Darius watched the sunlight stretch through the blinds of his cousin Mo’s apartment, catching dust in mid-air like floating regrets.


He hadn’t been back to his own place since the raid.


Too many eyes. Too many unknowns.


He sat on the edge of the couch in joggers and a wife beater, head low, counting bills from a stash bag that looked thinner than it should’ve.


Mo walked in, shaking his head. “That’s all we got?”


“For now,” Darius muttered. “We need to reroute.”


“Reroute to where? Malik ain’t answering, the trap spot got hit, and I heard Shorty from 83rd flipped already.”


Darius didn’t blink. “Let him talk. We clean.”


Mo laughed bitter. “You clean? Nigga, you the one whose name showed up next to the girl who turned corporate overnight.”


Darius snapped his head up. “Watch your mouth when you talk about her.”


Mo smirked. “Still soft over your baby mama, huh?”


“I ain’t soft.” Darius stood. “I’m aware. There’s a difference.”


Mo shook his head. “She ain’t coming back, D. You think she got where she at now by accident? Somebody guiding her. You better believe it ain’t just God.”


Darius felt heat rise in his chest.


But Mo wasn’t wrong.


Later that day, Darius walked the block with a hood pulled low and thoughts running faster than his steps.


He passed the same corner store Maya used to send him to for diapers.


Passed the church where her mama’s funeral was held—before everything turned left.


He hated how much his story was still knotted up in hers.


He stopped when he reached a streetlight plastered with a flyer:


GLOSSED BY MAY MAY

Pop-Up This Saturday

Empowerment x Beauty x Rebirth


He ripped it down.


Stood there for a second with the paper crumpled in his fist.


Then threw it in the gutter and walked off.


He couldn’t erase her glow-up.


But he could still remind folks who he was.


That night, his phone lit up.


Unknown:

Word is they gonna try to bury Malik. You next in line. You ready?


Darius stared at the screen.


His whole life, he fought to be seen as more than just a runner.


Now they were offering him the crown.


Only question was…


Could he wear it without burning everything he ever loved?