When love and loyalty clash with the streets, hearts break, secrets spill, and survival becomes the only option.
Serenity thought her biggest test was learning how to love Dre through the chaos, but nothing prepared her for betrayal, loneliness, and...
The first week home with Gio felt like a blur. Nights bled into mornings, her body still aching from labor, her breasts sore from nursing. Sometimes, she'd catch herself standing in the middle of her tiny studio apartment with tears streaming down her face, not even sure why she was crying.
It wasn't that she didn't love her baby. She loved him so deeply it scared her. But everything else — the constant crying, the loneliness, the heaviness of being responsible for a whole life — made her feel like she was unraveling.
One evening, after another long day of feeding, burping, and pacing the floor, Serenity sat at the kitchen table with her mom. Gio was finally asleep in his rocker, the hum of the fan filling the silence.
Mama Carter studied her daughter quietly before speaking. "You ain't been yourself, Renni. I can see it all over you."
Serenity rubbed her temples, her voice cracking. "I feel like I'm failing, Ma. Like I can't keep up. Every time I look in the mirror, I don't even recognize myself anymore. My hair, my face, everything... it just feels like I let myself go."
Her mom reached across the table, taking her hand. "That's postpartum, baby. It's real. Don't think for a second you weak or crazy. You just had a whole baby — your body and your mind are still trying to catch up."
Serenity swallowed hard, nodding. She leaned back and touched her hair, the same sew-in she'd gotten before Gio was born now frizzing and grown out. "I can't keep doing this with my hair. I want something that feels like me... something simple, something I don't gotta fight with every day."
"What you thinking?" her mom asked gently.
Serenity hesitated, then whispered, "I think I want to lock my hair. For real this time. Start fresh."
Her mom smiled softly, her eyes warm with approval. "That sound like a woman who knows what she need. Locs gon' free you, baby. Less stress, more growth. Call your god mama. You know she been waiting for you to make that move."
That night, while rocking Gio to sleep, Serenity typed out a message to her god mom:
"Hey, I think I'm finally ready to start my loc journey. Can I book with you soon?"
Her god mom replied almost instantly:
"Yes baby, I been waiting for this! We gon' get you right. New chapter, new energy."
Serenity kissed the top of Gio's head, whispering, "Mama's gonna get it together for you. I promise."
⸻
Dre's POV
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The next video visit, Dre noticed the difference in her voice. Serenity wasn't as talkative, her eyes heavy, her energy low. She told him she'd been struggling but that she was making moves to feel better.
"I'm about to start my locs," she said quietly, almost like she was testing how it sounded out loud.
Dre's lips curved into a small smile. "That's you, Renni. You gon' look fire with locs, I already know. I just hate I can't be out there to see it."
Her eyes softened, but her heart still felt heavy. She nodded and said, "I need to do it for me, Dre. I need to feel like myself again."
He leaned forward, voice low. "I know I messed up, but I'm proud of you. Don't ever think you ain't strong. You carrying everything right now, and you still standing. That's power, Renni."
She didn't reply right away, but for the first time in weeks, she felt like maybe she wasn't as lost as she thought.
