Page 587 of K.I.N.: Karma Is Near

“Yeah.”

“Crazy how shit catch up with you.”

My eyes stayed on the picture.

“Yeah.”

Levin kissed the side of my head.

“I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

“Lock the door.”

“Goodnight, Levin.”

He sucked his teeth.

“Goodnight.”

I smiled.

He left and I locked the door behind him.

Checked on the kids.

Zion was knocked out sideways across his bed.

Amari still had her television on.

Michael had somehow fallen asleep with one sock on.

And Serenity was out cold in her crib surrounded by birthday balloons I was going to have to get out of there tomorrow.

I stood over her for a minute.

One.

My baby was one.

Xay had missed it.

That thought still hurt.

That was the complicated part nobody would ever understand.

I had cried when Xavier died.

Really cried.

There wasn’t anything fake about that.

I grieved him.

Sometimes I still did.

I grieved the boy I’d met before life made us harder.