"The tears don't end"

Jaylen POV

  Prom was a success! I had so much fun with my friends. "Glad you're finally awake. Had me worried there." Roman said looking down at me. "Sir, I just opened my eyes. Please." I said as I held a hand up at him while he laughed. I got up and went to the bathroom to make sure I was presentable. "You're not going to school today." he said as I walked out. "Why is that?" I asked. "It's our day. Besides, school is almost over. Get up, let's go." he said he walked out the door. Now how the hell does he think imma just......lemme get dressed. "Did you enjoy yourself last night?" Allure said making me trip as I put my jeans on. Seriously do these people ever knock?! "Sorry." said before helping me up. 

  "It's OK and yes I did! It was so much!" I said as the events from last night replayed in my head as I was recapping the night to her. "Sounds like you had some well deserved fun! You deserved some happiness after all you been through." she smiled before hugging me. "Hey Lure?" "Yeah?" "I'm really sorry that happened to you." "It's OK. I enjoyed myself while I was at prom. Good thing my hair was bone straight because those curls would've had me looking like a wet poodle." She said as we both burst into laughter. "Some one has a secret admirer huh?" she said pointing to my chain. "Nah. It's just from Roman. I guess he figured that I needed some special for my outfit." "I like it! It's really nice." "Me too. It gives me a sense of protection. Speaking of him. Let me hurry and get to him before he leaves me. He is my ride." I said laughing as she stood up. "I'm really glad you got to experience prom." she said smiling at me.  

 I grabbed my things and headed for the bus stop, well to Roman but y'all get the drift. "You took too long." he said waving his phone before getting in the car. As soon as I closed the door, I pulled my phone out. Had about a good 5 messages from him. The last on being him about to leave me. "You stay trynna abandon the kid." I sighed. "The kid never responds on time." he shrugged as he pulled off. Did he just play me? Wow. "You got the new boy out today I see. Fancy!" I said to him as he laughed. "You know, something light". Laughing, I sent a message to Dion and Malika, letting them know that I wasn't going to school, to my surprise, neither were they. Dion was in Florida, while Malika was in Louisiana. "Ight. That's enough phones for today. Where do you want to eat breakfast?" Roman said handing me his phone. I thought he said- never mind. "Ooooo let's try this place." I said selecting this restaurant name Time. "Heard good things about them, bet." he said as he continued to drive. Now how the hell he knew where this place was is beyond me. "I drive past it on the way to work. That's how I know where it is".

  "OK Professor X. Reading minds and shit." I turned on the radio as we rode. "Damn. I'm boring." he said with a fake gasp. "Ayo. I just turned on the radio so we could have something to listen to besides this noisy ass traffic." "Blah blah blah. We're here anyway." he said as I looked out the window. Sure enough, he was right. We got out as the waiter came and took our orders. "So how was prom?" he said as I was playing with my silverware. "It was so much fun! The food was A1! We dance the night away and took a bunch of pictures as well." he smiled once I finished. "Well, I'm glad you had fun. It was nice of you to get some positivity for once." he said as our food came. We made more small talk as well as some jokes as we ate. "Damn you wasted no time eating all that. It took you like what 4 minutes?" he laughed. "Now gone head and lie. It was 10. Besides, you know damn well they don't feed us this at the slave ship." I shrugged. "My fault, you're right. Well are you finished? We still got things to do." he said as I nodded my head. He pulled out some money to pay for the food as well as leave a nice tip, as we got up to go.

  "Where to next?" I said as I burped. "Yoooooo!" he laughed as he fanned the air. It wasn't THAT bad right. Right? I did a quick breath check just to be sure. "You're good. I just wasn't expecting it, that's all." "You still didn't answer my question. Where to next?" "Don't worry about it. You'll see." was all he said, leaving me to my inner thoughts. Could've at least gave a thug a hint or something, geez. I fiddled around with my phone as the radio played in the background. I forgot to download games on this thing. Matter of fact, I don't even remember how to download apps. "Well we're here." Roman said snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked up to see that we were at a place called Round 1. "You needed a much deserved distraction as well as fun. I hope you like it." he said scratching the back of his neck.  I was over here smiling way too hard like a kid in the candy store to even respond back. "You gonna get out or spend the rest of the day just smiling like that?" he said laughing. I quickly shook my head as I got out of the car. He showed the bouncer his phone, indicating that he has already paid for our tickets before hand.

