Page 83 of Kissed By the Trillest Thug 2

“What?” I finally asked.

“Giovani has the same father you do.”

The words echoed inside my head. Nothing else. Just those seven words. I couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. I couldn’t even blink. Instead, my mind drifted somewhere else.

Pops was jogging behind me while I learned how to ride my bike. Giovani was standing off to the side watching us. A few minutes later, Pops waved him over.

“Come on, G. Your turn.”

I remembered asking why. I was the only kid, and moments like this I felt should have been reserved for me and my dad only. Pops smiled before answering me.

“Every little boy deserves to know how to ride a bike.”

Another memory surfaced….

I got a new pair of sneakers before school started. A few days later, Pops showed up at Ms. Gia’s apartment carrying another shoebox. I thought he was making sure Giovani didn’t feel forgotten. I thought that’s just who my father was. A man with a big heart.

Now… those memories didn’t feel generous anymore. They felt guilty. They felt intentional. They felt like a father trying to love a son he couldn’t claim. I looked back across the table. My throat had gone dry.

“You knew?”

I hoped that this was something she figured out after my dad had died or something. I was trying to make sense of this. But there was no making sense of this shit. Ghost was a year older than me.

“I’ve always known,” she nodded.

I sat there in complete silence. My father never claimed one of his sons. His first son at that. Everything I thought I knew about my father was a lie. The man I knew would have stepped up and openly taken care of what was his. Theo Reynolds was a man who didn’t play that kind of shit. Or so I thought. I couldtell that Ms. Gia was trying to see how I would react to this information. Honestly, I could have flipped this fucking table over if it was bolted to the floor. Neither one of us spoke, and I couldn’t stop looking at her. I had so many questions I wanted to ask, but I knew that if she answered one, I would find ten more behind that.

Finally, I found my voice.

“Does Ghost know?”

She slowly shook her head.

“No.”

I frowned.

“So, I’m the first person that you’re telling?”

“You are.”

I leaned back in my chair and rubbed a hand over my face.

“Damn.”

Another long silence settled between us. Then another thought hit me.

“Did my daddy know?”

Her answer came almost immediately.

“Yes.”

I stared at her.

“He knew?” I asked again for clarification.

She nodded.