Strong Enough 2

Chapter 11

Tai's POV

I wake up in a comfortable bed with a familiar scent. I turn my head to see Mya walking out of the bathroom.

"Good morning," she says softly. I sit up and motion for her to come to me. She sits down and I wrap my arms around her and kiss her cheek.

She has no idea how happy I am to have her again. Last night was the best sleep that I've gotten in days. Having her in my arms was all I needed.

I look down at her clothes and frown. "What is it?" she asks. I tug on her shirt and she laughs. She pulls my shirt over my head and I do the same with hers. Then she slips on my shirt and pulls it down to cover her thighs. "Happy now?" she says. "Very," I reply.

I pull her up so she's sitting in my lap and staring straight into my eyes. "Mya?" I say.

"Yeah?"

"I never wanna lose you again. I went through hell without you. I'm sorry." She smiles and buries her face into my neck. "I forgive you," she whispers into my ear. I feel chills run down my spine as she kisses my neck, ear, jawline, and then my lips. I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her as close as I can.

"Y'all betta stop before I get the belt," Tré says as he walks into the room. We all laugh and he leads us down the stairs. I'm still surprised that Tré and their mom are okay with me sleeping in Mya's room. Tré once told me it's because they really trust me, and they know I'm not stupid because if I try anything I'll "lose my toes" as Tré says.

Mya's POV

Tré is taking us downstairs. He said it's a 'surprise' or something.

We get downstairs and a delicious smell hits my nose. I turn the corner to see my mom in her old apron with a spatula in her hand. She's smiling.... like actually smiling! She looks great and full of ...life. Her skin is glowing.

"Are y'all hungry?" she says cheerfully. We all nod vigorously and she laughs. I look down at the table and there's eggs, bacon, pancakes, homemade biscuits, sausage, and her famous freshly squeezed orange juice that I haven't had in years. My mouth is watering and I'm surprised that my old mother is back.

We all sit down, pray over the food, and eat. I can tell that Tré and Tai are in food heaven right now.

As Tré and Tai converse about football and stuff I turn to my mother. "Soo mom....what's been going on with you?" I ask.

"Well.... I don't know. I've just been happier lately," she responds. I have a feeling I know why she's so happy all of a sudden. Dad hasn't been home in days. I don't mind his absence, it's actually better that he's not here. We don't need him anyway. Tré takes good care of us.

We're eating, talking, laughing, having a great time, and in walks the devil. He stumbles in the house with a bottle of liquor in his hand. His eyes are bloodshot and he reeks of alcohol.

"What are y'all so happy about?" he says, slurring his words. We stay silent and I turn to my mom. I can see the fear in her eyes. She stands from the table. "Sit down!" he shouts and she obeys.

He stands there and stares at all of us, his nostrils flaring. With one swift movement, he flips the tablecloth and food goes flying everywhere. I'm hit with maple syrup and orange juice. Tai gets up and helps me wipe my face.

"Well, well, well," he says, walking towards Tai. "So you must be Mya's little boyfriend right? How you doing?"

"I'm good," Tai says dryly. I can tell that he's very uncomfortable. I look to Tré and I can tell that he's slowly filling with pure anger.

My dad bangs on the table, leaving behind a small crack. "Mya, Tai, Tré.....go upstairs," my mom says softly. Tai and I walk towards the stairs and stop at the bottom to glance at Tré.

"You heard her," my dad says to him. Tré doesn't say anything to him, he doesn't even acknowledged him.

"Mama....." he starts but my mom interrupts him.

"Please Tré. Just go upstairs. Please." She looks up at him with pleading eyes. My dad punches a hole in the wall. Tré looks at him, his eyes full of anger and walks slowly up the steps, and Tai and I follow.

We all end up in my room. Tré is pacing back and forth across the room. I know exactly how he feels. We just started to get close to our mom and now she's going back to that place: back to fear and back to depression. We alternate taking showers and Tré let's Tai borrow some of his clothes.

We have school tomorrow, so Tai has to go home. He kisses me and attempts a smile before he leaves.

Later that night, I hear the sounds that have haunted my dreams for years. They started to fade away when I met Tai and were completely gone when Tré woke up and when I started to talk to my mom again. Now they're back and I'm pretty sure that no one can make then go away this time. This was the first time that I've seen my dad this way. I've heard him but I've never seen his anger. It scared me and for a split second, I saw Jason's face instead of his. The only difference is that I knew that his anger wasn't towards me. Now, his yelling isn't the only thing that haunts me. I now see his bloodshot eyes and his bloody fists from punching the wall.

I put my headphones in and try to block put the sound. A tear rolls down my cheek as I think of my mother.

Tré walks in. His face looks a little strange in the dim light, so I turn on my lamp. My eyes go wide when I see that he has a black eye. I don't ask him what happened because I know that our 'father' is responsible for it. Instead, I stay silent as he walks to my bed. He sighs before turning the lamp off and stays by my bedside until I fall asleep.