Page 19 of K.I.N.: Karma Is Near

Calm.

That same little knowing look in his eyes.

I stared back at him.

He smiled.

Barely.

He knew I’d just done some foul shit.

He just didn’t know how foul.

Didn’t know Avery had been mine for a year. Didn’t know the baby she had was my daughter. Didn’t know Heather was carrying my son. Didn’t know Samantha had spent months wondering why her husband barely had enough energy to fuck her while I somehow kept finding enough for everybody else.

And Samantha didn’t know shit.

She thought she knew every version of Xavier she’d ever have to deal with.

She didn’t.

My phone vibrated in my pocket.

I didn’t even have to look.

Probably Heather.

I ignored it.

Samantha grabbed her purse and headed toward the door, excited about finally getting me alone for the night.

I followed my wife outside like everything was good.

Like I hadn’t just been upstairs fuckin’ her sister.

Like her cousin wasn’t pregnant with my son.

Like the little girl Avery had wasn’t mine.

And like my brother hadn’t just watched me come downstairs and started putting shit together.

1

SAMANTHA & LEVIN

SAMANTHA

Iwas cooking breakfast because the kids was home from school this Friday fuckin’ morning.

Why?

I ain’t know.

Something about some teacher shit, staff development, conference day—whatever the fuck the email said when I skimmed through it half sleep. All I knew was I had four kids in my house on a day they normally would’ve been somebody else’s problem from eight in the morning until three in the afternoon, and I wasn’t about to stress myself trying to remember why.

“Amari, stop touching your brother.”

“I didn’t touch him!”