CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
JACKIE
The bed felt like a cloud…
That was the first thing she noticed. The quiet came next—soft, gentle, and unfamiliar.
Her body didn’t recognize the calm right away.
There were no pipes knocking inside the walls, no sirens blaring outside the windows, and most importantly, no loud-ass neighbors waking her up with their Sunday morning shenanigans.
It was still. And for one brief second, Jackie let herself sink into it.
Her body hadn’t felt this rested in a long time.
She was used to waking up tired. Exhausted before she could even open her eyes.
But this felt different. It was Peaceful.
Something her Sunday mornings never were.
Her eyes fluttered open slowly, her gaze settling on the ceiling as the feeling lingered for another moment.
Then it hit her. That familiar sting of guilt and disappointment.
Jackie closed her eyes again as everything from the night before came rushing back all at once.
The hallway, Cash, Zambia, the argument from hell.
Jackie could still remember every word, the way it sounded.
How she felt hearing it, and more importantly, the way it shattered the illusion she’d been drifting around in all night.
Her stomach turned just thinking about it.
Because it wasn’t just messy, it was complex.
Jackie couldn’t stand Zambia. Didn’t like the bitch one bit.
But none of that changed what she heard in that hallway last night.
That wasn’t a performance. That was a woman genuinely hurt, and Jackie knew that kind of pain intimately.
She’d felt it before and wouldn’t wish it on another woman.
Jackie didn’t know what kind of fucked-up arrangement Zambia and Cash had.
All she knew was she wasn’t about to participate in hurting another woman—even if she was a stuck-up, self-centered bitch.
Besides, Jackie Brown wasn’t playing second fiddle to no bitch.
And because Cassius was clearly allergic to coming correct when it came to her, Jackie was officially done entertaining the fantasy.
She exhaled slowly and dragged a hand down her face before sitting up.
Her phone lit up on the nightstand immediately.
She had hella missed calls and messages, all from Kormia.
Jackie rolled her eyes before unlocking it.
Kormia: I’m sorry cousin??. I took two Benadryls so I could eat my crab fried rice and not die.
Please pick up. I’m so sorry. Jackie wanted to text back, Girl, fuck you.
Instead, she dropped the phone onto the mattress.
She’d deal with Kormia’s ass later. Right now, she needed to leave.
Last night carried too much weight, and all Jackie wanted to do was go home, wash the stench of disillusionment off her skin, and put the whole night behind her.
The bedroom door opened before she could move any further with the thought.
Cash stepped inside, already dressed for the day in a gray Vetements tracksuit and a fresh pair of Wolf Grey Jordan 5s.
He was clean and put together, like the night before hadn’t touched him at all.
Their eyes met briefly, but the moment stretched longer than it should’ve. “About last night—”
“Not necessary,” Jackie cut in gently. “I understand.”
Something shifted across his face then, subtle but noticeable enough to tell her he wanted to explain himself anyway. Jackie didn’t give him the room. Because honestly, there was nothing he could say that would change what she heard. She didn’t need him trying to soften it now.
Jackie swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood.
“I appreciate you letting us stay,” she said quietly.
“For real.” Then, after a brief pause, she added, “But we need to get going. I need to figure out my car situation, do laundry, and get ready for the week.” She intentionally avoided looking directly at him while she spoke.
Cash opened his mouth again like he was about to say something else when Jackie’s phone started vibrating across the mattress. She picked it up without thinking.
It was Syxe, hysterical on the other end. Jackie’s stomach dropped instantly.
“What’s wrong?”
“Jackie—” Syxe’s voice cracked immediately. “I think—” She sucked in a breath. “My water just broke.” Jackie went still, and for half a second, she allowed herself to breathe. Then everything inside her shifted. “Okay,” she said quickly, her tone locking into place. “Where’s Montana?”
“He—and Cal took the kids to Urban Air…in Jersey.” Syxe’s voice shook.
“Jackie, I’m alone.”
