Chapter Thirty
Ja’Rel didn’t know what was going on as he slowly drove by. He looked over at Ka’yah, who sat in the back of the police cruiser, and quickly turned his head. He heard her call his name, but he kept it moving. The police being there alone was enough to make him mind his own business. He wasn’t about to stop to see what was going on. He loved Ka’yah but he loved his freedom even more. He wasn’t about to chance the police questioning him about stuff he had nothing to do with. Besides, he was on probation and out past his curfew. Whatever Ka’yah had done couldn’t have been that bad. Ja’Rel thought about rushing home to tell Ke’yoko but decided to go see his son and other side chick first.
Ka’yah was sitting in the police station trying to call everybody she knew, but no one answered their phone. She was thankful that the CO was nice enough to let her use the phone until she reached somebody. Her flirting with him helped a lot. After trying to reach Ja’Rel, Ke’yoko, Daron, and even Kailo, Ka’yah had no choice but to call the one person she never thought she would ever have to reach out to.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Mother?” Ka’yah said slowly.
“Ka’yah?” her mother asked, surprised.
“Yes, it’s me.”
“Is something wrong?” her mother asked, concerned, feeling there had to be being that her daughter was calling her after not hearing from her since her late husband’s funeral.
“Mother, I’m in jail,” Ka’yah said as tears filled her eyes. The reality of her being locked up was finally starting to set in.
“Jail? For what, Ka’yah?” Her mother panicked.
“They tryin’a say I killed Bo,” she replied as the tears began falling.
“Who?” her mother asked.
“Bo, Mother. You don’t know him,” Ka’yah said, annoyed.
“Well, did you kill him?” her mother inquired.
“No, Mother,” she huffed.
“Well, what do you want me to do?”
“Get in touch wit’ Ke’yoko for me. She’ll know what to do,” Ka’yah said.
“What’s her phone number?” her mother asked as she looked for something to write with.
Ka’yah rambled off her sister’s phone number to her mother. “If she doesn’t answer, go by her house,” Ka’yah said.
“Okay, but I don’t know where she live at,” her mother said.
Ka’yah gave her mother Ke’yoko’s address.
“Time’s up,” the CO said.
“Look, Mother, I have to go. Do what I said and I’ll try to call you back later,” Ka’yah said.
“Okay,” her mother said before hanging up and calling the number Ka’yah had given her for Ke’yoko.
Ke’yoko was lying in the bed still watching TV when another unfamiliar number came across her cell phone screen. Someone had been blowing her up for the past twenty minutes, but she refused to answer.
“Hello?” she answered reluctantly, thinking it might be important.
“Rie?” her mother said.
“Mother?”
“Yes.”
“Wassup?” Ke’yoko asked, confused while wondering how she got her number.
“Your sister is in jail,” her mother said.
“For what?” Ke’yoko asked.
“For murder. She said they trying to accuse her of killing Bobby,” her mother said.
Ke’yoko took the phone away from her mouth and chuckled because her mother got the entire name messed up. “Bo,” Ke’yoko corrected her.
“Bo, Bobby, it’s all the same,” her mother said.
“That’s crazy. Is there anything I can do to help?” Ke’yoko asked, acting as if she was really concerned about her sister’s well-being.
“Ka’yah asked me to call you because she said you’ll know what to do.”
Yeah, leave her bitch-ass right where she at until she rots to death, Ke’yoko wanted to say but didn’t.
“Rie, please get your sister out of jail. I don’t know what to do,” her mother said, frantic.
“Calm down, Mother. I’ll handle it,” Ke’yoko said facetiously.
“Good. Call me and let me know what’s going on. I have money if you need it.”
“Okay, Mother. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Okay, thank you,” her mother said before hanging up.
Ke’yoko couldn’t believe Ka’yah had reached out to their mother. She wondered why she didn’t call Ja’Rel to bond her out. Ke’yoko laid her cell phone back down, turned back on her side to try to get comfortable, and continued watching the end of her TV show.
* * *
“Hey, baby, you awake?” Ja’Rel stumbled in a two a.m. and asked while tapping Ke’yoko on the shoulder.
“What you think?” Ke’yoko snapped.
“I don’t know that’s why I’m askin’,” Ja’Rel slurred.
“It’s two in the fuckin’ mornin’,” she said, looking over at the clock on the wall. “So why wouldn’t I be asleep, Ja’Rel?”
“Anyways, they said Ka’yah got locked up,” he said.
Ke’yoko quickly sat up in the bed. “For what?” she asked, surprised, acting as if she didn’t already know.
“I don’t know. They just said she got arrested. I don’t know no details,” Ja’Rel said as he removed his clothes.
“Who is they?” Ke’yoko inquired.
“I don’t know. I just overheard some niggas talkin’ about it at the club,” Ja’Rel lied as he climbed in the bed.
“I’m confused.”
“About what?”
“About how my sister gets locked up and you don’t call and tell me!” she said, pretending like she was mad.
“Baby, I didn’t know if you was asleep or not and I didn’t wanna call and wake you up if you were,” Ja’Rel said.
“This is fucked up!” Ke’yoko grabbed her cell phone off the nightstand and began dialing numbers.
“Who you callin’?”
“I’m callin’ to find out what’s goin’ on wit’ my sister! Who else would I be callin’?” she snapped. Ke’yoko turned her ringer all the way down as she pretended to be talking to someone at the police department. “Okay, thank you,” she said sullenly.
“What they say?” Ja’Rel inquired.
“The CO told me to call back in the mornin’ and they can tell me more. I’ll just go down there in the mornin’,” Ke’yoko said as she lay back.
“Good. Let me know what they say. If she need some bail money, I got her, on the strength of her bein’ your sister,” Ja’Rel said.
You sure it ain’t on the strength of her bein’ ya baby momma? Ke’yoko wanted to say badly, but got herself comfortable instead. “Thanks.”
“No problem, baby. You know I love your sister just like you do. Shit, she’s my family too. And you know Aiko is my li’l dude. I love him like he was one of my own,” Ja’Rel said.
Ke’yoko instantly got heated. She wanted to spit in Ja’Rel’s face, ol’ slick nigga, but decided not to because his time was about to end, just like Ka’yah’s.
“Good night, Ja’Rel,” Ke’yoko said while rolling her eyes before closing them and drifting back off to sleep.