Page 144 of Kentrell

He let out a breath that felt half laugh, half sigh. “That’s my dog. We different in damn near every way, but that’s still my nigga. Always gon’ be.”

He paused like a memory hit him, then added, “He was always loud. Even as a kid. Talked shit to grown folks, had girls callin’ the house when we barely had a house phone. My mama used to threaten to slap the taste out his mouth, and he’d still grin like he was untouchable.”

I smiled, imagining it.

“After my granny passed, it was just us. We looked after each other in that house… ’cause we knew shit could—and did—get crazy. Especially when our daddy threw parties.” He paused, like the memory pulled something heavy from him. Took a breath. Then kept going.

“Random muhfuckas walking through the house, high as hell… fucking, drinking… doing any and everything. We seen all that shit.”

I swallowed hard, feeling a quiet kind of heartbreak for him.

I couldn’t imagine being exposed to that… not even now, at my big age. And they were just kids.

“My daddy used to get on my case about everything. And Wani… he knew it.” A faint smirk touched his lips. “So whenever he was in one of his moods, I’d hole up in our bedroom… and Wani would sneak out and bring back whatever he thought I’d eat from the kitchen.”

The smile lingered for half a second, then faded into something more serious. “That’s why I never let nobody fuck with him. Kensei either. It’s always been us… man.”

My heart squeezed at the way he said it—like loyalty wasn’t optional. Like it was written in his DNA.

“What about Kensei?” I asked, brushing my thumb along the back of his hand. “From what I seen of him at his opening—he doesn’t seem like you.”

“He not. I made sure of it.”

He didn’t look at me when he said it. Just kept his eyes on the road, his voice steady.

“He was a baby when shit was still real ugly. I remember lookin’ at him one day… just sittin’ on the floor with some crayons and notebook paper, drawing his own cartoons. It hit me. He ain’t belong to the life we came from. He had somethin’ in him we didn’t. Light. Imagination. I wasn’t about to let the world dim that shit.”

I swallowed the knot rising in my throat.

“So I kept him close. Took him to the art store, signed him up for every program I could find. Got him outta the hood schools and into the ones that had music, design, teachers that gave a fuck. I made deals with people I don’t even like to keep him safe. Just so he could grow into who he’s supposed to be. Not some replica of me or Kenwan.”

I reached over and brushed my fingertips across his forearm, gentle.

“I see him everywhere now,” I said. “His work. His clothes. Magazines. Runway shows. You helped make that happen.”

Kentrell looked at me finally, and there was something proud in his eyes. But something pained too.

“Yeah, well… that’s what big brothers supposed to do, right?”

I nodded, blinking through the emotion swelling in my chest again.

We rode in silence for a while after that, until I realized we weren’t headed west anymore. My brows pinched as I sat up straighter in my seat. I looked around, noticing the road thinning out into a restricted-access driveway lined with low buildings and fences.

“Wait… where are we?” I turned to him. “Kentrell, what are you doing?”

He didn’t answer right away. Just drove up slowly toward a large steel gate, where a man in a black jacket waved us through like he already knew who we were.

“Taking us to the spot,” he said calmly.

I stared at him, trying to read between the lines. “What spot? I thought we were going to Oak Brook…”

He smirked but kept his eyes on the road ahead, easing the truck into what looked like the entrance of a private hangar.

“You changed the plans?”

“I upgraded ‘em.”

My mouth parted, but I couldn’t even form words.

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