The Rise Of A Hustler 2

Chapter 1

The first thing Lyric noticed when she woke up was the soreness spreading through her entire body.

Every inch of her felt heavy and bruised, and even breathing hurt.

The steady beeping from the hospital machines slowly pulled her fully awake, but the second reality started returning to her, panic immediately followed behind it.

The memories hit her all at once. She saw the girls surrounding her again, felt the punches landing against her face and stomach, and remembered the rough concrete beneath her body. Then came the blood, and just like that, everything rushed back.

Lyric’s eyes flew open as fear rushed through her chest so fast it made her sick. Instantly, both of her hands moved protectively over her stomach underneath the hospital blanket.

“Baby, don’t move.”

Cady leaned forward quickly from the chair beside the bed and grabbed Lyric’s wrist before she could force herself up.

Lyric ignored the pain shooting through her body while she looked around the room frantically.

Her mother looked exhausted, her eyes swollen and red.

Harmony stood near the corner of the room with her arms folded across her chest, while Vonte leaned against the wall near the door.

Still, Lyric barely focused on any of them because only one thing mattered to her in that moment.

“My babies… Are they okay?” Her voice cracked as tears instantly filled her eyes.

Before anybody in the room could answer her, the hospital door opened, and a doctor walked inside holding a tablet in her hand.

“How are you feeling?”

“Sore. Are my babies okay?”

“You and both twins are going to be okay.” The doctor nodded immediately.

Relief instantly crashed over the entire room. Harmony covered her mouth while letting out a deep breath, and Cady quietly thanked God under her breath while wiping tears from her face. Even Vonte lowered his head for a second as the tension in his shoulders eased slightly.

“Thank you, God,” Lyric whispered.

The fear that had been suffocating her chest since she woke up finally loosened enough for her to breathe normally again. After a few seconds, Lyric looked back toward the doctor.

“Why was I bleeding then?”

“You were bleeding because of the impact to your abdomen. One of the placentas partially pulled away, but not enough to harm the babies, and we stopped the bleeding in time. “He paused before going on.

“The babies both have strong heartbeats right now, and that’s the most important thing.”

Lyric nodded slowly, trying to process everything while the soreness in her body reminded her exactly how violently she had been attacked.

“However, your pregnancy is considered high-risk now because of the trauma your body experienced.”

“What exactly does that mean?” Harmony asked.

“It means Lyric is going to need strict bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy. She cannot put unnecessary stress on her body, and she needs to limit her movement as much as possible. We do not want to risk another placental separation because the outcome could be far more dangerous next time.”

“So, basically, she got to sit her stubborn ass down somewhere and actually listen,” Cady said.

Normally, Lyric would have rolled her eyes or argued back, but she honestly didn’t have the energy. Her emotions already felt too overwhelming.

“How long she gotta stay here?” Vonte finally asked from across the room.

“At least a few days. We want to monitor the babies closely before she goes home.”

He nodded once while the doctor gave the room a final reassuring smile before quietly stepping out into the hallway. The moment the door closed behind him, silence settled over the room again.

Lyric leaned her head back against the pillow carefully while trying to process everything she had just been told. Her body still hurt, but now that the panic over the twins had eased slightly, another thought suddenly hit her.

“Where Mel at?” she looked around the room and asked.

“She ain’t answering her phone,” Harmony replied.

“What her location saying?”

“Her phone powered off.” Cady looked down at her own phone before shaking her head.

“She probably sleep,” Harmony shrugged.

Before anybody else could respond, a knock suddenly sounded at the hospital door. Everybody looked up at once, when a second later, the door pushed open.

“Daddy?”

Lyric hadn’t seen or spoken to Jasper since the fight on the Fourth of July, and honestly, he was the last person she expected to walk through the door. But the second his eyes landed on the hospital bed, he rushed toward her side immediately.

“You okay?” he panicked.

“I’m okay.” Lyric nodded.

Before anything else could be said, Cady folded her arms tightly across her chest and smacked her lips.

“What the fuck you doing here?”

“I am her father as well as her emergency contact.” He paused before going on.

“So, when was y’all gon’ tell me she pregnant?”

“Well, it ain’t like you was talking to us,” Harmony added from her spot near the window.

“I never stopped talking to y’all, and you know that.”

“My bad. I meant when you chose the family you built over the family you created.”

Lyric closed her eyes briefly because the last thing she wanted right then was another fight breaking out. And thankfully, Jasper ignored Harmony’s comment before turning his attention back toward her.

“What happened?” he asked quietly.

“I got jumped.”

“Where?!”

“Outside our building.”

“How the fuck she get jumped while pregnant? Where was y’all at?” he looked amongst everybody in the room.

“Excuse me nigga?” Cady snapped.

“All the bullshit going on, and nobody thought maybe she shouldn’t be walking around by herself right now?”

“You got yo nerve. Nigga you ain’t seen my girls in damn near five months. Don’t come in this motherfucker trying to point fingers. Because if that’s the case, then where the fuck were you? You the daddy, right? Their protector, right?”

“They shut me out!” Jasper barked.

“Nigga, they literally moved out on me, but you think that stopped me from being there?”

“That don’t change the fact that somebody failed her.”

“No, what failed her was them weird ass hoes jumping her, so direct that energy where it belongs,” Cady yelled.

The arguing kept going, but Lyric barely paid it any mind. She stared down at her stomach while rubbing her hand across it. Her body hurt, but all she could think about was the girls who jumped her and the revenge she was about to get.