“You’re fine,” Jackie cut in immediately. “I’m coming right now.” She didn’t even think. She just moved. Fast. She grabbed her clothes from the day before and started pulling them on, her hands working faster than her thoughts as she gathered her and Max’s things. “Are you having contractions?”
“Yes,” Syxe whispered shakily. “Jackie, I’m scared. Monty still not answering.”
“Stay where you are,” Jackie said steadily. “Don’t move around too much.”
She grabbed Fat Daddy’s beat-up iPhone from the pillow, pinning her own phone between her ear and shoulder long enough to text Kormia.
Jackie: Mia go to Syxe’s house now. Her water just broke and she alone.
Kormia responded less than ten seconds later.
Kormia: Bet. I’m leaving the shop now.
Jackie lifted the phone back to her ear. “Kormia’s already on the way. She’ll be there in less than fifteen minutes, okay? You won’t be by yourself for long. I promise.”
“Please don’t hang up,” Syxe whispered. “Baby, I’m not.” Jackie’s tone softened automatically while she scanned the room to make sure, she had everything. Her mind was racing, but her voice stayed calm because Syxe was terrified, and Jackie could hear it clearly.
This was her first baby. And although Syxe had read all the books on motherhood and childbirth and even taken classes, fear still found its way in.
Especially because her mother wasn’t there.
Syxe had been no-contact with her mother for almost two years, so the space where motherly guidance should’ve been, remained vacant.
Outside of Montana and Cal, Jackie was her village.
And she wasn’t about to let her down now.
“Did you call your doula?” Jackie asked. “No,” Syxe sobbed.
“I can’t think of her number.”
“That’s alright. When Kormia gets there, have her call and tell her to meet y’all at the hospital.” Jackie grabbed her hoodie and headed for the door. “I’m on my way.” She pulled up the Lyft app while walking, but the second she looked up, she stopped. Cash stood there holding his keys.
“Take the Range.” Jackie hesitated as the implication hit her. “Cash—”
“I’ll meet you at the hospital,” he said, already pulling out his phone.
“I’m calling Monty now. Don’t worry about Max. He can ride with me.”
Jackie paused for half a second before nodding.
Then she turned toward the living room and found Max standing there in a VR headset with a bowl of cereal in his hand like the world around him wasn’t actively collapsing.
Jackie shook her head. “Max,” she called.
“Auntie Syxe having the baby. I gotta go right now.” He barely looked up.
She tapped the side of his headset. “Mr. Cash is going to bring you to the hospital, so grab your stuff, behave, and listen. I’ll see you in a little bit. ”
Max nodded once before drifting straight back into the game.
Jackie exhaled and glanced toward Cash. No words.
Just understanding. Then she left. The elevator ride downstairs felt longer than it should’ve.
Jackie stood there staring at her reflection in the mirrored wall, the keys clenched tightly in her hand.
Her hair looked a mess, and her hoodie was wrinkled from the night before, but somehow, she still felt…
rested. That goddamn bed. Jackie pushed the thought away immediately.
Syxe was in labor and panicking. That needed to be her sole focus. Her phone buzzed again.
This time, it was Kormia. “Where you at?” Kormia asked.
“I’m on my way,” Jackie said, shifting her bag higher on her shoulder. “Girl, well, you need to hurry up because she freaking the fuck out. Monty still hasn’t picked up.”
“I just texted him and Cal, and the messages aren’t even delivering,” Jackie said as she stepped off the elevator into the garage. “You there already?”
“I just pulled up,” Kormia said, lowering her voice to a whisper.
“Girl, she pissing, crying, and pacing—” Her voice dropped even lower. “Jackie, I’m scared.” Jackie rolled her eyes. “Kormia, that’s not piss. And you have no reason to be scared.”
“Girl—”
“Just stay with her,” Jackie cut in.
“I’m fifteen, twenty minutes out. Don’t let her move around too much, alright?”
