Chapter 37
The Lotus Mind Center
One week later…
Kay’Lo was still locked up without a bond and I ain’t had no real sleep since the day they took him.
Every time that jail number popped up on my phone, my heart damn near dropped ‘cause I could hear it in his voice, even when he tried to sound tough. He wasn’t tough right now.
He wasn’t even mad. He was numb, like he couldn’t believe this was real and he was tryna breathe through it so he didn’t fall apart on the phone with me.
They had already gone to his shop and grabbed the cameras, and the news wouldn’t let that shit rest. Every time I scrolled, there was Kay’Lo shootin’ two dudes who ain’t have no weapons in they hands.
But they wasn’t showin’ how the niggas pulled up on him.
They wasn’t showin’ how they tried to rush him.
They wasn’t showin’ how it was two against one.
They only showed the part that made him look like a monster, like he woke up that day tryna kill somebody.
And then there was that stupid bitch Echo online, postin’ like she was the victim of the century, tellin’ everybody how Kay’Lo murdered her brothers in cold blood and how he cheated on me and been obsessed with her since the day they met.
She had that shit goin’ viral ‘cause people love drama and they love jumpin’ on a story even when they didn’t know shit about the people in it.
Every time I saw her name my teeth hurt ‘cause I wanted to drag her ass so bad, but I had to swallow that and think about the bigger picture. My husband was fightin’ for his life.
I ain’t have time to argue with a hoe who wanted attention more than air.
But what really fucked me up was seein’ her daddy everywhere too.
Every time I turned on the news or scrolled past another headline, there he was, Roderick Lennox, the goddamn Attorney General of Trill-Land, speakin’ on camera with his face all hard and full of rage.
He wasn’t mournin’ quiet or tryna be professional like how officials usually act when shit happens.
No, he was lettin’ the whole island know he wanted the max.
He looked straight into them cameras and said he was gonna push for full prosecution, and he wasn’t holdin’ back on what that meant.
He was talkin’ about needles and justice and makin’ sure the man who killed his sons never saw the outside of a cell again.
And that’s when everything inside me dropped.
It wasn’t ’cause I ain’t think Kay’Lo couldn’t fight this, but ‘cause I ain’t know Echo’s family came like this.
I thought she was just some girl he fucked, some messy bitch who didn’t know how to move on.
I ain’t know she came from power, and that she had a father who could shake the whole damn world with one interview.
I ain’t know the two niggas Kay’Lo shot belonged to the one man you ain’t supposed to piss off in Trill-Land.
The more I watched him talk, the sicker I felt ‘cause now it wasn’t just Echo bein’ petty online.
Her father wanted my husband dead, and he had the authority to make that shit happen.
And the whole time I’m watchin’ him on TV, threatenin’ the worst, promising punishment, sittin’ there actin’ like Kay’Lo just woke up and shot his kids for fun… my heart felt like it was bein’ held underwater.
But while all that was goin’ on, somethin’ else kept twistin’ in my stomach.
Somethin’ that never made sense from the jump.
Kay’Lo’s diagnosis…
When he was takin’ medicine, it worked. He was calmer.
He wasn’t so quick to snap or shut down or fight with me over little shit.
Then his therapist switched up outta nowhere and said he wasn’t schizophrenic no more.
Kay’Lo believed it, but I never did. I knew somethin’ was off that day ‘cause her whole damn vibe felt wrong. She looked nervous, like she was sayin’ what she was told to say.
Now that my husband was sittin’ in jail facin’ death, I couldn’t ignore that feelin’ no more. If he really was schizophrenic and somebody lied about it, then that could save his life. That could prove he wasn’t in his right mind when all this shit happened.
I made an appointment with Dr. Ellington ‘cause my spirit wouldn’t calm down until I got answers.
When I walked into Dr. Ellington’s office, my hands was shakin’ and my stomach felt twisted like somebody was wringin’ it.
“Toni,” she said, “how are you holdin’ up?”
“I’m not,” I told her straight up. “My husband facin’ the fuckin’ death penalty. They talkin’ about killin’ him and I’m tryna keep myself together long enough so he don’t hear me fall apart on the phone.”
She nodded slow. “I’ve been following the case. I’m very sorry.”
I stared straight at her. “So, you know why I’m here.”
Her fingers tightened around her pen.
She looked down like she was pickin’ her words.
