“Okay.”
“Okay.” Kiano took a step back.
He opened his mouth, then closed it, nodded, spun, and headed out.
I followed him to the door and locked it behind him.
Fuck.
Was Kiano as bad as my father?
20
A huge smile took over my face and I winked at Kiano as I walked over to the little glass table where he sat. I took a seat and plucked the phone up.
“What’s up?”
“Well you look like you’re in high spirits considering,” Kiano said.
“Nigga, I’ve been locked up for three days. You expected me to be crying and shit?” I asked seriously.
He chuckled. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “And honestly, after not hearing from you, I was thinking the worst.”
“Nah. This lil country ass jail just takes their time officially getting you in the system.” I tapped my fingers on the little counter. “I met with your mom and a lawyer earlier today.”
“Oh, yeah? And how’d that go?”
“Great, actually. He thinks I’ll be home by next week at the latest. My violent crimes were when I was a teen, so he’s going to pitch that I’m not necessarily a danger to others and your mom said they’ll get me bailed out and back home.”
“Good.”
“Yeah. They didn’t mention what would happen with the charges outside of them prioritizing getting me out of here, butit seemed like they had shit under control and I trust your mom so…”
“Yeah. The rest of this shit is being taken care of on the backend.”
I gave Kiano a look but kept my mouth shut.
“I’m not even going to ask what that means.”
“Good.” Kiano smiled.
I shook my head. I didn’t know what kind of pull Kiano had through his family, but I’d gotten pushed up for processing after his mom made an appearance asking why I wasn’t officially in the system. She’d shown up in a full suit with a lawyer who looked like he was wearing my fucking mortgage on his wrist.
We’d been able to sit in the interview room and she’d secured me three phone calls, which I’d used to reach out to Morocco, Drake, and Jiselle.
My brothers said they were doing well and that Selle and Kiano were staying at the house and looking out for them. Jiselle, on the other hand, hadn’t answered my call.
“How’s Jiselle holding up?”
“She’s… trying to stay busy.”
“Y’all realize I’m not up for the fucking death penalty, right?” I asked.
Kiano smiled. “I think the whole thing was just overwhelming. She’s blaming herself for the altercation that kicked everything off. I’m blaming myself for?—”
I cut him off with a quick whistle and shook my head. He nodded.
“Just let her know I’m good and I’ll be home soon. Tell her not to blame herself for anything. She was a victim and I don’t regret anything. I, uh, I called her but I wasn’t able to get her.”