48

Janet

We stopped to get something to eat from Whataburger. Which was an amazing spot and I didn't see why we didn't have a chain of it in LA.

"Geez, this makes me miss Texas." Kyrin mumbled from beside me as we ate while Joey drove us towards the prison. For as long as we've been riding, I'd say we were close.

"This is my first time trying this and I'm pretty impressed. Why didn't we get a chain of Whataburger's in LA?"

Kyrin laughed. "Bae, it's so cute that you say What-A-Burger."

"Why?" I asked in confusion.

"Cause in Houston we smooth say, Waterburger. I don't know who started it or why it's made it to the 21st century, but it's there."

"Why Water-burger though?"

Kyrin shrugged. "I don't know. It just happened and not a lot of people have questioned it. It might be just a southern thing because my bougie family members say What-A-Burger."

I laughed. "I would love to meet your bougie family members."

"I'll let them know."

"We are pulling up guys." Joey announced.

My fiancé sighed deeply before shaking her hands. "Geez, I am nervous. Really. Really. Nervous."

"Don't be nervous."  I grabbed her hand. "It'll be fine." Her phone started ringing and I looked and saw it was Sarah. I answered. "Hey Sarah."

"Hey, this prison is gonna be hard for Kyrin, so you may have to walk her through this."

"Yeah. Of course I know. We will talk when we get up here."

"What'd she say?" Ky asked me.

"Sarah told me to make sure you were alright."

Kyrin nodded. "I'll be fine. I'm a Broussard."

My baby had an awful habit of doing this. Of acting fine and holding things in. Then she boils over and let's her anger out, expresses herself for not even an hour and right back to same ole Kyrin we go. She still felt like emotions were signs of weaknesses but the ability to feel— well that was also a strength.

"Being a Broussard doesn't make you invincible." I told her as we parked.

"No. It doesn't." She replied as she opened the door and got out. "But it sure as hell tries to."

I followed and got out with Joey on side of me. He sent me a look of worry and I nodded in understanding of it. We were both worried. We didn't know what Kyrin was going to do once she got inside which was not good because this woman kept us on our toes when it came to her reactions.

We walked through everything needed to see her mother. Including security. Joey, Juliette and Langston stayed back. Sarah, Kyrin and I walked into the room with the other visitors. People didn't go crazy about me being there, but some nodded my way and I knew that the conversation was probably on why Janet Jackson was in a prison with her girlfriend and a minister.

We sat down in silence. Sarah mumbled. "Let's pray."

Kyrin and I looked at her and I nodded. "Yeah let's."

"Don't over do it minister." Kyrin warned as she put her head down and closed her eyes. We followed in that motion.

Sarah began praying. "Heavenly Father, we come to you. Heads bowed in respect of your name. God we render thanks, thank you for allowing us a safe journey here. Thank you for blessing us beyond measures. God, I know that the setting we are in isn't its greatest, but we still want to thank you for life. You have continuously blessed us. More than I can ever thank you for in one setting. You've kept us here and you've kept us safe, and God we know that you didn't have to. People are being called and we just await the day that you can look at us and say "Well Done". In the mighty name of God we pray, Amen."

As soon as we lifted our heads a loud buzzer sounded throughout the room. We heard a loud door open and other people began filing out from inside the jail in search of their visitors. Kyrin's mother was upon the last to come out and she lit up when she saw her daughter.

Walking up to us, she sat down. "Hello girls."

"Hey Mama J." Sarah greeted her.

"Hello Miss Joanna." I went next.

We both looked at Kyrin who was staring at her blankly. Sarah nudged her and she spoke. "Hi mom."

I made eye contact with Sarah. This may not go well.

Sarah spoke for Kyrin. "Well Mama J, it's good to see you and we came to make sure you didn't need anything."

"It's good to see you as well sweetie. I thought you and Kyrin had fallen off but it wasn't my place to ask. And I do need—."

"Why'd you do it?" Kyrin asked as she cut her mother off.

Joanna wore a confused facial expression. "Do what?"

"Why'd you kill him? The fact that he was beating you or the fact that he didn't want to let you love me anymore?"

"I did not kill your father Kyrin." Joanna's voice got low and serious and I believed her when she said it.

"I found the medicine for his heart in the restroom mom." Kyrin matched her mothers tone. "In your name and you can't take medicine like that because you are sick. That'll mess with your system even more. So what was it? What was the breaking point?"

Hold up. Hold up. Hold up! So Joanna did kill the man after all? Whew, this is too much. My head looked Kyrin's direction. Why the hell didn't I know the tea before walking into this facility? I swear she never tells me the good shit!

