Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Despondency filled Yanna as she sat on her mother’s front porch catching some fresh air.
The past few days had been mentally draining for her.
In addition to dealing with the unfamiliarity of not talking to or seeing Kas every day, she was finding it hard to come to terms with what she’d done.
While she in no way felt bad about getting her revenge on Kas, she did feel terrible for dragging Kalil into her mess.
She’d made him complicit in a weird triangle, and since Trell had ties to Maya as well, it made things even messier.
She wished she’d had enough emotional intelligence to stop drinking and leave when Kalil asked her to.
Maybe then she would’ve been in the confines of her own home when Trell had called her.
All she thought about was how much Kas loved his cousin and vice versa.
Hell, she loved Kalil like family as well, so she was definitely feeling the weight of her actions.
Kalil had only been trying to help, and she could only imagine how heavy everything was weighing on him.
Deciding she needed to be mature for a change, she pulled out her phone and dialed Troi’s number.
“Hey, Pooh,” Troi answered, sounding exhausted.
“Dag, what’s wrong with you?”
“Kian somehow got into my purse while I was trying to clean his playroom. His little ass took all my cards out my wallet and stuck them through the vents. I been running to different rooms trying to find all of them for about an hour.”
“Oh, my God.” Yanna couldn’t help but laugh because Kian was always doing something to not even be two years old yet. “Where’s Onyx?”
“He out there with Kas somewhere doing something for the surveillance system. I’m supposed to have Kian down for a nap by the time he gets back so we can have some alone time.”
“Girl, y’all gone have Kian 2.0 before you know it. Well, I’mma let you get back to your hunt, I just need you to send me Kalil number.”
“Ah shit. Why do you need Kalil’s number?”
“Not for anything crazy. I’m trying to be mature, and I just want to apologize for putting him in a fucked up position. We’re family, and I don’t want this whole situation to estrange him.”
“And what about Kas?”
“What about Kas? He still did what he did, and the only thing I feel bad for is bringing Kalil into it. Please send me his number so I can apologize to him.”
“Okay, I’ll send it and you, and I will talk later.”
“Yay, can’t wait.” Yanna responded sarcastically before disconnecting the call.
A few moments later, Troi had sent Kalil’s contact information. No longer feeling confident in making a phone call, Yanna opted to send Kalil a text instead.
Hey, it’s Yanna. I know I said we should stay away from each other, but I really think we should talk. You trying to meet up with me?
Yanna waited, and after a few seconds Kalil responded.
Kalil: Yea, you right, we should talk. Where you wanna meet?
Meet me at my mumma house, she’s right on the corner of 5th and Front in Highland Park. The house is 3101 but I’ll be outside.
Kalil: Bet, I’m down the bottom right now so give me like twenty and I’ll be there.
Yanna figured she’d go check in on Janis until Kalil let her know he’d arrived. Standing from her chair, she noticed Destin pulling up to his mother’s house, but decided she’d talk to him another time. For now, she was just happy to be fixing at least one problem in her life.
“Tell me again why I gotta be here for this shit?”
“Because yo mumma had an appointment or something, and also because you’re the one who sent a random ass female the location for our houses. That’s why.”
Onyx had tasked Kas with being on standby while a technician came in and updated the security systems for the houses.
Though she’d never given him reason to believe she’d behave erratically, Onyx didn’t really know Zahra, and therefore, he didn’t trust her.
He’d already planned on updating the systems; this had just given him a reason to expedite the process.
The tech would need to go from house to house, updating the systems and resetting all the codes.
“I can’t do this shit at my own house?”
“When it’s time for him to update yours, but he has to go to each house because each one has its own interface. He did mine first.” Onyx stated before walking toward the door.
“Wait, where the hell you going?”
“I’m going home, nigga. Kian should be laying down, and I want to spend some time with Baby before he wake up terrorizing the house.”
“Tender ass nigga… aye if these people take too long, I’m dipping. I got shit to do!” Kas called to Onyx’s back as he exited the door, ignoring his brother’s rant.
Kas took up residence at his mother’s kitchen island while the technician completed the job of updating all the systems. He was hoping the worker would be quick, but after sitting at the island for nearly forty-five minutes, he discovered he wouldn’t be so lucky.
Since he’d left all his beat-making equipment at his house and boredom was setting in, he decided to be nosey.
