The next day, Wallace was the only one who rolled through. All day. I was just about to call the nurse, just so I could have somebody to talk to, when he walked through the door.

"Kenney." He pounded my outstretched fist.

"Sup witchya?"

Wallace opened the curtains wide and looked out of the window. Another thing nobody ever did when they came through.

Made me wonder what was up.

"Nice out. Feel like goin' for a walk?" I know he didn't just say that shit.

I just stared at him. He stared back.

"Nah, bruh."

"Aight. Let me know. They said you're cleared for outside time. I can get a wheelchair."

The word "wheelchair" jolted me. My body physically jumped at the sound of it. No one had ever said "wheelchair" to me before then. It made my heart sink and suddenly I was in a very bad mood.

"Close that." I turned my head like the sun was hurting my eyes. Wallace looked outside one more time, then closed the curtains and turned back to me. I watched him. "Where's Charity?"

There was too much popping off on the block right now. I needed my sister, the only sister I had left, to check in with me several times a week while I was in the hospital, so that I could lay eyes on her and make sure that she was ok. Every day, if possible. At the very least every day on the weekends. I never told her that, but she knew. Charity hadn't been back through since the day before, and I needed to lay eyes on her.

Wallace shrugged.

I sat up real quick and leaned forward, which hurt like hell, but this nigga was trippin.

"You don't know where the fuck my sister at?"

He must be out his damn mind. Charity was too pretty and I had too many fools out for me to not know where she was at all times.

While I was in the hospital, I had plenty of time to think. Too much time. And what I thought the most about was when we were kids. I understood now why Jazz wouldn't let us go outside when Charity stayed with them. It wasn't us who couldn't go outside, it was Charity. And now I felt the exact same way about her. I didn't want my sister to ever be where I couldn't get to her.

Quickly.

Wallace kind of eyed me, and then pulled up a chair next to the bed.

"I know where your sister is." He gave me a steady gaze.

I gave him one back. "Where she at, then?"

"With her new boyfriend."

My eyes bugged. "Boyfriend?" I didn't remember clearing any dude to date my sister.

"Kenney, she's a young woman now. She's seventeen. She needs to live, too. She needs..." I swear I was about to punch Wallace in his face if he said what I thought he was about to say. "Love, Kenney." He knew what I was thinking and emphasized the word. "She needs love. Just like the rest of us." He continued to look me directly in the eye.

I thought about Tiana and I broke eye contact. Then I quickly put her out of my mind. I had to stay focused. There was too much missing information.

"Do I know him?"

"No."

"I know everybody."

"You don't know this kid. He's not from around here."

"Where's he from?"

"Kenney..."

Wallace sure was taking a long time to spit out what the hell he had to say to me. He paused again and read the concern on my face.

"Son, his name is Kevin Watson. He took Charity to This Is It for dinner. He's taking her to the River Oaks Theater to see The Long Kiss Goodnight. The movie starts at 8:15 pm. It's two hours and one minute long, so I expect him to have her home by 10:45 tonight. Not 10:46 and not 10:47. 10:45."

I felt the creases in my face start to relax. "Why'd he take her so far away?"

"He took her to This Is It to show her that he knows how to move through the neighborhood. I let him, because if that's true, that would put me at ease. I told her not to let him take her to our neighborhood, or anywhere where people may recognize her. Especially not those dopeboys she used to date, because that would make me uneasy." I nodded. That was good. Interesting that he knew her background, though. "Kevin Watson is taking her to River Oaks because she likes that theater. I took your sister there once for her birthday, and I guess...you kids didn't get to the movies much growing up." He waited for me to respond. I didn't. Wallace moved on. "She loved it and has loved it ever since. I call your sister's new boyfriend Kevin Watson to remind him that I know his name...his full name, his face, and where to find him and his people if I need to."

I nodded again and redirected the conversation away from Wallace's lock on my sister and back to this new ma' sucka, who currently had my sister on the wrong side of town.

"What is he? A lame or somethin'?" I couldn't see Wallace letting Charity date anyone who wasn't a lame like him. The fact that Kevin Watson let Wallace run him like that told me that I was probably dead on.

"Nah."

"He a banger?"

"Hell no. You think I'd let my daughta' date a gang banga'?" His Baton Rouge came out then, and I was more interested in the fact that I finally found his weak spot, my sister – all of my sisters probably, and mama, too – than in the fact that he had just laid claim to something that wasn't his.

He still wasn't answering my question, though.

"Where's Kevin Watson from?"

Wallace looked at me for a minute too long, and then leaned forward onto his elbows, continuing to give me steady eye contact.

"Son...we moved."

"What do you mean?"

"We moved out to Sugar Land."

"You did?"

"We had too. Your mama and the girls...it was time. Kevin Watson is from Sugar Land. He lives by us, and he goes to school with Charity. He's a good kid, Kenney."

I nodded. He didn't have to say any more. I was glad they were safe.

"Can Kevin Watson protect her?"

Wallace just looked at me. "I can protect her."

It was like all of the energy drained out of me when he said that. I couldn't do shit for Charity from in there anyway, and we both knew it.

"Son," Wallace put his hand on my shoulder, reading my thoughts. "You're gonna walk again. Real soon."

I nodded and looked toward the window, like the curtains were still open. I wondered what the block was looking like.

"You seen my aunt?"

"She's with us."

I perked up. Charity hadn't told me any of this the last time she came through.

"You bringin' her to me?"

Wallace shook his head and looked down. "You don't want to see her like this, Kenney." More energy drained out of me. He could feel it. "But I'll bring her to see you as soon as she's up to it."

"Ok." That's all I could say. Wallace had my whole family in his hands, and I couldn't do anything but leave them there with him and trust that he would take good care of them. "Mama?"

"She's stressed." I looked over at him. "She's worried about you. She's worried about Jazz. She's in a brand new place. Had to leave your sister and your daddy behind..." I blinked and blocked a hundred thoughts from my mind before any of them could get through. "It was hard for her to go, Kenney." I nodded. "She had a real hard time leaving that house. But Charity understood that we had to leave. It wasn't safe anymore. She's helping me with your mama..."

I nodded again. Wallace sat forward a little more in his chair.

"Charity's a good girl." I nodded. I knew that. She was mean, but good. "Whatever I can do to make her life better, I'm goin' to do it." His forehead creased. "Your mama...thinks you're not safe, son. And if you go back...she's right. You won't be safe." I nodded again. I knew that, too. "So I have to convince her every so often that you're still in here...and haven't gone back out there...yet."

He looked at me for a real long time, waiting for it to sink in that mama still hadn't accepted the fact that I couldn't go anywhere.

I nodded again.

"She has panic attacks now. Bad ones. But...I'm getting her help. And I try to keep her relaxed." He continued to gaze at me calmly, like none of this was a big deal, but I could tell that he was making his face stay calm like that on purpose. "I'll bring her by, too. As soon as she's up to it." He sat back in his chair. "So you can lay eyes on her." He knew and understood that that was what I needed to happen.

I realized that Wallace had a whole lot on his shoulders right then. And I knew for a fact that it wasn't easy to have all of that on just you.

"You?"

He smiled like he didn't expect me to give a shit. "I'm aight."

"You sure? You can handle it?"

He nodded and put his hand back on my shoulder. "I can handle a whole lot, son. You have no idea."

I nodded and sat back into the pillows, my lids getting heavy. "Cool." I opened one eye and looked at him. "Thanks."

"No problem." He stood up when I closed my eyes again. "Aight then." He slapped my outstretched hand.

I chuckled again at his 70s ways and spent the rest of the day picturing myself walking the hell up out of that door right behind him.