Aaliyah is an aspiring model, working hard to build her brand and get noticed. She spends her time doing photo shoots and posting on Instagram, hoping one day things will take off.
But her friends aren't as supportive as she hoped. They leave her o...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
Aaliyah wakes up to loud yelling. She groggily opens her eyes, trying to figure out what's going on. The yelling only gets louder, and she can hear her mom's voice.
"Where the fuck have you been, Diondre?!" her mom screams.
Aaliyah quickly gets out of bed and throws on a hoodie, rushing downstairs. She peeks around the corner and sees her brother, Diondre, standing there, arms crossed, looking pissed off.
Their mom is standing right in front of him.
"Why you always gotta do this shit, huh? Where the fuck you been?!" their mom yells, shaking her head.
Diondre rolls his eyes. "I don't gotta answer to you, ma. I'm grown."
Her mom throws her hands up. "You think you can just disappear for days and I'm not supposed to worry? What the hell is wrong with you?"
Aaliyah stands there, not sure if she should say something. She feels like it's about to get worse.
Her mom takes a step closer. "No, you're not fine. You've been acting different ever since Monte passed, and I'm sick of it. You're not a kid anymore, Diondre!"
Diondre looks away. "Stop treating me like I'm still a little boy. Cus I ain't ."
Aaliyah steps in."Ma, Diondre, can y'all just chill for a sec?"
Her mom snaps, "Aaliyah, stay out of this. This is between me and him."
Diondre sighs and mutters, "I don't even wanna do this right now."
Aaliyah just stands there, watching.
Neither of them is listening, and it's making her feel even more stuck.
And it continues.
"You think I don't care about you two?" her mom says. "I've been working my ass off, day and night, trying to make sure you two have what you need. I've sacrificed everything for you, Diondre! EVERYTHING!"
Diondre scoffs "Sacrificed what? Yo ass barely home. What we really have? We still broke, ma. You act like you've done all this work, but we still livin' paycheck to paycheck. You think workin' all these hours is doin somethin' for us?"
"Don't fuckin talk to me like that! I've done everything I could. I'm trying to give you both a better life! But you don't get it! You don't see how hard I've been fighting for us!"
"Fighting for what? We still struggling, ma! You barely here, and when you are, it's just to yell at me! We don't have anything, no matter how many hours you work! We still stuck in the same place, so don't tell me you've been working hard and sacrificing for us when nothing's changed!"
