Chapter 1
Back at Mama's House
I stared out the passenger-side window as Mama's house got closer.
My two kids were asleep in the backseat, completely unaware that their mother was trying not to cry.
Again.
I had promised myself I wouldn't come back here.
Not because I didn't love my mother. I did.
But because I was twenty-something years old with two children, and I felt like moving back home meant I'd failed.
Mama opened the front door before I even knocked.
She looked at me.
Then she looked at the kids.
Then she looked at the three trash bags sitting beside me.
"Come on inside, baby."
That was it.
No lecture.
No I told you so.
Just those four words.
And somehow, they broke me.
I walked inside and sat my bags down.
"Mama..."
She turned around.
"I really messed up this time."
She came over and hugged me.
"You didn't mess up your whole life, Kaliyah. You just made another bad decision."
I pulled away and wiped my face.
"What's the difference?"
"The difference," she said, "is what you do next."
I looked toward my children.
My daughter was still sleeping peacefully.
My son had his little arm wrapped around his stuffed bear.
They deserved better.
And for the first time, I wasn't thinking about getting their father back.
I wasn't thinking about proving anything to anybody.
I was thinking about becoming the woman my children could be proud of.
Then my phone buzzed.
I already knew who it was before I looked.
Darius: You really took my kids and left? We need to talk.
My heart dropped.
Mama saw the look on my face.
"Who is it?"
I locked my phone.
"Darius."
She sighed.
"Baby, whatever you do..."
She paused.
"Don't let loneliness make you forget why you left."
I looked down at my phone again.
Another message appeared.
Darius: I miss you.
And just like that...
I wasn't so sure I was strong enough to ignore him.
