Page 74 of All In

His tone stayed easy and warm. “We just talking today. No pressure.”

“Cool,” Max said, already swinging his legs.

Najee smiled despite himself. “What’s the last really fun thing you did?”

Max lit up instantly. “I stayed at Coach Cash’s house two Saturdays ago!”

Jackie’s pen froze against the notebook. Najee noticed immediately, even though he kept his expression neutral. “Oh yeah?” he asked casually. “That sounds cool. What was that about?” His eyes met Jackie’s briefly before Max launched into the story with entirely too much excitement.

“Well, Mommy’s car broke down after football, and she was tryna call Auntie Syxe, but she ain’t answer, so I texted Coach Cash and he picked us up. Then he took us to get ramen, and he got me Captain Underpants pajamas from Targets.” Najee nodded slowly while Jackie shifted on the sofa like her ass was on fire. “Mommy left our house keys in the car, and it got towed,” Max continued proudly. “So Coach let us spennanight at his condo. Dr. Najee, do you know Coach Cash live on the forty-second floor? And he got KAWS in his house?” Najee nodded again, masking everything behind the same calm therapist’s smile. “Nice of him to help y’all out,” Najee said smoothly as his eyes met Jackie’s.

“Did you have a good time?” Max nodded hard. “It wassonice, Dr. Najee. It wasn’t no loud noises, no gunshots, and Mommy didn’t even have to pray over me before bed.” That one landed heavier than it probably should’ve. Najee’s expression didn’t shift, but something low and uncomfortable settled in his chest anyway because Max said it so casually. Like peace and quiet were a rare luxury instead of something a little boy should already be used to. And that was the part that stayed with him. Not Cash, or Jackie— butMax.Children had a way of normalizing things adults forgot were heartbreaking. It was then Najee felt some of his frustration soften a little. Jackie’s eyes stayed fixed on the notebook in her lap, but Najee could see the shame working across her face anyway. Max kept going, innocent as ever. “Coach got this huge TV that come out the ceiling, and Mommy had on Coach Cash’s big shirt—” Jackie cut in, her voice a little too bright. “Okay, baby, that’s enough. Let’sstay focused for Dr. Najee.” Max blinked. “I am focused… you did—”

“Maximus.” This time, her tone came out firmer. Najee cleared his throat and looked down at his notes, his pen moving even though he wasn’t writing shit. “Sounds like it was a good night,” Najee said casually. Then he finally looked up at Jackie fully, for the first time all session and held her gaze.

“Glad you both felt safe.” Jackie looked away first, and somehow, that told him everything he needed to know.

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

JACKIE

Jackie wanted to disa-fucking-pear…

She barely held it together through the rest of the session. Max, bless his chatty little heart, had no clue the shitstorm he’d kicked up. He answered Najee’s questions easily, light and completely oblivious to the way heat crawled up Jackie’s neck every time she caught Najee watching her over the rim of his glasses. That look wasn’t warm anymore. Wasn’t curious either. It was distant, controlled, and laced with enough restraint for Jackie to know he was pissed, and honestly, she understood why.

She had been movingshiftyever since Syxe had the baby. But it wasn’t what it looked like.At least not really.Life had been turning her every which wayexceptloose. Syxe’s postpartum hit harder than anybody expected. Not the worst-case Jackie had ever seen, but not light either. She noticed it almost immediately in the delivery room, though she kept her concerns to herself at first because she didn’t want to label it too soon or scare Syxe while she was still trying to adjust.

The second Jackie finally brought it to Montana, he moved fast. Within days, Monty had a whole team in the house. A postpartum doula. A baby nurse. A therapist. Whatever Syxe needed, he threw money at it until it appeared at the front door. Still, Syxe mostly responded to Jackie. Sometimes Kormia too, but mostly Jackie. It wasn’t that Syxe didn’t love her baby.That was never the issue. She just seemed disconnected from herself. From her body. From the world around her. So what was only supposed to be a few days, turned into damn near a month. She and Max were living out of suitcases in Syxe’s guest room while Max treated the entire situation like an extended vacation. Him, Micah, and Imani were having the time of their lives. Meanwhile, Jackie and Montana were quietly fighting for theirs, trying to get Syxe to accept help without making her feel broken in the process. Eventually, things started getting better.Slowly.Syxe let Jackie and the doula help wash her hair. Started spending more time out of bed and even talking more. Then she finally agreed to see a psychiatrist. Small steps, but enough for Jackie to finally feel like they were moving in the right direction.

