Bear, and Bear took him under his wing and taught him how to work on cars at Whiskey Automotive. Tru used to take me to the auto shop with him, and I’d do my homework while he worked with Bear. My brother was always there for me. He made sure that I was never alone, other than school, of course. He was my stronghold, my straight arrow to follow, and for some reason, that seemed to really piss off my mother. She was rotten to him.” He pushed to his feet and paced. “I’ll always carry a fair amount of guilt about that.”
“But that’s not your fault.”
“I know it’s not. Kids can’t be held responsible for their parents’ failings. But that doesn’t change the fact that I spent years wishing I’d never been born.”
That slayed her. “I’m glad you were born, Quincy, and it seemed like everyone we were with last night was glad, too.”
“Thanks, babe. Believe me, I know how lucky I am to have so many good friends and to have this time with you. And don’t worry. I no longer wish I was never born. A lot of things have changed.” He cleared his throat as he paced. “Anyway, Tru moved out when he was eighteen, and he tried to take me with him, but my mother sent one of her crackheads after him. I remember it like a movie in my head, because the guy had a gun. I was nine years old, scared shitless, and clinging to Tru. He was big, even back then, almost the size I am now, and he’s never been afraid of a damn thing. Well, except once, but I’ll go into that later. Anyway, the guy was waving the gun, and Tru shoved me behind him and ran at the guy, trying to take him down. They fought, wrestled, and the guy managed to get on top of Tru.” Quincy’s eyes were narrow and angry, hands fisting. “He put the gun right to Tru’s head, and I begged for my brother’s life. I’ll never forget the fear of seeing that. I said I’d go back home.”
Tears rolled down Roni’s cheeks. “Oh my God, Quincy. That’s horrifying.”
He nodded, jaw tight.
“You and your brother are so brave, and your mother…” She said mother with disgust, her hands fisting, too. “I want to smack her upside the head.”
“She eventually got her due.”
“So what happened? You went back to that awful house? Without Truman?”
“Yeah, and the guy with the gun warned Tru to stay away from me, but he didn’t listen. Tru came up with a plan where I’d go straight from school to the public library, and I’d do my homework or read until it closed. Then I’d head home, eat something, and lock myself in my room. For the next few years he came by every two or three days. He brought food, money, clothes, whatever I needed, making sure I was okay and going to school, keeping clean.” Sadness dulled his eyes. “Those were hard years. I knew he was risking his life every time he came to see me, and it wasn’t like we could afford cell phones. I’d tell him not to come, because I was afraid for him, but he ingrained into my head that we were supposed to protect family at all costs. I’d seen him pull guys off our mom dozens of times and stand up to them fearlessly. I knew that when he said family, he meant her, too, despite how she was. Tru says Bear taught him about loyalty, but I know better, because Truman was protecting me years before he met Bear.”
“It sounds like you were right when you said Tru was born having it all together.”
“Yeah,” he said softly. “But I was so used to following his lead, on the days when I didn’t see him, I lived in fear, waiting for the ax to fall. We’d been told horrible things about the foster care system, and because of that, we’d never let any teachers or other kids know about what went on at home. And there were no outward signs for anyone to see, because Tru made sure I wasn’t a malnourished, dirty kid. Like you, I’ve always been great at school. I like learning, and just as you disappeared into dance, I lost myself in schoolwork and books. But the whole time, I was terrified that someone would find out about how we lived and take me away, and I’d