I studied myself, taking in what I saw without turning away from it. I did not look broken. I looked like a woman who had lived, who had loved, who had endured, and still stood firm after getting through the healing phases. There was strength there. There was patience there.
And even now, beneath the disappointment, there was still hope. I exhaled softly, reaching for the light before stepping out of the bathroom. Because no matter how many times I found myself here, I knew one thing for certain. My story was not finished yet.
GHOST
I hadn’t spoken to Trigga since the fight. The silence between us was going on longer than I expected, but it wasn’t confusing. Some situations don’t need to be explained because the outcome speaks for itself, and everything about how we left things told me exactly where we stand now. That didn’t mean I wasn’t thinkingabout it. It didn’t mean I wasn’t thinking about him. We had lived under the same roof at one point. We really were moving through life like brothers instead of just friends. Everything we built came from that foundation, from years of being side by side, from learning the same lessons, taking the same risks, and trusting each other without question.
That type of bond was not supposed to break, especially not over a woman. At least, that was what I kept telling myself. There was a moment when I reached out, and even now I could not say it was for any real reason other than what I had seen that day. I had been driving, minding my business, moving through the city like it was any other day, when I pulled up at a light and happened to glance over. That was when I saw him.
Trigga sat behind the wheel of a white Benz, looking comfortable in a way that made it clear life had not slowed down for him at all. The moment I saw the car, something clicked in my mind because I remembered him saying one time that Maliah drove that same kind of car. My eyes shifted to the passenger seat, and that was when I saw her. She was pretty, darkskin, and sitting there like she had every reason to be in that seat beside him. For a brief moment, she looked over, and our eyes met through the glass. It did not last long, but it was enough for me to know exactly who I was looking at. That had to be her.
Before anything else could happen, the light turned green, and Trigga pulled off. I sat there a moment longer than I should have, watching the Benz disappear into traffic. That was what pushed me to reach out. The message I sent was simple, and I gave him the chance to respond and to acknowledge me in some way, but he never did. That silence told me everything I needed to know. I sat on my bed, exhaling slowly as I stared at my phone, letting that reality settle in again. Before I could drift too far into it, the screen lit up with a new message.
Ryan
My expression tightened slightly as I opened it, already knowing this was not going to be anything good.
I gave you half my money. Where’s my product?
I read the message more than once, letting the words settle in fully before I even thought about responding. I couldn’t answer Ryan’s question even if I wanted to. I was sitting here with no product, no way to get more, and money in my possession that did not belong to me. I dragged my hand down my face and let out a slow breath as the weight of it all settled in deeper than I wanted it to. This was not the type of situation that fixed itself, and it definitely was not something I could ignore. Ryan did not strike me as the type of person who would let something like this go. My phone buzzed again in my hand, pulling my attention back to the screen. I stared at it for a moment, my thumb hovered over the screen before I locked it instead. I was choosing silence over a response that would not solve anything.
I laid back on my bed before staring up at the ceiling. My mind was already moving through possibilities that did not look good, no matter how I tried to frame them. Not having product was one problem, but not having Trigga made it worse in a way I had not fully acknowledged until now. If anybody could get me out of this situation, it was him. For the first time since everything went left between us, I was not thinking about pride or who was right. I was thinking about consequences. Because at this point, there was only one question that mattered, and it sat heavily in my mind as everything started to connect, whether I wanted it to or not. Was Ryan about to become a problem?
Chapter 23
MJ
Sitting in my room, I finally felt like I could breathe again. Not all the way, not like nothing ever happened, but enough to know I wasn’t stuck in that place I had been in when I first came home. Healing had been slower than I wanted it to be. The healing scars on my arm were a constant reminder of how everything went down, but I couldn’t keep telling myself I was still in that same headspace. I felt better. Not just physically, but mentally too. A part of that came from knowing that Cornelius wasn’t stepping on any field anytime soon. Word had already made its way back to me about what happened to him, and even though nobody broke it down in detail, I didn’t need them to.
My father handled it. I leaned back against my headboard and let out a slow breath as my thoughts shifted in a way I hadn’t expected them to. I had always known who my father was. Not in the way outsiders tried to guess or assume, but in the way that came from hearing it directly from him and Uncle Sha. They never hid their past from my mother or me. They told it like it was, not to glorify it, but to make sure I understood the weight of the choices they made and the lives they lived before things became what they are now. So, none of it was new to me.But seeing it play out like this just felt different. It wasn’t just something I knew anymore. It was something I understood. The way he moved, the way he handled things without raising his voice or losing control, the way everything felt calculated instead of emotional. It made something click for me in a way I couldn’t ignore. It wasn’t just about being feared. It was about being in control at all times.
