DAY ONESDIES
had forty-three unread messages.
Most were Kye insulting Cam’s outfit from the night before and Ari pretending she wasn’t responding while responding to every message.
KYE: All them buttons open and still no chest
ARI: Please stop talking about my man’s body
KYE: Your man told you to stay home like you was a golden retriever
ARI: And you had an 11:30 curfew so let’s discuss control together
The chat stopped for almost two full minutes after that.
Then, Kye sent a meme and changed the subject.
I read Ari’s message again.
She noticed.
Good.
A direct message arrived from an account I didn’t follow.
The profile had no picture and no posts.
Message request: Since y’all love your friend so much ask where her man sleeps when he says he working.
Below it was a photo.
Cam stood in a hotel hallway wearing gray sweatpants and a white T-shirt. The timestamp in the corner read Monday, 1:18 a.m. Sade stood beside him in a black hoodie, her face turned away from the camera.
The picture wasn’t clear enough to prove where they were going.
I saved it before the account could disappear.
Then, I typed: Who are you?
No response.
“Jordyn?”
I shoved my phone into my pocket.
Ms. Alvarez stood in the supply-room doorway with both hands gripping her walker. Her nightgown was bunched near one knee.
“How did you get out of your room?” I asked.
“I walked.”
“You’re supposed to call us.”
“I did. Nobody came.”
My irritation disappeared. “How long ago?”
She shrugged. “Long enough to decide I wasn’t spending the rest of my life waiting.”
I checked her balance, helped her back to her room, and made sure she hadn’t fallen or hurt herself. Then, I found the aide assigned to that hallway and told her the call bell had been missed.
By the time the nurse got involved, twenty minutes had passed and I had three more residents waiting.
The picture of Cam stayed in my pocket like a second phone.
At dinner break, I called Ari. She declined it.
A text came right after.
ARI: At work. Everything okay?
I typed: Need to show you something.
Then deleted it.
If I told her during her shift, she would spend the rest of the night checking Cam’s location and crying in the stockroom. If I waited until after work, maybe we could sit down. Maybe Kye needed to be there because she knew Sade.
I didn’t want to be responsible for throwing a bomb and then clocking back in.
Me: Just checking on you.
Ari liked the message.
The group chat moved to the Airbnb.
ARI: Nae did they send the confirmation yet?
NAE: Not yet but it’s paid
KYE: I need the address so I can see how far it is from liquor
JORI: You need to see how far it is from a hospital.
KYE: Same thing for me
I looked at Nae’s message.
Not yet but it’s paid.
Brenae lied badly when she was scared. Too much explanation. Too quick. No complaint about Ari asking again.
I opened our Cash App history. I couldn’t see her balance, only what I had sent, but the final payment was supposed to happen that morning. Ari had said the host emailed her.
Something was wrong.
My first instinct was irritation.
Ari planning a birthday like a royal wedding irritated me. Kye joking through obvious problems irritated me. Nae always being late, broke, or tired irritated me. My mother telling church people I would be a nurse before I had survived pharmacology irritated me.
Mostly, I was irritated that everybody was allowed to struggle out loud except me.
At 8:37, while I was helping Mr. Langford into bed, my mother texted.
Mom: Mrs. Green’s daughter needs a private aide Sunday. I told her you might be available. Extra money.
Sunday was supposed to be my only day off.
I thought about the remediation session Saturday, the next exam, my car insurance, and the utility bill on our kitchen counter.
Me: I can do it.
Her heart reaction appeared immediately.
Proud of you. You always handle yours.
I locked my phone.
Mr. Langford looked up at me. “You all right, Joanie?”
He had called me his sister’s name all evening.
“I’m good.”
“You don’t look good.”
I pulled his blanket higher. “Go to sleep, Mr. Langford.”
He reached for my hand before I stepped away. His grip was papery and warm.
“Don’t get so good at carrying things nobody remembers to help you.”
I stood there until his eyes closed. Then, I went into the bathroom, opened Cam’s picture, and sent it to myself by email in case the account deleted the message.
I still didn’t send it to Ari.
At 10:02, an email from Professor Hargrove appeared.
SUBJECT: ACADEMIC PROGRESSION CONCERN
I read the first line.
Based on your current average, you are at risk of being unable to progress with your cohort.
I closed it before I reached the second.