Page 85

Tahari laughed beside me. I turned toward him.

“Don’t encourage him.”

“I ain’t say nothing.”

“You laughed.”

“Damn, I can’t laugh?”

I rolled my eyes and pulled the blanket farther over my legs.

We had finally gotten most of the house cleaned up. The food was put away, the kitchen was clean except for whatever mess MJ was currently making, and the Christmas tree was still glowing in the darkened living room. Maylee had gone upstairs a while ago. Mama and Daddy had gone up not long after Uncle Sha and Aunt Tori left. For the first time all night, the house was quiet. Then I heard Daddy yell.

“MALIAH!”

I froze. Tahari sat up beside me.

“What was that?” he asked.

Before I could answer, Mama screamed.

“MALIAH!”

The sound of her voice sent me off the couch.

“Mama?” I called out.

I heard Daddy again.

“GET UP HERE!”

I ran toward the stairs. MJ dropped whatever was in his hand and came out of the kitchen behind me.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know!”

Tahari was right behind us as I took the stairs as fast as I could.

“Mama!”

Her voice broke on another scream, and when it did, my stomach dropped. I reached my parents’ bedroom and stopped so suddenly that MJ almost ran into me. Daddy was on the floor beside the bed. His walker was tipped over a few feet away from him. Mama was standing in the bathroom doorway, crying and holding her stomach. For one terrifying second, I couldn’t process what I was looking at.

“Daddy!”

“I’m good,” he said immediately. “Get your mama.”

“What happened?”

“My water broke,” Mama cried. “Something hurts.”

She folded forward with a scream.

“Oh my God.”

I rushed to her.

“Mama, look at me.”