Forgive Me (Sequel)

•Chapter One•

When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.

A dark rain cloud casted a shadow of gloom mirroring the afternoon's happenings. Myself as well as a host of other mourners gathered at the Rosewood Cemetery to bid our farewells to Ms. Loretta, a woman who had been there for me in more ways than I could possibly express. After Lance's death she played a huge role in helping me raise our son Ameer.

A lone tear rolled down my cheek as I joined in with the rest of crowd in singing one of her all time favorite hymns. I often wondered why the good people always seemed to be the ones to fall on hard times. About a year ago Ms. Loretta was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. Surprisingly I took the news harder than she did.

It amazed me how she managed to keep a positive spirit despite her suffering but I should have known better after observing her during Lance's unfortunate situation. "Baby the Lord never gives us more than we could bare," she would always tell me. I guess she couldn't stand to bare it anymore though, as she released her last breath two weeks ago.

"Ma." Ameer whispered while poking me in the leg.

"Momma!" He said a little louder trying his hardest to get my attention.

"What's the matter AJ?" I asked.

"I think I see my dad." He said, whispering again.

"Why would Shawn be here son?"I asked confused.

"No ma. I mean my real dad, Lance."

"What? AJ your father passed away before you were born, remember?" He was beginning to worry me.

"But ma. There's a man across the street in the back of a police car that looks just like him. I swear, look." He said while pointing behind us.

As I turned to see what he was referring to, only a fleet of cars, that undoubtedly belonged to the mourners, lined the streets. I turned my attention back to him.

"AJ I don't see anything. What have I told you about lying?"

"I'm sorry ma. It looked so real." He said sorrowfully and hung his head. The way his shoulders heaved I could tell that he was crying. My poor baby boy was such a sweetheart and had a tendency to wear his emotions on his sleeves.

"Maybe it was your uncle Landon baby. You know they could pass as twins." I said trying my best to comfort him. I had learnt from Lance a while before his attack that the police were able to connect Landon to a host of other crimes which pretty much sealed his fate. He would die in prison.

"I guess so." He said, wiping his tears with the back of his hand.

As the last of the mourners trickled out of the cemetery, rain came cascading down as the sky unleashed its pent up sorrows. Ameer and I drove along in silence. I kept stealing glances at him and by the serious look on his face I could tell that he was deep in thought, no doubt he was bothered by what happened at the gravesite. I too was deeply troubled. Could the mysterious man have been Lance? It wasn't possible. I was at his funeral. I watched as he was buried. Still, I couldn't help but wonder. Was my son showing early signs of schizophrenia? I quickly dismissed the thought.

"Momma." He said.

"Yes AJ?"

"Am I crazy?" He asked, staring at me with eyes that once belonged to the man I loved.

"Of course not. Why would you ask that?"

"You know, because of what happened." He said.

"Maybe missing your grandma made you think of him. Okay baby?" I tried to assure him.

"Maybe." He said and averted gaze outside the window.

As we pulled up to our home in Oakwood Lanes I couldn't shake the nagging feeling deep in my stomach. I thought back to the circumstances surrounding Lance's death. His mom was the one who informed me of his passing and he had a closed casket funeral, his dying wish they said. I've heard of people faking their death but I couldn't bring myself to believe that Lance would be so deceptive. And why would he have stayed away for all these years? He knew we had a child.

After changing out of my mourner's attire I flopped down on my bed with my laptop. I casually googled Lance's name. I had to know. Scrolling down the results page there was nothing out of the ordinary. Just links to his social media accounts and articles about art related stuff. Just as I was about to exit the browser, that's when I saw it, his mugshot. Lance Khaliyl Carter, inmate at Pinewood State Penitentiary. Convicted of attempted murder and illegal possession of a firearm. I slammed the laptop shut and released gut-wrenching scream. This couldn't be true...

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If you're here and haven't read the first book abort mission!⚠️⚠️⚠️🚫⛔😂Seriously though, there are some things you wouldn't understand if you didn't read the previous story.