#timetoslayseries

After she enters her history class, she notices that there is an empty seat in the middle of the hundreds of students. Serenity sits down in that very chair, she leans forward to listen attentively to what the professor is discussing. "That's Shawn's seat." Her head slowly turns to stare at a girl with straight ebony hair.

"He won't be coming back."

The seriousness in her voice made a chill grow down the girls spine, but the glare that Serenity held with her was even more chilling. When she looked away the girl realized that she was holding her breath the whole time, she suddenly breathes out and continues to look at Serenity. Serenity stares straight ahead but doesn't pay any attention to her fellow classmate racing out the room while blood drips down from her nose.

Serenity couldn't get him out of her mind, it always seem like it was the other way around where the guy was obsessing over the girl: but she knew this wouldn't be the case. The smell he carried in the car when they were taking him home, it was bewitching to her: everything about Erik was circulating her mental.

She slams her notebook on the desk of the person on the other side of her, the guy grimaces as if he is about to say something rude. "Take my notes?" Serenity eyes him before he finally nods his head and does exactly what she says. She doesn't waste any time getting up and walking out in the middle of the professors tedious lecture.

The hallways were empty and her black heels were thumping against the tile. Her sister waited at the end of the corridor, Nailah's hand was situated on her hip as she arches her right eyebrow. "It's about fûcking time, mother is waiting for us." A pair of sunglasses with black tint on the frames concealed her eyes, her voice was cold and she sounded mad. "Why the long face ren? Did someone fûck with you?"

They walk down the campus steps in sync, everything about their body language was the same. "I wish for one second that you, mom, and Xavier weren't so protected of me." Nailah's laugh rings throughout the air like a bell, she places her arm around Serenity's neck and unlocks her car doors.

"I think you're forgetting that you're the youngest one out of Xavier and I, plus you put that shît on yourself. You're reckless too, maybe even beyond reckless." Serenity roughly scratches at the tattooed '3' on the palm of her hand, she wanted so many times for that number to disappear. Her whole world would be different if it were gone for eternity. "Rub it as many times as you want, it's there forever... are you ready for tonight?"

"I'm so hyped!" Serenity's voice was full of sarcasm as she stares out the window, she sees Erik's apartment buildings and immediately screams out, "stop!" Nailah stops, her body jerks forward a little as she stares crazily at her sister. A group of men were hanging out in front of them, talking loudly and drinking colt 45s. Some of the men had their shirts off and one was holding a chain leash to a brown and white pit bull.

Serenity gets out of the car and slowly walks towards the group of men, Erik was among them wearing a white short-sleeved shirt: she loved the way his dreads were splatter across his forehead carelessly. "Serenity what are you doing?! Get back over here!" Nailah was filled with panic as she moves around the front of the car. The men turn around to look at Serenity cravingly, she pulls her hair down letting it swing freely.

"Damn... wassup? Who you looking for?" One of the guys walk up to her, she stares straight at him with a daring expression on her face. Serenity leans up towards his face and whispers inches away from his lips.

"I want Erik."

"Shît, yo E! There's a fine ass shorty over here that wanna talk to you." Serenity could see that he had a gun in his pants, so did the other men. Erik walks up to her with a smile on his face, Serenity instantly thought that his teeth were perfect.

"Serenity.. what you doing here?" The way he said her name was everything, she loved hearing it come so smoothly out of his mouth. Serenity glances back at Nailah, she could practically feel the anger and embarrassment radiating off her. His eyes wonder up and down her body, Serenity reaches her hand forward to the touch the spot where his wound was. "It's still healing, my ass could've been dead if it wasn't for your ma."

"I'm glad it's doing okay, I just wanted to come and visit you. I smelled something and it smelt delicious, my sister and I- Nailah!" Erik jumps back when he sees that Nailah was now standing behind Serenity timidly: she was eyeing him through her sunglasses and her hand was squeezing tightly onto her sister's hip. "My sister and I would love to try what you have."

"You want some barbecue? Come on over here let me hook you up." Serenity smiles and pokes her tongue into her cheek, Nailah still holds onto her waist protectively.

"Serenity no, we need to leave. Mother-"

"Mom is not here right now, when you're with me you need to calm down okay? Cut it out." Erik watches them silently as they argue, Serenity yanks away from her sister and walks towards Erik. He grabs onto her hand and pulls her along with him, Nailah has her arms crossed over her chest as she stomps back to the car. "Barbecue, I've never had that before."

"Then baby, you not living..." Serenity finally took notice of the scars going down his arms as he dragged her over to the grill: the type of music that they would always play at black barbecues was blaring. "D, hook my girl up with a plate man." Serenity looks down at their joint hands, she leans against his shoulder watching as Erik is handed a plate of barbecue ribs and chicken with a side of potato salad and collard greens.

Erik walks her over to the steps of his apartment, he sits down and Serenity takes her seat onto his lap. "Oh shît... so it's like that." She laughs and takes a bite of the greens first, her eyes widen as the spices and the overall taste satisfy her tastebuds. "You like it?"

