Home soon.
But I wouldn’t be there when he arrived.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered to the baby, to Prime, to Yusef, to everyone I’d failed. “I’m so sorry.”
The sirens wailed as they carried me away.
34
PRIME
I walked through the front door with a smile on my face. First time in weeks I’d felt this light. Vivica was done. India was gone. Zainab’s case was going to be okay. I had good news to share, a woman I loved waiting for me, and a future that finally looked like something worth living for.
“Yo! I’m home!”
Silence.
The smile started to fade.
“Zainab? Baby?”
I walked further into the house. Living room, empty. Kitchen, empty. The TV was off, the lights were dim, and the only sound was the hum of the refrigerator.
Something was wrong.
“Yusef?”
He appeared at the top of the stairs, phone in his hand, face twisted with confusion. “Uncle Prime? Where’s Auntie Z?”
My stomach dropped.
“What you mean where is she? She’s supposed to be here. She can’t leave.”
“I know, but…” He came down the stairs slowly, looking around like she might appear out of thin air. “I just got homelike twenty minutes ago and she wasn’t here. I texted her but she didn’t respond.”
“You just got home?” I felt my blood pressure rising. “Where the fuck were you?”
“I went to the mall. She said I could go.” His voice was getting defensive, his shoulders squaring up. “I wasn’t gone that long. Like an hour and a half.”
“You left her here alone?”
“She’s a grown woman! She told me I could go!”
I was in his face before I could stop myself. “And now she’s GONE, Yusef! She’s not here! Do you understand what that means? She’s got an ankle monitor! If she left this house?—”
“That’s not my fault!” Yusef didn’t back down. Didn’t cower. Didn’t shrink away like he used to. He stood his ground, chin up, eyes blazing. “I didn’t do anything wrong! She wanted me to go! She was happy for me!”
I stared at him. This kid who’d been silent for months. Who used to flinch at loud noises. Who couldn’t even look people in the eye.
Now he was standing up to me. Matching my energy. Refusing to be intimidated.
Something in my chest cracked.
“You’re right.” I took a step back, forcing myself to breathe. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. This isn’t your fault.”
Yusef’s shoulders relaxed slightly, but his eyes were still wary. “I’m scared too, Prime. I don’t know where she is. I’ve been texting her and she won’t answer.”
“I know. I know.” I pulled out my phone, my hands shaking slightly. “I’m gonna find her. Just… stay here, aight? Don’t go anywhere.”
