Endangered (22 page)

Chapter Thirty-one

THE EVENING BEFORE MALIK'S RELEASE, JANAE WAS A BUNDLE OF ENERGY. She filled up her refrigerator with Malik's favorite foods. She planned to make him a meal of thanksgiving, including mac and cheese, ham, candied yams, and greens his first night home. Their home was alive with music as Malik's speakers blasted songs that he loved. Janae danced to TI's “Live Your Life” while cleaning.

After Janae washed, dusted, or vacuumed every surface in the common areas of the apartment, she stood outside her son's room with her hand on the doorknob. It had been two months since she'd been in there. Now she swung the door wide open and stepped over the threshold. She could still smell the faint scent of him. She smiled. She picked up his room slowly, taking the time to just be close to her son's things. She hung his book bag on the back of his desk chair. She changed his sheets and fluffed his pillows. Underneath one of the pillows was the card she had given him on his fifteenth birthday. Inside she had written
Happy Birthday
to the BEST son in the whole world!
Janae pressed the card to her lips and kissed it and then returned it to its spot under the pillow her son would shortly rest his head on.

When she was done, Janae placed a box wrapped in blue paper and a silver bow on top of the dresser. Inside it was a handsome olive necktie that Calvin helped her pick out for Malik. It was a token of a new beginning for the two of them.

Janae hoped for a better job, with benefits and room for promotion. She wanted Malik to go to a better school that would challenge him, and that one day they both would go to college.

Before leaving Malik's room, Janae picked up a hoodie that she had tossed to the middle of the floor, along with a few other items intended for the trash. She stepped out of his room but left the door open.

Morning finally came. There was a chill in the air, but the sun was shining brightly. Janae felt alive and hopeful. Her heart pounded in her chest as she anticipated Malik walking through the doors, in just minutes—liberated.

The place where they held Malik was a tall, dingy, gray stone structure that seemed to touch the bottom of the sky. Janae did not go inside the detention center. The next time she saw her son she wanted it to be in his own clothing, outside the walls of the suffocating justice system—completely free.

The black heavy metal doors opened. Janae stood with her hands to her mouth. She didn't bother to fight back the tears. She looked up and saw his sneakers first.

“Malik!” she called. She laughed out loud when she noticed the bottoms of his pant legs were inches above where they should have been. He had grown over the weeks. His haircut was a short, clean fade. His smile was the same. It consumed his entire face. She climbed the steps between them by twos. Janae stopped just short of touching him. She took in a long breath and offered up thanks to God, to everyone who helped her, before snatching him into her arms.

“My baby,” she cried.

Malik folded his arms around his mother. He nuzzled his head deep into the crook of her neck. She could feel the quiet tears that escaped from his eyes.

“I love you. I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Mom.”

Calvin stood inches away.

Still enfolded in Malik's embrace, Janae reached out her hand to Calvin. She pulled him close, and the three of them held each other.

Acknowledgments

I thank God for allowing me to live this dream—it is nothing but the blessing of the Lord.

My editor, Tracy Sherrod, is amazing! I thank you for helping me achieve my vision with
Endangere
d. And thanks to Tara Gavin for first showing this book to Tracy. It was Scott Eagan, my agent, who would not give up on
Endangered
when the noes started coming in. Thanks so much for believing in the story.

I remember when Charles, my husband, finished reading the first draft. He told me that “This one is the one,” and he was right. Thank you for everything. My daughters, Sydney and Haley, are my motivation. Girls, I am living my dream so you can live yours.

There are so many others to thank, like my sister Mae, who has read everything I've written. And of course, I thank my mommy, Dolores Love. You raised us right, and it means everything to me that you get to see this.

Finally, to you, the reader, thanks in advance for your support.

About the Author

A native of Philadelphia, J
EAN
L
OVE
C
USH
worked for the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office directly out of law school before spending three years as a family law attorney, helping low-income women escape domestic-abuse situations. After moving to Fort Wayne, Indiana, she hosted a weekly radio show called
A View from Summit
, where she covered such topics as public safety, urban violence, and inner-city education. Jean now lives in Illinois with her husband and two daughters.

 

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Credits

Cover design by Milan Bozic

Cover photograph © Barron Claiborne

Copyright

This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and are used fictitiously. All other characters, and all incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real.

ENDANGERED.
Copyright © 2014 by Jean Love Cush. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

FIRST EDITION

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for.

ISBN: 978-0-06-231623-3

EPUB Edition JULY 2014 ISBN 9780062316363

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