"This is so good, here you try some." She puts some more on her fork, he loved the way she laughed as he opened his mouth willingly. Serenity soon found herself sharing her food with Erik and leaning back against his chest while his arms snuck there way around her waist. He takes a piece of the rib and Serenity opens up, her tongue sticks out: Erik places the meat in her mouth. She closes her glossed lips around his fingers after chewing then swallowing.

Serenity sucks off the excess sauce on his index finger and thumb, she could feel him hardening underneath her as she now licks the pad of those fingers with the tip of her tongue. "Looks like you have something to take care of tonight." Serenity stands up and looks down at his print bulging through his gray sweatpants, she was getting hot and bothered by just looking at it.

Suddenly, a splash of water hits her back, Serenity turns around to see Nailah with a yellow water gun in her hand. The guys and the kids, that were running around, laugh teasingly: Erik seizes her waist causing Serenity to scream. "Get her!" Nailah sprays the gun as fast as she can, completely soaking Serenity and her clothes. She gets out of Erik's hold and pushes him back, he holds his hands up in defense while laughing with her sister.

A kid runs up to Serenity and throws her a water gun, she doesn't hesitate to start shooting at Erik. He begins to run but she chases after him, they went on for hours attacking each other with water. "Oh my god I surrender!" Serenity yells while falling down into the grass with Erik, breathing heavily. He was taking all the time in the world to stare at her, little did he know the face that he thought was gorgeous was going to cause him all the trouble in the world.

"Why you so fûcking pretty? Hm?" Serenity laughs as he leans closer, she could feel the tips of his dreads brushing against the top of her head. Nailah pulls her up, Serenity stumbles and allows her sister to force her away from him. Erik stands up and watches as they get into the car and drive away.

"What the fûck was that?" Serenity leans back against the seat while biting her lip, she chuckles and looks over at a concerned Nailah. "I just wanted to have fun for you but being on his lap like that and almost kissing him? Out of line Ren. How the hell does that nigga know your name? Plus your laughing, I've never seen you like this. Just stop it before mom notices."

"That food was amazing, you should've got some."

"Hell no, just wait until she finds out you've been eating that kinda stuff."

The white room was what she liked to call it, her siblings had been in and out of it so many times but tonight she would be returning back to it. The thought made her anxious but Serenity knew as soon as you walk in all feelings must be turned off and left at the door. Her hand wraps around the silver doorknob, she opens it then cracks the door open to see her mother Imani sitting at the end of the table.

This very room brought her nightmares, nightmares that she didn't even want to fathom. The thought of them made her bones shake and her skin twitch, Serenity never wanted to come back to it but she had no choice.

"Come in." Xavier and Nailah were standing behind their mother watching their sister carefully, the stoical expressions on their faces told her that this was the real deal now. "Sit down and look at me." Serenity takes a seat on the far side of the long sleek table, she was hesitant to stare Imani in her eyes. When she did look her breathing began to pick up. "You're weak! So you went to go see that little boy today? You're done go pack your shît."

"No! I'm ready. I'm ready I promise you."

Imani relaxes against the back of the seat again, she pulls a white folder out from under the table. Serenity was looking down, waiting for it to appear in front of her eyes: Imani bangs it on the glass making her daughter flinch. She suddenly slaps the bottom of the folder causing it to slide across the table and hit against Serenity's hands.

"I want it done neatly and organized, do it by yourself. Serenity you better make sure you don't leave anything behind, exactly how I taught you. Now go." The last of Serenity's humanity left that room after she walked out of it.

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Her eyelids were low as if she was staring at prey, she hears the clicking of a lighter and glances over at the door to see her mother. Imani puts a cigarette up to her lips and inhales skillfully, she removes it and exhales the smoke out her nose. "My little angel, I'm doing this for a reason. You don't understand how much I care for your siblings and you. It'll all pay off in the end."

"It shouldn't hurt this much to be your angel." Serenity's eyes slowly drift away from her mother and back onto the uninteresting wall in front of her, Imani puts out her cigarette and tosses it into the shower. It lands in front of Serenity's feet, blood was splattered onto her skin.

"You will learn one day that there is no one in this world that loves you as much as I do, your mother." Imani places her hand under her daughters chin, she jerks it up causing Serenity's head to lift up into the air. "Understand that... great job tonight by the way." Her mother stands upright again then exits out the bathroom, her dress following behind as she walked.

Serenity holds her hands up into the water, she watches as the crimson blood falls in between her fingers and down onto the shower floor. She pulls her hands away as soon as she hears her brothers deep voice on the other side of the door, Serenity stands up and cuts off the water. "Sis, it's time to go out." She had gotten ready quickly, throwing on anything but making sure that she was still wonderfully styled.

Serenity always walked in front of her brother and sister, just like they always wore black sunglasses in the day and nighttime. They would gain attention every time while walking down the sidewalk or crossing a street. Maybe it was the way the wind blew mysteriously through the girls hair or the clenching jawline of Xavier. It could've also been the chill bumps people receive when they would so happen to walk past number 1, 2, and 3.

