Cornrow Confessions

[ COMPLETED ]

Raina doesn't work out of a shop she braids from home, her front room turned into a wordless sanctuary. She's been tight with Alicia since junior high, but has always kept her distance from Alicia's older brother, Stacey a well-known Blood with a reputation as serious as his stare. He's heavy in the life respected, feared, and dangerous.

Raina never looked his way twice. She knows what kind of trouble men like him bring. When Alicia convinces Raina to braid Stacey's hair before a block party, Raina agrees just once. One braid session turns into two. Then three. Before long, Stacey is pulling up late at night, sometimes not even to get his hair done, but to sit in the quiet of her apartment. He starts to talk. About the set. About death. About loyalty. About how tired he is. And Raina, who's always been cautious, finds herself letting him in more than she ever meant to.