Chapter 44

Trey's POV

Zay wanted to go out, so we out.

It's late afternoon, the sun just starting to sink low, casting long shadows over the streets. We ain't really got no destination-just moving, letting the city guide us. Zay got on one of them bright-ass hoodies, something loud and attention-grabbing, but he make it look good. He keeps bumping into me as we walk, his fingers brushing against mine like he's debating if he wanna hold my hand or not.

I glance over at him. "You keep on bumpin' me like that, I'ma think you tryna be up under me all day."

Zay smirks. "Ain't that what you want?"

I shake my head, laughing under my breath. "Man, c'mon."

We end up hitting a little food spot first, something simple. We eat, talk shit, enjoy the time. Then, after a while, we dip to a quiet spot-somewhere tucked away, where it's just us. Zay already rolling up, fingers moving smooth like he done did this a thousand times.

I lean back against the car, watching him. He sits on the hood, his legs stretched out, concentration all over his face.

"You ever gon' teach me how to roll?" I ask, knowing damn well I don't got the patience for that shit.

He snorts. "You too bougie for this, Pa. You like shit done for you."

I smirk. "Ain't say you was wrong."

Zay finishes up, sparking the blunt, taking a slow pull before handing it to me. I take it, inhale deep, let the smoke settle in my chest before blowing it out. We sit in silence for a little bit, passing back and forth, the smoke curling between us.

Then, outta nowhere, Zay speaks. "My momma really kicked me out." His voice is quieter now, like he ain't even meaning to say it, like the words just slipped out.

I look over at him, waiting. He taps his fingers against his knee, eyes on the pavement like he's sorting through his thoughts.

"She still talk to that nigga," he says, voice clipped. "My dad."

I don't say nothin' yet. I know Zay-he don't need me to ask shit. He'll talk when he's ready.

He licks his lips, takes another pull, then exhales slow. "I asked her why. Asked her how she could still let him in after all the shit he did. She just looked at me, Trey. Like I was the one trippin'. Then she told me I needed to stop actin' ungrateful."

I clench my jaw, looking away for a second so I don't say something that's just gonna make him feel worse.

"She really chose him over you," I finally say.

Zay lets out a hollow laugh, shaking his head. "She been chose him. I just ain't wanna see it."

I reach over, palm resting on the back of his neck, rubbing slow. He don't pull away. If anything, he leans into it.

"I ain't goin' nowhere, love," I tell him, my voice low. "'Specially not over some dumb shit like that."

Zay don't say nothin' for a second, just nods, taking another hit before passing it back to me. I let it hang between my fingers, neither of us in a rush to finish.

"You the only home I got now," he says eventually, real quiet.

I squeeze the back of his neck, nodding once. "'Cause that's what you are to me too."

Zay's POV

I wake up, stretching across the bed, reaching out automatically for Trey-only to find cold sheets.

My eyes snap open, and the first thing I do is grab my phone off the nightstand. Ain't no text from him. No missed call.

I sit up, rubbing my eyes, already feeling my heart start to beat a little faster. He never just leave like this.

Sliding outta bed, I go straight to the bathroom, brushing my teeth fast as hell, then spitting and rinsing before I'm calling him. It ring a few times before he finally pick up.

"Where the fuck you at?" I ask immediately, voice still rough from sleep.

Trey sighs on the other end. "I had to go handle somethin', love. Chill."

I frown. "Handle what? You ain't say shit, just dipped."

He's quiet for a second, then says, "Hospital called me."

That make me pause. My heart stutters in my chest. "You good?"

"Yeah," he says. "They found my moms. She overdosed."

I go still.

I ain't never heard him talk about her much, and when he did, it wasn't ever anything good. But still. Hearing that? It hit different.

"She dead?" I ask carefully.

"Nah," Trey says. "But she look damn near close to it."

I hear the way he says it-flat, emotionless. Like he don't even care.

"Why you even go?" I ask.

Trey lets out a humorless chuckle. "Cause they called. Guess she still got my number down somewhere. I went to see what was up, but man... she ain't changed. Just laid up in that hospital bed, talking crazy, acting like she don't even know why she there."

I feel my chest tighten. I know what it's like to have a parent who don't care.

"You still there?" I ask.

"Nah," Trey says. "I left. Ain't no reason for me to stay."

That make me exhale slow, nodding even though he can't see me. "Come home, Pa."

"I'm already on my way, pretty."

That make my body relax just a little. "Good."

"Y'missed me that bad?" He teases, voice lighter now.

I scoff. "Boy, shut up. Just bring yo' ass home."

He laughs, and just like that, I feel okay again.