The Price ࿊f Peace

☮️:038

Somewhere in Oakland
Wednesday June 6th, 2024

"Aight." Money nodded to his last client of the day, in the midst of packing up. He wasn't really into having a conversation with him, he was more focused on packing up so he could go check on Syara.

She hadn't texted him back in 2 hours, and unless he'd been mistaken, she was at home with nothing going on today.

He hadn't seen her since Monday morning, and they'd both been busy.

But, they both maintained conversation at least... well, until she stopped answering two hours prior to him finishing his last client's piece.

He was giving her the benefit of the doubt; maybe she'd taken a nap, or was cooking, or eating. Or something.

He was a rational man, to a point. But he was starting to explore other possibilities like she choked on an apple, or a mango, or a subway sandwich, Olumdare help him, she would always eat laying down.

Elijah wasted little time getting out of his client's door and to his car to get over to her apartment. He wasn't in a rush, he didn't speed, nor did he act recklessly. She was probably just busy.

He called her upon stepping into his car. Unfortunately, it rung out before he heard the voicemail sound through his speakers, causing him to suck his teeth.

He didn't bother leaving a message, he'd be there soon enough anyway. He pressed play on the shuffle he had for YouTube music, and To Da Neck by 1takejay played through his speakers.

The house he was leaving wasn't too far from Syara's crib, so he was there in less than 20 minutes, and walking up her steps in less than 22.

Elijah clutched his heat tighter, furrowing his brows at the sounds that eventually cleared into laughter, jumping, and bumping coming from the other side of the door, inside of the apartment. His hold on his gun loosened slightly, but it was still there nonetheless.

You never know.

He knocked on the door, not too hard the first time, and stepped back a step, waiting for someone to answer.

Which was a first. He almost always broke in...but something told him to knock that day; however foreign it felt.

He rose his fist to knock again after a moment, but he paused mid-air, squinting down at where he expected to see Syara standing with her signature pout painted on her pretty face.

The door swung open to reveal a slightly shorter, brighter, younger version of Syara. She was smiling up at him, and the way her smile morphed into one of a teasing, mischievous one, made him uneasy.

"Syara!" She called, chewing on one of the many licorice vines in the tub she was holding.

Elijah continued to squint down at the little girl as Syara yelled from inside, muffled as she was occupied with something. "Hold on, Riy!"

With her usual mischievous glint, Seriya smiled a grinch-like grin at the extremely tall man. "So.." she started, looking him up and down.

"How tall are you?" She asked, taking another bite from her licorice. It was crucial information. Sure, he was huge, she was also a little on the shorter side, so practically everyone was tall to her.