Beyond: Beyond the Lights

Chapter 30

JAMES

It all happened so fast. One minute, I was packing for practice, thinking about drills and plays, and the next, Kian was standing in front of me, pale and wide-eyed, his whole body tense with a kind of panic I'd never seen from him before.

"J, man, you gotta sit down," Kian's voice was rough, barely holding together.

I dropped my bag, already knowing this wasn't just any news. "Okay.. what happened, Ki?"

He took a breath, his hands trembling. "It's my mom. She's in the hospital. My dad hit her again... worse this time. She can't stay with him. She's not safe."

For a second, everything in me froze. I'd known about Kian's dad, the nightmare he put Kian and his mom through. But this—this was different. Kian looked like he was coming apart at the seams, and I could feel the helplessness coming off him in waves.

"I'll go," I said immediately. "I'll go back to Philly, get her out of there, and bring her here."

Kian blinked, stunned. "What? Jamie, no—this is my mess. You don't have to—"

"I'm going," I said firmly, already grabbing my jacket and keys. "You need to stay here with Maria. She needs you, and your mom needs to be out of there. I'll take care of it."

Kian looked like he was going to argue, but the weight of it all seemed to hit him at once. His shoulders sagged, and he nodded slowly. "Thank you, man. I... I can't deal with him. Not again."

"I got this," I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'll bring her back safe. You focus on Maria, and don't worry about anything else."

The day leading up to my flight to Philadelphia was a blur. My mind was racing, thinking about Kian's mom, wondering what kind of shape she'd be in, and trying to figure out how the hell to deal with his dad if he showed up. I was prepared for the worst.

But somewhere, in the back of my mind, another thought kept creeping in. Madi.

I hadn't had a chance to talk to her properly before I left, but something had been off between us lately. She'd seemed distracted, distant, and I didn't know why. I brushed it off before, telling myself it was nothing. But now, it felt like there was something she wasn't telling me.

Just as the plane was beginning its descent into Philly, my phone buzzed with a text from Kian.

Kian: Yo, J, your girl's got a little bro!

I frowned at the message, confused. Little bro? What's Kian talking about?

Jamie: What do you mean?

Kian: Just saw it in the paper. Big family scandal. Sebastian isn't her cousin—he's her half-brother. It's all out now. Apparently her mom cheated on her dad with Sebastian's dad, Antonio Price.

I stared at the screen, my heart sinking. Sebastian's her half-brother? Madi had never told me any of this. The newspaper. The scandal. Everything about her family that I had no idea about.

She'd kept it from me.

My chest tightened as the realization hit me. I wasn't just confused—I was disappointed. Hurt. I thought we had something real, something honest. But she hadn't trusted me with the truth.

I pushed the thoughts aside, trying to focus on the task at hand. I still had to visit Kian's mom, get her safe. I couldn't let this shake me—not now. But the weight of Madi's secret stayed with me, gnawing at the back of my mind.

After I landed, I headed straight to the hospital. Kian's mom was in bad shape—bruised, shaken, but alive. She didn't say much, but the fear in her eyes was enough to tell me that she needed to get out of there, fast.