And that is probably what I lacked that got me in this situation to begin with. That realization sat with me as I shifted slightly. My eyes drifted over to the wall across from me, where one of my favorite pictures hung. It was from high school. It was me on the court, locked into the game, caught in a moment that felt bigger than just basketball. I stared at it for a second, really taking it in, and before I knew it, a small smile pulled at my lips.
I was going to get back to that. There was no doubt in my mind about it. This wasn’t the end for me, no matter how it tried to feel when I was lying up in that hospital bed. It was just something I had to get through. I let out a slow breath as I let that confidence settle in, and my thoughts shifted again, this time to the decision I had made not too long ago.
I had told my parents I wasn’t leaving just yet. Going away to school had been the plan. It was something we had talked about for a long time. For a long time, it felt like something that felt like the next step I was supposed to take. I expected them to question it or maybe even push back a little, because I knew what that opportunity meant. But they didn’t. Surprisingly, they understood and respected my decision. Justine didn’t stick beside me once I told her that I wasn’t going away to school. It was funny how I was trying to ditch the bitch before I left, and she was saying that she didn’t want to be with me because if I didn’t go, then I would lose my chance at playing for a D1 school. I guess that was my karma a little for trying to get rid of her ass before I left. The last time I checked, she was dating a nigga thatwent away to school to play football. Which was hilarious to me. I shook off the bad vibe I got whenever I thought about her ass.
My eyes shifted toward my open bedroom door, and that was when I noticed her. Maliah stood there quietly, like she had been there for a minute, just watching me. There was something softer in her expression now, something that hadn’t been there before everything that happened. For a moment, neither of us said anything. Then she smiled. It wasn’t big or exaggerated, but it was real. And without even thinking about it, I smiled back. Something about that moment meant so much, even though it was so small. Because even with everything that had happened, even with the pain, the frustration, and everything I had to push through to get back to myself… It all felt worth it. Because it was for her. And I would do anything just to see her smile like she was right now.
MALIAH
When MJ smiled back at me, my heart felt full. For the first time since everything happened, he looked like himself again, and seeing that did something to me that I hadn’t even realized I needed. I leaned against the doorframe with my arms crossed. I let my eyes drop to the healing scars that covered his tattooed arm before a small smirk pulled at my lips.
“I’m not even going to lie,” I said while tilting my head slightly as I looked at him, “it’s kind of good that broken arm really sat you down for a minute, because you were starting to act like you were untouchable.”
His face twisted immediately, and before I could even react, he grabbed a pillow with his good arm and launched it at me. Ithit me square in the chest, making me laugh as I caught it before it could fall.
“Boy, you better be glad you’re still healing,” I shot back while tossing the pillow lightly onto his bed as I shook my head at him.
He didn’t say anything, but I could see the smile still sitting on his face. I pushed myself off the doorframe and stepped back into the hallway, glancing at him one more time before turning toward my room.
“I’ll come check on you later,” I said before walking down the hall.
Once I made it inside, I closed the door behind me and walked over to my closet. I pulled the door open and started going through my clothes. Tonight was supposed to be simple, just me and Tahari, having a casual date night.
As I shifted hangers back and forth, my mind drifted to him, and I couldn’t help the small smile that graced my face. I appreciated the way things had been going lately, especially between him and my dad, because that alone meant more to me than I had expected it to. My dad didn’t open up to just anybody, so the fact that he had started taking Tahari under his wing, bringing him around the auto business, and really showing him things, said everything without needing to be explained. It made me feel like things were finally falling into place in a way that made sense.
What made it even better was knowing that Tahari actually had an interest in it, because he wasn’t just around to be around. He paid attention, asked questions, and carried himself like he wanted to learn, like he wanted to build something for himself instead of just going wherever life pushed him. That mattered to me more than I could really put into words. I pulled out a couple of outfits and laid them across my bed before taking a step back. I was trying to decide what I wanted to wear, but as I stood therelooking at them, something shifted in a way I couldn’t ignore. It was subtle, but I felt it anyway. A strange, uneasy feeling settled in my chest, like something wasn’t sitting right, even though everything around me looked exactly how it was supposed to. I paused, and my eyebrows dipped in thought as I tried to make sense of it, but nothing about it made sense. Nothing was wrong. Everything was fine.
