5 Months Later
The sun was sinking low, casting a golden glow over the block. Notti was chilling outside the corner store with the homies—Edot, Dudeylo, Keem, and Quan and etc—all gathered up, laughing, passing around a blunt. The vibe was light, but Notti wasn't saying much, just taking it all in.
"Yo, Notti, we hittin' the courts later?" Edot asked, bouncing a ball against the sidewalk.
Notti took a slow drag off the blunt and shrugged. "I might. Ain't been in the mood for hoopin' like that lately."
Dudeylo gave him a playful shove. "Yo, don't act like you too busy. We all know you been caught up wit' your lil' shorty," he joked, causing everyone to start cracking up.
Notti smirked, shaking his head. "Aight, chill wit' that," he muttered, but inside he was thinking about Aliyah. He hadn't seen her in a week, and even though their last night together was fire, he felt like there was still some tension left over from their fight.
Just as he was about to say something else, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, thinking it might be her, but when he looked at the screen, his whole mood shifted.
"Yo, lil bro. Ddot and DD comin' home early. One month left. You know the vibe. Be ready."
Notti's eyes widened. He read it twice to make sure. His brothers—Ddot and DD—were getting out of juvie in just one month. After almost two years, they were coming home. His heart started racing, excitement and nerves mixing together.
"Yo, check this out," Notti said, showing the message to Keem and Boogie.
"Word to my mother?!" Keem's eyes lit up.
"Word to my dead, bro. One more month, they comin' home," Notti confirmed, feeling the energy in the group shift.
"Ayo, it's lit! Ddot and DD comin' back, the whole block finna be up again," Quan added, dapping Notti up.
Dudeylo shook his head with a smile. "Yo, we gotta throw somethin' for them. Get the whole gang together when they touch down. Block party, on everything."
Notti nodded, but even though he was hype, there was a lot weighing on his mind. The streets had changed since Ddot and DD got locked up. Ops were lurking, and the game wasn't the same. When his brothers came home, there'd be old beef to handle and new problems to face. But that's just what it was when you lived this life.
As the boys kept planning, talking about how they'd welcome Ddot and DD back, Notti's mind drifted back to Aliyah. She was the one who had held him down when he was feeling low about his brothers. He thought about how she always knew what to say, how she made him feel less alone when the weight of the streets and missing his brothers felt too heavy.
He wasn't sure how things would be once they got out, but he knew one thing for sure—he was ready.
3 weeks later
The anticipation was building in Harlem as Notti woke up to the sounds of the city coming alive outside his window. It had been a 3 weeks since he'd heard the news about Ddot and DD, and he could hardly contain his excitement. With each passing day, the countdown felt more tangible. Just a few weeks stood between them and the moment they'd all been waiting for.
"Yo, Notti! You tryna hit up the block today?" Edot's voice rang through the phone as Notti rolled out of bed. He stretched, a grin spreading across his face at the thought of reuniting with his brothers.
"Yeah, I'm down. Gotta get things set for Ddot and DD's welcome home, you feel me?" Notti replied, throwing on his favorite hoodie.
"Bet! I'll swing by in a minute," Edot said, and they hung up.
YOU ARE READING
𝐑𝐡𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐦 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 • 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐓𝐈 𝐎𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐀
Romance"𝘠𝘰, 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘵," 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘪 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘺. "𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘈𝘭𝘪𝘺𝘢𝘩. 𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵�...
