Family Reunion

Tre slowly came towards the bed where Rose lay. She pulled the comforters up over her body as she eyed her fiance. "Don't come near me!" she blurted suddenly.

Tre stopped in his tracks and just stared at her. "Rose..." he said.

"Don't Rose me!" she yelled.

"You know, I am upset right now too! And for you to say that I am not is just fucking hurtful! And God...it makes me so mad!" Tre shouted.

"I'm sorry I said that!" Rose shouted as she turned her head to the side hiding her face in her pillow and beginning to sob.

"I know you are! And I'm so fucking sorry I hit you! I just can't believe I would....I have no idea what happened to me. I don't know what is happening to me. I'm not myself anymore," Tre said and he started to cry.

"You are changing! I've fucking noticed as well! You can't make me laugh anymore. You can't even laugh yourself..." Rose said as she brought her face away from the pillow to look at her fiance once again.

"Please let me hug you..." Tre begged.

Rose just sighed, "I don't know..."

"Please..." Tre said and he started to walk towards the bed. He sat down next to her and stared directly into her glistening green eyes.

She looked at him nervously but then lunged towards his body and hugged him. "I am so fucked up..." she admitted to him.

"I am too...I'm a complete fucking wreck," Tre cried and he moved in and hugged her.

"Frank...we need each other," Rose whispered.

"I need you...but everything I keep doing just harms you more and more. I think you could do without me," Tre said sadly.

"I can't leave you...I just can't. Frank...God you're my world," Rose cried.

"I love you Miss Rosie," Tre sighed.

"I love you Mr. Tre Cool," Rose whispered and slightly laughed to relieve stress.

"There you go, my name made you laugh," Tre smiled gently.

"Yeah...and you're smiling," Rose pointed out.

"I think we're both just relieved we still mean so much to each other," Tre said, "after all this."

"You've always meant so much to me Frank. Your life...your drumming, those eyes... I had the Rolling Stone cover poster in my room back east...your eyes always seemed to follow me where ever I went. I always felt like even though my mom was mentally torturing me, you were watching over me," Rose cried.

Tre was a little surprised by what she said, "Well...I'm glad that even though I hadn't met you and didn't know who you were you still had something of me."

"I love you..." Rose whispered.

"I love you too...and Rose, I promise you now...I won't ever hurt you again. You mean way too much to me to be taking risky chances. And plus I can't stand to see you in so much pain," Tre said.

"I believe you..." Rose said and the two went into a passionate kiss.

As their lips parted Tre looked Rose in the eyes once again. He then rubbed his finger gently over her bruise and then looked down shamefully.

* * *

"The ceremony was beautiful Father," Tre said as he shook the hand of the priest.

Rose hadn't really spoken the entire funeral. She was too distraught and couldn't think any words to speak. Her mind only thought of the son she'd never really had a chance to meet.

"Thank you," the priest said in return to Tre.

"Rose sweetie, we have to go to the barriel now," Tre said.

"Okay..." Rose said sounding quite stunned.

"Umm...okay," Tre sighed.

"Hey you guys, how are you holding up?" Billie Joe asked as he came over from where the rest of the family was.

"We're fine..." Rose said.

"Yeah...we could be better. But you know?" Tre said.

"Yeah...I know," Billie Joe said as he wiped a tear from his own face.

Rose had put on heavy makeup to conceal the bruise that adorned her face. But the amount of crying she had done washed most of it away. Billie Joe thought he noticed something but figured it was probably not what he thought it was.

Being a kind cousin to the eighteen year old Rose, Billie lifted his hand to wipe her cheek.

Rose slightly jumped as he pressed his hand on her painful cheekbone. "Ouch!" she shrieked.

"Whoa! What happened?" Billie questioned.

"Nothing," Rose said and she looked at Tre.

Tre returned the look at Rose. "Are you okay sweetie?" Tre asked with concern.

"Yes," she said with a nod of her head.

"You're okay? Your face looks lightly bruised," Billie Joe pointed out.

"No, I'm fine," she said nervously.

"Oh..." he said. "Well, sorry for hurting you," Billie sighed.

"We have to go to the cemetery," Tre reminded them.

"Oh God..." Rose broke into heavy tears again as she thought of placing her little baby six feet below the ground's surface.

"Rose...please stop crying," Tre said.

"I can't Frank...I just can't," she whimpered.

Tre slowly walked her out to his car and helped her into the passenger seat. She was so upset he even had to put her seatbelt on for her.

Before they knew it the whole funeral party of friends and family were gathered at Oakland Cemetery.

The tiny casket was lowered into the ground as Rose closed her eyes tightly and looked away. Dirt was placed atop it and a gravestone was set in place. This stone was not your average stone. It was massive, and most surely noticible. Tre had the money to do it, and Rose and him both agreed something noticible would make their child less easy to forget by the world.

The gravestone read:

Here lies Michael Edwin Wright
Michael joined and parted us so quickly
He is remembered and loved by his Mother, Father
Family and many family friends
Michael now sores amongst the clouds with the angels
In our hearts forever, Michael is an eternal child of hope

February 1, 2006- February 1, 2006

"He's at peace Rose..." Tre said to try and calm her
nerves.

"Yeah...he's at peace..." she repeated