2. Kingsley #2
He slid his hand down his face. “I umm . . . wanted to see if you wanted to start practicing again.”
We used to team rope at the small rodeos and had actually considered trying to train to be pros at it.
It fell by the wayside after he got shot.
His heart wasn’t in it anymore. He always had a chip on his shoulder.
We were able to work through it as brothers, because I understood his frustration with the situation.
However, I also knew that wasn’t what he needed to talk to me about.
“We can if you think you ready.”
He nodded, then slid his hand down his face again. “I knew Crew was going to Liberty, man.”
My eyebrows lifted slightly. I felt like he and Ryder J both knew. I was surprised he was admitting that to me though.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I only found out about it about a couple of weeks before they killed him. I was coming back from Dayton, fucking around with this woman I met, when I saw him turn off in Liberty, close to where Mythic used to live. I followed him. When I confronted him about it, he told me he had everything under control, and it was just something he did to get through the final exams.”
I closed my eyes and lowered my head. “Damn,” I said.
“Yeah. I’m fucked up about it, because I feel like I should have said something.”
“You should have said something, but what can you do about it now? It’s not certain that even if you did say something that things would have turned out any differently. I can understand the turmoil your mind is in though. The what ifs must be driving you crazy.”
“Yeah. Had I said something, maybe he would still be here.”
“Maybe, but again, what can you do about it now?”
“Nothing.”
I nodded. “Maybe go and talk to a counselor to help you through it.”
“Naw, I’m cool. Talking to you helped. It always does, bro. Thanks.”
I frowned slightly. “Kane, for real, man. Don’t let that shit continue to fuck wit’chu. It doesn’t have to be a counselor associated with the family.”
He nodded, then stood. “Thanks, man.”
I stood and shook his hand, then pulled him to me for a hug.
My family meant everything to me, but Kane and I were close as hell.
We were only a year and a half apart. KJ and Karima were much older than us and were like a second set of parents when we were growing up.
KJ was like fifteen years older than me.
So it was like I was Kane’s big brother that he looked up to and always wanted to be around.
When I released him, I could see the tension in his shoulders. As he walked off, I put my hands on his shoulders. “You tense. Is there something else?”
His shoulders only got more tense. He turned to me. “I dropped out of school. I didn’t want to say anything. I didn’t want to feel like a quitter.”
“I dropped out and won’t be back until spring semester. Why would you feel like that? You have a bachelor’s degree already.”
“I don’t know. I just—”
“Go get counseling, man. If we learned anything from Crew, it’s that harboring issues, trying to handle it ourselves can be dangerous. I’ll look up therapists if you want me to. Have you talked to Dad?”
“Okay. I’ll look too. I have, but not about me knowing about Crew. He just been helping me deal with my grief and anger.”
“You can’t effectively deal with your grief until you deal with your feelings of guilt.”
“You right. I’m gonna look for a counselor.”
I nodded. “Holla at me whenever you need to, okay? I’m gonna be checking on you too.”
“A’ight.”
When he left out the door, I watched him until he got in his car and pulled off.
I didn’t know what it felt like to lose a brother, but I could imagine that Royal was having a difficult time.
I didn’t want to feel that shit. I would be sure to make sure Kane was straight, even if I had to get Mom and Dad involved.
I closed the door and went back to the couch to see my phone was ringing. It was nearly midnight, and I was tired as fuck. I found my second wind when I saw ‘My Baby’ on the screen of my phone.
“Hello?”
“Hi, King. I know it’s late, but everyone just left.”
“It’s okay. I’m always available for you. You know that.”
She was quiet for a moment. “Thank you, Kingsley. You’ve been a godsend to me.”
“You’ve been that for me too. I’ve been feeling you for a long time. You know that too.”
“Yeah. I’m glad you didn’t approach me when you were eighteen. We probably wouldn’t be here today.”
I chuckled. “Yeah. You were like twenty-two back then.”
“Kingsley?”
“What’s up?”
“Umm . . .”
She huffed. Whatever she was about to say had her nerves going haywire. I went to my bedroom and sat on the bed. “Take deep breaths, baby. Slow deep breaths.”
I listened to her do as I told her to do, then she said, “You are so good for me.”
I knew that wasn’t what she was struggling to say. That was just her response to how I got her to calm down a bit. “You’re good for me too . . . perfect.”
“Can we go to dinner tomorrow night?”
“Yeah, of course. Where did you have in mind?”
“I really want a Monte Cristo sandwich from Cheddar’s. I haven’t had that in years. Today, I saw an ad on Facebook, and it sent my tastebuds into overdrive.”
I chuckled. “That’s fine. I hadn’t had one in ages either.”
I wanted to ask if it would just be me and her, but I didn’t want to push. I was just happy she wanted to spend time with me. Tomorrow, I only planned to go to the rice farms and the grass farms to make sure everything was running efficiently.
“What time did you want me to pick you up?”
“Carter will be here tomorrow. I can just get him to bring me to Nome. He said he would be here around five. So at the earliest six? Does that sound good?”
“Yeah, that’s cool. Is he and Bali going with us?”
I was glad she brought him up, so I could get more details without sounding pushy.
“No. Just you and me. I hope that’s okay.”
“It’s more than okay, Treasure. I just want you to be comfortable.”
“I want to give you what you deserve.”
“I want you to do that in your time. I’m gonna be here.”
“Why?”
I remained quiet for a moment. I didn’t know if she was ready to hear my true feelings. “To me, you’re like art in motion. You’re so beautiful, from your shoulder-length hair to your painted toenails. Your spirit is just as beautiful. You’re perfect, and your parents named you perfectly.”
She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Thank you. I’m not perfect though.”
“You’re perfect for me. That’s all that matters.”
“Do you really love me, Kingsley? Shit! Never mind.”
“Yes.”
She was quiet as my heart rate took off for the races.
I refused to remain quiet after she put the question out there.
She proved to me she was ready to hear it.
There was no way she would have asked the question if she wasn’t.
When I heard her sniffle, I wished I could be there with her so I could hold her in my arms.
“Aaliyah told me she thought you did, well before the note on the flowers, but I knew before that. You’ve been so damn patient with me. You have to love me to still be here. I feel like you’ve loved me for a long time.”
“I have. I just didn’t want to overwhelm you by saying so. Me writing it was taking a big risk.”
“Can you say it now?”
“I love you, Treasure. I love you so much,” I said without an ounce of hesitancy.
She began crying, and that was the very thing I was trying to avoid. I hated hearing her cries. Most times, she sounded so defeated. It didn’t sound that way this time.
“Please don’t cry, baby. I wish I could be there to hold you.”
As I listened to her try to contain herself, I slid my hand down my face. This was tearing me apart. I never wanted to cause this type of outburst from her.
“King, can you come spend the night with me?”
My eyebrows lifted in shock. “Yes. I’ll be there in thirty minutes.”
I quickly stood and grabbed a T-shirt and slid into my Nike slides.
“I’m not crying because I’m sad, Kingsley.
It’s just the fact that the only men that have declared love for me are related to me.
You are the first man that has declared that.
After everything I’ve been through, it is a little overwhelming, but I needed to hear it.
I needed to feel your words in my soul. Your actions always felt like love to me, but to hear you say it is just so beautiful. ”
“I can’t wait to hold you in my arms.”
“Me either. I’m gonna go get cleaned up.”
“Okay. See you in a little bit.”
I ended the call and smiled, damn near wanting to cry too. I got in my car, then sent my dad a text. I always liked him to know where I was. I’m headed back to Liberty to spend the night with Treasure.
Okay. Be careful.
I backed out of my driveway, and I smiled all the way to Liberty.