“This was good, Si. Real talk.”
“Better than noodles,” I teased, turning my head a fraction toward him.
“Yeah. But you know what, I don’t mind the noodles. It’s comfort and reminds me of home. After my dad died, my mama struggled to take care of me and Jarrell.”
“Jarrell?”
“Legacee.” He laughed at the look on my face. “Si, how’s he your favorite artist and you don’t know his real name?”
I laughed, shaking my head. “Forget all of that and finish the story.”
He let out a small chuckle. “But yeah, it was just us. Jarrell’s mama had been strung out our whole life, but my mama took him in when we were seven.”
I turned gently on the cushion, angling toward him without making it obvious.
“If you don’t mind me asking… how did your father die?”
“My dad died from an accident on the job. We were ten and he was the breadwinner.” He paused briefly while clenching his jaw. Immediately I felt bad for bringing up a tough memory. “After he died, my mama got a job working as a school bus attendant. That wasn’t real money, especially raising two boys. She was never home and all she did was work doubles. Andshe took on a late shift at some nursing home. We had to feed ourselves.”
“Noodles,” I said softly, watching him stare straight ahead. He nodded once clenching his jaw again. I rubbed his arm without thinking. I wasn’t trying to interrupt him, I just wanted to be there for him.
“Vienna sausages, spam… all of that. And when that ran out, we used to steal from the corner store.” He let out a short breath. “I wanna be clear though, Si, the food wasn’t the issue. It was hearing my mother cry. Or barely seeing her some days. It felt like that part of our life wasn’t going to end.”
“Must have been tough, Kier. I’m so sorry.”
“But then,” he continued, “when I turned seventeen, my mama got the biggest blessing of her life. She got a settlement from my dad’s job. They hit her with two hundred thousand dollars after all those years.” A small smile pulled at his mouth. “I ain’t never seen her cry like that in my life.”
“Wow,” I said quietly. “That was most definitely a blessing.”
“And her being selfless, she wanted to use that money to put me and Jarrell through college. She had it all planned out.” He glanced over at me briefly. “I told her straight up that college was her dream. Music was mine. I asked her to buy me a system, and in a few years, I’d triple that check she got.”
“So, what happened?” I asked, fully invested now..
“She got us a small house. She bought me a computer, headphones, and everything I needed.” He gave a small shrug. “And shit, the rest is history.”
I looked at him a little differently after knowing what it took for him to be the revered Kier Stone.
“Wow, Kier. I never would’ve known. Can I be real with you?”
“Always.”
“You giving me money on my birthday and inviting Treasure everywhere made me skeptical. At first, I thought you were justflexing.” I paused, choosing my words carefully. “But listening to you now, and knowing what you’ve been through, I realize you’re truly a selfless person. You’ve gone without, so if you can prevent that feeling for somebody else, you do.”
After staring at me for a moment, he spoke softly. “You see me.”
“I do.”
“I guess we all got something in common,” I said, easing back. “You, me, and Legacee. We all lost parents, one way or another.”
“Tell me more.” He urged me.
I reached for my phone instead, connecting it to the speaker, letting the music fill the space before I had to answer. “That’s a different story for another day.”
He watched me but respected my wishes. “Well, at least tell me why you like Jarrell so much.”
“Legacee,” I corrected him, glancing over. “It’s a difference. I don’t know… his music makes me feel like I can rob a bank, drive foreign cars, have a couple bad model bitches or something.”
“Yoooo,” he laughed, shaking his head. “You wilding!”