“I need you to tell me why you changed his diagnosis,” I said. “Don’t dance around it. Don’t try to soften it. That medicine worked. He was good. Then suddenly you say he not schizophrenic no more. That never felt right to me and now he in a cell fightin’ for his life.”
Her whole expression changed, just enough to let me know she was holdin’ somethin’ she ain’t wanna say.
“Toni…”
“Hell nah,” I cut in, leanin’ forward. “Don’t do that with me.
Kay’Lo’s life depends on whatever you know.
If you lied or if somebody made you change somethin’, then say that.
I’m beggin’ you! Just tell me the truth because I can’t lose him!
I can’t sit there and watch them execute my husband when there’s somethin’ out there that could save him! ”
She closed her eyes like she was wrestlin’ with her own conscience.
“Please,” I whispered. “Whatever happened, just tell me.”
Her shoulders dropped. She swallowed slow, then opened her eyes again.
“This is… complicated.”
“No it’s not,” I said. “Either you tell me or you don’t, but if you don’t, whatever happens to Kay’Lo gon’ sit on your conscience for the rest of your life. Not mine.”
She looked at the door like she expected somebody to bust in. Then she looked at me.
And somethin’ broke inside her…
Her voice came out low, almost scared.
“Okay... I’ll tell you.”
And right there, my whole world felt like it shifted ‘cause I knew whatever she was about to say…
Was about to change everything.
I was speedin’ through Trill-Land like a bitch out of hell tryin’ to get to Kay’Lo’s mama and daddy’s house ‘cause my mind would not let me sit still after what Dr. Ellington told me. My hands wouldn’t stop shakin’ on the wheel and my chest felt like somebody was sittin’ on it.
I kept hearin’ her voice over and over tellin’ me how Kwame walked in her office, closed the door, and forced her to take that diagnosis off the record like Kay’Lo’s life wasn’t even real to him.
She said he threatened to ruin her whole career if she didn’t make it disappear, and I swear the room felt like it started closin’ in on me ‘cause I could not believe this man did that to his own child.
My husband’s daddy…
A man who preach about legacy, who bragged about the Mensah name and a man who walked around like God gave him permission to move different than everybody else.
He would rather protect his image than let his own son get help.
He would rather Kay’Lo walk around unmedicated and unravelin’ than admit that maybe somethin’ was wrong.
He would rather let Kay’Lo die on death row than let the world know his son had a mental illness.
As far as I’m concerned, he the whole damn reason why Kay’Lo locked up in the first place.
By the time I turned toward the mansion, my whole body felt like it was buzzin’. I could barely breathe ‘cause I wanted answers and I wanted them right now. The gates opened as soon as the system recognized my car, and I kept drivin’ even though my stomach was turnin’ like I was on a rollercoaster.
I parked crooked ‘cause I ain’t care about nothin’ but gettin’ in that damn house, and I practically ran up the steps. My hand shook when I pressed the doorbell.
Treasure opened the door slow, like she was scared of who would be standin’ here, but soon as her eyes landed on me she rushed forward and pulled me in a hug. She smelled like lavender oil and stress, and her arms wrapped around me tight like she been cryin’ every night just like I have.
“Baby, come in,” she whispered, her voice tired.
I nodded and followed her into the house even though my legs felt weak. The walk down that long hallway felt like I was walkin’ through some heavy shit. I ain’t wanna disrespect Kay’Lo’s mama, but I also wasn’t gon’ sit across from her and pretend like everything was fine.
We sat down opposite each other on the couches, and I saw how red her eyes was.
Treasure was hurt, she was scared and she was tryna hold herself together ‘cause she didn’t know what to do with her son behind bars facin’ the death penalty.
And for a moment I almost softened ‘cause she looked like she was breakin’ inside.
But I didn’t come here for comfort.
I came for the truth.
I took a deep breath that didn’t even reach my lungs and asked, “So… did you know Kay’Lo was schizophrenic?”
Her eyebrows pinched together, and that confusion on her face was real. “Schizophrenic? No, baby, Kay’Lo isn’t… schizophrenic.”
My heart thudded heavy in my chest ‘cause that wasn’t the reaction of a woman who was lyin’. To me, it seemed like she genuinely didn’t know a damn thing. I swallowed hard and tried to pick my words careful so I didn’t explode too early.
“Well… Kay’Lo’s therapist, Dr. Ellington diagnosed him,” I said. “She had him on medicine. He was doin’ good, and then outta nowhere, she changed her damn story.”
Treasure blinked slow. “What? That doesn’t make any sense.”