"Your call cannot be-
Tapping the "end call" option, Kazimir places his phone down on his desk. He knew Naydine wouldn't; he just refused to accept the fact that they may never see each other again.
"That's 75. Maybe she'll answer on the 76th try."
Before he could dial his missing friend's number again, a loud knock comes upon his front door.
Unlocking the doorknob, the young detective comes face to face with his best friend, Liyusk.
"Hey. I got us food."
Handing Kazimir a fast food paper bag, Liyusk makes his way inside the young man's apartment.
He takes a seat on the couch and Kazimir turns to him.
"A milkshake and a hamburger; Camille and Naydine's favorites."
"I know it ain't so easy, but how're you holding up so far?" Liyusk asks, taking a bite of his hamburger.
Swirling the milkshake around in the cup, the young detective shrugs.
"Why'd you even show up?"
Liyusk sighs.
"Well, I wanted to check on you. Naydine and I were actually in the process of planning a small dinner this Thursday to surprise you with, but now this happened."
"Seems like everytime something appears to be headed in the right direction, another thing falls right out of place." Kazimir says with a chuckle.
Liyusk nods and looks down at his hamburger, unsure if his friend was emotionally stable enough to hear what else he came to talk about.
*"Guess I have no choice."*
Looking up, Liyusk turns to his friend.
"Remember that basketball offer I told you about a while back?"
"What about it?" Kazimir asks.
"I'm leaving for America on Friday." Liyusk replies, setting his milkshake cup on the tabletop in front of him.
The young detective nods.
"Tell me about your experience when you come back. I'd like to hear what it's like."
"Kazimir...I'm not coming back." Liyusk says, playing with his thumbs. "My mother's starting a new job over there and I'm going to attend school on a sports scholarship. Next year is my final year and then I could be playing for the big leagues, bro."
He smiles and playfully hits Kazimir's arm.
"I bet if Naydine was here, she'd be cheering in excitement. Don't worry too much about it, just 'cause she's missing doesn't mean she's dead. We still gotta have some type of hope."
"Yeah, but as someone who's been around that type of stuff, I really don't have any." Kazimir says.
Liyusk sighs.
"Hey, as soon as I get the chance, I'll invite you and Naydine over to my new house and we can all go for pizza!"
"Sounds nice. I wish you well, Liyusk. I really do." the young detective replies, patting his friend's shoulder.
"Thank you." Liyusk says.
The young basketball player stares over at his milkshake and frowns.
"I guess that means I won't be able to watch over you as much."
"If you're talking about my job, the answer is no, Liyusk." Kazimir states, a hint of anger in his tone. "I've already told you that the first time around."
He gets up and walks over to his front door, slightly opening it.
"I'm going out for a drive, if you leave before I come back, just make sure to lock the door behind you."
Watching as his best friend exits and slams the door behind him, Liyusk sighs.
"What else are you keeping from me, Kazimir?"
------
*BEEP! BEEP!*
Ignoring the horns of the many cars around him, the young detective zips through the light traffic.
He looks down at the speedometer, letting off the accelerator a bit.
Everyone else seemed to be enjoying life just fine, so why couldn't he?
Maybe Pierre was right all along. Maybe it was time for him to stay at bay when meeting new people.
He believed the drive out to be a nice stress reliever for him. Hopefully, he wouldn't crash just yet; he still had a few things to complete before death set out to retrieve him.
Looking back up, the young detective's eyes widen and he quickly swerves into oncoming traffic, before landing in a ditch.
"Was that-
Getting out of the car, Kazimir runs into traffic, ignoring the honking around him.
He picks up the small child and quickly heads back over to his car.
"KHRISTINA-BELLA WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING WALKING IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC?!"
The small girl happily smiles, excitedly jumping up and down.
"Mr. Kazimir!"
The young man grits his teeth.
"Khristina, I asked you what the hell are you doing walking in the middle of traffic?!"
"I was on my way to go get a cheeseburger 'cause Dréy said no. So I waited until he took a nap to begin my adventure!" she replies, innocently swinging her torso from side to side.
Kazimir slides his hands over his face and groans.
"Khristina, first of all, you should've listened to your brother. No means no, alright? Didn't your parents teach you that?"
The little girl nods.
"They did and they also told me to look both ways while crossing the street, which I did. But also, when they were still here and one of them said no, I just asked the other and it'd be a yes!"
"Khrist- nevermind. I'll buy you a cheeseburger and then we're going back to your brother's house." Kazimir says with a sigh.
The young girl claps her hands.
"Yay!"
Opening the passenger door, Kazimir lets Khristina get in, buckling her seatbelt.
