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“He’ll be alright… we can find those tickets on sale, or you can get a content creator invite or some mess like that.”

I wasn’t rich by any means, but I did well for myself.

My parents didn’t need to worry so much about me, and I could move out on my own.

Any chance that I got, I loved to spoiled my parents.

Both Avril and Rohan worked very hard their entire lives to raise me.

Both of them still worked. My father worked as an MTA train conductor and had no plans on retiring. My dream was to retire them both.

Until I could do that, I spoiled them whenever they allowed me. “Daddy working a double?”

“Yep. The landlord is increasing the rent, so we need to work a little bit harder. I won’t be pushed out of our home. Your grandparent’s rent is increasing too, so we’re trying to make it work with paying ours and theirs, too.”

My grandparents were both retired and on a fixed income. My aunt and uncles, along with my mother, all chipped in to pay the difference that their social security didn’t cover. I had been helping out with whatever I could, along with Greene, and they didn’t like us to help.

In my grandparent’s eyes, we were still babies and shouldn’t have to help with that kind of stuff. I wanted my family comfortable, and it was the reason I set my camera up and recorded, even on the days that I didn’t feel like it.

“Anything I can do?”

“Other than being the best daughter and granddaughter, no.”

“Mommy, let me help. I have some savings, and I can help… I can even move back in to help with some bills, too.”

She kissed my cheek and went back to cooking. “If you want to move back home, you are always welcomed… paying rent isn’t an option.”

Frustrated, I folded my arms and watched as she continued to prepare dinner. Once it was done, she would eat and then sit my father’s plate in the microwave before she got settled for bed. Before I moved out, I would wait up for him and we watch the night news while he ate his food.

Once she was finished, she packed up two plates of food, grabbed her cigarettes along with her wallet, and we left. I watched as she lit her cigarette and took a puff, as we walked down Bedford avenue toward my grandparents’ house to drop off their food.

The beeping of the horn caused us to snap our necks in that direction. “Going to Nana and Poppa’s house?”

“Look at you, Greene girly… that car is nice.” My mother smiled as she blew smoke in the opposite direction as we walked over toward her car.

“My boss got it for me… she got tired of my car breaking down all the time.”

“Good people.” My mother leaned on the car and continued to smoke her cigarette as Greene looked at me.

Her eyes were silently asking if I had broken the news to my mother. “Yes, she knows.”

Greene blew out a sigh of relief. “Good. Antwan’s loss… Don’s gain.”

“Oh please, Greene.”

“Don?” my mother managed to hear that.

“My boss’s brother, who, by the way, is a billionaire.”

My mother flicked her cigarette and then stomped it out. “Billions mean nothing if he’s not a good man.”

“He’s a nice guy, Auntie. Seems like he likes Navy.”

I folded my arms, considering if I had enough reach to slam her head into the steering wheel. “Landon isn’t thinking about me. Bye, Greene!” I dismissed her and continued up the block.

She beeped her horn as she headed down the block toward her apartment. “You like this, Don?”

“Don’t know him enough to even like him. He is a nice guy, but everyone is until they’re not.”

My mother looked at me. “Antwan didn’t support that you didn’t want kids and wanted to tie your tubes…

while I don’t understand it, I respect your decision to do what makes you happy.

Make sure you go into anything new telling them.

When expectations are set, there is never any room for miscommunication. ”

“I hear you, Mommy.” I smiled as we continued up the block to my grandparents’ house. Her hand slid in mine, and we walked up the block swinging our arms, while holding the food bags steady with the other.

“You will find any reason to pull out that kindle to read,” London, one of my content creator friends, said.

We were in a sky box waiting for Maliek Dubrow to come out and perform.

He had some openers, which in my opinion he didn’t need.

If you were a true Maliek Dubrow fan, then you knew that he loved to put other local artist on whenever he performed in their city.

This was his farewell tour, and a brand had invited all of us girls to attend the concert in the box that they had rented out for the concert.

