to her home.

A part of her sometimes wished Prime would just walk in and catch Joziah here so she didn’t have to hide it anymore. She didn’t like the idea of keeping anything from her brothers but she knew how Prime would take it if he found she was fraternizing with the enemy as he would put it.

Prosper stuck her head under the shower head, letting the hot water cascade down her body, relaxing her. She could slowly feel the stress of everything she had going on in her life dissipating, even if it was only momentarily, she welcomed it. She had been working seven days straight at both of her jobs an she just wanted to relax while she could.

Often times, Prosper wondered why she was even working two jobs when her family was the richest family in the south. Hell, in the whole damn country. The answer was a simple one though; her father. Pezi Quintero had a very peculiar way of handling his kids. As long as they were abiding by his rules and doing what he wanted them to do, they wanted for nothing. The moment they tried to venture off and do their own thing, he was ready to cut them off financially. 

All of her older siblings had their own businesses that they owned and operated but Prosper didn’t want that. Running a business wasn’t for her. She had dreams of graduating college and being a pathologist. Everyone looked at her like she was crazy whenever she told them what she wanted to do with her life. Her daddy thought her aspirations were asinine but it was okay when she was working under him as the head of his clean up crew. 

You would think that it would be odd for a man to want his daughter to be handling the bodies of people he and his sons had killed, but remember, Pezi Quintero isn’t your average father.

After washing off last night’s sins from her body, Prosper got out of the shower, making her way to her bedroom to moisturize her skin and get dressed. Before she could even reach her dresser to get out some underwear, her phone was ringing.

“Wassup, Praise?” she answered for her baby brother.

“You still coming to my game tonight, right?”

Praise was the youngest Quintero son. He was eighteen years old and set to graduate from high school in a few months. Prosper was beyond proud of her brother. He was a straight A student, played sports, and the only one besides Phoenix who’s the baby of the family, that wasn’t in the family business. For some reason, Pezi was way more lenient on the last two kids that he had been on the other eight.

“Of course, you know you didn’t even have to ask.” She assured him.

“I’m about to drop straight buckets on these niggas. They know they can’t fuck with me!” Praise said excitedly into the phone.

Prosper just laughed and shook her head. “Okay, Steph Curry. I’ll see you later tonight. You on your way to lunch?” she asked as she glanced at the time.

“Yea, I am.” He let her know.

“Cool, lunch is on me today.  Love you scrub.” She said before disconnecting the call.

After ending the call with her brother, Prosper opened her CashApp app to send her brother and sister fifty dollars apiece for lunch. She knew they more than likely didn’t need that much but those were her babies and she had no issues with spoiling them.

When she was done getting dressed, she made her way to the living room where she heard cartoons.

“Hey, TT Man,” she greeted her six year old nephew.

“Hi TT!” he greeted her back excitedly.

“What y’all doing here so early?” she asked Prime once she reached the kitchen.

“Gotta make a run. Can you watch him for me for a little?” Prime asked his sister.

At just twenty five years old, Prime was a single father. He had his son Prize when he was only nineteen years old. They day Prize and his mother came home from the hospital, his mother Remi just disappeared off the face of the earth, forcing Prime to become a single father. It wasn’t easy for Prime but his family stepped in and helped him out whenever he needed it.

“Ay, pendejo, you don’t gotta ask me nothing like that. Besides, he can just roll with me to Praise’s game and you can just get him from there.” Prosper let him know.

“Fuck! That is tonight ain’t it?” Prime shook his head.

Prosper stopped what she was doing and just looked at him like he was crazy. “Come on, Prime. Don’t tell me you not gone be there. It’s the biggest game of the season.” She reminded him.

“I know, but Pops got all of us making this fucking run and I don’t know what time we gone get back.” Prime let her know.

“See that’s some bullshit. I know he did that shit on purpose too. He act like it’ll kill him to just be supportive of his kids.” she shook her head.

“I’m sure he’ll be straight with seeing you, mama, and Phoenix in the stands cheering him on,” Prime said.

“That’s not the same. He should be able to look in the stands and see all of us. Not just the ladies.”

“I hear you sis, I really do. I’ll talk to the guys and we’ll try our hardest to make it back in time for the game.” He told her before placing a kiss on his sister’s forehead.

Prosper just sighed as she watched her brother leave. She knew if their dad had anything to do with it, they most definitely would not be at the game tonight.