𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒 | 𝐊𝐕

XXXVI.

Chapter Thirty Six.

December.

"Nigga, move it over this way." Justice urged Jace.

"I'm trying, this shit heavy as hell folks!" The younger male replied, huffing in annoyance.

They both held the seven foot Christmas tree by its base, trying to figure out the perfect spot to put it in.

It was now December, and Christmas was approaching fast. Since this would be the first year that Justice would be able to spend the holidays as a free man, he was overly excited. He was definitely feeling the Christmas spirit, and honestly had been since Thanksgiving.

Justice planned on fully decking out his tree, as well as decorating the whole apartment in whatever festive items he could get his hands on. He had already found a few ornaments and a tree topper at Hobby Lobby, but he had plenty more things to purchase.

You know what they say, either go big or go home.

"Aight, drop it right here." Justice instructed. They both put it down in the corner near the couch, breathing heavily. Instead of using the elevator, they had to take the stairs all the way up to the fifth floor to get the tree inside. It was too big to fit in the elevator unfortunately, which meant more work for them.

"I gotta stop smoking, I can't..can't catch my breath." Jace wheezed out, patting his chest roughly.

Justice shook his head at his brother, "I keep telling you, you need to leave 'dat dope alone."

The younger male flipped him off, "Fuck you." He said, before going to the kitchen to help himself to a bottle of Dasani water from his brother's refrigerator. He cracked the top open, before taking a few gulps, being able to get through half the bottle in a matter of a few seconds.

"Aye folks, I'm finna' head out. I got some business to handle, if you know what I mean." He smirked, humping the air.

"Yo' ass freaked out, it's a new female every week damn near." Justice sucked his teeth. "But aight, stay safe and hit me when you get back to the crib."

"Gotchu'." They slapped hands and pulled each other into a brief hug, before Jace left.

Once the apartment fell back silent, it dawned on Justice that he hadn't saw Kitana since before he left the house earlier this morning. Going to his room, he twisted the knob of the door and slowly entered, seeing that she was still fast asleep. This caused a frown to appear upon Justice's face.

It was going on noon, so the fact that she was still sleeping baffled him.

Lately, Kitana hadn't really been herself. She was sleeping more, becoming distant, and wasn't as lively and happy as she usually was on a regular basis. Every time Justice tried to ask her what was wrong, she'd brush him off or just say that she was going through seasonal depression.

It was actually quite common for people to become more depressed during the winter months due to the lack of sunlight and vibrancy. It was always so cold, dark, and gloomy outside. This put a damper on people's moods, and often caused them to avoid interactions with others and isolate. Also, things like not having family to celebrate the holidays with could be a cause too. That didn't apply to Tana, though.

Plus, deep down inside, Justice knew that it was something deeper going on.

He was trying his hardest. He'd let her know continuously that she could come to him for any and everything, confide in him, and most importantly trust him. It saddened Justice that she was experiencing a shift in her mood, and he couldn't be of assistance to bring her out of it.