Strong Enough 2

Chapter 19

I feel footsteps behind me. I look back to see Tai rushing up the stairs. He looks to me with confusion, but his eyes widen in realization as he looks behind me. We're both speechless. What is there to say?

For a couple minutes, the only sound in my house is my crying until Tré storms through the door and meets us at the top of the stairs. His smile quickly fades and he drops to his knees as soon as he sees our mother's body.

"W-what happened," he asks. His voice is shaky, and I can tell that he's holding back tears.

"I don't kn-," I'm interrupted by a loud slam and a groan from Tai.

I turn around quickly, spotting Tai on the ground with blood on the side of his head. My dad is standing over him with a baseball bat in his hand.

"Tai!" I scream. I start towards him, but my dad stops me with a hard push. I fall to the ground as he turns back to Tai.

My mind was cloudy and it all happened so fast. All I remember is Tré grabbing the bat and beating him. All his anger that he's piled up inside over the years, came out in that moment. I screamed and begged for him to stop because if I didn't, he probably would've killed him. I honestly don't mind if he would have though.....I just don't want him in jail for murder.

I get up slowly and look at my surroundings.

My brother is up against the wall, breathing heavily as he gives our sorry excuse for a father a death glare. My boyfriend is on the floor bleeding, barely conscious......and my mother is dead with a knife sticking through her heart, at the hands of my father.

"Tré," I say quietly after a couple minutes. His hard eyes soften as he looks to me. "We need to call the police and get Tai to the hospital." He nods and pulls out his phone.

I kneel down next to Tai. He says he's okay, but he's having trouble lifting his head. I let him rest his head on my lap. I can tell that he is in pain because every couple of seconds, his eyes squeeze shut and he groans.

"They're on the way," Tré says as he walks back upstairs. I sit there, holding Tai and staring at my mother's body. I suddenly realize that the dream I was having has come to reality.

The darkness and emptiness in my dream is exactly how I feel now. The dark substance on the wall and carpet......was blood. I know for sure that the man in the black cloak was my father. And the screams I heard, were my mother's, as she begged for him to spare her life.

I sit there, staring at my mom's body, unaware that Tai has been talking to me.

"Mya," he raises his voice, snapping me back into reality. "Are you okay?" he says softly.

"I don't know," is all I say, as I lean against the cold wall.

It seems like forever before the police and ambulance arrive. They treat my dad before taking him to jail. A paramedic checks Tai and tells us that it's not bad and that he'll be fine. I watch as they carry my mom away. The tears are flowing again and my legs feel weak.

Even though my mom was distant half my life, I know that she loved me. I remember the good times when she was happy-when we were happy. In a weird way, I'm glad that she's gone. I miss her and the pain I feel from losing her is unbearable, but I'm glad that she's in a better place. The only problem is how she died.

She went in such a horrible way after going through years of pain. I'll probably never be able to get that image out of my mind. Her cold, lifeless body will haunt me forever.

I walk towards Tré, who is standing in the doorway, watching the ambulance drive away. He doesn't know that I'm standing behind him, until I lean against his arm. I look up at him. He's staring straight ahead, tears building in his eyes. He sighs and hugs me. As soon as I lift my head from his chest, a tear falls onto my forehead. I've never seen him cry before and all I want to do is comfort him.

"What are we gonna do?" I ask. He's silent for a while as he pulls himself together.

"I want you to go with Tai okay?"

"Okay," I respond. "Where are you going?"

"I'll be with Chantel. I didn't think you'd want to come 'cause you'd be far away from Tai. And I don't want you to be around while we plan the funeral."

We leave the house a couple minutes later because neither one of us can stand being there. Tré drops us off at Tai's place and gives me one last hug before leaving.

Gabby and Marlon call me. I guess they hear the pain in my voice because they beg me to tell them what's wrong. I decide to tell them everything. I start from the beginning of my dad's chaos, and I end at what happened today.

Tai's POV

After Mya finishes talking on the phone with her friends, she lays on my bed and stares at the ceiling. Tears are streaming from her face. I lay down with her and rest my arm on her stomach. She rolls over, turning away from me.

"Mya. Baby please look at me." She turns slowly, allowing me to see her tear stained face. Her eyes are puffy and red. It hurts to see her this way.

"I'm sorry I got tears on your pillow," she sniffs. "No, no. It's okay," I say, wiping her cheek. She grabs the pillow and buries her face into it.

Why isn't she burying her face into my chest? She always does. I lay there, staring at her like a stalker until she lifts her head. I touch her cheek. She doesn't smile. She pushes my hand away gently, while continuing to cry.

"I wanna run away," she says through her tears.

I usually laugh at the crazy things she says, but this time, I know that she's serious.

"We can run away together," I tell her. I'll do anything to make her happy.

"No," she says as she stares blankly past me. "Only me."

I know exactly what my heart looks like right now. It's shattered into a million tiny pieces. I know she's upset and in pain, but I don't want her to push herself away from me. I know that she wants to be alone, but I know better than that. I know better than to leave her alone with just her thoughts. I'll stay by her side and get as close as she'll allow me. I love her and I'll do anything for her.

I decide not to bother her and just lay there while she tries to sleep. This is the first night that she's been here with me that I haven't been able to hold her close to me while we sleep.......and it hurts like hell.

...

"Mya get up please!" I shout. After what seems like the hundredth try, I finally get her to wake up. Her eyes fly open and she's breathing heavily.

"What happened?" she asks.

"You were screaming.....like someone was trying to kill you or something," I tell her. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know." Her voice is soft and shaky. I'm really worried and it scared me to death seeing her like that.

I grab her hand and take her in the kitchen for a glass of water. I lean back on the counter opposite of her. It's killing me, but I think it's best for me to give her some space right now. I watch as she drinks the water. She's shaking, so I try to help her.

"Tai?" she says softly. I look into those dark brown eyes that are starting to tear up.

"Yeah?" She opens her arms and I happily walk into them. She holds on tight as she sobs quietly onto my shoulder.

"I wish I could make the pain go away," I whisper into her ear. "Me too," she whispers back.

Hours later, Mya finally falls asleep again. Her nose is stuffed so she's snoring loudly. I can't seem to go back to sleep, so I sit on the couch and watch TV as I hold her in my arms.