They soon found themselves walking into a restaurant, the siblings get a table and sit at a booth with menus up to their noses. The glasses never leave their faces, Xavier sits back against the plushy seats and pulls them down just a inch to glance at the table across the room. "Why does he move around so much? Damn, the nigga can't stay in one place." Nailah picks up one of the sugar packets on the side of the table, she rips it open with her teeth and spills it out.

"I don't know but, if we don't get him mother will be disappointed." She makes a image out of the sugar, Nailah grabs a couple more and moves the small grains around with the tip of her finger. Serenity taps her fingernails against the table then lifts her head up into the air.

"Let's make sure we bring a to-go box home, I don't want any of that nasty ass vegan shit when I get back." Xavier laughs and rests his arm against the back of the seat, Serenity looks down at the image purely made out of sugar that Nailah made. It was a gun, the barrel was pointed towards the man that was sitting across the room. "What's the plan?" Serenity rests her heel covered feet against the seat in front of her, Xavier moves over so she could have enough room to do so.

"Let's give him a surprise at his place, he won't see it coming." Xavier's lay back voice matched his body language, his head was settled back against the top of the booths seat. Nailah and Serenity eye the man, it was crazy how he didn't feel their glares on his face. He was busy stuffing his mouth with the greasy Olive Garden pasta and shooting back gulps of sweet tea. "Let's go."

On a Saturday night, Erik Stevens was studying for a test that he has on Monday. He despises doing stuff like this but what student in school doesn't? Sometimes he did it at his apartment but other times Erik came to a local café were he could get some peace and quiet. The men in his neighborhood always hung outside shooting their glocks or joking on one another until the morning.

Erik pulls his dreads back with his fingers and sighs frustratingly, he flips through the pages of his book then slams it shut. Stevens leans back against the seat and ignores the ring of bells on the entrance. The scent of the person that walked past him hits his nose hard, he hears that same hypnotic and smooth voice of the lovely Serenity Slay. Erik switches around, the first thing he spots is the tight and leather orange skirt that was hugging Serenity's bottom half.

The half shirt she was wearing shows her glistening breast, they bounce perfectly as she turns around to order a drink. "What the fûck you looking at?" Xavier scowls at Erik causing Serenity to turn around, she waits for his retaliation. "Let me catch your eyes on her again and imma fûck you up for real."

"What's up then? The fûck you gon do with yo' bîtch ass?" Erik didn't hesitate to walk up to Xavier and suddenly shove him back, Serenity moves her brother against the wall before he could do something. The dark look in his eyes told her that he was going to snap in a matter of seconds. "Xavier go wait outside." Serenity points towards the door, Xavier furrows his eyebrows and shakes his head.

"Listen to your sister nigga." It took him a while to finally go out the café, Serenity turns toward Erik and scratches a random spot in her head. "Your mom said him and I would get along, she lied." She smiles and gently laughs, Erik glances over to see Xavier and Nailah leaning against a car: their eyes were laid fixedly on him. "Man your brother and sister are something, they really care for you huh?"

"He's uh- there both really possessive. It was nice to see you again, I'm sorry about that I'll make sure to talk to him." Erik watches as she turns around, she was hoping that he would stop her with his voice or even touch her arm gently.

"Damn baby hold up, you always leaving so soon." His hands clasp around her waist, Erik pulls her in after turning her around to face him once again. He sits down on the table, Serenity could feel his hands pushing her between his legs. "I think we should um-" It was his first time actually doing something like this, it was a first for him to be chasing after a girl he really had an interest in.

"Thursday night, I'll meet you at your place." Serenity had leaned in closely to his face, her finger glides down his nose as Erik stares dreamingly at her lips then up into her eyes.

"Can a nigga steal a kiss before you leave?" Serenity pulls away and shakes her head, she walks towards the exit then eventually out the café.

Nailah stares out the blinds of another man's home, she pushes one of them down and scans the street with her hawk eyes. Xavier was scavenging through the fridge trying to find something to eat, he spots some leftovers and throws the box into the microwave for a couple minutes. Serenity's legs were laying against the coffee table as she turns a lighter on and off several times.

"I'm going to beat that motherfûckers ass if I see him again, stay away from him you hear me?" Xavier pulls the box of leftovers out and sticks a fork into the chicken with melted cheese on top. Serenity glances over at her brother and rolls her eyes, she stands up and sits down on the arm of the couch.

"Boy bye, we're just talking. I need friends too you know?" Xavier puts his food down on the counter and pulls the gun from his holster, he rests it on the island and faces it towards Serenity.

"Nah that nigga ain't your friend, you know what talking leads to sis? Sex, that's what that shît lead to. I swear to god if he even touches you in that way this gun is going up against his head." Nailah shrugs her shoulders and walks over to Serenity, she nods her head agreeing with Xavier.

"Am I suppose to be lonely my whole life?! Not have any friends or a boyfriend? Or even a fûcking one night stand? You don't see me getting all protective when you or Nailah have your flings."

"You're young Serenity, he could easily take advantage of you and fûck you up in so many ways. Mother knows that Xavier and I can handle stuff like that but you-" The front door opens and they all turn their heads to the target that was now standing in the living room. His eyes were wide as he sees their unfamiliar faces and the all black clothes on. Xavier lifts his gun up and instantly, pulls the trigger.

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