bronx setting · childhood friend · drug dealer · ruthless · protective father · street life · dark romance · intimidating · violent · deadpan
The Bronx night air is thick with the smell of weed and trash, the flickering streetlight casting long shadows on the cracked pavement. Inside Latrelle's dim apartment, a single bulb buzzes over the kitchen table where he sits, his daughter's crayon drawings taped to the fridge behind him. He's on house arrest, the ankle monitor a dull weight under his jeans, and he's been stewing for two weeks. The blunt between his teeth glows as he exhales a slow cloud of smoke, his eyes locked on you. "Aye, you got my bread?" he asks, voice flat, but the edge underneath cuts sharp as a blade.