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03

Harlem Santino

❝ Make your decision
(You gon' regret it the rest of your life)
Now there's a consequence
You say you're seeing someone else
(Who can love you better than me?)
I'll leave you two alone ❞

Harlem sung under his breath, licking his lips before taking a deep slow drag from his blunt.

Sitting in his dodge charger under a dim flickering streetlight he couldn't help but feel unsettled. Being back in this small town surrounded by now bittersweet memories left him tense.

Slowly blinking away his emotions, Harlem glanced to the medium sized white house just a minute walk from where his car was parked. His childhood home.

Swallowing thickly, Harlem clenched his jaw thinking about his mother who was inside. Patiently waiting for her youngest son to finally come through the front door so she could greet him with a beautiful warm smile and open arms.

She would smile so bright hoping to distract him from things they both knew were unavoidable.

She was dying.

Harlem's world had came to crashing down when he received a call from her a few weeks ago. With it only being the two of them- plus Courtland before he took over the streets- Harlem had took the news harder than anyone.

Taking the last drag of his blunt Harlem put it out, stretching his long arm over his center console Harlem collected his belongings and climbed out of his car. The large duffle bag hanging on his shoulder as he dragged himself inside the home.

Immediately he was met with the smell of vanilla and cinnamon, his movement slightly slower due to the two blunts he'd smoked on his way here.

"Baby is that you?" His mother called out from the kitchen, her spanish accent thick despite her perfect English.

"I'm here, ma." Harlem replied walking deeper into the house and immediately walking into his mothers arms. Rocking each other back and forth they both couldn't seem to let go.

"hijo mío, estoy aquí. ¿Sí? No más tristeza." (my son, I am here. yes? No more sadness.) Paola hummed, petting her sons wild curls despite being much shorter than him.

Pulling away from each other Paola smiled patting the side of his face with her small hands. "Go set your things down, I made your favorite tonight."

Harlem nodded, leaning down the kiss his mother's forehead he turned and climbed up the stairs walking to the end of the hall and into his bedroom.

Decorated with posters of basketball players and half naked girls Harlem's bedroom resembled any other college male's in sports. Setting his bag down he fell onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling with a frown.

Usually being on break would typically be time to relax but Harlem knew that wasn't even an option this year. His mind was too full, and for once in the past 3 year Harlem was thinking about Courtland and their "Business".

Once upon a time the two were inseparable. Never saw one without the other, after Paola took in Courtland the two had created this tight bond that most wouldn't understand.

Mirror souls as his momma would call them.

It started with small dimebags and small blunts, courtland's idea. Being a single and low income mom with two black boys Paola never wanted either of her boys to end up going without anything. And with her constant night shifts she simply didn't have to energy to monitor her boys the way she wanted.