The Streets Higher Stakes

26. Funeral & Truths

Cole's POV

I had never been to a funeral before. I was too young to remember my mother's and my grandparents had passed away before I was born. I watched as the black casket was slowly lowered into the ground and the group gathered around it was deadly silent as we remembered Reeker. I had only met him once and I liked him enough, he gave us the idea on how to get back at The Raiders by working for Wiz, also paid us when we did our shipments and overall supported us.

I had my arm draped around Trish's shoulder as she stared blankly at the now lowered casket. She didn't cry throughout the service and that surprised me since she had been very emotional for a while and her not crying scared me. The seven of us continued to stand there as the crowd started to disperse. Thayer had both his arms around Dakota and Theo. Dakota, unlike her best friend had sobbed quietly throughout the service. The Twins, both had their arms around each other, all of us supporting one another.

"We should go," Jacob mumbled. Everyone else had left and the workers at the funeral home were waiting to finish their work.

We drove back towards our home, having to drive past Reekers building. On the East side, facing us had a huge W spray painted onto the bricks with a crown on top of it. Underneath it, written in red spray paint said , An eye for an eye', in all capital letters. Outside, cops were littering around the building and I wasn't confident in their skills because they never found out who caused the explosion that almost killed Trish and Jacob, though we all knew who was at fault.

Wiz was at fault for almost killing them and now he was at fault for killing Reeker. He thought we killed Amber so he killed Reeker.

I parked in my regular space outside our home, Trish getting out and slamming the door shut. She didn't go inside as the others were going to but walked towards the beach. I followed her, not wanting her to be alone. She stood ankles deep in the water, the ends of her dress getting soaked. As I stood beside her, she didn't look or say anything to me. I looked at her, seeing tears rolling down her cheeks.

I pulled her to me and held her. I didn't know what to do and I knew it was pointless to try and get her to talk to me. I wanted her to tell me her thoughts because I was tired of seeing her suffering alone. We were all here for each other, that was clear the way we supported each other after the funeral.

"God I can't handle this anymore," she wailed into my chest.

"We're going to get through this babe, just like everything else," I said as the people around us continued to laugh and have fun. They didn't know the emotions or events we had been through.

"I'm not just talking about that. I'm talking about everything else too," she breathed.

That was the first time she acknowledged allowed the way she had been acting. I pulled her back and held her at arm's length. "Tell me babe. Tell me so I can help you grieve. I don't like seeing you like this," I repeated my words from yesterday.

Her face contorted in great pain, a look I had only ever seen once on her face before she told me everything.

She told me how after Zeke had betrayed them that she found out she had been pregnant. She told me how confused and alone she felt since she didn't tell anyone besides Zeke, months later. She told me that she got an abortion, without Zeke's consent and that's why he had called her a murderer. She told me that she remembered the doctors telling her it was over and all the emotions that had hit her again.

I stood there aghast at the information. I never thought that what had happened between them would be this massive. I thought Zeke got his information wrong and accused her. But even with this information now, he had been wrong. She had acted how she saw fit and that was that.

She cried even harder into my neck as I picked her up and brought her across the street, up the stairs, to her bed. She had stopped crying by this point and her eyelids slipped close when she felt the comfortable mattress hit her back.

"Is she okay?" I heard Thayer asked. He looked different within these last months, more mature. I could see the others behind them in our living area and I gestured my head to them.

I plopped my head into my hands as they waited silently. "She told me what's been bothering her."

"What is it?" Dakota asked quietly. I told them. By the end of it Dakota had fresh tears on her cheeks and her hand on her heart. The Twins looked back to where Trish was sleeping and looked shocked. Theo had a look in his eyes I couldn't place as I saw him pop a pill into his mouth. Thayer closed his eyes and slowly shook his head.

"How didn't we notice she was pregnant?" Theo whispered.

"It was after Zeke betrayed you. If you saw her crying you thought it was because he broke her heart. But it was something deeper than that," I answered.

"Trish a mother?" Paul said. I knew he couldn't picture it but I could.

I remember that weird dream I had after I had been shot. Where my mom was there and Trish had been pregnant with our unborn child. The Trish in that dream would've been a good mother. But the Trish now, wouldn't be only because of her lifestyle and she was too young.

They all sat there and mulled over what I told them. I stood up, not waiting to think anymore and fell into bed beside my girlfriend.