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with a vengeance. She could sense that Jada was out there pretty far, by her lack of concern for her appearance. The Jada she knew of would never have been caught outside looking like this, regardless of the situation. Ingrid was embarrassed for her. But she believed that Jada genuinely loved her son. Born, however, was still haunted by the pain of having lost his father to cocaine addiction. He had zero tolerance for someone who allowed themselves to be weakened by narcotics. Ingrid had tried to point out to Marquis that Jada and Leo were two very separate and different people. But Born shut down whenever the topic of staying with Jada was mentioned. He was not hearing anything she said.
    Jada closed her
eyes
, as if she wanted to open them and find that this was all a dream. But it was very real. Accepting this, she stood up slowly, and looked around. What should she take with her? Where would she go? How much should she take? She felt a sudden surge of rage that Born hadn’t had the balls to come and face her himself. What kind of man sends his mama to do his dirty work? Jada briefly entertained the thought of spazzing and going toe-to-toe with Miss Ingrid. Shit! This was
her
home, this was her life that Born was taking away. But looking at his mother, Jada knew she didn’t want to challenge her. Miss Ingrid probably had a little peashooter in her pocket, and would probably nothesitate to bust a cap in her ass, Jada thought. Besides, Born’s mother wasn’t the one she was mad at. Ingrid wasn’t being mean. She was only doing what her son had asked her to do. But still, her presence signaled that this was serious, that it was final. Jada let go of a sob, wrapping her mind around the fact that it was over. He was kicking her out.
    She longed for her friend Sunny. Sunny would know what to do. She would tell her where to go. But she still hadn’t heard from Sunny much since she’d gone underground with her baby and her family, after Dorian’s murder. She longed for her friend, and was saddened by the realization that once again she had nowhere to go, no one to turn to. She felt sick about it. She thought about her sister. Where was Ava now? It had been over a year since she had last spoken to her. The last time she’d spoken to Ava was the day she’d left her house after discovering Jada getting high. Jada didn’t have the heart to call her sister and give her the benefit of saying, “I told you so.” Her mother. She was her only option. But Jada didn’t want to give Edna the satisfaction of seeing her as broken and beaten by life as she was. She went upstairs, and looked in the hall closet and pulled out her luggage. She also pulled some money out of Born’s jacket pocket—a few hundred-dollar bills. She went to her spacious walk-in closet and began the process of packing all the things she wanted to bring with her. She zipped her two furs into garment bags, packed her dresses, shoes, jeans, T-shirts, and purses. Soon she had three large Samsonite suitcases filled to capacity, along with her large Coach tote bag, filled with her jewelry, underwear, and a little cash she had stashed for herself. She had $720 and the possessions she lugged downstairs in suitcases. She and Miss Ingrid loaded up Jada’s Acura, and she half expected to find out that Born wanted his car back. But he didn’t strip her of that as well, and Jada was relieved for that.
    When the car was loaded up, Jada looked at Ingrid. She knew that she smelled bad. She knew that she looked and felt even worse. But regardless of her haggard appearance, she had to tell the truth about her feelings for this woman’s son. It might be her last chance to get a message to Born. She looked into his mother’s eyes and made a final plea. “I am so sorry for messing up,” she said. “I fell. But Born can help me stand up on my feet again. He can help me get right again.”
    Ingrid