Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Neissa shifted nervously, switching her weight from one foot to the other under her mother's intense gaze. "Angel, what you doin' awake at this hour?" Rosa Bella's thick Spanish accent laced her words with concern. "Everything okay?"
"Uh, I was just... talkin' to a friend, Ma. On FaceTime," Neissa replied, her voice wavering slightly.
Rosa raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical. "At two in the morning? ¿Qué clase de amigo necesita hablar a esta hora?"
Neissa sighed, realizing she had to come clean. "It was Von, Ma. We was choppin' it up. He wanted to come get me."
Rosa's eyes narrowed slightly. "Well Von already called me earlier. Said he was gonna pick you up and I told him it was okay. But you tryna sneak out without tellin' me... eso no está bien."
Neissa's eyes widened in shock. "He called you?" she repeated, feeling caught off guard. "Ma, I ain't know he did that. I just didn't wanna wake you or anybody else up."
Rosa sighed deeply, crossing her arms. "Mija, I got three jobs. I'm always awake, always worried. You planning to leave without saying anything, that bothers me more."
Neissa felt a pang of guilt and quickly stepped forward to hug her mother tightly. "I'm sorry, Ma. I wasn't tryna be sneaky. I just didn't wanna bother you, you work so hard."
Rosa hugged her back, her tone softening. "Entiendo. Pero siempre debes hablar conmigo primero. Promise me next time you'll tell me."
Neissa nodded against her mother's shoulder. "I will, Ma. I promise."
Rosa pulled back slightly, looking into Neissa's eyes with a mix of concern and pride. "Good. Now go, but be careful. And remember, you can always talk to me."
"Goodnight, Mami," Neissa replied, feeling a mix of relief and gratitude.
"Goodnight, Angel," Rosa said, walking back down the hallway.
Neissa let out a sigh, grabbing her lip balm, charger and her plastic bag which contains her snacks. As she gathered her things, she glanced at Von's last message.
outside in da white urus gang
Neissa scrunched her face up in confusion. How did he get here so fast?
She quickly placed pillows around her sister and cousin, covering them with her blanket that they loved to steal from her to cuddle up in, she gave them a thorough once over to make sure they were comfortable before turning around so she could leave.
Neissa took a deep breath, pushing the door open gently to avoid waking anyone else in the house. The cool night air greeted her as she stepped onto the porch, and she immediately noticed the sleek white Lamborghini Urus parked by the curb. The sight made her chuckle; Von was very brave to pull up in her neighborhood with this car. He was lucky that everyone was attending the kickback a few blocks down instead of chilling outside of Neissa's neighbor's house; East.
