Chapter Nine Two Roads
“You was peace, Kane. I miss you.”
Kane tried to stay invisible at school.
She started walking the long way to class. Earbuds in. Hoodie up. Eyes on the floor. She’d changed her lunch period if she could’ve, but even dodging the cafeteria wasn’t enough.
Because Minnie Girl found her.
It was after 6th period, in the breezeway near the vending machines, when she appeared—messy bun, chipped nail polish, loud pink slides, and tears already gathering in her eyes.
“Kane.”
Kane looked up, startled.
“I been tryin’ to talk to you for weeks,” Minnie said, arms crossed. “You blockin’ me? You duckin’ me?”
Kane blinked. “It ain’t like that.”
“Then what is it?”
Kane glanced around. Too many people.
“Can we not do this out here?”
Minnie nodded sharply. “Come on.”
They walked to the side of the school where the buses parked. Empty for now. Minnie leaned against a brick wall and let it rip.
“I thought we was solid,” she said. “Like, real friends. Like I could tell you anything type friends. And then you just… disappeared. No goodbye. No explanation.”
Kane’s throat burned.
“I wasn’t mad at you, Minnie.”
“Well it felt like it.”
“I just…” Kane paused. “Your sister’s the woman my dad left my mama for. The one who showed up and told us he wasn’t dead after we cried over his grave. You don’t think that messed me up?”
Minnie’s eyes softened. “You think it ain’t mess me up too?”
Kane looked up.
“I love my sister, Kane. But I hated that picture. Hated how she looked so sad that night. Hated how she cried when she thought about your mama and y’all. I heard the whole thing—the fight with Marcus, the door slam. He broke her too.”
Kane stayed silent.
“I love my sister, Kane. But she didn’t choose to be the other woman. Marcus lied to her too. She thought his wife was dead. She didn’t even know you or your mama existed until she found that funeral video. And I damn sure didn’t know you was the girl tied to all of this.”
Kane swallowed hard. “I wasn’t ready to deal with it. I didn’t know how to be your friend when my heart kept screamin’ at me to hate you.”
“I get that,” Minnie said. “But you was peace for me. You was the first friend I had that didn’t want nothin’. No drama. No clout. Just vibes and jokes and real talk. I miss you, Kane.”
Kane felt the ache rise in her chest.
“I miss you too,” she whispered. “I just… needed time.”
Minnie gave a small, sad smile. “Well, I’m still here when you ready.”
She turned to walk away, then stopped.
“You know… sometimes the sins of our parents fall on us. But that don’t mean we gotta carry ‘em forever.”
Then she was gone.
And Kane stood alone in the breezeway—thinking about sins, silence, and the girl who just wanted her friend back.