Joanna's mouth opened and closed before she found her reasoning. "It was two options. Life or death. I had to get him out of here. The heart attack happened when I didn't expect to, maybe because we had fought and it put too much pressure on him but he didn't even realize I was putting it in his protein shakes in the morning. I didn't even think it was working if I'm being honest."

"Okay." Kyrin nodded but Sarah and I stayed silent. "Back on topic, what do you need?"

"I need you to sale the house." She answered my fiancé. "You and the girls go and clean it out. Take whatever you want out of it, but bring me nothing. I want nothing out of that house, I already took what I needed. Then you sale it."

"Yeah. It's not happening. That's our childhood—."

"Kyrin it wasn't a good childhood to begin with." Her mother cut her off that time. Well shit, she had a point by that. "Put it on the market."

"Why momma?"

"You and the girls are in LA. I'm here, it is no need for bills to be racking up in a home that'll never have a heart inside of it again. Sale it."

"Miss Joana, we are trying to get you out of here." I told her. Maybe she didn't realize it.

She laughed. "Janet, this is a murder charge, they are not letting me go that easily. You all don't even waste your time on nothing like that. I'm going to be just fine."

"So you wanna be in here?" Kyrin asked as her face turned sour. "Cause your other two children are racking their eyeballs out trying to get you out of here because for some unknown ass reason they think their mother didn't kill their father."

"Kyrin, I did the crime and now you're upset that I'm actually owning it and doing my time?" Her mom asked her.

"No, I'm upset because you just don't give a rats ass. Have you told Phoebe and Ember this?"

Her mother shook her head. "No. I'm telling you so you can tell them—."

"See. And that's about to be another problem." Her glare intensified on her mother. "I'm not your fixer and doer. I'm not telling them this so they can fall out and then I have to fix it. Hell no. I'm sick of this shit. That's not my damn job. My job is to watch over some high school kids, not my damn sisters."

"I never said it was sweet pea. You were just always the only one we could tell thing to and you wouldn't let it bother you." Joanna tried to fix it but she was too late. I could tell.

"No, you raised me to be emotionally unavailable but everyone else in that bitch got to feel every damn emotion under the rainbow. See, I knew I shouldn't have came here." Kyrin stood up and walked away from the table.

"Kyrin." Sarah called after her as I got up as well and followed my fiancé.

I caught up with her in the hall and we began walking side by side. Kyrin spoke and her statement caught me off guard. "We should have gotten more rounds in. I'm still feeling uneasy."

Chuckling, I shook my head. "Woman, that's not what I'm walking next to you to talk about."

Kyrin waved me off. "I know. I know, but that was my first thought when you did walk up."

"You know you have to go back in there." I caught her arm and made her steps come to a stop.

She rolled her eyes. "She'll be fine. I'll go to the house before we fly out and get something's to give to my sisters. I'll put it on the market. I'll do whatever she wants, I just don't have to respect her when I'm doing it."

I didn't want to push her. Pushing her would lead to her shutting down and that wasn't wanted nor needed today. She'd come to me when she needed to. Until then, I'd just wait.

"She told you the truth Ky."

"After lying, Superstar." It was my turn to glare at her which caused her to laugh. "I'm sorry baby, my bad. It's a habit."

"Mhm." I mumbled as we began walking again. "Sarah's still back there."

"Probably catching up and praying for the woman." Kyrin muttered and was probably right.

"Is that a bad thing?" I questioned.

"Heck no. She needs all the prayer she can get at this point. I'm just ready to go back home. I miss our son."

Smiling at her, I couldn't help it, I smiled every time she called Eissa our son. He was hers as much as he was mines. That was a very known fact.

"I miss him too."

"We are probably going to have to feed him to get him to forgive us for being gone this long. Do you realize how much food you're going to have to buy when you get off tour?"

Chuckling, I nodded. "Oh, I've already estimated. About 800 dollars worth. You two should tour with me."

"But, you know we can't." She put her head down on her feet for a moment before looking back up at me.

"I know. It's just always good to suggest."

Kyrin grabbed my hand and kissed it. "I love you."

"I love you too baby." Smiling again, I spoke. "You like your ring right?"

"What? Do I? It's amazing. It's got this vintage feel to it and I love it."

"It was my grandmothers, then my mothers and now it's mines."

"Hol up." Kyrin stopped walking as her eyes swept over the ring. "I'm holding Jackson's on my finger? Holy crap. Why didn't you tell me that? Girl it's not safe to wear this outside, this is legendary blood wrapped into this ring. Someone might try to rob me."

Pushing her, we laughed as I walked off without her. "Shut up."

"What?" She called after me. "I'm just saying."