  "So where to first?" "Street Fighter!" "Street Fighter?" "Yes, Street fighter." I said pointing to the machine. "Don't cry when I whoop your ass." "Yeah yeah, bring it." I said as we walked over to the machine. He chose Ken while I picked Chun li. "Fight!" the machine blared as we started doing our combos. He immediately grabbed me and threw me to the other side. I countered by hitting him with a two piece. "You ain't right." I laughed. We would counter each others moves after that, blocking and jumping around. Occasionally, one of us would land a hit on the other. I got my break when I backed him into a corner. I unleashed multiple combos on that ass. Lemme get up first, cheater." he said as I did just that. As soon as he did, I jumped over him and delivered the finishing blow. "Thank you for playing." I said as I bowed. "Whatever, that was a stroke of luck. I know something you can't beat me in though." he said as he placed his arm on my shoulder. "What would that be?" I said as we continued to walk. "This." he said as he stopped in front of a basketball court. Guys and their balls man. 

  "Try me." I said as he put coins in both machines. Not gonna lie, he was busting my ass in this game. It was already 8- 0 and we just started 25 seconds ago. "That's why you losing. You stay in your head. Let go and relax." he said as made his shot. I took his advice and did just that. I went to throw my first ball. All net. "Chea!" I yelled as he laughed. "Dawg you still losing." I rolled my eyes and continued to throw the rest of the balls. He ended up winning though. "I thought you said I wasn't gonna win. Look at the score." he said as he pointed to the board. 32-15, mind your business. "Whatever. I'll get revenge in skee ball." I flagged him as we walked. "You ready? Go!" he said as we inserted our  tokens as the balls came rolling down. I immediately aimed for the corners and made it twice. "That was luck. Watch this." he said as he tried to repeat what I just did. Straight  missed and got 10 points instead. "Whomp, whomp, whoooommmmppp" I laughed as we kept going. The game was winding down now and we were only left with 1 ball each. We made our roll, I scored 50 point, while he got 100. "Let's see that score though." I said as I pointed to the board. 

  685 - 550. "Whew man you got whooped. That's for being hype at the ball court." I said laughing as we waited for our tickets to finish dispensing. I immediately handed mines to him. "You gonna make me carry all of these though?" he asked as I laughed. "Yup. That's why you got the cup." I smiled. We went and played some jack pot games next. "Ooooh. The fishing one first!" I blurted as we made our way to the machine. He let me do this one solo. I ended up getting the big jackpot  twice, depleting the machine of all the tickets in the process. "Wooooooow! He got all of those tickets!" "I'm playing next!" a few of the kids yelled as they watched.  One of the workers came by to refill the machine as it still wasn't done dispensing them. He gave me the remaining ones that couldn't fit as well. Double plus! "Well damn chump, I need you when I go to the casino." Roman said as I laughed. By now the cup was obviously overflowed, so I got another cup to put the tickets in. He wanted to do this jumping jackpot game after that. When he jumped down, I swore it was like a thunder clap. I almost thought he broke the damn thing. 

  Ole big feet having ass. "I think you broke it." I said pointing to the machine. "Nope. I won." he said as tickets were printing. I looked up to see he actually scored really high. He also broke the damn machine because those tickets were still printing even after  the game was well over. "Hey you guys want some free tickets?" he asked a few kids nearby as they excitedly nodded their head yes. He neatly folded 5 stacks of tickets and put them in my bucket before telling them to have at it. "That was nice of you." "What can I say? I'm a nice person." "A nice but dangerous person." "Bingo." He said as he ruffled my hair. What is he, 5? We played a few more games before heading to the exchange booth. Now everybody knows that this is where you cash tf out on candy. I told the woman to just load it up with all the candy that my tickets could buy but telling her what to skip. "You're not getting anything?" I asked Roman as he looked to be in deep thought. "Hmmmm. Could you get me that?" he said point to this nice sized bear. He handed it to me. "Awwww." she said as I thanked him. "Don't worry about it." he said as he still had his arm over my shoulder. 

