A whole year in Chicago, and damn if this city didn't grow on you. The cold winds didn't feel as harsh no more, and you actually had a crew at school now, girls who understood your vibe and didn't ask too many questions about your past. You and Aunt Carmen was tight now too. No more closed doors and silent dinners. She knew about your bad days, when missing mama hit different, and you knew she got your back no matter what.

But the person you found yourself confiding in most? That was Ray.

Crazy how things changed. That same dude you thought was trouble a year ago became somebody you could actually trust with your thoughts. When them grief waves hit you out of nowhere, when you felt guilty for laughing too hard at something or enjoying yourself too much, Ray was the one who'd listen without trying to fix nothing. Just be there, you know?

Today was one of them days where you needed that. Mama's birthday was coming up next week, and it had you feeling some type of way. You was sitting on Carmen's front steps, watching Ray walk up the block with that smooth stride of his. His dreads had grown out over the year, looking even better now wit dat fresh retwist, and them tattoos on his neck seemed to multiply every few months. Boy stayed fresh, that hoodie he had on probably cost more than your whole outfit, but that was just Ray.

He spotted you and that familiar grin spread across his face.

"Aye, there go my favorite girl," he called out, jogging up the steps to sit beside you. "You been out here looking all deep in thought and shit. What's going on in that head, G?"

“Nun much..” You responded while dissociating. You tried to play it off, but Ray knew you too well by now. He could read your moods better than anybody, even Carmen sometimes. Problem was, over this past year, somewhere between late night conversations and him being there when you needed somebody most, you caught feelings. Real ones. The type that had you paying attention to how he licked his lips when he was thinking, or how his voice got lower when he was being serious with you.

But you wasn't stupid. Ray's phone stayed buzzing, and you peeped how he'd sometimes step away to answer certain calls. You ain't have no proof, but you knew. Ngas that fine with dat much street credit? They don't stay single, and they damn sure don't stay faithful. You learned that lesson before you even got to Chicago.

Still, when he looked at you like that, like you was the only person that mattered in that moment, it was hard to remember why you was keeping your guard up.

"You gon tell me what's wrong, or we just gon sit here playing the quiet game?" Ray pressed, bumping your shoulder with his. "Talk to me."