The game, of course, went by fast. You three were nothing compared to the boys, who were basically trained to be pros. Their height plus their stamina made it easy for them to keep scoring on you. And the worst part was you knew that they weren't even playing seriously.
By the end, you were all tired out. The hoodie that you had previously put on was now off as the three of you laid on the bleachers. A cold water bottle sat on your stomach, as you tried to cool yourself off in the warm summer afternoon.
The boys on the other hand, still had the energy to continue their previous game. You watched as they skipped around the court, tossing the ball back and forth as they made shots. If you hadn't known, you would've thought that they just started playing. They showed no sign of stopping, still as quick as when they first got on the court.
"Nelly, ion kno how you do it?" You huffed, sitting up from your spot. You grabbed the water bottle, opening it up before taking a quick swig. You felt the cold water travel down your body as you leaned back against the bleachers. "Three brothers is already od, but now you got Trell too?"
She laughed, taking the hair tie off her wrist to tie up her curls. You observed the multiple tattoos that scattered her neck, most of them in bright red ink. "You learn to choose your battles after a while," She shrugged.
"Shii and I thought Jaida was annoying," Day grumbled, "We just played four games back to back and they still going. Like dang it's getting dark outside, y'all don't be getting hungry?"
You laughed at Day's complaints as her brows furrowed at the boys. Her locs were let loose, framing her round face that was decorated in gold jewelry. The setting sun complimented her deep brown skin, an array of oranges and red highlighting her features.
"This all they do foreal," Nelly continued, "Chance be coming back late as hell tryna bother us. Mama said she gon lock him out, he keep playing."
"Bless Ms. Carmen's heart for real. I just kno she tired of y'all," You laughed.
"Wait holdon," Day scrunched up her face, "What happened to that plate she was sposed to make me?"
"Girllll," Nelly rolled her eyes, "I'm tired of hearing bout this plate. She told you to text her what you wanted."
"Say no more. I'm bout to call her now." The two of you laughed as you watched Day pull out her phone. "You think she'll make me those- Zion?!"
The two of you turned your attention to the gate where Daysha was facing. A wave of emotions rushed over you as you saw Zion, Ty's best friend, approach the court. His messy locs were tied up as he held a bright orange basketball in his tatted hands.
You quickly searched around the park, looking for another figure following him. The night made it hard to see, your efforts only revealing shadows and trees. You regained your focus back on Zion, locking eyes in the process.
A grimy smile appeared on his face as you froze in panic. His eyes traveled on you before going to the girls, who had the same shocked look as you. He then turned his attention to the boys who continued playing, not noticing his presence.
His pace picked up as he grabbed the court gate, slamming it behind him. The girls got up from the bleachers, giving you a look before turning to the boys who now paused their game. You felt your heart race as his eyes hopped between the boys before landing on Tana. The same smile returned to his face as he stepped forward to the boys.
"Oh, I see. So this the scrub you replace him for?" He scoffed, pointing at Tana. He turned to you, eyeing your frozen body as his voice rang in your head. You darted your eyes between the two as old memories you buried deep come flashing forward.
"Ayo, Zion," Trell said, breaking the silence. His tone was tense as he glanced over to you before shifting back. "We not doing that today. Go somewhere else."
Zion laughed, taking another step forward. "What you mean? This a public park. I ain't allowed to be here now or sumn?"
Daysha was now sitting beside you, her voice muffled as she tried to snap you out of your trance. Your eyes blurred as you continued to focus on the boys, blocking out all her words. The sunset hid their faces as their bodies remained tense. Tana stayed back, his eyes shifting from you to Zion and back to you. Chance takes a step forward, his fist clenched.
"Slow down, amigo," Zion laughs again. He holds his hands out, giving Chance a slight mug. "What?" He taunted, taking another step, "You gon beat me up like you did Ty? Go head, Chance."
The ringing in your head finally stopped as you looked at Chance. He lowered his head to avoid your gaze, anger burning through your eyes.