“Aight. Hurry up.” The call disconnected just as Jackie spotted the Range Rover waiting near the back wall of the garage.
When she unlocked the door, the interior was warm, clean, and untouched in that expensive way luxury cars always were.
Everything about it felt far removed from the kind of life Jackie was used to navigating every day.
And for one dangerous second, she caught herself thinking she could get used to this.
The thought disappeared just as quickly as it came.
Jackie tightened her grip on the steering wheel, started the engine, and willed herself to focus.
Syxe was the only thing on her mind right now.
Everything else would have to take the back seat.
Eleven hours and forty-three minutes later, Sevynne Ortiz entered the world just shy of ten pounds.
By that point, Jackie felt like she’d pushed the baby out her goddamn self.
The hospital room had finally gone quiet for the first time all day.
Kormia had taken the kids trick-or-treating to burn off some energy, leaving behind the kind of stillness that only came after chaos exhausted itself.
Cash had stayed close most of the day without crowding her, moving between Max, Montana, and the waiting room whenever something needed handling.
Cal was stretched out asleep in the corner chair while Montana stood posted beside Syxe’s bed like a bodyguard, watching her with the same intensity he watched everything else he cared about.
Syxe looked exhausted. Completely drained.
That was the thing about childbirth. It was beauty wrapped in brutality.
Bringing life into the world was violent, and most women barely escaped with their lives.
Syxe had insisted on going natural, and now her body had the war scars to prove it.
Jackie stood near the foot of the bed, watching her quietly.
After a while, she started noticing something else. At first, it was only the way Syxe kept staring past the baby whenever the room got too quiet. Then Montana adjusted Sevynne against her chest, and Syxe’s arms remained loose for a second too long before she seemed to remember to hold him.
It wasn’t anything Jackie wanted to name out loud. Not yet. It could’ve been exhaustion.
The pain. The shock of everything her body had just endured.
So, Jackie didn’t say anything. But she clocked it.
And for some reason, she didn’t like it.
Montana had already asked Jackie to stay for a few days once they got home and help Syxe adjust. Jackie agreed without hesitation because she already knew Syxe was going to need support once reality set in and everybody cleared out.
But first, Jackie needed to go home, pack some clothes, grab Max’s school stuff, and regroup.
She stepped into the hallway and pulled out her phone to order an Uber, but before she could open the app, she spotted Cash leaning against the wall a few feet away like he’d been waiting there for a minute.
Jackie slowed as she approached him.” Thanks for everything, Cassius,” she said quietly, holding the keys out toward him.
Cash looked down at the keys but didn’t take them.
Instead, his hand closed around hers, warm and steady enough to stir that familiar feeling all over again. “You got it,” he said, his voice low. Then, after a second, “I’ll get it from you when I do.” Jackie stilled. Because this wasn’t just any car. It was his car. And everybody knew it.
Immediately, her mind jumped to the school. The looks people would give her. The whispers that would follow behind her. His mother’s face if she ever saw Jackie pulling up in it.
“Cash…” Her tone shifted carefully. “This gonna look a way.”
His eyes lifted to hers then. His thumb moved once against the side of her hand, but he still didn’t let her go. “Well,” he said simply, “we know what it is.”
“And what exactly is it?” Jackie asked, needing the clarity herself.
“You and Max need to get around,” he replied. “And you gotta get back and forth to Syxe, so you need it.” Jackie searched his face, waiting for him to continue his spiel.
To say what he really meant. But he didn’t.
“You sure?”
“Yeah.” He finally released her hand.
“It’s just sitting in the garage anyway.
I gotta grab something out of it, but after that, keep it until you get something else.
” Jackie nodded slowly before tightening her fingers around the keys.
Cash stepped past her then, already moving like the conversation was over.
Like whatever needed to be handled had been handled.
But Jackie stayed where she was for another second, staring down at the keys in her palm.
Because somehow, they felt a whole lot heavier than they had before.