Chapter 2: The Money Nobody Could Find
Jaylen recovered quickly.
He had always been good at recovering quickly.
One moment, his face revealed the smallest crack in his confidence. The next, he was standing straighter, rolling his shoulders, and looking at Tiana as though she had accused him of a crime.
“What are you talking about?”” he asked.
Tiana held up her phone.
“Someone just texted me that you told the school you already paid Amara's balance.””
Jaylen glanced at the screen.
Then he laughed.
Not a nervous laugh. Not the laugh of a man caught in an embarrassing misunderstanding.
It was the kind of laugh he used when he wanted another person to feel foolish for asking a reasonable question.
“Whoever sent that is lying.””
“Then why would they say it?””
“How am I supposed to know? You know how people are.””
Tiana looked at the message again.
The number wasn't saved in her contacts. There was no name, no photograph, no explanation.
Just the accusation.
She typed a response.
Who is this? What payment are you talking about?
Then she looked back at Jaylen.
“I'm calling the school.””
His expression hardened.
“Go ahead.””
The words came too quickly.
Tiana noticed.
So did Malik.
Tiana stepped away from the car and tapped the number on the school's website. The call rang four times before a receptionist answered.
“Good afternoon, Lincoln Elementary. This is Denise speaking.””
“Hi, my name is Tiana Brooks. I'm Amara Brooks's mother. I received a notice about an outstanding balance, and I need to confirm something.””
“Of course, Ms. Brooks. Let me pull up her account.””
Tiana could hear a keyboard clicking on the other end.
She looked at Jaylen while she waited.
He had turned toward his sedan and was rubbing his thumb across the edge of one of the new rims.
“Thank you for holding,” Denise said.
“I can see the account here.””
“Can you tell me what the outstanding balance is for?””
“Certainly. There's the classroom workbook, the fall field trip, and the school activity fee.””
Tiana swallowed.
“And has any payment been made by Amara's father?””
There was a pause.
“I'm sorry, Ms. Brooks. I can only confirm the payments listed on the account.””
“That's fine. Has a payment been recorded?””
Another pause.
“No payment has been posted.””
Tiana's stomach tightened.
“Has anyone called to say they paid?””
“I see a note from last Thursday. A gentleman called and said he intended to submit the payment that afternoon. The note doesn't indicate that the payment was received.””
Tiana glanced at Jaylen.
He was no longer touching the rims.
“Did he give his name?””
“One moment.””
The keyboard started again.
“Yes. The note says Jaylen Brooks.””
For a moment, the driveway seemed to tilt beneath Tiana's feet.
He had called the school.
He knew exactly what Amara needed.
He had spoken to someone about paying.
And he had stood in front of Tiana and acted as if she were inventing expenses to inconvenience him.
“Thank you,” Tiana said quietly.
“I appreciate your help.””
“Of course. Please contact us if you need a payment arrangement.””
When the call ended, Tiana lowered her phone.
Jaylen was staring at her.
“So?”” he demanded.
“So you knew.””
“I said I was going to pay.””
“You told the school you were going to pay last Thursday.””
“And?””
“And today is Sunday. You haven't paid.””
“I had things come up.””
Tiana let out a breath that sounded almost like a laugh.
“What things?””
Jaylen spread his arms.
“Life, Tiana. Bills. Responsibilities. Things you wouldn't understand because you're always focused on what I owe you.””
“I'm focused on what Amara needs.””
“Same difference with you.””
Malik stepped off the porch.
“Jaylen, you called the school and told them you were paying. Why didn't you just tell Tiana you couldn't do it yet?””
Jaylen turned on him.
“Man, why are you still talking?””
“Because this doesn't make sense.””
“You don't know anything about my situation.””
“Then explain it.””
Jaylen stared at Malik as if the request itself were offensive.
“I don't have to explain my finances to you.””
“No,” Malik said.
“But you should be able to explain to your child's mother why your daughter still doesn't have shoes.””
Jaylen took a step toward him.
“You really want to do this in my driveway?””
Malik didn't move.
“We're already doing it.””
Tiana barely heard them.
She was looking at the list again.
At the bottom, beneath the field trip fee, she had written the price of the school shoes she had found on sale.
Forty-eight dollars.
She had checked three stores before finding a pair that would last through the semester.
Forty-eight dollars.
She thought of the chrome rims, the expensive-looking tires, the way Jaylen had stood beside the car yesterday while his friends admired it.
She remembered the photograph he had posted online.
Sometimes you have to treat yourself. Hard work deserves rewards.
The post had received dozens of comments.
People congratulated him.
People called him a boss.
One woman had written, A man who takes care of himself knows his worth.
Tiana had stared at that comment for a long time.
She had wondered what it meant to be a man who took care of himself while his child went to school in shoes that pinched her toes.
“Jaylen,” she said, “did you buy those rims before or after you called the school?””
He looked at her sharply.
“Don't do that.””
“Answer me.””
“I don't owe you an explanation about my car.””
