Miserable

23

I wake up the next morning feeling drained and hurt.

"I thought I prayed it all to God already." I say to myself. "Seems like I still feel everything."

"It's not gonna go away quickly, Joy. Moving on takes time. You can't get to a destination from where you start off in a blink of an eye. You have to get there step by step." Jade says while finishing up her make up.

I lie back down and shut my eyes. Memories start flooding my head again, the pain from throughout this week adds up, and I start crying.

"Joy..."

Jade hugs me in an awkward position. "I admire how strong you are. At first, for the first few days, it didn't really seem to affect you. You were strong enough to push your emotions down. But I guess you're feeling it all now, huh?"

I nod into my pillow and feel it getting really wet.

"I'm gonna go get Rich. You need some sibling talk." Jade says after a few minutes of listening to me cry and rock my body with sobs.

A few minutes later, Rich comes in and sits on the edge of the bed. I peek out from the pillow and look at him. He's ready to leave for school.

"Joy? I'm not gonna pep talk you or anything." He starts off. "I just want you to know that I'm praying for you. I'm not gonna try and change you or convince you that everything's gonna be okay. It's up to you on how you think."

I turn around and face the ceiling. "Go to school." I say.

He sighs, walks over and looks over me. "I love you, Joy." He kisses my forehead and walks out.

I stay stuck in one position for as long as I can, about an hour, I think, until I fall asleep.

I wake up and see trees above me. I rub my eyes and look around.

"Look who's awake."

I try to find the source of the very familiar voice.

"Who are you?" I yell.

I turn around in a circle and still see no sign of anyone.

"Joy."

Startled by the voice so very near me, I turn around and see a lone figure walking towards me.

Lifting his head, I see that it's none other than Tyron.

He chuckles as I step back in fear.

"W-what are you doing here?" I ask, trying to sound brave but actually turning out to sound like a little child.

"I'm just getting what I want." He says slowly stepping aside.

I raise my eyebrow in confusion until I see another figure walking towards us.

He stops beside Tyron and I feel hatred bubbling in me.

"What are you doing here, James?" I say as coldly as I possibly can.

"Just assisting an old friend." He replies with a smug smile.

The two nod their heads at each other and next thing I know, I'm on the ground, clutching my stomach. I feel repeated kicks on my back and groan. The pain is too much to bear.
I feel dizzy and nearly faint until he starts talking.

"You were my ticket to a good life. Tsk tsk. You just had to ruin it by leaving me." Tyron says.

My mind spins.

"And because of your choice, you pay."

I try to sit up but end up falling on my back again.

"I was never yours." I spit out.

He cackles. "Finish her, James. I'm done with her family. They took everything from me. Even Tasha has turned against me!"

I search for a memory connected to that name. Tasha. Oh, no. She helped us escape and James was there... He probably told Tyron.

"What did you do to her?" I ask weakly.

"I let her go." Tyron says evilly.

Before I could comprehend what he means, James covers my view.

"My turn."

I squeeze my eyes shut as repeated kicks hit my midsection.

"I'm sorry for hurting you."

"No you're not." I reply staring him in the eye.

He shrugs. "I can't get in trouble again. I plan to get my career back after this school year."

I stare at him, not believing a word he says.

Then I really wake up. My pillow is soaking wet and I realize I've been crying. I look out the window and see that the sun has begun to set.

I turn over and look at my phone.

"Oh, great." I mumble. I have a lot of miss calls from mom.

I call my mom and apologize for making her do my babysitting.

She sighs and says it's alright, knowing the state I'm in.

I get out of bed and stare at the mirror. My eyes look swollen from crying. I suddenly remember the dream and get this feeling.

"Just when I feel like things get better, bad things start happening. Why does this have to happen?"