Strong Enough 2

Chapter 20

1 Week Later

Mya's POV

"Mya, we're here," Tai says as he squeezes my hand. He gives me a reassuring smile before helping me out of the car.

I look around the graveyard. It's not as creepy as I thought it would be. People usually depict graveyards as haunted or like some kind of playground for the dead.....but it's actually kind of beautiful. The flowers and other items left by families makes it seem less scary and more peaceful.

Tai holds my hand throughout the service. I'm crying again, uncontrollably, so I'm glad he's here to comfort me. Chantel is comforting Tré as he tries to hold back his tears. He eventually lets them out and Chantel is right there to hold him.

It's time for Tré and I to put what our special items into our mother's grave.

Tré brought one of his paintings. He use to love to paint and his creations were pretty good for a ten year old. This painting is the one he made for Mother's Day that year. He had to repaint it because our dad ripped up the first one. Tré's hands shake as he holds the painting over her casket. It takes a couple minutes until he finally places it on top.

I decided to bring every single one of my mom's old albums. She loved music, especially the old school stuff. I remember coming home from school and she'd be in the living room, singing and dancing. She eventually gave them all to me because my dad wouldn't let her listen to them anymore.

I smile through my tears as I hold the albums over her. They bring back so many memories-good memories. I take a deep breath before gently placing them on her casket.

Tré and I get a lot of hugs and 'I'm so sorry for your loss. Your mother was a great person' speeches. I honestly don't know many of these people. The only person I remember is my Aunt Riley. She was the only family member that was consistent in our lives before my dad made us move. She always hated my dad, and she tried her best to find out where we moved to. She called everyday until my dad made all of us change our numbers and told us never to call her again.

"Tré? Mya?" Aunt Riley says as we walk up to her. "You've gotten so big." Tears start to flow down her cheeks. Tré and I hug her. "I miss Lily," she says as she glances at my mother's grave. "I wish I would've been able to protect her. I knew there was something off about him."

"It's not your fault," I tell her. She gives me a small smile. "Who's this?" I ask, gesturing towards the small baby in her arms.

"This is Jeremiah," she says, smiling down at the baby.

"He looks just like his daddy," Tré says. She frowns. "Yeah he does. I miss Jamal. He passed away before I had Jeremiah, but he's in a better place now."

Jamal was Riley's husband. He was a great person, and he absolutely adored Riley. They met their freshman year in high school and got married their senior year. I remember meeting him a couple times. He was always so happy and those hazel eyes always sparkled when he was with Riley. I remember her telling me that he went into the military. She told us that she remembered the last time she talked to him.

It was only a few days before he could come back home, and this time he would stay home for good because he couldn't stand being away from Riley anymore, and he wanted to be there for his son. Riley waited for him at the airport for hours until she was told that he'd been shot the day before.

I end up hanging with Aunt Riley and Jeremiah. Tré and I introduce them to Chantel and Tai.

"Tré and Mya?" a deep voice says from behind us.

"Hey Pastor John. What is it?" Tré says.

"I need to talk to you two." We get up and follow him into his office. He goes into his desk and pulls out a bunch of papers and hands them to Tré. There's a letter on the top of the stack....

Dear Mya and Tré,

      I want you two to know that I love you with all my heart. I never stopped loving you, but I know that from my behavior, you both thought I did.        

      I know that you have both wondered what started your father's rage. It all started a year after we got married. We were happy, but then all of a sudden, I started to see a different side of him. Before we were married, I had never seen him angry before. Everyone told me that he had a temper, but I was too in "love" to listen. It wasn't until I made him mad by simply having small talk with this guy I met at a bar, that I'd realized what I got myself into. That was the first time he hit me, and from then, it just got worse. Every little thing I did got him angry and gave him an excuse to hit me.

      After you two came into the world, I told myself that I would leave him. I tried and I tried but he told me that he'd kill both of you if I left. He'd even threaten you for no reason, so whenever I did something "wrong" and he got upset, I sent both of you straight to your rooms. At first neither one of you realized what was going on because he tried to keep it secret, thinking that one of you would tell someone about it. I don't know if you remember the game we use to play when I told you to run to your rooms, lock the doors, and cover your ears because a monster was coming after you; In reality, the monster was your father and I was trying to protect you from his chaos.

      I know that being with him will ultimately lead to my death, but it's worth it, knowing that I could protect both of you. I love you and I want you both to grow up and be successful. Both of you are very talented and I know that you'll do great things. I also want you to be better than me. I want you be strong-for me and most importantly, for yourselves. Always remember that you're strong enough for anything.    Love, Mommy

Tré and I glance at each other and then stare back at the letter. Neither one of us knew that this had been going on before we were born. She'd been so happy before that I thought it started later, in the midst of my childhood. I guess she stopped acting like she was happy because she was fed up, and his threats probably got worse.

Tré puts the letter to the side and looks at the other papers. He hands them to me.

It's just a bunch of drawings-my drawings that I use to bring home from school. She use to hang them on the walls so everyone could see them......but my dad told her to take them down and throw them away. I thought she did, but she was hiding them from him this whole time.

...

It's been a while since my mother's funeral. I've come here everyday to talk to her. I leave her flowers every once in a while. I miss her so much.

Everything has been going good since her funeral. Tré sold the house and Riley got an apartment here so she can be close to us. I live with her and Jeremiah now and Tré is staying with us while he and Chantel find a place close by.

"Mya?" a deep voice echoes behind me.

"Over here!" I call back. Tai walks over with roses and sets them down in front of my mother's grave.

"You ready?" he asks. "Yeah. Let's go."

We get into the car with Tai's mom and head towards the church.

I walk into a small room where Chantel is. She looks stunning!

"Are you ready?" I ask.

"Yep," she says as she puts on her veil and sparkling tiara.