Page 80 of Kissed By the Trillest Thug 2

“Have you been up to no good in those streets again?”

I wasn’t naive to my son being outside doing God knows what. When he and Tahari started leaving money on my nightstand, I knew something was up. But this house operated on a don’t ask, don’t tell rule. Tonight was different, though. Seeing the blood on his shirt and Tahari dropping in a couple of months ago with a bullet wound in his arm let me know that they had a lot more going on. He never answered my question.

I’m not saying that I approved of my son doing whatever he did in those streets, but I always slept a little better at night knowing that he had someone to watch his back.

“Where the frick to your frack?”

That finally got his attention.

“What?”

“Where’s Tahari?” I clarified.

The corner of his jaw twitched.

“He ain’t here,” he snapped.

I didn’t know what the fuck his attitude was about, but nobody in this house had more attitude than me.

“I can see that,” I snapped right back while folding my arms, “I’m asking where he at.”

“I don’t know, and honestly… I don’t care.”

I frowned.

“What happened?”

He shook his head.

“He made his choice.”

“What choice?” I was so confused, but I’m sure my son would clear everything up for me.

“He doesn’t give a shit about me.”

The hurt in his voice caught me off guard. I could tell that this was really bothering him because he was pacing the floor in front of me and venting. He needed to get all of this off his chest, so I sat quietly and let him.

“He got his little job. His little girlfriend. His new life. I’m yesterday’s news.”

I tried to reason with him because life was about growth.

“Giovani…”

“Nah.”

He cut me off.

“Matter fact… he ain’t even my brother anymore.”

Before I could respond, he turned and stormed down the hallway. A second later, his bedroom door slammed hard enough to shake the picture frames on the wall. Silence settled over the apartment. I stared down the hallway long after he’d disappeared.He ain’t even my brother anymore. His words repeated in my head, and tears burned behind my eyes. If only he knew. I had carried this secret for years because I truly believed it was the right thing to do. I thought I was protecting my boys. Protecting their hearts. I used to think that if they acted like brothers their whole life, what was the point in telling them that they really were. Now, with them at odds, the information was vital. It was probably the only thing that would help them mend whatever the fuck they had going on.

I wiped my eyes before reaching for my phone on the coffee table. Maybe I couldn’t fix Giovani tonight. But I could stop waiting to tell these boys what I should have years ago. My thumb hovered over Tahari’s name for a few seconds before I finally typed.

Hey, baby. We need to talk when you get a chance.

I stared at the message one last time. I was debating on sending it because it was late, but then he knew that I worked odd hours. I hit send and then placed my phone back on the table.

I let out a long breath before looking over at the hoodie Gio had tossed onto my couch. I sucked my teeth when I noticed it. During the shock of him coming home like that, I hadn’t paid much attention to where he had tossed this shit.