APPLE
SPOTIFY
It was the rain for her. The way it came soft.
Not loud. Not angry. Just... gentle. It played low from her phone, like the sky was whispering warnings she didn’t know how to listen to yet. Like it understood the version of her that didn’t always speak, but always felt. Thunder whispered somewhere in the distance—nothing strong enough to scare, just enough to remind her that even quiet had its weight. Nuri Sinclair sat still in the windowpane, legs curled, hoodie wrapped tight around her thick thighs like a second skin. She didn’t have much on… just her soul and silence.
The sunset was bold.
Orange bleeding into gray.
It was pretty as hell, but a glimpse of pain sat behind it. The kind that didn’t show up until later. That’s what Cove City,Georgia did—it dressed its storms in beauty. Blake University had become her world.
It was home.
It was history.
Her family had deep roots in that school. Fifteen generations deep, to be exact. Blake University stood tall, just a few miles from her house; but its grip reached far. Legacy lived in its bricks, and secrets too.
The Sinclair name had been stitched into Blake’s soil for fifteen straight generations. Yet she walked the halls with confidence and grace. Not because they permitted her, but because she earned that shit.
She was twenty-two, and her aura screamedBlack Girl Magiceverywhere she went. She was the kind of girl who remembered everything you forgot you told her. She was born with this innate ability to tap into the mind and spirit of the people around her. It was a gift and the reason she delved into Psychology as her major.
Nuri was at the Top of her class, and had pledged to a sorority called Veta XI-VX. Their motto wasBold and Classy. Fearless and Sassy.When she wasn’t studying, she stayed in the streets—not on some party vibes, but watching. Learning Cove City like the back of her hand.
Clubs.
Café’s
Corners.
Cracks in the system.
She knew how to move in a loud-ass city where she trusted herself only. She didn’t chase the spotlight, but somehow it followed her everywhere she went. Nuri was that girl, and everyone knew it. She was 5’5, slim thick, weighing no less than one hundred and forty-five pounds soaking wet. Her hair wasnaturally curly, but stretched down her back when straightened. Her eyes were hazel and her heart-shaped lips stayed glossy.
Her home was tucked in a cul-de-sac inThe Legends.She’d bought it last year, quietly. No long captions. No key-in-hand Instagram post. Just her, a closing date, and a silent promise to upgrade her life every chance she got. She’d gone from a2020 Honda Accordto a2025 Lexus ES Sedan. Everything was falling in line as she got closer to the finish line.
Nuri was in her soft-life era. She was living the kind of life that afforded her the tenacity and endurance needed to build the life she desired brick by brick. All those strong prayers she prayed… Early mornings and late nights were working in her favor. But even in all the good happening in her life, there was a stirring. A pull. Something she couldn’t name that lingered.
It wasn’t fear.
It was… awareness. Like her spirit knew something her mind hadn’t caught up to yet. Nuri’s phone lit up beside her—group chat jumping, sorors talking wild about the upcoming block party, outfits, who wasn’t invited, and which steps they were going to perform. Suddenly, Nuri’s phone rang just as she was about to get up and use the bathroom. She was mid-thought, staring past the sunset, caught up in nothing and everything when her phone vibrated in her lap. Her best friend’s name lit up on the screen of Nuri’s phone.
“You ate?” Bre asked as soon as Nuri answered. She never said hello first. That was her style…straight to the point.
“Hey, bestie,” Nuri laughed.
“What’chu doin’?”
“Girl, not one damn thing. Been sittin’ here lookin’ out this window tryna get my life together.” Nuri answered, the smile on her face was evident through her tone.
“Girl, worry about it tomorrow. Right now, I’m hungry than a mug. Let’s go get some food, then we can talk about this blockparty.” Bre replied, rubbing her belly, trying her best to stop it from growling.
“I could definitely eat. I was gone fix something here.”
“Nah, save the leftovers. We hittin’Copeland’s.I’m ten minutes out.”, Brielle, returned the same energy with her response.
“Okay. Do you wanna ride with me, or you driving?” Nuri asked, slowly turning away from the window.
