Mama's Boy by Reshonda Tate Billingsley Read Free Book Online Page B

darted around to make sure no one was following her, then she turned down the gravel street on the side of the church, instead of through the normal exit.
    â€œSorry for the performance, but I didn’t know how else to get you out of church,” Naomi said, her lips barely moving as she stared straight ahead.
    â€œYou know where Jamal is, don’t you?” Gloria whispered as she crouched down in the seat.
    Naomi didn’t say a word as she turned the corner.
    They rode in silence for the five minutes that it took to get to Naomi’s house and as soon as Naomi pulled into her garage, then closed the door, Gloria was ready to bolt out of the car.
    â€œWait,” Naomi said, putting her hand on Gloria’s forearm. “He’s okay. And you know I love Jamal like he’s my own. I’ll do anything for him.” She paused. “Except go to jail. He showed up here on my way to church. Apparently he’s been hiding out in my storage shed.”
    Gloria’s heart plummeted into the pit of her stomach. Her son had been in a storage shed for a week?
    â€œHe begged me to get you,” Naomi continued. “I don’t know what to tell you to do. But he can’t stay here. These police ain’t playing and I just can’t—”
    Gloria stopped her. “Don’t worry. I’m gonna get him to come home. I have to get him to come home.” Gloria didn’t know how she would make that happen. All she knew was that she had to. She raced from the car to see her son, tears of relief flooding her face. Her son was safe. At that very moment, nothing else mattered.

8
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    G loria couldn’t stop shaking. Naomi had directed her to a back room that was full of sewing supplies. The room smelled of mothballs and dust and looked like it wasn’t used for anything other than storage.
    â€œSorry he had to stay in here. He wanted to stay in the attic but I told him with all that asbestos, he didn’t need to be up there,” Naomi said as she eased a dresser away from in front of what looked like a closet.
    â€œNo, I understand.” Gloria knew she should help Naomi move the dresser, but she was too stunned to act.
    Her heart raced as Naomi grunted with her last push. When the dresser was far enough out of the way, she moved to open the closed door.
    Gloria stood, holding her breath, and her stomach muscles tightened when she saw Jamal cowering inside the closet in fear. His face was dirty with caked-on mud. His clothes were filthy and torn.
    â€œOh, my God, Jamal!” Gloria fell to her knees in front of her son. She looked him over, then pulled him into a tight embrace.
    â€œMama, I’m sorry,” he cried. Hugging her brought an onset of tears and Jamal sobbed. His grip told her just how scared he’d been.
    Gloria’s tears mixed with his as she rocked back and forth, holding him like she never wanted to let him go. She could only imagine what he’d mentally endured for these past eight days.
    â€œI’ll give you a minute,” Naomi finally said. “But we can’t stay long. We have to go before people start looking for you. We all have to go.”
    Gloria nodded at Naomi, then pulled back and studied her son. In just a matter of days, it was as if every ounce of her son’s innocence had been lost. “Are you okay? I’ve been scared to death.” She touched his face, his chest, everything to see if anything was out of place.
    â€œI’m okay. I-I just don’t know what to do.” His voice was weak and he looked like he’d made an excursion to hell.
    Gloria helped her son up off the floor and onto a bench seat out in the room.
    â€œWhat happened, baby?” Gloria asked.
    â€œI don’t know, Mama.” Jamal fell back against the seat. “I didn’t mean to shoot him. I didn’t. I was scared he was going to kill me. All I was doing was recording him harassing Dix and he jumped