When I got to mama's, she just stood there and smiled at me like my visit was a pleasant surprise. Something wasn't right.

"Hey mama."

I squeezed her arm lightly as I walked past her and into the house. Wallace wasn't there, but it was in the middle of the day so I figured he was probably at work. Melissa and Faith were sitting in front of the TV eating cereal, but I didn't see Angel.

I watched mama as she closed the door. Something was not right. She wasn't checked out, but something was off. She didn't seem to be all the way...there.

"Mama." I waved my hand in front of her face when she just stood there smiling at me. "I came to pick up the baby, mama. Where's Angel?"

She looked confused and shook her head. "Not with me..."

"What?"

"Kenney," she was looking irritated now, and started to walk back toward the door like she couldn't deal with me right then, and like I could just let myself out. She did this to me all the time, and usually I would just leave. But now...

"Mama."

I grabbed her arm. She looked up at me like she was afraid of me and I quickly let her go. I had never seen her look at anyone like she was afraid of them before. Mama was tough. What the hell happened?

"Where's the baby, ma?" It was a whisper. That was all I could get out, but I know she heard me.

She just shook her head again and went to sit on the couch by Faith and Melissa. I tore that house up. Angel had to be in there somewhere. She didn't just walk out the door. Eventually I realized I was wasting time and ran to the school to find Charity. When I got there, she was standing on the corner talking to her friends. They all started blushing and giggling when I walked up. Charity's friends had always had crushes on me. All of them. She hated it.

I grabbed Charity's arm. She kind of jumped and looked down at my hand, and then back up into my eyes, glaring at me. But I didn't let her go.

"Charity, where's the baby?"

"Kenney," she looked over at her friends and then back at me. Then she grabbed my wrist, moving my hand off of her arm and walked me away from the crowd. "As you can see, little brother, I just got out of school. Why would Angel be with me, fool?"

I just stared at her.

She stared back.

And then her face changed.

"Kenney...she's with mama..." They sounded more like escaped breaths than words.

"No Charity," my head was about to explode, "she's not."

We stared at each other some more and she teared up.

"She's not?"

"No." I was grasping for anything. Anything other than the obvious. "Maybe Wallace has her?"

Charity started crying. "No. He's in Chicago until Sunday."

"Shit..." I looked around. "I have to go."

And I left her there crying on the sidewalk.