Arnessa obliged. Before she could get the first word out, her eyes were already tearing. “Neesie, I know that this last year has been real hard on you”—the tears began to trickle down her cheeks—“and, um, I haven’t made it easy at all. I am so sorry for letting this happen to you.”

Cenise blinked to ward off the tears that burned the back of her eyes. “No Ness, I would be wrong to let you take the blame for my situation. When all you ever did was try to keep me out of trouble. Too bad my hard head kept me from seeing that.” She chuckled softly. “I guess hindsight is everything.”

Arnessa’s heart sank: Her baby sister finally got it, but she was hurt that it took going to prison for Cenise to come to this realization. “You know, if I could switch places with you I would go do your time.”

“I know you would, but I’m okay with this. I’m ready to go in and get it over.”

“How can you be so calm, knowing you’re going to prison tomorrow?”

“Not knowing how much time I was going to get was the worst part. Now that I know, I’m okay. Plus Yatta’s call the other day really helped too.”

“Kennedy’s sister?” Arnessa asked.

“Yeah.”

“What did y’all talk about?”

“She told me what prison was like for her, what to expect, and how I should carry myself.”

Arnessa rubbed the side of Cenise’s face, “You have to be careful in there. I need you to come back to me … you’re all I got.”

“You’ve got Butta too.”

“It’s not the same, though. I mean, Butta and me, yes, we love each other, and we may be together for a long time, but you are my blood. Although you may have singlehandedly destroyed my nerves, you are the love of my life.”

“I love you, Arnessa.”

“I love you too. I promise, anything you need, you better call me. I don’t care what it is.” Arnessa pulled Cenise in, hugging her tight. “I promise you, I will be there for every visit. We’re gonna get through this … together.”