"You're going to prison for a very long time."
The weight of those words cut through the fog billowing inside Jordan's brain and left him suddenly hyperaware of his surroundings. The cold steel chair beneath him, the chilly stare of the detective sitting across the table.
"I need a lawyer," Jordan said finally, the words catching in his throat. "But I didn't do this."
==
"I know you didn't do it, son. Because you're not a killer," Jordan's mother said. "We just have to prove it to them."
The desperation evident in Raquel's voice, Jordan placed his hands delicately on his mother's shoulders. "Thank you for believing in me, mom. I don't know what I would do without you. And I don't want you to worry--but I'm terrified."
Raquel pulled her son's arms down and took his hands in hers, squeezing them as she often did when trying to comfort her youngest child. All his life, Jordan had been sensitive, a disposition he clearly got from her. The two had always been close, as Raquel had long seen so much of herself, and her vulnerabilities, in him. She briefly fixed her eyes on the coffee table, and the 4x6 photo of a childhood Jordan atop it, before looking up at the fear-riddled face of her now-25-year-old son.
"You don't have anything to be terrified about, Jor."
"You're right. But you weren't in that room with those detectives, and I've seen enough true crime to know that 'I was at home watching TV' is a god-awful alibi," Jordan said, his palms beginning to sweat.
"I don't care what kind of alibi it is. You don't have to be scared because you're not going to prison. I won't let you."
==
As Jordan sat on the motel bed next to his mother, a strange thought flashed through his head: he was sitting too close to her. Her being mere inches away wouldn't have been awkward in practically any other setting, but here they were, alone and on the run at a seedy motel. The intimacy of the situation, he thought, was...noteworthy.
"I can't believe we're doing this," he said, turning to his mom.
"I told you, Jor. I won't let them take you."
"But we don't know the first thing about running from the cops! I mean, how are we supposed to not get caught?"
"We're going to Mexico, baby. We'll stay at your cousin Sammy's. Once we get there, we can figure the rest out."
Baby...she hadn't called him that in years. "You shouldn't be risking your freedom for me," he said, his body now fully turned toward his mother on the bed. "I love you way too much to let anything happen to you."
Raquel struggled to summon a response. Her son was right about the plan--it was flimsy at best. Even if they were able to find their way across the border, then what? Would they just be fugitives forever? Raquel could feel herself spinning out and wondered if Jordan could tell. She forced herself to look up, shifting her gaze from the dingy motel floor to the tiny old TV at the center of the room. This place had seen better days, she thought, before letting out a laugh as a tear rolled down her cheek. They'd seen better days, too.
Whether it was the tear or the laugh, Raquel could feel the pressure of her own anxiety fall away. "C'mon," she said, opening her arms wide as she laid down on the bed. She may not have a plan, but she had her son and he had his mother. And so, on their first night as fugitives, a night that should have been horrifying, Jordan and Raquel fell asleep safely in each other's arms.
The next morning, Raquel struggled to open her eyes, but as she gathered her senses, she was met with the embrace of her son, who seemingly hadn't moved a muscle since falling asleep. Without thought, she smiled and snuggled further into him, but as she did, felt something stiff against her crotch.