𝐅𝐀𝐁𝐔𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐒, deeplay4keeps

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏: BYE LALA !

nalaya young never thought she would leave philadelphia. her family had lived there for what had seemed like forever. it was far from the safest place in the world, but to her it was comfortable. she could never leave her siblings let alone her mother. this was until the summer of her sophomore year. her basketball team had failed to even make it to the playoffs earlier in the school year. without that, any chances of getting a scholarship anywhere were shot, so she let herself go.

she partied day in and day out, a variety of drugs and alcohol breaching her body almost every day. despite this, she would come home as a different person. get her siblings ready for the day, go out, get them ready for bed and repeat. on a particular occasion she ended up blacking out at a party she attended. her friends brought her home intoxicated and all hell broke loose. 

her mother now refused to speak to her, giving her no other choice than to leave. now she sat in her brother's car as she allowed the weeknd's voice to grace her ears. she frowned as she heard the music stop, eyes opening. her brother had her phone in his hand with the other resting on the steering wheel. his eyes held nothing but pity for his younger sister.

"already?" she slightly laughed out. she couldn't let him know how bad she was hurting. she couldn't bring herself to make it harder for him. instead of immediately responding he gently dropped her phone into the cup holder and pulled her into a tight embrace. she didn't return it, but let her head dig into his neck. 

she pulled herself away and let her mouth open, "you'll be fine, naseem. besides you always be having shows out here anyway." the older boy chuckled at his sister's words. 

"shouldn't i be telling you that?" he questioned her. 

"you know i'll be okay." nalaya flashed him a warm smile. she broke eye contact, grabbed her phone and opened her door to get her bags. once her feet hit the ground she took a few moments to take in the new surroundings. new york city wasn't what she was expecting. it didn't look extremely different compared to philly, but she could feel it. 

naseem came around the car, handing her the backpack and suitcase she brought along with her. she grabbed her bags and made her way up the driveway of her new coach's house. she paused for a second, before quickly turning back and speeding her way towards her brother. her arms wrapped around his waist, taking him by surprise. he returned the hug.

"i love you, lil sis." he whispered softly. the hug was cut short due to the loud noise of a door being opened followed by heels clicking against the pavement.

"nalaya! i've been waiting for you!" her coach almost skipped herself down the driveway to come greet the girl. after seeing a few highlights, she was quick to bring her out to play basketball with her team. nalaya finally broke away from the hug and reached her hand out to greet the woman standing before her. she was a few inches taller then nalaya and sported a silk green button up paired with jeans that were ripped at the knee and heels to match. you wouldn't think someone like her still lived in the hood.

"and you must be naseem. i'm coach yasmina! we'll take good care of your sister." she shook his hand as well. "what are we waiting for? are you ready to see the house?" she excitedly asked nalaya. nalaya nodded with a smile, grabbing her bags once again and following her up the driveway. before nalaya could enter the door she heard a shout from behind her.

"BYE LALA!" she saw naseem waving at her from the car. she simply smiled and made her way into the house.