"Mr. Kazimir?"
"What is it, Khristina?"
"Why is part of your car tilted?"
"Because I parked in a ditch." Kazimir responds.
"One time, me and Alexei were in Dréy's car and he swerved into a ditch 'cause the song he was playing had police sirens in it and he actually thought the police were after him. So he and Alexei had to push the car out and we didn't get home 'til 1 in the morning! Papa even got mad at Dréy 'cause he wasn't supposed to be out at that time."
Kazimir chuckles.
"That's nice to know, Khristina."
He closes the passenger door, making his way over to the driver's side, before pulling off.
"And then I cried and told papa I thought I was gonna die, so then he gave me ice cream and mama even let me stay up 'til 4 in the morning! Can we get ice cream, Mr. Kazimir?" Khristina asks, kicking her feet back and forth.
"No, I told you I'd only get you a cheeseburger."
Khristina frowns.
"Mr. Kazimir, do you love me?"
"Yes Khristina, I care very deeply about you."
"Then you'd let me get a ice cream cone 'cause if you really cared you wouldn't wanna see me sad."
Kazimir rolls his eyes.
"Khristina, I also don't want you to have 25,000 cavities the next time you visit the dentist."
"That's where you're wrong, Mr. Kazimir! The dentist told me that I didn't have cavities last time I went and that's all I ate was ice cream that same year! And besides, if you brush your teeth a lot, you won't have any!
Pulling into the fast food restaurant's parking lot, Kazimir sighs.
"Okay, we can get ice cream after you eat."
Stepping out of the car, Kazimir opens the passenger door and Khristina excitedly jumps out the car seat.
Walking into the building, the small girl happily runs over to the line of people, and points up at the menu.
"May I have the 10 piece chicken nuggets instead? And can I have a large fry with a fruit punch as a drink?" Khristina asks, looking up at the older male.
"Sure." Kazimir says with a sigh as he takes out his wallet from his pocket.
He orders for the young girl, before the two take a seat near a window.
"Mr. Kazimir, are you playing on your phone?" Khristina asks, taking a sip of her fruit punch.
"I was just checking the news on social media." Kazimir replies, putting his phone down.
"Alexei said social media is useless 'cause it's all just a big competition about which person can do something better. He said it creates mindless stupid people who rely on likes to fuel their ego and that those type of people are useless to society."
Kazimir shrugs.
"He isn't wrong."
He turns to the front of the restaurant and gets up from his chair.
"Look, your food is ready. Wait here while I go get it."
Khristina watches as the young detective walks away, before checking his phone and slamming it back down as he turns around.
"Here's your food. Eat up while I call your brother and tell him where we're at." Kazimir says, placing the fast food bag in front of her.
"Do you like Ms. Nia, Mr. Kazimir?"
The young man sighs.
"Yes, she's a nice young woman. A good friend."
"'So if she's really a friend, then why'd you send her a message about meeting up for dinner?" Khristina asks, crossing her arms.
Kazimir groans.
"To discuss work-related things. Khristina, just eat your food."
Opening the box of nuggets, Khristina puts 5 on a napkin and pours some french fries on it as well.
She slides it to Kazimir, giving him a warm smile.
"You should eat too Mr. Kazimir or you'll be hungry."
"I've already eaten, Khristina. Besides, it's your food-
"Mr. Kazimir, I'm not eating until you eat with me!"
The young detective lightly groans and picks up a nugget, taking a bite from it.
Khristina sadly smiles and eats one as well.
"You seem not yourself, Mr. Kazimir. Is everything okay? I already know about Naydine, but something more just doesn't seem right. Why don't you go visit your mama and papa?"
"I'm fine." the young detective replies. "Besides, they moved back to Japan once I left for college. I don't have-
The small girl slams her fists on the table, prompting Kazimir to raise a brow.
"Mr. Kazimir, you're being rude! Go visit them right now!"
Several people in the restaurant turn to Khristina and Kazimir, whispering amongst themselves.
"Okay, you're probably right; I'll visit them."
Khristina smiles and points to his phone.
"Let's take a picture so you can show them what I look like!"
Kazimir picks up his phone turning the camera to Khristina.
"Say cheese."
The little girl shakes her head.
"Get in the picture too, Mr. Kazimir!"
He slides over to Khristina, before turning the phone towards the both of them.
"I wanna snap them!" Khristina says, reaching for the young detective's phone.
Kazimir hands the phone to her and she quickly takes around 15 selfies.
"Okay! Let's go get ice cream now!"
Sticking the phone into his back pocket, the young detective watches and smiles as the young girl happily twirls around the table.
"Dammit, now I feel like a bastard for yelling at her."