  He spent the rest of tickets on candy like me as I waved good bye to the clerk. "Did you have a good time?" he asked as he used his free hand to eat grab a box of nerds from my bag. "You literally have your own bag in you hand." I face palmed. "But, to answer your question, yes I did. Thank you so much." I said as I watched him smile. "You know, that was the first time you genuinely smiled in a long time. Makes me feel accomplished." he said as I admired the bear. Once we got to the car, I put the candy and bear in my book bag. I noticed a duffel bag sitting right beside it. "It's for you, just in case you need it in the future." he said as I turned around. How am I gonna get all of this in that place unnoticed, that's the question. I hope you don't think we're finished. I have one more place I want to take you." he said as I looked at him. It was already 3, so we really didn't have that much time. I didn't question it though, just sat back and enjoyed the music. We pulled up at this crystal healing place. It honestly looked so cool. "Reservation under Pierce" he said to the woman at the desk. As she was guiding us to the room, he explained to me that this is where he would come to relieve stress and realign his chakra. 

  It definitely help him cope with the death of Darren. I wondered if he was alive, would he bring him here. "Hey Roman. You must be Jaylen. We've been expecting you. He talks a lot about you." a woman said coming in to the room. "Oh does he now?" I turned to him as his gaze went to the floor. "I hope it's good things." I turned back to her smiling. "Don't worry. It is. This massage is actually for you." she said as I looked smiled. Won't he do it? "Wait do I need to get undressed or something?" I said as she laughed. "No. You can keep them on. We do either or." she said as I nodded my head and laid down on the table. "Excuse me sir, you can exit." I said noticing that Roman was still in the room. "Woooow. Just kick me out." "Yup. Go meditate." "Dang Cassie, not you too." he said laughing as he got up and left. "Alright since it's your first time here, things might be a little weird for you but just relax. You're in good hands." she said as placed these clear, pink, purple, black and green stones on my head, stomach, and abdominal area. She said as chant as she massaged my arms and legs.            

  This was feeling so good right now, I actually think I heard some of my bones cracking. "You're really tense." she said aloud. If she only knew. Once she was finished, she grabbed this hollow dome and  wooden stick. She explained that it was a singing bowl, made to get me all the way together. I didn't question it, I just let her do her thing. She ran the stick gently around the bowl as it started to "sing" as she hovered it around the stones. I felt an intense vibration around the heart stone. "Good. That means it working." she said as she continued. It felt as if a sense of relief washed over me. She continued to do this as my mind body and spirit was at ease. I didn't even notice that we were finished until Roman came back in the room. "You OK?" he said looking at me concerned. I looked at him confused as I Cassie handed me some tissue. I felt my now wet face, I was crying? "Yeah I'm fine. I actually feel a whole lot better. Wow!" I said wiping my face. "I'm glad to hear that." she smiled at me as I got up from the bed. 

  I managed to get a business card as we said our goodbyes to everyone. "Hey." Roman said stopping me. "You sure you're OK?" "Yes. I guess I really just needed that. That's all." I said smiling. "Thank you." I said as I hugged him. "You're welcome." he said as he lifted me up and carried me to the car. It was now 5 and I was feeling really calm and relaxed. "Lemme get you back before I have to commit murder." he said as he started the car. We talked about my future goals as well graduation, I invited him to come. I mean he was gonna come anyway because...yeah. "Thank you so much for this day. I really needed this." I said as he parked the car. "No problem. I'm really glad you enjoyed yourself. It was nice to see you genuinely smile for once. Did you get the bag?" he asked as I nodded my head. I don't know how I made it fit in there but I did. "Yeah." "I'll be back later with something to eat. You got anything in mind?" "Beef and broccoli. No vegetables except the broccoli." I said as he laughed. "They be trynna cheat you out adding all them damn vegetables." I said shrugging as I got out. 

  Somehow, someway, I managed to make it in unscathed. Mostly because this was a busy night. I mean you could literally hear it. As promised, Roman came back 20 minutes later with my food as well as big container of juice. He said they gave it to him as a complimentary drink. "Did you flirt with somebody to get this?" I raised my eyebrow. "If I did? You jealous?" "Nope." "Better not be." "Boy. Gimme my damn food." I said as he laughed. He pulled out his laptop and put on Hulu. We ate as we watched episodes of family guy before finally falling asleep.

A few weeks later.        

