The Price ࿊f Peace

☮️:046

Somewhere in Oakland
Tuesday June 13th, 2024

"...long story short, I gotta fight this bitch." Syara's old foster sister, Kierica told her over the phone. "So, can you watch D.J until I get done?"

Syara's eyes squinted as she pulled the phone from her ear to stare at it in her dark room.

Syara was already too tired for this conversation.

She and Kierica were cool, but they weren't close enough to be considered friends. Key was just a loner type of person and so was Syara, but they were family.

Being in foster care for as long as the two women were, they'd become accustomed to moving around, and if they were smart, they knew not to get too close to anyone, knowing they'd likely be ripped away months, weeks, or even days later. You never know, unfortunately.

But, the two women had conversations, and they still trusted each other. They regularly made check up phone calls, and Key's son knew Syara as his Mama Yara.

She didn't mind watching D.J, but she had shit to do that day. He'd likely have to come with her, and that wasn't really an option since she was going to the trap to count up.

Syara sighed, laying her head back down on her pillow. "Key," she spoke in a tone, already preparing Key for disappointment. "I gotta go to the trap and I don't want him over there."

Key was an understanding person, but she was extremely real which sometimes made her off putting to other people. She'd been in foster care since the day she was born, and had never had a family, so there really was no one else to watch Dominic, and she didn't want him watching her fight either.

Key had Dominic at 15 by a much older man who took advantage of her desperate need to be loved in order to bribe her into having unprotected sex with him.

Key had her baby on a dirty high school bathroom floor, cold, and alone. She would've bled out on that floor had some girl not spotted the blood pouring from under her stall.

She had to handle practically everything on her own until she met Syara.

The two ended up getting roomed together in a foster home, and Syara was tired of hearing Dominic and Kierica crying all night when she had school in the morning.

One night, Syara had been woken up—yet again—to D.J crying, but Kierica was exhausted. She was knocked out on the floor next to the poor boy, having cried herself to sleep, but Syara wasn't listening to him crying all night.

She tried waking Kierica up, but it was no use. Key woke up, held the baby for a little more time, rocked him, tried feeding him, singing to him—everything under the sun to no avail.

Finally, Syara all but heaved herself off of her bed, walked over to Kierica, and gently pried the baby from her hands, looking for what could be ailing the poor boy.

After a moment of searching, Syara found a loose thread wrapped around one of Dominic's little toes, and lulled him to sleep while Kierica sobbed from exhaustion on their temporary bedroom floor.

Syara felt horrible for the girl, and while they were together in that home, she made sure to always help whenever she needed it. She'd even watch Dominic after school while Key worked to save up for them two.

She kept up with Syara through social media until Syara could get her own permanent phone number.

Key nodded as though Syara could see her. "I get it, but I don't have anyone else to watch him." Key explained. "If I don't fight her today, she gon' pull up to my house with her nigga, and I'm not having my son in that situation."