“Football?” He nodded, pride flickering behind the tears.
“Running back. I start now. I’m All-American.” Jackie’s chest swelled with pride and ache all at once. “I’m so proud of you,” she whispered. “I know,” he said, pulling her closer.
“Nef told me she sent you my cap and gown pics.”
“Yeah,” Jackie managed, tears threatening again. “I got them.”
“She ain’t so bad, Ma,” he said quietly. “Yeah,” Jackie murmured. “She’s not.”
“She told me everything,” he went on. “I know the real reason we had to leave the city. And that ain’t on you, Ma. That is on him.” His voice carried a calm that did not belong to a teenager. Jackie could only nod, silent tears tracing her cheeks. “I know you tried everything to keep me safe,” he said, his voice trembling. “To keep us connected. And one day, we gon’ be together again, all of us. So I don’t want you feelin’ guilty about this Ma, I know where home is, and it aint never been with him. It has always been with you and Max. I see y’all in my dreams sometimes,” he said, his voice cracking. “I can hear you singingTaylor Swift and rapping Meek in the same car ride.” He gave a small, watery laugh.
Jackie let out a broken chuckle through her tears. “That sound about right.”
“I can hear Max calling my name, asking me a million questions.” His voice softened.
“Did his teeth ever come in yet?”
“One did,” Jackie smiled faintly. “How he doin’?”Jackie hesitated, reminding herself that even though he sounded grown, he was still a child.Her child.
“He has good days and bad ones,” she said gently. “He misses you a lot. He doesn’t understand everything, so he’s been actin’ out in school. But he’s in a really good program now. I’m getting him some therapy to help him process all this.” MJ nodded, eyes glistening. “He’ll be okay,” she said.
“We all will.”
“Tell him his big brother loves him,” MJ whispered, tears spilling now. “I wish he could be here to see you.” Jackie half-laughed, half-sobbed, thumbing away his tears. “He’d love that.”
But MJ shook his head, face hardening. “No. You can’t ever bring Max here. I don’t trust him. His eyes flicked toward Marcus, who was leaning against the truck, staring at them through a haze of cigarette smoke. “Four minutes,” Marcus called out, voice cutting through the night like a blade. MJ’s shoulders tensed. He swallowed, voice trembling. “My dad said… we can have two more visits before…” He stopped himself, the rest catching in his throat. Jackie froze. “Before what?” He just shook his head, backing away slightly, tears glinting under the harsh light. “I don’t know, Ma. He really been in his bag since we moved out here, Fightin’ with Nef more. He even got a couple folks from back home down here too. It’s like… they planning something.” Jackie’s breath hitched.
“Plannin’ what? To come back home?” she whispered. “Nah,” MJ said quietly.
“They tryna go somewhere else. He been He been traveling’ a lot lately. I heard him tell Nef about some compound he looking at. I don’t know where though.” Jackie stood there, feeling helpless all over again. That old ache, the one she thought she’d buried deep enough to survive, rose in her chest like smoke. MJ must’ve sensed it because he pulled her close again, his chin resting on top of her head.
“But I promise you, Ma,” he said, voice steadying even as it cracked, “the next place I’m movin’ is back home. In the middle room, between you and Max where I belong.” Jackie’s tears spilled again, a broken laugh slipping through her sobs. He smiled through his own tears. “So don’t be sad. Your son got a plan.” Jackie placed her hand over his chest, feeling his heartbeat thudding beneath her palm.
“Seriously, Ma don’t worry about me. I’m okay, really.” He turned back toward her, eyes wet but glowing with something she hadn’t seen in a long time.Hope.
“I want you to do something foryou, Mom. You deserve happiness. I don’t wanna see you sad like this again. Nobody deserve it more than you.” Jackie opened her mouth, but nothing came out. “One minute!” Marcus shouted again, the words ripping through the fog like thunder. MJ gripped her hands tighter. “Next time I see you, I wanna hear about what you did foryou.”
“Okay, baby,” she managed, nodding through the tears.
“I love you and Max so much,” he said, his voice breaking completely now. Jackie held him close, letting him cry into her shoulder the way he used to when nightmares woke him up at three in the morning. She rubbed slow circles on his back, whispering things she couldn’t even hear herself saying. When he finally pulled back, she caught his face in both hands.
“Don’t let him see you cry,” she whispered. “Wipe your tears. Stand up straight. Go back to that car knowing your momma loves you, your brother loves you, and that willneverchange. You hear me?”
“Yes, Ma,” he said, voice low, almost swallowed by the wind. He took a deep breath, wiping his cheeks with the back of his sleeve. “Time’s the fuck up!” Marcus barked, the venom in his voice slicing the last ounce of peace between them. MJ flinched, then moved quick. He tugged his hoodie over his head, then peeled off the shirt under until he was just in a wife beater. “Give this to Max,” he said quietly, while pressing it into her hands, she looked down and saw it was MJ’s football jersey.
Her fingers traced the name stretched across the back.Overbrook Panthers. Clear as day. Her chest tightened, but she didn’t react. Did not let it show. But her mind clocked it—and held on. Jackie froze, staring down at the fabric, fingers tracing the stitched name.
“Tell Max to keep it safe for me.” Before she could speak, he kissed her forehead, turned, and jogged toward the truck. Marcus’s voice rang out. “Oh, lil’ nigga, ’cause I was about to say—” he started, smirking when MJ walked right past him without flinching. Jackie stood still, her pulse pounding in her ears. Marcus stopped by her car door, leaning close enough for her to smell the smoke and whiskey on his breath. “Pick up your phone every time I call,” he warned, voice low and cold.
“When can I see him again?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Marcus smirked. “When the fuck I say so.” He spat on the ground, turned, and climbed back into the truck. Jackie did not move. She stood there until the roar of the engine faded and the taillights disappeared into the mist. Only then did her knees give out. She caught herself against the hood of the car, breath shaking, chest tight. The first hint of dawn crept over the trees, cold and colorless. She wanted to scream. Tocrumble. To disappear. But somehow, she found the strength to move. To open the car door, slide behind the wheel, and just breathe. When she finally looked down at her phone, the screen was lit up with twenty missed calls—from Kormia, Montana, Syxe, and Cash. Her heart sank as she pressed Syxe’s name first, but it went straight to voicemail. Then she tried Kormia. “Mia?” she whispered when the line picked up. “Jackie? Oh my God, Jackie!” Kormia’s voice cracked through the speaker, trembling with relief.
“Where are you? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Jackie said softly, wiping her face.
“Was MJ there?” Kormia asked.
“Yeah,” she whispered. “He was there.”