Page 285 of Kentrell

“And I’ve been meeting with different lawyers… paralegals…”

“For what?” I cut in, brows pulling tight with confusion.

“Attorney Tasha Williams… she founded the Second Chance Justice Project… and she took on my appeal. Pro bono.”

My whole face went numb. Not ‘cause I wasn’t happy… but because I didn’t wanna get hopeful behind some shit… put all my energy and time into it just for it to crumble. I knew what that kind of disappointment felt like. Knew it too well. And if I couldn’t handle that… my mama for damn sure couldn’t.

“Ma… you sure?—”

“Kentrell…” She cut me off, voice steady but eyes shining. “This the real thing. I got the letter for my evidentiary hearing… I got a scheduled court date. December 5th.”

Her face lit up… and now I understood the glow I’d been seeing on her since I walked in.

“Baby… I don’t wanna jinx shit…” She smiled, tears threatening again but her grin holding strong. “But it’s looking like the real thing.”

For a second, I just sat there… stuck.

Like my body ain’t know what to do first—breathe, speak, cry, something.

The idea of my mama getting out… walking free… it didn’t feel real. Felt like a dream I’d had too many times… the kind that leaves you waking up tight-chested and mad at the world for lying to you in your sleep.

But this time… it wasn’t a dream.

I stood up fast, pacing a little, running both hands over my head.

“Ma…” My voice cracked, and I hated that, but fuck it… “You serious?”

“I wouldn’t tell you if I wasn’t.”

I let out this half-laugh, half-choke of a sound… like relief and fear wrestling inside me at the same time.

I turned back to her, dropped to one knee beside her chair, resting my head against her lap like I used to do when I was little and the world got too heavy.

Her hands moved right to my head, slow, threading through my hair.

“Baby, it’s gon’ be okay,” she whispered.

I stayed like that for a minute, just breathing her in. Then, I pulled back, swiping at my face real quick before sitting back in the chair.

But then I noticed it.

That shift again.

Her hands stilled. Her smile dimmed. That glow… flickering like a light bulb about to go out.

“Ma…” I sat up straighter. “What’s wrong?”

She sucked in a slow breath… let it out shakier than I liked.

“There’s something else I need to tell you.” Her voice dropped low, almost like she wanted to tuck the words back in her throat.

“What now?” My heart was already thumping.

She opened her mouth… closed it again. Looked toward the CO like she was checking how much time we had left. Then she leaned in, resting both her forearms on the table.

“You remember that night…” Her voice cracked halfway through the sentence. “The night your daddy died.”

My whole body stiffened.

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