I loved music just like the next person, but when it came to concerts, I wanted the main act and that was all I had the attention span for. As I was knee deep in reading Mel Dau’s catalog, I looked up and noticed that the opening acts had finished.

“Get lost in a book. Then maybe you wouldn’t be crashing out all the time,” I teased her, and she sat down beside me.

London was the it girl, and she knew it. The only reason we were acquaintances was because we were invited to the same kind of events. I was someone who enjoyed my own company, so I was never pressed for friends. I had a few friends that grew up with me and actually knew me.

I realized that nothing was ever what it seemed when it came to social media.

Everyone was pretending to be someone that they weren’t, and it was all an illusion.

So, when they met someone who didn’t feed into that illusion, and was comfortable being themselves, they were like a token.

I realized I was that token for London and the rest of the content girls.

They loved to be around me because I made them seem real, when half of their supporters felt like they weren’t.

Being associated with Navy Bleu meant they were conscious, deep and real. They wanted everyone to look at them as that, and not the air heads that shopped all the time and were too scared to speak out on the happenings of the world.

Brands that aligned with me would support my need to speak on things happening in this country.

I was never afraid to lose a brand because I would rather lose the brand than sell my soul for money.

My family raised me to stand for things that I believe in, and that has been what I’ve done and will continued to do so.

“These bitches be trying me all the time with these think pieces like they know me.” She rolled her eyes and crossed her legs.

“That’s the point, London. They don’t know you, so why let them get under your skin? It’s hard, but these people want to see the content, give them that and nothing more.”

She looked over at me. “Which brings me to how are you even here and being so calm while Antwan was with Mila Rose over the weekend?”

I had saw everybody talking about Antwan and Mila Rose, another influencer, at some white party in Miami. He was holding her hand as they walked to the Maserati that I’m sure his management team had provided for him.

The endorsement deals had already started to roll in, and Antwan’s head was as big as the sky. He hadn’t been drafted, and he was already acting like he was an MVP. He constantly shit talked Jaiden Cooper, because before the endorsements he had money.

Driving around in a foreign car wasn’t new to Jaiden.

He sported a simple gold chain, and he was so humble whenever he spoke in interviews.

He spoke on his older sister and how he wouldn’t have been in this space had it not been for her and their family.

Antwan acted the opposite, like he was always supposed to be in that spot and none of the little people helped him along the way.

“Why would I care? We are broken up, and he’s free to date anyone that he wants.” I shrugged, although the pictures crushed me.

How could he end things like we hadn’t invested so much time in this?

I knew we would eventually end here, but it damn sure didn’t feel nice.

While I was going through the grieving phase of what we ended, he was out and about living life like he didn’t break my heart.

What hurt the most was how he went right to Mila Rose, the one person I couldn’t stand.

Mila Rose was the kind influencer who got her influence from other people.

She stole content and her niche was always changing.

At one point, she was heavily into her journey with God, and then when that started making her lose followers, she switched it to this luxury content.

Days in the life, and shopping hauls, which was London’s kind of content.

At one point, she started to steal my music history series.

When everyone shut her down and told her she didn’t know what the hell she was talking about, she shifted gears because she realized my kind of content was organic. You couldn’t steal that. It had to be in you, and Mila ain’t never gave a fuck about music content.

If anything, I always questioned why London never had a problem with her.

She was a bigger influencer than London with more followers, but it was clear she was stealing her content.

London was so busy trying to be friends with her to get into the in crowd that she would sell her soul to be invited to sit with Mila and her friends.

“I know, but Mila Rose? I would be in bed sobbing my eyes out or calling his phone and then hanging up… why did you break up with him?”

“Whew, I had to pee so bad… I got some drinks,” Greene saved me from having to answer that question.

I smiled. “Thanks.”

London, no longer interested in having the conversation anymore excused herself and went to sit over by the other girls. They had a ring light out and each of them were trying to get the perfect picture.

“What the hell is her problem?”

“You interrupted her being nosey and trying to be in my business.” I snorted and sipped the drink Greene had handed me. “Yum, this is so good… what is it?”