Page 102 of A King’s Obsession

"Where I'm at don't matter. What you want?" I asked, already regretting answering his call.

He hesitated, and I could hear him breathing heavily through the phone. "Look, I know I'm probably the last person you wanna hear from, but something happened."

I sat up straighter, frowning at the sudden change in his tone. Montae wasn't the type to beat around the bush, especially when he knew I didn't want shit to do with him.

"What happened?"

"It's your mama," he said quietly.

My stomach tightened. "What about her?"

There was another pause, followed by a shaky breath. "They found her underneath the bridge off Mercer this morning. Jru, she didn't make it."

I stared straight ahead, trying to make sense of what he'd just told me. For a second, I thought I'd misunderstood him.

"What you mean she didn't make it?"

"She dead, Jru. They think she overdosed."

The room suddenly felt too small. I pushed myself off the bed, pressing my free hand against my forehead as I tried to steady my breathing.

"No. How you know it's her?"

"They found her ID. Police been trying to locate her family, and somebody gave them my number." He paused, his voice growing softer. "They need you to come identify her."

I shook my head, pacing toward the bathroom. "But you ain't seen her, right?"

"Nah, I ain't seen her. That's why they need somebody to confirm it's her."

I stopped walking, gripping the bathroom doorframe as my knees threatened to give out. My mama had done a lot of fucked-up things, but dying underneath some bridge wasn't how I'd imagined her story ending. Not when some part of me had still believed she'd eventually get herself together.

"Where she at?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

Montae gave me the name of the medical examiner's office. I hurried back to the bed, digging through my purse for a pen before grabbing a receipt off the nightstand. My fingers trembled so badly that I had to ask him to repeat the address.

"Jru, I'm sorry," he said after I'd finished writing. "I know things was fucked up between y'all, but—"

"Don't." My voice cracked as I interrupted him. I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting the tears gathering behind them. "Just don't, Montae."

He went quiet.

I stared down at the receipt, struggling to read the address through my blurred vision.

"All right," he finally said. "Just be careful getting here."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Okay."

Before he could say anything else, I ended the call.

For several seconds, I stood beside the bed with my phone still pressed against my ear. My chest rose and fell in shallow breaths, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get my hands to stop shaking.

Then my eyes dropped to the address scribbled across the receipt.

The medical examiner's office.

My mama was really gone.

My legs gave out, and I sank onto the edge of the bed as the first sob tore through my chest.