Your voice.
Zay leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes.
“I’m not broken,” he muttered to himself. “I’m not lost.”
He was just tired. Tired of chasing new sounds that didn’t say anything. Tired of everyone demanding more. Tired of trying to reinvent without revealing. The game had changed. Maybe he was getting left behind.
The jet soared into the dark sky and cut through clouds like it had something to prove.
He folded his arms across his chest.
He didn’t know what he was going to find in Atlanta.
But it sure as hell wasn’t his heart.
Winter 2007
Princess was halfwaythrough changing her MySpace layout—new background, new song, Pretty Ricky “Grind On Me” on autoplay—when she noticed a new message sitting in her inbox.
From: Westsidezay313
Subject: Yo
Time: 11:42 PM
My bad for ghostin’. I wasn’t tryna play you. I was locked up for 2 weeks back in January.
That slowed shit down a lot.
Didn’t want you thinkin’ I ain’t care. I just ain’t have no way to reach you.
I miss you tho. Still got that pic of us at the Riverwalk in my wallet.
If you still rock wit me… hit me back.
Her heart dropped.
After all that silence—no calls, no messages, no warning—he just disappeared. She thought he had ghosted her. She believed maybe she wasn’t good enough or, worse, just one of many. The memory of waiting around for his name to pop up on her “Online Friends” list came flooding back. It had been two months, and now here he was, tucked behind a MySpace message like nothing happened.
She debated for a minute on responding. She thought she should make him wait a few days, even weeks, before she replied, just to see how much it hurt. But, after a few moments, her curiosity caught up with her.
From: DaOnlyPrincess_90
Subject: RE: Yo
Locked up? For what??
I thought you just left me hangin’. That kinda messed me up, Zay, I aint gonna hold you.
If you been out, why you just now reaching out?
His response came fast.
Didn’t have a phone. Didn’t have shit.
I finally hit that nigga back.
My stepdad.
