The blunt burned slow between Diamond's fingers, its tip glowing like a tiny sun in the dark. The summer air was warm but not sticky, the kind of night where the breeze kissed your skin just enough to make you feel alive. They were posted up in Zay's old black Nissan, seats reclined, the faint hum of the engine mixing with Break from Toronto playing low through the speakers.
Zay was leaned back, one arm slung lazily around Diamond's shoulders, the other holding the blunt like it was a piece of him. Smoke curled out of his mouth, drifting upward until it melted into the night sky.
"Look at the stars, Dee," he murmured, tapping her chin so she'd look up. "They been there forever, just chillin'. Ain't worried about nothing."
Diamond laughed softly, letting her head rest on his chest. She liked these moments—when it was just them, no noise, no drama, just the feeling that maybe he was hers and hers alone. Zay had that way of making her feel like the world wasn't so heavy.
But the world had a way of crashing in.
Ding.
The sound was sharp, slicing through the music. Diamond felt Zay's arm tense. His phone, face-down on the console, lit up bright against the dark interior. Before she could even glance, Zay's hand shot out, flipping it over so quick it was almost a blur.
Her brows knit together. "What was that?"
"Work stuff," he said too fast, taking a drag like it could erase the question.
Diamond's eyes stayed on him, her curiosity poking at her ribs. In two years of knowing him, Zay had never been jumpy about his phone. She'd seen messages from his boys, his mom, even random people asking for a favor. But this? This was different.
She didn't push. Not yet.
The blunt passed between them again, the taste of smoke thick on her tongue. She leaned into his side, feeling the warmth of him seep into her skin, but her mind was no longer in the moment.
Instead, it was racing back to every gut feeling she'd ignored. The late-night texts he'd brushed off as "homies clowning." The days he went ghost without warning. The way he sometimes said her name like he was trying to remind himself who she was.
Her gut whispered a name she hadn't thought about in years.
Oriana.
Back in college, Oriana was the girl Diamond swore she'd never think about again. The girl who could turn a room against you with a single look. The girl who was always watching her, like she was sizing her up for a competition Diamond never signed up for.
And if Diamond's gut was right, Zay was still in that competition.