“Did you buy them before or after?””
Jaylen pointed at her.
“You see? This is why I don't like talking to you. You always turn everything into an argument.””
“No. I ask a question, and you turn it into an argument.””
His face reddened.
“You don't know what I had to do to get those rims.””
Tiana stared at him.
“What did you have to do?””
He opened his mouth, then closed it.
Malik folded his arms.
“That's what I thought.””
Jaylen spun toward him.
“You know what, Malik? You can get off my porch and out of my business.””
Malik looked back at the chair where he'd been sitting.
“Gladly.””
He walked toward the steps, picked up his keys, and returned to the driveway.
But he didn't leave.
Instead, he stopped beside Tiana's car.
“Can I ask you something?”” he said.
Tiana nodded.
“When you asked Jaylen for the money, did you tell him Amara was going without shoes?””
“Yes.””
“And he still refused?””
Tiana glanced at Jaylen.
“He said I was asking for too much.””
Malik's expression changed.
He looked at Jaylen with a disappointment deeper than anger.
“That's low, man.””
Jaylen shook his head.
“You two are unbelievable.””
Tiana opened her car door, but she didn't get inside.
She had spent months trying to convince herself that Jaylen's behavior was temporary.
He had lost a job once. He had struggled to find steady work. There had been weeks when he seemed genuinely ashamed that he couldn't provide what he wanted to provide.
She had made excuses for him because she remembered the man he had been before resentment turned every conversation into a contest.
When Amara was younger, Jaylen would carry her on his shoulders through the park. He would sit on the floor and build towers out of plastic blocks. He used to call her his little sunshine.
Tiana didn't know when the promises had stopped matching the actions.
Perhaps it happened gradually.
Perhaps she had simply been too busy keeping their daughter happy to notice how far Jaylen had drifted from the father he once wanted to be.
Her phone vibrated again.
The unknown number had replied.
Check the school payment portal. He may have told you he couldn't pay, but he told someone else he already had.
Tiana felt a chill move through her despite the warm sunlight.
She opened the school's online portal.
Her hands shook as she entered the password.
The page loaded slowly.
Amara's name appeared at the top.
Below it were the outstanding fees.
No payment.
No pending transaction.
Nothing.
But beneath the account summary was a section labeled *Parent Communications*.
Tiana tapped it.
A note appeared.
Father contacted office regarding payment arrangements. Requested confirmation that school expenses were required before sending funds.
Tiana read it twice.
Then a third time.
He hadn't simply delayed payment.
He had questioned whether his own daughter's school expenses were legitimate.
She raised her eyes.
“Jaylen, why did you ask the school to confirm that Amara needed these things?””
He went still.
Malik turned toward him.
“What?””
Jaylen shoved his hands into his pockets.
“I was making sure everything was correct.””
“Correct?”” Tiana repeated.
“You think I'm making up school fees?””
“I never said that.””
“You asked the school to verify them!””
“Because people lie about money all the time.””
The words escaped before he could soften them.
Tiana's face changed.
She didn't cry.
She didn't shout.
She simply looked at him as if she were seeing a stranger wearing a face she used to know.
“I'm not people, Jaylen.””
He looked away.
“I didn't mean it like that.””
“How did you mean it?””
He rubbed his jaw.
“Look, I'll send something when I can.””
“When?””
“Soon.””
“How soon?””
He sighed dramatically.
“Why does everything need a deadline with you?””
“Because Amara's teacher needs the workbook before Monday.””
Malik shook his head.
“Give her a date, Jaylen.””
Jaylen glared at him.
“Are you her father now?””
“No,” Malik replied.
“That's why I'm asking you to act like one.””
Silence settled over the driveway.
A breeze lifted the edge of the paper in Tiana's hand.
She finally folded the list and placed it in her purse.
“I'll handle it,” she said.
Jaylen's shoulders relaxed as though those three words had removed a burden from his back.
Tiana noticed that, too.
She got into her car and started the engine.
Before pulling away, she looked through the open window.
“I'm not going to ask you again for these shoes.””
Jaylen leaned against his sedan.
“Fine.””
“But don't tell Amara you couldn't help because I didn't give you the chance.””
He scoffed.
“Whatever makes you feel better.””
Tiana drove away.
Malik watched the car turn the corner before looking back at Jaylen.
“You need to fix this.””
Jaylen opened the driver's door.
“It's handled.””
“No, it isn't.””
Jaylen lowered himself into the seat.
Then he said something that made Malik stop walking.
“You don't know the half of it.””
Malik leaned toward the open window.
“What does that mean?””
Jaylen stared at the steering wheel.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then his phone lit up in the cup holder.
A notification appeared from a banking app.
Malik couldn't see the balance.
But he could see the transfer description.
*AMARA — SCHOOL EXPENSES.*
Jaylen snatched the phone before Malik could read more.
And for the first time, Malik wondered whether the problem wasn't that Jaylen had no money.
May you like
It was that someone had given him money specifically for his daughter.
And he had done something else with it.
