Amnesty | Book 4

f i f t y f o u r

TERENY
8 Months Later

It felt great waking up in my own home. I didn't depend on anyone to get this for me. Not even Tray, even though he wanted to help. I just couldn't really stay focused on what it was that I truly needed to be doing in life while living with Tray.

I can truthfully say that I'd gained feelings for Tray again over the course of staying with him, but I knew that those feelings needed to be fought back. Although I wanted to give it another go, I just couldn't help but think that I'd be trailing backwards if I were to go that route again. I mean, Tray has a very great heart, but it just doesn't belong to me. Mine doesn't belong to him either. And we'd only be fooling ourselves to think that it was ever meant for him and I to be one.

So, I gathered up my babies and our belongings after finding an affordable place to stay. It's not much. But even though it isn't much, it's something to me and it means a lot to me to say that it's mine.

Raising up from my bed, I yawn and stretch my arms out. What I loved most about my home is that it was in a quiet neighborhood. It's nothing to brag about, but you don't hear anything going on outside. If I could, I'd be able to sleep all day, unbothered.

I reached over to my nightstand for my phone and unlocked it, seeing that Cheri text me.

Text from: Cheri
(8:21am) Attachment: 1 Image

I swiped over to enter into the text to download the image and when I did, I almost teared up. I couldn't believe it. The smiles that were on my babies faces showed the extremity of their happiness. Britney was smiling so hard that it looked like her face would pop. Britten was showing his teeth that were hardly coming in as he held a sippy cup in his hand with drool or whatever sliding down his chin. They were wrapped up in Cheri's arms as she smiled like a model.

Nothing in this world could express just how much I missed my babies. But I knew that they were having fun at the resort with their TT Cheri and Uncle LJ right along with their cousins, Cashmere and Jeremih.

I could most definitely imagine the pain that Cheri was going through when she was sitting there in the hospital, wondering if LJ was going to be okay or not. Just the thought of losing someone that you love so much made you wonder the what ifs. Like, what if you had to continue to live life without them? What if they didn't make it, what would you do? Who would make the funeral arrangements? Just a lot of what ifs that you never quite want to wonder about when the love of your life is in a hospital bed in critical condition.

When the doctor told Cheri what had happened, I wasn't sure if she was relieved that he was okay or hurt that she wasn't in the room to prevent him from doing what he'd done.

From what was said, LJ was overdosing and fell backwards, knocking his head against the nightstand. The head trauma was so severe that he had a seizure. He almost didn't make it, but through the grace of God, he's still here to live another day in order to correct his wrongs. Not most people are lucky enough to make it through that. I can be the one to say. Because if it weren't for my children, I don't think I would've made it through without them.

Honestly, Cheri and LJ needed to travel to the resort in Orlando on their own just to get away for a little while and come together as one due to what had happened 8 months ago. But LJ insisted that Cheri bring the kids along so that they could feel like a family. And from what I knew, LJ was getting therapy for his addiction and personal issues. Their relationship is doing a hell of a lot better from how it was before. He's even laid off of the marijuana, too.

Before leaving a few days ago, Cheri begged and begged for me to allow for my kids to leave with her so that Cashmere and Jeremih would have someone to play with. All I ever really wanted were my children, but I also knew that in order for them to get on and have fun, they needed to spend some time with other kids too...meaning, their own family.