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My stomach tightened.

“No,” I whispered.

There were plenty of young men in Miami. Plenty of people who could’ve ended up in a place like that. There wasn’t any reason for me to assume it was my son. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling. I reached for my phone and checked it again, even though I knew there wouldn’t be anything there.

“Giovani, baby, please be okay,” I said out loud.

I sat there staring at the television until my phone suddenly started ringing. An unfamiliar number appeared on the screen. For a moment, I thought it might be my son.

“Hello?” I answered eagerly.

“Good afternoon. May I speak with Ms. Baxter?”

“This is she.”

“My name is Dr. Bennett. I’m calling from the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner’s Office.”

I sat up straighter.

“Yes?”

“Ma’am, we’re trying to reach the family of a young man who was recently brought into our facility. Your information was provided as a possible next-of-kin contact.”

My fingers tightened around the phone.

“What young man?”

“Ma’am, we have reason to believe the deceased may be your son, Giovani Baxter.”

I felt my heart drop.

“What?”

“We haven’t completed the identification process, Ms. Baxter. That’s why we’re reaching out to you. We would like you to come down to our office.”

I looked at the television. They were still showing footage of the fairground, and suddenly, the room felt like it was closing in on me.

“Is this about the young man they found at the fairground?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Oh, Jesus.”

I placed my free hand against my chest and tried to catch my breath.

“Are you telling me my son is dead?”

“Ms. Baxter, I understand how difficult this is, but we need you to come in so we can confirm whether the deceased is your son.”

I shook my head even though the man couldn’t see me.

“No. No, that’s not my baby. Giovani called me. He just called me.”

My voice was getting louder, but I couldn’t help it. I didn’t care how old my son was or how much trouble he had gotten himself into. There was no way somebody was about to tell me he was lying dead somewhere.

“Ma’am, is there someone who can accompany you?”

I looked around my living room as if somebody might magically appear. I was just now faced with the harsh reality that, besides having my son, I had no one.