Page 26 of Heavy Is The Crown

It rang twice before Jay-1 answered, voice lazy like he had no cares in the world. “Nigga, you a’ight?”

Kenyatta exhaled sharply, shaking his head. “Am I a’ight?”

Jay-1 chuckled, like this was all a joke. “You made it home, didn’t you?”

Kenyatta’s patience thinned. “Barely.”

“Aye, relax. Everything worked out.”

Kenyatta’s grip on the phone tightened. “Bruh, you almost had me in a fucked-up situation last night. I can’t be in no car getting chased by 12. That’s not my life no more, Jay-1.”

Jay-1 sighed on the other end. “Man, it wasn’t even like that.”

“It was exactly like that,” Kenyatta snapped. “I ain’t going back. You hear me?”

Jay-1 was quiet for a second before he muttered, “Yeah, I hear you.”

Kenyatta knew Jay-1; he wasn’t taking this shit seriously. And that was exactly why he had to start moving different.

“Stay outta trouble, man,” Kenyatta muttered before ending the call.

He let the phone drop onto the couch and leaned back, rubbing a hand over his head. He had bigger shit to focus on. Like getting his life in order. Like finding a damn job.

Kenyatta pushed off the couch, his muscles stiff from sleeping in the same position all night. He stretched his arms, rolling his shoulders before making his way to the bathroom.

The one-bedroom apartment wasn’t much. His mama’s place. He had nowhere else to go, so he was there sleeping on the couch, feeling like a grown-ass failure every time she side-eyed him.

The place smelled like a mix of Pine-Sol, coffee, and frustration. The kind of frustration only a mother can have for a son she loves but don’t trust to get his shit together.

By the time he stepped back into the living room, his phone was buzzing again. This time, it was his pops.

Kenyatta hesitated. Bruce wasn’t the type to call just to chat. Still, he answered. “Yo.”

“Boy, what the hell you been up to?”

Kenyatta sighed. Here we go. “What you talkin’ about?”

Bruce let out a dry laugh. “I got ears everywhere, Yatta. I heard about the bullshit last night.”

Kenyatta clenched his jaw. Damn. Word really got around that fast?

“It ain’t nothin’, man.”

“Your ass gon’ end up locked up again.”

Kenyatta exhaled sharply, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I hear you, Pops.”

Bruce’s tone shifted slightly, a little less frustration, a little more business. “Good. ‘Cause I got something for you.”

That caught his attention. “Yeah?”

“Job opportunity.”

Kenyatta frowned slightly, already feeling that familiar resistance.

“Before you start that prideful bullshit,” Bruce cut in, “it’s honest money.”

Kenyatta sighed, leaning back against the wall. “What’s the job?”

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