Where Loyalty Dies
Before the cold resolve, before the world shrank to a circle of one, there was a crew—a brotherhood forged in hunger, hope, and the shared dream of making it out. For years, the block was their world: same shoes, same jokes, same plans whispered under flickering streetlights. They moved as one, watching each other’s backs, believing that loyalty was the only currency that mattered.
But time has a way of testing bonds. What started as curbside conversations about hustles and futures slowly turned sour. Ambition, once a unifying force, became a wedge. The first cracks were small—side deals, secrets, a little too much greed in one man’s eyes, a little too much distance in another’s voice. The narrator, always observant, started keeping mental receipts: every sideways glance, every forced laugh, every “I’m fine” that didn’t ring true. The warmth of brotherhood faded, replaced by a chill that settled in the silences between them.