“I’ll probably fly down with Arnessa tonight to pick her up.”

“You know Chaz and I are flying back tonight. I’ll see if I can get her on the flight with us.”

“That will be good. Hit me back and let me know, so if you can’t, we can go ahead and make arrangements.” Just as she was hanging up the phone, Butta came in, followed by Sincere, Mannie, and Shawn.

“What’s the word on baby girl?” Butta asked

Kisa told him everything that she’d gotten from Kennedy.

“This shit is crazy,” Butta sighed after hearing the update, “Where Nessa at?”

“She went up to take a shower; this is stressing her.”

“I already know. Cenise is her life,” Butta said, heading for the stairs.

Shawn walked over to Kisa all smiles. “Sis, what up?”

“What do you want, Shawn?”

“You remember back in the day how all of us would be in one place like this, and you’d whip up one of them bangin’ meals.”

“I remember vaguely,” she joked.

“Come on, Kane, cook something for us.”

“I don’t cook no more, ask Sin.”

“Picture that,” Mannie chimed in as they all laughed.

“Shawn, that chick you call your girl still won’t cook for you?” Kisa asked, smiling mischievously as she hopped off the stool. “If my husband will accompany me to the store, I’ll throw a little something together.” Without waiting for Sincere’s response, she grabbed her purse and his hand and walked toward the door.

Upstairs Butta pushed the bedroom door open a little and peeped inside, Arnessa was lying in the middle of the king-sized bed with her back to the door. She was wearing a white terry-cloth robe. Her freshly shampooed hair was wrapped in a white towel. A small packed duffel bag was at the foot of the bed. Butta lay down behind her and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close to him. “You okay, baby?”

When she didn’t respond, he peeked over her shoulder to see if she was awake. Arnessa stared blankly at the wall. She looked brokenhearted. “How could she do this to me, Butta?”

“I don’t know, Nessa.”

“This feels so crazy. It’s like I don’t even know my little sister. I can’t believe she let some piss-ass nigga gas her. Now, she sitting in a cell, and he in the fuckin’ wind.” Water filled Arnessa’s eyes. “I know she scared out her mind.”

“It’s gonna be aight,” he assured her, kissing the back of her neck. “Kane said Kennedy already paid Cenise’s bond and is on the way to pick Cenise up.”

Arnessa sat up, “I need to get dressed so we can get to the airport.”

“Nah,” he pulled her back down onto the bed, “Cenise is gonna fly up with Kennedy tonight. You need to relax.” He turned her around so that they were now facing each other. Her face was streaked with tears. Butta removed the towel from Arnessa’s head, and her damp hair fell across the pillow. Using the end of the towel, he wiped her face. Arnessa slipped one arm beneath him and the other around him. She planted her head firmly into his chest and wept silently until she fell asleep.