You shrugged Day's hand off your shoulder before making your way off the bleachers. "Chance, you did what?" Your voice cracked as you confronted him. Your brows furrowed as he raised his head, finally meeting your eyes.
He grabbed your arm, trying to calm you down, "Rea, he-"
"Don't touch me!" You yelled, pushing him off you. Tears formed in your eyes as you looked at him in disgust. "Chance, you have no right to do that."
"There ya go. Guard dog finally getting a lecture from his princess," Zion snarked.
"Zion, I'm not in the mood. Just leave," You mugged.
He smiles big, showing off his gold grills as he observes your face. "What's wrong, mama? Pretty boy got you acting different?" He asks, pointing to Tana who kept his deep brown eyes on you. His muscles tightened under the tattoos that covered his arms as Zion stepped closer.
You maintained your frown, rolling your eyes at his words. You just wanted it to be over, this moment to be over. Your heart was beating miles per second as you struggled to hold back tears. His familiar face brings up past memories that you wish weren't there. That you wish didn't happen. That you wish could go away.
"Aye, cmon. Don't be like that," He frowns, grabbing a hold of your face.
Tana steps in between you two, pushing him off of you. "Didn't she say don't touch her?" He hissed, dark eyes now focused on Zion.
"And here come another," You watched as Tana tensed up as Zion laughed again. His jaw tightened as he took a step closer. "Nigga couldn't wait to get his hands on you, huh? Aye, tell me how that pussy taste I might hit that shit next."
Tana launches himself towards Zion, sending a punch right to his jaw. Zion falls to the ground before landing a hit hard to his stomach. You stand in shock watching as the two take hits at each other. Tana's eyes filled with rage as he violently swung towards Zion, his fist slowly turning red.
Behind you, Daysha struggled to hold back Chanelle and Chance who were both filled with the same rage. Her arms grasped tightly around the twins as a slur of words spilled from them both.
"Aye, Tana! Stop!" Trell yelled from behind you. He runs past you to grab ahold of Zion, whose body tossed and turned to try and get out of his grasp. Tana ignored Trell's words, continuing to throw hits to Zion's body.
You run over and step in front of Tana, grabbing his bloodied fist. His attention remained focused on Zion, a spout of curses shouting at him. His body, however, didn't move as though he was still aware of your presence, careful not to take his anger out on you.
"Zion!" Trell shouted, blocking the two boys' view of each other. He pushes back Zion, letting go of his hold on him. "I'm saying this for you now. Just leave."
Zion looks over to Chance whose eyes remain locked on him. His dreads flail as he struggles to get past Nelly, who has now calmed down. Day stood beside the two, yelling at Chance who ignored the two of them.
Zion smacks his teeth, picking up his bag before heading to the gate. "Man, nobody scared of that nigga," He yells back at Chance, "Ykno where I be. Try that same shit you did to Ty and see what happens."
"Man, fuck all that. Speak on my folks again, I swear on my momma you visiting hell Zion," Chance yells back, "You n yo potna pussies, nigga. Steady duckin, I'll shoot out yo fuc-"
"Chance, enough!" Day yells, shoving him back, "He's leaving, nigga, enough."
Nelly shoves him again, but this time harder. "Simplemente cállate ya! Chance qué te pasa? You keep doing stupid shit, nigga. Vas a terminar como papa! Huh? Is that what you want?" Her face turned red as she lectured him. The bun she put in earlier was messy and she threw her hands at him, hitting at his chest. "Making threats like that. En qué pensabas, mio? Y tu familia? Mamá?"
She sighed as she put her face in her hands. Daysha rubbed her back, comforting her as tears fell. Chance kept quiet, his head low as his eyes saddened. She held her head back up, wiping away the tears that escaped. "Did you even think about Rea?"
Chance looks over to you. You stood with Tana, head in his chest as the tears that you've been holding back for so long, finally broke free. Tana held onto your head, bloody hands stroking the back of your neck.