  "Can you believe we graduate in a week?" Dion said as we walked out the building. "I can't wait to get my ass outta here. Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance." Malika said as Iwe laughed. "Now, you're going straight to hell. We've been getting out early for the past two weeks so I've been spending my free time with them. Honestly it was no point of showing up. I guess I might as well tell them now. "Uh guys, could we go to the park?" I asked nervous as hell. They didn't object. The whole ride, I was twiddling with my thumbs as they cracked jokes on each other. "We're here." they sung as we got out. I lead them to this nice grassy area. The weather was beautiful today with a slight breeze blowing. I took a deep breath. "I guess now is a better time to tell you guys everything." I said as the silly/joyful expressions they had on their faces quickly dissipated. "Well for starters, the house you guys drop me off at is not mine. It's just an abandoned home.  The place I'm staying at is actually 2 blocks down." I started. 

  I then went into what happened to me and how I got here. I told them about the house and Darren's death. I didn't dare to look at them as I was talking, I don't think I could take it.  I started shaking when I realize what I was about to say next. "About a month ago, I was almost aped by my kidnapper. That wasn't the first time but it was the first time he actually did it." I said as I could feel their gaze intensify on me, especially Dion. "Oh my God" Malika gasped. "I got saved by Roman the first time. Now when it came to him, I bit down on his shit before it could go further. After that, a whole fight between me him and the guy who killed Darren erupted, leading me to be knocked unconscious before getting thrown into basement." I paused. "I was out for two full days, hence why you haven't heard from me that time. I also learned that they literally kicked me while I was down. Which also explains the extreme pain I was in when you guys saw me that next day.  Had a whole foot print on my rib cage." I laughed nervously but NOTHING was the fuck funny. 

  I continued to tell them about the events that followed after that. Once I finally finished, it was extremely silent. The only sound was coming from the wind and birds in the distance. I looked up to see Malika in full blown tears and Dion visibly fuming. "So your parents don't even know you're alive?" Malika asked finally breaking her silence as I shook my head no. "We should tell them. They need to know." "NO! He will kill them!" I croaked. "He's done that before, multiple times. I'm not putting them in harms way when I'm not even safe myself. Please." I said as tears rolled down my face while she put her phone away. "Now it makes sense, those weird cars that would sometimes drive past were his people weren't they?" Dion asked as I nodded my head. "Here we are all happy to go to college and shit. Meanwhile, you're dealing with this. Why didn't you tell us sooner?!" Dion fumed. "I did- I di-" I said now choking on my words. 

  "You didn't what Jaylen?!" He said walking to a nearby trash can and punching a huge ass dent in it. "You didn't what?!" he repeated. "I DIDN'T WANT HIM TO COME AFTER YOU GUYS. I WAS TRYING TO KEEP YOU SAFE!" I yelled as the tears came streaming down. "At the expense of your life?! You know I wouldn't want nor accepted that!" He yelled as he punched the can again. "I'm sorry." was all I could say. I turned back to a devastated Malika and hugged her. "I'm so sorry." I cried as she did the same. Dion was now having a full on fight with the trash can while cursing  inaudibly. I had to stop him before he seriously breaks something. "Dion stop!" I said as he kept going. "Dion! DION! You're gonna break your hands. Stop!" I said as he continued. Shit. I let Malika go as I ran to him. I grabbed his back. No luck. He swatted me away. I jumped in front of him. His face bright red as tears streamed down. "Move." "No." "Jaylen get the fuck outta my way!" "Or what? You're gonna hit me? Go ahead. Wouldn't be the first time somebody did." He stopped dead in his tracks before looking at me. "All I wanted to do was protect you." he said as he dropped his hands in defeat before walking away.

  I quickly ran after him. "You did. Maybe not there but you still kept me safe Dion." I said reaching for his hand. "That's not good enough." he said as he let go. I decided that it was best as to let him be for the moment. I turned around to see Malika cradled up against a tree with head in her knees. I looked back to see Dion standing there. I reached for Dion's hand again, this time, he firmly grabbed mine back. "I'm still here Dion. By the grace of God himself, I'm still here. He has placed some protectors by my side." I said hugging him. "I know b-" "You don't have to say it. I know. I'm not leaving you without a fight." I said as he hugged me back. "I promise." I said as I kissed his neck. He didn't say anything but pecked me on my forehead. I could still feel his tears. I broke embrace as I walked him back to where Malika was at. I put her head on my lap, playing with her hair as she cried, while laying on him locked in a bear hug.

  Wonderful weather we're having huh?

Whew! A chapter. I'm always rewriting something.

Sorry for the waterworks.

Thoughts?

Roman?

Jaylen?

Malika?

Dion?