Page 55 of A Street King’s Widow

The front door closed behind me, but I couldn’t make my damn feet move. I just stood there on the porch looking out into the darkness.

“What the fuck?” I whispered to myself.

I should’ve never gone in the house. But if I hadn’t gone in, she would’ve been a drunk fucking coma. My brother would have haunted my ass for leaving his wife in there. I walked down the steps and climbed into my truck. All I could do was sit there. I replayed the kiss over in my head and then the look on her face right after. Kyenna looked like she wanted to disappear. I shook my head before starting the truck and finally pulling away from her house and out the gate. Living on the compound had never bothered me until tonight. My house sat only a few football fields away from Kyenna’s. Normally that gave me peace. Tonight, that shit felt too damn close. I pulled into my driveway and headed into my dark house. I tossed my keys and phone on the kitchen island and walked straight to the refrigerator. Grabbing the first thing, cold to cool me off. I took the bottled water down until I got brain freeze. That shit didn’t help either. My phone went off on the island. It was Nikki calling, and I ignored it. It buzzed again.

Nikki: You make it home yet?

Me: Yeah

As soon as I hit the send button, she called again. I answered on the third ring.

“Hello.”

“You sound tired. You okay?”

“I’m a lil’ tired.”

“You want me to come over? I’ll fix you something to eat and rub your back.”

“Nah, I’m just gonna shower and lay it down.”

“You sure?”

“I’m straight.”

“Okay. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

I hung up before the conversation could go further. I wasn’t lying to Nikki. I was tired. Just not the kind that sleep could fix. The hot water beat against my shoulders and back while I stood under the shower. Usually this was where I cleared my head. That shit wasn’t working tonight. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Kyenna crying on my shoulder. That woman had cried harder tonight than she did the day he died. That was why my head was fucked up. Kyenna was drowning and hiding it. I leaned both my hands against the shower wall.

“Damn, Rah.” My voice echoed. “I got her, bruh. I got all of all ‘em,” I said because the shit sounded better.

It was now four in the morning, and I still hadn’t fallen asleep. Since I couldn’t fall asleep, I decided to get up and get to the money. I got up, threw some clothes on, and headed to one of my warehouses. The bitch was already booming when I got there. My forklift drivers were already moving weight from the containers and trucks. I found a few trucks that hadn’t been opened and climbed in them to count the pallets that were wrapped tightly with serial numbers attached to them. After I cleared a few trucks, I walked the dock. My pops had this shit set up so smooth that people thought we were a legit transport business. The invoices and everything matched up just in case any boats had to show paperwork. Our truck drivers were so good at their job that they rarely got stopped and searched.

The sun had cracked through the sky, and my phone hadn’t stopped going off. I didn’t have the time right now to stop doing what I was doing to answer anyone. One wrong number and the whole shipment had to be recounted. Staying busy is what kept my mind off last night. By the time I got done with the day, I would be able to go home, shower, and finally get some rest. It was now close to one in the afternoon, and everything had been accounted for and was ready for distribution. That was a whole other operation that would have to wait until tomorrow. Before I got ready to leave, I made sure each box truck was heading in the right direction. My phone went off as I walked to my truck. It was Kyenna. I stared at her name for a second before I answered.

“Yeah.”