At the same time, Jackie still had her own shit hanging over her head. Marcus was calling and texting her damn near every night, harassing her, threatening her, calling her everything but a child of God. MJ had gone to homecoming and even won king of the court with his date. Nef sent pictures afterward, and seeing her baby smiling, grown, handsome, and looking even older than the last time she saw him did something heavy to Jackie’s chest. She didn’t have the luxury of falling apart, especially with Syxe depending on her and Fat Daddy still being her top priority. Jackie was stretched thin in every way imaginable. But like always, she swallowed it down and kept it moving.

Luckily, Syxe had finally gotten to a place where Jackie felt comfortable leaving. Which meant she could finally return home, back to her life, her routine, and most importantly herself. As beautiful as Syxe’s house was, spending all that time there only reminded Jackie that there ain’t no place like home. And through all of it, Najee had stayedconsistent.Calling. Checking in. Sending flowers to Montana’s house even while she barely responded. He was putting in effort even when shewasn’t. And if Jackie were being honest, being overwhelmed wasn’t the only reason she went ghost. The real reason wasguilt.

Shehadspent the night at Cash’s house, and although nothing happened, she still hadn’t told him. And at this point she didn’t know how. All of it felt messy as hell. Now she was driving Cash’s Range Rover while half the school looked at her like she was some kind of home wrecker.

Jackie heard the whispers. Saw the side-eyes. Felt the judgment every time she walked through that building, especially from Cash’s mean-ass mother. And every time she tried to give the truck back, Cash refused because he knew she needed it. All of that on top of everything else had become too much. So, Jackie stopped coming to Max’s sessions. Partly because she trusted Dr. Ish. But mostly because she didn’t feel like being scrutinized. She knew exactly what everything looked like, but for once in her life, Jackie was trying to pick her battles carefully. She liked Najee. A lot. Which was exactly why she pulled back, she didn’t want any of this messy shit staining him too.

When the session finally ended and Max headed back to class, Jackie stayed behind. The room went quiet almost immediately. Najee moved around the office calmly, gathering papers and closing files while Jackie packed up slower than necessary from her spot on the sofa. Truthfully, she knew she was dragging it out. Knew he probably wanted her to get the fuck out his office so they could both pretend none of this happened. Still, she couldn’t leave without saying something.

For two full minutes, Jackie sat there hoping he’d look up first. Praying he’d say something that made this easier. But Najee barely acknowledged her presence, moving through emails and paperwork with the kind of composure thatsomehow irritated her more than if he’d outright snapped. Finally, Jackie closed her eyes briefly and let out a slow breath. “Nigel.”

His attention lifted toward her once, expression unreadable behind those glasses. “Jacqueline.” Jackie’s jaw tightened instantly.Because not this nigga calling me by my whole government name.

“I was gonna explain... about that night,” she said carefully. One of his brows lifted slightly, but his expression never really changed.“No explanation necessary,” he replied smoothly.

“Y’all grown.” That hit harder than she expected.

“Don’t do that,” Jackie said immediately. “Do what?” Najee asked as he closed his laptop.

“Act like you not mad,” she shot back, crossing her arms. “You feel a way, say it.”

A small smile touched his mouth then, sharp, but thin enough to let her know he was still irritated underneath all that calm. “Why would I feel a way?” he asked lightly. “Like I said…grown. You sleep where you want.” The words landed exactly how he intended them to.

Jackie stepped closer before she could stop herself, lowering her voice. “I didn’t plan for that night to happen. You of all people should know how shit play out sometimes.” Najee leaned back against his desk, folding his arms slowly. “Oh, I know,” he said quietly. “I’m just trying to figure out if youalsodidn’t plan on driving his truck around all month either.”

Jackie blinked at him once before letting out a short, humorless laugh.

“So that’s what we on?” His eyes moved over her carefully then, measured in a way that somehow made her feel more exposed than if he’d actually raised his voice.