Sliding over the iPad that controlled Layla’s security system, Kas pulled up the camera feed.
He didn’t feel predatory at all looking through his mother’s camera because he knew she rarely even had company.
Scrolling through various footage of nothing but the usual occupants of Layla’s home, his brow piqued when he finally discovered something interesting.
Confusion caused his head to tilt as he watched Yanna beam one of his mother’s couch pillows at Kalil’s head.
Anger slowly crept its way through Kas’ being as he watched the two on the couch speaking in hushed tones, jumping when Layla reentered the room.
“The fuck they jumping for?” Kas asked aloud, the answer coming to him as soon as the question left his mouth.
Some fine ass nigga with a lot of hair, Zahra’s words replayed in his mind.
Kas took out his phone and pulled up the Life 360 app, where he tracked all of his family.
“Oh hell nah, aye bruh!” He called for the technician, who came out of the pantry keying in numbers on an iPad of his own.
“Something wrong?”
“Yea, you gone have to finish this shit another time.”
“I’m actually done. I was just doing some silent tests to make sure everything was working properly.”
“Alright bet, get the fuck out then.”
“But I still have one more house to—”
“You gone have to do that shit another time. Take yo ass, nigga!”
The man gave Kas a bewildered glance but did as he was told, packing up his things and leaving the house in haste. Anger on ten and adrenaline coursing through his being, Kas exited his mother’s house, taking hurried steps toward his truck.
“Where the hell you going?” Onyx questioned, stepping out of his house just as Quan pulled into the driveway and exited his vehicle.
“Bout to go kill Kalil.”
“What? The hell you trying to kill my cousin for?” Quan questioned.
“You’re a Garrett, that nigga ain’t yo’ blood. You my cousin!”
Kas hopped into his truck with Onyx and Quan climbing in behind him. He wasted no time pressing the button to crank the engine before placing the truck in drive.
“Hold on. Tell me what’s going on, Kas.”
Kas didn’t have the energy to verbally articulate what was going on, so he simply pulled out his phone and showed his brother and cousin the same thing he’d seen inside the house… Yanna and Kalil’s locations were pinned at the same place.
“Oh shit,” Onyx and Quan responded in unison.
“Yea, so y’all niggas coming or not?”
“We damn sure ain’t letting you go by yourself,” Onyx replied, and with that, they peeled out of the driveway.
Kas’ Trackhawk bent the corner nearly on two wheels, entering the north Richmond neighborhood.
He was aware 5th and Front Street was the area where Yanna was raised, but Kalil had no such ties to the community.
So what the hell was he doing there with his girl?
It was a stupid question because Kas already knew what was happening.
His closest cousin and the girl he loved emphatically were fucking.
The realization of such caused a pang to erupt in his chest. Venturing further down the block, that pain intensified, managing to heighten his anger as he spotted Yanna and Kalil near a bus stop bench.
The conversation between the two looked heated, but it seemed they’d missed the climax of the quarrel.
Calming down, Yanna nodded before she and Kalil embraced.
“Yea, I’mma fuck that nigga up,” Kas declared, rage blurring his vision as he screeched his truck a few feet away from the two betrayers.
The car was barely in park before Kas hopped out, startling Yanna and Kalil.
“Kas!” Onyx called his younger brother authoritatively, but to no avail. Kas was a man on a mission who couldn’t be stopped, pulling up his pants as he stalked up to Yanna and Kalil.
Yanna’s eyes were full of dread because she knew she and Kalil must’ve looked like secret lovers engaged in a forbidden exchange. With her hands outstretched, she scurried towards Kas.
“Kasra, wait, i-it’s not what you think. It’s not what it looks like.”
“Man, watch out.” Kas effortlessly shoved Yanna out of the way and struck his cousin with a right hook.
Kalil stumbled back, dazed from the blow, but was able to gain his bearing before he fell over completely. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth, prompting him to spit a wad onto the sidewalk.
“Aye, Kas, I can understand shit looks like something other than what it is, so I’mma let you get that hit off. Don’t try that shit again, though.”
“Or what, Kalil? I promise I’ll beat yo muh’fuckin’ ass out here!”
“Kas, just stop. What is wrong with you?”
“What’s wrong with me? Shut the fuck up talking to me, you fucking bop. My cousin, Jaiyanna? You was so mad about some shit that never even happened that you fucked my cousin?!”