No Way Out

Trey- Kicked Out

Trey woke up to sunlight piercing through the half-closed blinds in Malik's cramped apartment, making his already pounding headache feel worse. His body ached from a night spent on Malik's lumpy couch, still dressed in the clothes from the night before. But the real weight pressing down on him wasn't physical—it was the fallout from the block party, where his entire life had unraveled in front of everyone. Three girls. Three worlds colliding. And now? His phone wouldn't stop buzzing with angry messages, all of them delivering the same gut punch.

He reached for his phone on the coffee table, wincing at the sheer number of notifications. He scrolled through them, each one more venomous than the last.

Tiana: Don't ever talk to me again.
Jasmine: You're dead to me, Trey. I don't care what you have to say.
Shayla: If I see you, it's on sight.

Trey tossed the phone aside, slumping back into the couch. His reputation had gone up in flames in one night, and he had no idea how to fix it. He prided himself on being smooth, on keeping his life neat and tidy despite juggling different girls from different parts of the hood. But now the game had caught up to him, and he was facing consequences he never saw coming.

The door to Malik's apartment burst open with a loud crash, and Keisha stormed in like a hurricane on a mission. Trey didn't even flinch—he knew this was coming.

"Yo, Trey, what the hell happened last night?" Keisha demanded, her voice sharp like a whip.

Trey groaned, sitting up and rubbing his temples. "Keisha, please, not right now."

"Nah, not right now? You're joking, right?" Keisha snapped, crossing her arms. "You got my phone blowin' up! My cousin Tiana textin' me, telling me how you've been playing her? You know Tiana's family, right? How could you be that dumb?"

Trey blinked, his heart sinking even further. "Wait, Tiana's your cousin?"

Keisha's eyes flared with disbelief. "You didn't know? Of course, you didn't. 'Cause you never thought this would blow up in your face. And now, Trey, it's not just about her. You got family pissed off, and trust me, you don't want her brothers coming after you."

Trey sat up straight, panic rising in his chest. "Her brothers? Keisha, come on, it's not like that. I'll fix this. I swear."

Keisha's lips curled into a humorless smirk. "Fix it? Bro, you've gone and made a mess, and you think a half-assed apology is gonna clean it up? Tiana's got a lot of family in this city, and if you don't make things right, I'm telling you—this will get ugly."

Before Trey could respond, his phone buzzed again. He glanced at the screen and saw the one name that could make everything worse: Mom.

Mom: Get home. Now.

Trey's stomach twisted. He had been dodging his mom's calls all week, and now it looked like she'd reached her limit. His heart sank even further, knowing he was about to face more trouble at home.

"I gotta go," Trey muttered, grabbing his jacket as he stood up.

Keisha eyed him critically. "You better handle this, Trey. You're not invincible, no matter how much you think you are."

The walk back to his mom's house was agonizing. Normally, the familiar streets and sounds of the neighborhood felt like home, but today, everything seemed heavier. Kids played on the sidewalks, music blasted from parked cars, and the scent of street food filled the air, but none of it registered. Trey's mind was spinning, trying to figure out what he would say to his mom. How was he supposed to explain any of this?