Rebel (A Rihanna and Eazy E Love Story)

Back to Reality (Chapter 13)

Dre POV

I hadn't hollered at Rebel in a minute, so I figured I'd hit her up. Been a crazy few weeks, you know, but Reb's always got that real vibe, keeps it cool. So, I grab my phone and dial her up,  leaning back on my couch, fingers drumming to some beat in my head. We grew up thick as thieves, Me, Reb, and Lisa back in the summers when I used to hit up Long Island. Good times. Real good times.

But when the phone picks up, the voice on the other end ain't Rebel. I freeze. That voice sounds familiar but kinda... distant, like it's coming through static.

"Hello?" she says.

I pause. "Yo, this Rebel?"

"Nah, who this?"

That voice hits me again. Then it clicks...Lisa. Damn. It's been a while.

"Yo, Lisa? Is that you?"

There's this dead silence for a second. She ain't ready for that name to come outta nowhere.

"Oh shit. Andre?"

I can hear the surprise in her voice, but there's something else, like she ain't all the way there. And I can't blame her. Last time I saw her, we were kids, runnin' around Long Island like we owned the block. Lisa was more than just the homie, though. I remember being her first, like it was yesterday. The summer sun, the smell of BBQ in the air, the music thumpin' from somebody's old radio... Yeah, we had history.

"What's good, girl?" I say, my voice smooth, leaning back into it like I ain't thought about her in years. "Ain't heard from you in a minute."

She laughs, and it's still that same laugh I remember. She always had this New York edge to her. "Yeah, Dre, been mad long. You ain't visitin' no more or somethin'? What's good with you?"

I chuckle. "Been out here in Cali doin' my thing. You know how it is."

She hits me with this playful tone. "Oh, I know. Still out there actin' wild, huh?"

We go back and forth a bit, reminiscing on the old days. It's easy, like sliding back into old shoes. We used to be tight, real tight. But then I hit her with the real question.

"Ayo, what's up with Rebel? I been tryin' to catch her."

There's a long pause on the line. My stomach drops a little. The vibe shifts.

"Dre," her voice goes low. "Rebel got shot a while back. She's in a coma, man."

That news slaps me across the face. Rebel? That tough girl who used to run with the boys? The one who never backed down from nobody? I'm speechless for a second.

"Damn... I had no idea," I finally manage to say. "How... how's she doin'?"

"Same, still in that coma. Been rough out here. I'm just takin' care of things for her now."

I stay quiet for a minute, digesting that. Rebel is like family. I didn't see this coming.

Before I can think too much about it, Michel'le walks into the room. She got that high-pitched voice, I sighed. Michel'le was cool, but in my head, she was just someone I messed with from time to time. To her, though? She thought we was somethin' serious. I wasn't tryin' to deal with that right now.

"Dre, who you talkin' to?" she asks, like it's her business.

I cover the phone. "Hold up, I'm busy."

Lisa must've heard, 'cause she laughs lightly. "You still got girls all up in your face, huh? Some things never change."

I smirk. "Nah, you know how it is. Ain't nobody like that. Just some drama."

Lisa's voice softens a little, like she's letting those old memories wash over her. "Yo, you remember that one summer? We was all at Jones Beach, you and Reb clownin', and I... well, you know."