King of the Empire (Completed)

Chapter Three: Missing You

Chapter 3

Jamal sighed as he entered his studio apartment, placed his car keys in the bowl, and sat down at his keyboard. He played a few scales on his keyboard before stopping. This wasn't what he had in mind.

He looked to a picture on his stand of his mother, Cookie Lyon, and him, four years old, with Hakeem as a baby. He sighed heavily.

Mom I wish you were here...

"Jamal?" Olivia Lyon came through the elevator with various shopping bags galore. He offered a weak smile at his wife and chuckled at the sight of the bags.

"I swear...don't you have enough clothes? You use the two closets in your room and a closet in my room, plus the living room's coat closet." Jamal said jovially, helping her bring in the bags.

"A girl can't have too much clothes." Olivia smiled back at him. "What do you wanna eat for dinner?" She asked, sitting down.

"I told you already. You don't have to cook for me. But since you so politely asked... I could do for some macaroni and cheese." Jamal playfully rolled his eyes.

Olivia hit him with a nearby couch pillow impishly, and sucked her teeth.

"Whatever boy." She said before shuffling the bags to her room. "You alright Mal?" Olivia asked concerned as she noticed him just sitting by the keyboard. He wasn't playing, not even facing the piano, just staring at the picture that he kept so preciously hid behind the window curtain.

Jamal didn't answer and didn't respond when she moved closer and sat next to him on the piano bench.

"Who's in the picture?" She said softly, looking at the three figures in the photograph. She could tell one of them was Jamal; the boy had his cheerful and careless grin. Olivia guessed that the baby was Hakeem, since Hakeem was now 12 years old.

Looking closer, she could tell that Hakeem had this woman's big brown eyes, thick and plump lips, color of skin, and dimples. She could tell from the picture, that Jamal thought the world of this woman with the loving expression they had looking at this woman.

"Is that your mother Jamal?" Olivia asked softly. Jamal shut his eyes tight.

"Yeah" Jamal breathed.

Olivia thought on all the news stations that had rumored that Andre, Jamal, and Hakeem's mother was all the same woman and was in jail and divorced from Lucious. She didn't remember her name. But it had something to do with a dessert. "Where is she?" Olivia asked tenderly.

"In jail" Jamal said after a few minutes.

"For what?" Olivia asked. "Slashing your father's tires? Keying his car?" She chuckled.

Jamal pursed his lips and looked at her seriously. "No. For drug dealing."

Olivia looked at him surprised. "Why did she do that? When's she coming out?"

"She's got 24 years. She served 12 already." Jamal avoided her first question.

"So it's exactly twelve more years on this day?" Olivia questioned further and Jamal nodded sadly.

Olivia looked at him and sighed. No one wonder the Lyon family seemed messed up. Andre seemed like he didn't care. Jamal seemed to care too deeply; he obviously was his mother's baby and took it the hardest. Hakeem didn't know anything else but just his father and his numerous girlfriends, so it didn't affect him at all. Olivia reached out and hugged Jamal tenderly.

'I know you're hurting baby" Olivia crooned as she gently rubbed herself on him. "But I'm here through-"

Jamal cut her off by physically pushing her off of him and standing up. "I'm going by Empire. I'll see you tomorrow I guess." Jamal rushed out quickly, grabbing his car keys.