Strong Enough 2

Chapter 3

"Tré!" I scream and jump off of Tai's lap. I hug him and he chuckles.

"I guess you missed me huh?" he asks with a smirk.

"I'll leave you two here to talk," Tai says as he and Tré share a glance.

When Tai leaves, Tré's smile fades and he's looking down.

"What's wrong?" I ask. He looks up at me and then drops his head again.

"I have to tell you something," he says. He takes a deep breath. "Well the reason why I got beat up that first time and of course the second time that got me here," he motions towards the hospital bed. "is 'cause... I made a stupid mistake. But it was the only way I could take care of you..." he trails off.

"What did you do?" I ask softy.

He opens his mouth to say something but closes it and waits a couple seconds before trying to speak again. "I was... selling drugs," he says quietly. He looks to me for a reaction but I don't know how I should react. I don't believe that he could ever be involved in something like that. Is that where he use to go all the time when he told me he was going to work? I stay quiet for a long time, trying to think of what I should say and he speaks again. "Mya I promise I won't do it again. The whole reason why I got beat up is because I told them I ain't wanna do it no more. Please don't be mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you," I tell him. I sit on his bed and hug him. I'm really not mad at him. I am disappointed that he was selling drugs but he was only trying to take care of me.

"So what happened to Jason?" he asks me after we've been talking for a while. I know exactly how he'll react when I tell him, but he needs to know. I tell him the whole story and I'm surprised that he doesn't interrupt. I also tell him everything about Tai and how he basically saved my life.

"I knew I liked that kid. He treats you right and I can tell that he really loves you," he says. "But Jason is lucky that he's in jail and I can't get to him." We both laugh and Chantel walks in. She smiles as soon as she sees us and runs over to hug us. She's crying and I can tell that she's been going crazy without Tré. She hasn't been able to visit much because she lives so far and she works a lot. She doesn't know about Tré's near death experience and we decide not to tell her.

"I'll leave you two lovebirds alone," I say with a smirk and they both laugh. 

I leave the room and walk towards the waiting room until I bump into Tai. We both laugh. I look behind him and see Gabby, Marlon, and Ronnie. They all walk towards me and I'm sucked into a group hug.

We all hang out in Tré's room all day, talking and telling him about all that he has missed.

Gabby ends up falling asleep, so Ronnie carries her home. Marlon's mom comes to pick him up and Tai and I leave Chantel and Tré, who are both sound asleep.

"So do you wanna come to my house?" Tai asks when we exit the hospital.

"Sure," I tell him. He stares at me while we're walking, almost as if he's studying me.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I giggle.

"I'm glad that you're smiling again," he tells me.

When we get to his house, he picks me up and sits me down at the table.

"Are you hungry?" he asks, putting his forehead on mine.

"Yeah," I say. He walks into the kitchen and I watch him as he makes us sandwiches. He hands me one, sits down next to me, and we eat. I go to the kitchen to make us some drinks and I feel his arms around my waist.

"Do you want kool-aid, coke, or water?" I ask.

"I want you," he says in my ear.

"That wasn't an option," I tease. He picks me up and sits me on the counter.

"Okay then I want chocolate milk," he says.

"Go get some then."

"Fine. I will," he says with a smirk. He picks me up again and carries me down the hall.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"Getting my chocolate milk. Duh."

"Very funny," I say, rolling my eyes. He laughs and sets me down gently on his bed.

"So what do you wanna watch?" he asks.

"It doesn't matter," I tell him. We end up watching SpongeBob and laughing like little five year olds.

After hours of watching cartoons, the TV shuts off.

"What happened to the-" Tai cuts me off by covering my mouth with his hand. He tosses the remote on the other side of the bed and gently pushes me back. He lays on top of me and rests his forehead on mine.

"I love you so much," he says, looking straight into my eyes.

"I love you too," I tell him. He smiles and I lift my head up to kiss him. I start to feel the same fire again. We stay this way for a while until he breaks the kiss. He kisses my cheek and along my jawline until he reaches my neck. The fire gets stronger. I don't want this to stop, but I know exactly where it's going. He's done this before...many times actually. I know that him being with different girls almost every night is in his past, but the thought disgusts me. I try to shake the thought from my head and focus on what's happening right now. He's kissing lower and lower, and I'm starting to panic. I want this with him, but I'm too young and not even close to being ready. I'm not sure how he'll take this but I need to stop it before this goes too far.

"Tai," I say, barely able to breath.

"Yeah? Are you okay?" he asks with wide eyes.

"I don't-" he cuts me off again by putting his hand to my mouth.

"You're not ready are you?" he asks and I nod. He smiles. "I'm sorry. I just got caught up in the moment and I'm pretty sure that you've noticed how hard it is for me to control myself when it comes to you. I should've asked if you were ready. I just want you to know that I won't force you into anything and I can wait for you.....you and only you." He rolls over and pulls me on top of him so that I'm laying on his chest, and we fall asleep.