A Player's Prayer

Ten

The voice of the meteorologist predicting a thirty six degree Christmas this year filled the high rise apartment along with the clattering of utensils against ceramic plates. It was a peaceful morning being Saint pulled up to Calina's early where she was already preparing breakfast for them to eat. Eggs, grits, bacon, buttery biscuits and fruit. The way to his heart was through his stomach.

He felt Calina's eyes on him as he drizzled honey over his biscuits, knowing she had something on her mind.

"Just say that shit." He mumbled, feeling his high kicking in from the blunt he just smoked.

"Amber hit my phone last night on some bullshit. Talking all kinda crazy like I play wit her." Calina said as he kissed his teeth.

Nine in the morning and it's already some shit.

He didn't even know why Amber was acting funny cause at one point the three of them dated. Both Calina and Amber knew about eachother and were cool with that shit. That was until Amber and Calina started seeing eachother as competition.

Saint met Calina on one of his business trips to Philly and ran down on her, falling for the pretty face. She was beautiful, brown skin, seductive brown eyes and a piercing white smile. She was a few years older too, twenty five to his twenty three at the time.

He would fly her out to Atlanta a couple times before he knew he was fucking wit her heavy. He wasn't on no grimy shit with it either, Amber knew what it was. They bonded over common shit like losing a parent at a young age and trying to find their place in the world making something out of nothing.

Lately he and Calina been spending more time together. He already told Amber he was cool off her since she really went out to Savannah. He wasn't stupid, he knew what she was about to get into. She told him he shouldn't even be worrying about what she does since he was doing the same shit. In his eyes it wasn't the same.

"Don't worry about none of that, imma handle it. Amber not my girl no more so she shouldn't even be texting you about shit."

"Since when?" Calina asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't worry about it." He reiterated as she kissed her teeth.

"Yeah whatever Amar'e." She mumbled.

"What you want for Christmas?" He asked, swiftly changing the subject.

"You know what I want." She said as he chuckled. Calina ran a successful lash business servicing celebrity clientele making well over one hundred thousand a year. She went to cosmetology school straight out of high school and got her license early, knowing how profitable that industry was. Especially in Atlanta. She wanted a brand own spot now though, one with more space and in an even more profitable neighborhood. She was currently working out of Decatur.

Their attention was drawn to the TV, hearing breaking news from the female anchor who had an apprehensive look on her face.

"This just in, Mayor Anthony Brown in the hospital this morning after a 911 call responding to a high profile figure shot and wounded leaving home earlier this morning..."

Saint completely zoned out, feeling like a thousand bricks just dropped on him all at once. Fuck did they mean his father was shot and wounded? He just spoke to him a couple hours ago.

"... Officials are stating that the Mexican cartel has declared war on the United States by ordering a hit on a US government official. US citizens are now being granted access back home but all flights from the Mexican airport to the US are temporarily suspended, no one is allowed in or out. Officials are looking and investigating. Stay tuned for more updates on this story."