Tana avoided eye contact, keeping his head straight as you held onto his shirt. "You ok?" He asked, his deep voice interrupting your crying. You kept your head down, eyes glued to the court lines. The night felt good on your wet face, tears drying quickly from the heat. It was better than the cold nights, the ones where you felt alone.
"Come on, it's getting late," He said, grabbing your hand from his shirt. He led you off the court, taking you to his car where he opened the passenger door for you. The familiar scent greeted your nose, the comforting scent.
You stared out the window, wiping your tears in the reflection. The night sky was dark, the car's red interior contrasting it. Tana entered from the driver's side, quiet as he turned on the car. The radio was silent as he backed out of the spot and headed onto the road.
You kept your head down, scared that anything you said may make you burst out in tears again. He was silent too, his red fist gripping the steering wheel. His face was blank, but not like his usual expression. There was a hint of anger, almost like the calm before the storm.
He dropped you off in front of your house. Not a word exchange between you two as you exited the car. You quickly entered your house, feeling relief before heading to your room.
-𝚂𝙰𝙽𝚃𝙰𝙽𝙰 𝙿𝙾𝚅-
You rushed to close the front door behind you, taking off your shoes as you entered. The house was dark, indicating that everybody had already gone to sleep which was good for you because the last thing you wanted right now was to be bombarded by questions.
Your body ached as you traveled to your room. The adrenaline from earlier was wearing off and now you could feel every hit that came in contact. Your fist stung from the cold air that hit them, wet from both of your blood.
You heard a jingle of a collar, nails clasping against the hardwood as Haley scurried towards you. She hopped up excitedly, letting out tiny yelps for you to pick her up. "Shh, Haley," You whispered, being careful not to wake anyone up.
"Tana?" You winced as you heard your mom's voice from the living room. "Nana, that's you?"
You ignored her, picking up Haley to silence her wines. The last person you wanted to see right now was your mom. You knew once she saw you, she would stress you with questions. It would be best just to deal with her tomorrow, once you yourself knew what just happened.
You continued to the stairs, stroking Haley's dark brown fur. She licked your hand, sending pain throughout your body.
"So you not gon say nun?" Your mom says. You heard her footsteps get closer as she approached your turned back. "You're home earlier than I expected. I made some dinner-"
Her sentence trailed off as she finally faced you. You watched as her eyes scanned your body, focusing on the many cuts and bruises that scattered you. Her eyes tear up as she puts a hand on your cheek, wiping away the blood that ran from it. "I'm fine mama-"
"What happened? Where have you been?" She interrupted, lifting your shirt up to reveal the hidden injuries that Zion placed. Tears fall and she takes Haley from your hands, moving to see your bloody fist.
You yank her hand away from your shirt. "Nothin, mama. I'm fine," You assured, turning back to the stairs.
"Santana, I'm telling you right now, if you're out there de...." Her voice cracked as yelled to your frozen back. Her worried voice peeked through her front of anger she put up. "If you're out there fighting again. I swear, I will not hesitate to kick you out this house, you hear me? Nana, I've worked too hard to try to take you out of that lifestyle, try to give you something else to look forward to. And now you out here doing the same shit? What about basketball, huh? Rodney worked hard to put you on that team and you just gon waste it away. To be what? To be a drug deal-"
"It's nothin mama!" You yelled back. The room went silent for a moment, her sniffs the only thing heard. "I'm sorry..." You apologized before heading up.
"You kno you can talk to me about anything, Nana?" She called from the bottom of the stairs. You held your head down, shutting your room door behind you.
You sink into your bed, sore from all the pain. Your head was a mess, you didn't know what to think, what to feel. Your anger was gone and all that was left was confusion. You felt your phone vibrate against your bed, the notification lighting up your dark room. You picked it up, eyes squinting at the bright screen.
Rea
tana
can we talk
🌙: 𝘰𝘰 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘰𝘩 𝘣𝘰𝘺😬 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥
𝘸𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘛𝘢𝘯𝘢'𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥👀 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘶 𝘥𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘭 𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘬🤭🤭
𝘈𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨💕💕