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Today me, the boys, and Mom are headin' back to the city. The plan was simple—let the boys spend more time with Zay, visit Dad, my brothers, and of course, see my best friends. I was lookin' forward to it, you know? Tryna give the boys some more time with family, even if it meant goin' back to a place I never wanted to stay in for too long.
I was packin' up the last of the bags, throwin' in some snacks and drinks for the road. This was the longest trip they'd ever done, and I knew they'd get fussy if I didn't come prepared. Both of them were already knocked out in their car seats, the early morning start hittin' them hard.
After checkin' the house one last time to make sure I didn't forget nothin', I locked up and got in the driver's seat. I ran my hand in my 35 inch bussdown that I just installed feeling very pretty.Mom slid in beside me, quiet but focused. I could tell she had a lot on her mind.
We'd been drivin' for hours, and the boys were still knocked out, snorin' softly in the back. We was almost there—just about 45 minutes left. That's when my phone rang. It was Cimani. I smiled, thinkin' she was just checkin' in. But the second I picked up, I could hear somethin' was wrong.
"Hey Mani," I said, tryin' to keep my voice light.
"Jade... they gone..." her voice trembled, and I could hear her snifflin' on the other end.
I froze, the smile droppin' from my face. "What? What you mean gone? Who gone, Mani?" My heart started racin', beatin' so loud I could barely hear myself think.
"Yo' dad, Ja'zai, J'amir, Zay, Tray, Ace, Dre... all of 'em, Jade. They just disappeared," she said, her voice crackin' like she was about to break down.
I gripped the steering wheel tighter, tryin' to wrap my head around what she was sayin'. "The fuck you mean they gone? How everybody gon' just disappear like that?"
"I don't know! Everybody at Zay's mom's house right now 'cause his lil' sister came to me while I was at the grocery store, askin' if I seen Zay. I told her no, he prolly still with you, but she said that ain't possible 'cause he called her days ago sayin' he was comin' home, but he never showed up," Cimani explained, her words rushin' out fast. "And then Kailany can't find Tray, Zaraiyah can't find the others, Soraya callin' sayin' Ja'zai and J'amir ain't been home since yesterday... and yo' dad? His house is empty, Jade. Guards said somebody broke in, but they don't know where he at or what happened."
I felt my stomach drop, my hands shakin' as I listened to her panic. "Their phones off. Ain't no sign of them, Jade. We don't know if they alive or... or what. It's crazy out here."
I couldn't even breathe right. The air felt thick, suffocatin' me. "We on the way," I said, my voice shaky. I hung up the phone, lookin' over at my mom, her face filled with worry.
"Mom... what we gon' do?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper as I pressed harder on the gas, pickin' up speed.
She sighed, her eyes dark, like she knew this day would come. "I told him to leave all that mess alone... but he didn't listen. Thought he was untouchable," she muttered, shakin' her head. "And now, they took everybody."
