Chapter 6 #2
I never knew it was possible to love someone as much as I loved Symphonee. She might not have been mine biologically, but she was mine in every other way that mattered. The moment I watched her momma push her out, and I cut her umbilical cord, I vowed to be everything she would ever need in life.
“Yeah, okay. I know how you get when it comes to her, so I’m not even gonna bother tryna argue with you. Your daughter has outgrown her clothes, so we need to grab her a few things. Plus, she’s been on a sweet potato kick lately, so I need to get some more for her.”
“Say less. Go put some clothes on so we can head out. I want to take her to get her ears pierced while we’re out.”
“Alright. All I need is twenty minutes because I took my shower this morning. I have her clothes laid out, too.” Lyric reached for Symphonee, but she clung to my shirt tighter.
“Little girl, are you seriously gonna act like this? I gotta get you dressed.” Lyric fussed and made another attempt to grab baby girl. When she started to cry, I had to intervene.
“Why don’t you bring her clothes in here? I can clean her up and get her dressed. Then you’ll have more time to focus on yourself because you know you take forever,” I suggested.
“You and your spoiled princess can go to hell. I’m so tired of her mean butt anyway. I pushed her out, but she acts like she can’t live without you. Yuck.” Lyric rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t hide the smirk on her face.
“She ain’t the only one who can’t live without me. Now, hurry up and get my baby’s shit so we can go.”
“Nigga, please. When I get my own place, you and your child are gonna have a rude awakening.”
“Yeah, you talkin’ real crazy right now.
Get the fuck out of my room before I cuss you out.
” I ignored Lyric as she left and came back with Symphonee’s clothes.
She had been hinting at moving into her own place since she turned eighteen, and it made my chest tight every time she brought it up.
She was in such a hurry to be out on her own, and I couldn’t understand why.
It honestly didn’t matter because she wasn’t taking my little girl anywhere.
She could leave if she wanted to, but Symphonee wasn’t going anywhere.
“Where are we going?”
“Why can’t you ever just sit back and chill? You’re a passenger for a reason.” I tittered while peering over to look at my Lola Bunny.
Lyric used to love the character from Space Jam, and I used to tease her about her obsession.
As we got older, I noticed that she possessed the same feisty personality, deep blue eyes and alluring beauty as her favorite character, so I started calling her Lola Bunny or Lola B for short.
No one else understood where it came from except us, and no one else was allowed to call her by that name.
“You are lucky that you’re driving, otherwise I would be beating you upside the head. I’m tired of you always trying to boss me around. I keep telling you that my daddy is dead. You don’t run me,” Lyric argued.
“It wouldn’t matter if he were alive and well; I would still treat you the same. Now sit your little ass back and enjoy this ride.” I shot back.
Lyric glared at me, but I paid her no mind. We were always butting heads simply because she questioned everything instead of going with the flow. I would never do anything to cause harm to her or my baby girl, so she needed to learn how to relax and live in the moment.
We rode with the music playing and baby girl babbling in the back seat.
I couldn’t wrap my head around her growing up on me.
She was already starting to pull up on things, and it would only be a matter of time before she started walking.
That little girl owned my heart and held it in the palm of her tiny hands, and she didn’t even know it.
My phone buzzed, but I didn’t bother to answer. I thought maybe they would catch the hint, but shortly after the phone stopped ringing, it started back up again. I noticed the shift in Lyric’s demeanor as the phone continued to ring.
“Someone is obviously trying to get in touch with you. You don’t have to ignore them on my account,” Lyric spat.
I chuckled, catching on to the hint of jealousy in her tone. “Don’t flatter yourself, baby mama. I didn’t answer because I’m driving and I don’t feel like talking right now. It has nothing to do with you,” I assured her.
Admittedly, Lyric and I both had feelings for each other, but there was nothing else to it.
As much as I wanted to shoot my shot, I knew I couldn’t.
Not only was she my best friend’s little sister, but she was also my friend.
We were co-parenting a beautiful baby girl, and Lyric was trying to get her life in order.
Besides, she wasn’t ready for a nigga like me, and I had made peace with it a long time ago.
“This is ridiculous.” Lyric huffed as she unclipped my phone from the holder and answered it. I assumed she thought I was going to fight her on it, but I truly didn’t care. There was nothing to hide, and she had access to everything I owned.
“Hello?” I heard Zenia on the other end, but kept my eyes focused on the road.
“You ain’t gon’ say anything?” Lyric questioned as she held the phone up.
“What do you mean? You’re the one who answered the phone. I assumed you had something you wanted to say.” I chuckled.
“Oh, hell no. East, I know damn well you don’t have me on the phone with your baby mama?” Zenia shrieked.
“My bad, little mama. The phone kept going off while I was driving, and she decided to answer. I’m kind of in the middle of something, but I can hit you up when I finish,” I responded.
“Well, I was trying to see what you were doing tonight. Martesha is throwing a pool party this weekend, and everybody is supposed to slide through. I wanted to invite you since I haven’t gotten to spend any real time with you lately,” Zenia complained.
“My fault. My daughter had a cold, and I wasn’t trying to leave her side until she got better,” I explained.
It wasn’t a lie because Symphonee had been irritable and running a fever last week, and it freaked me out.
It turned out that she had a double ear infection, and I refused to leave her side until I knew she was better.
“Are you serious right now?” Lyric sneered.
I took my eyes off the road to look at her, not understanding what her problem was.
“What?”
“What? Nigga, are you really sitting here explaining yourself to a bitch?”
“Aye, Zenia, I’ll hit you back when I’m done taking care of my family.”
Lyric hung up the phone before she could respond, which I found hilarious. She was the one who chose to answer the phone, but she was mad at me.
“What the hell is your problem?” I asked, noticing her turn her body in the passenger seat. Dramatic ass.
“Lyric Chanel. I know you hear me talking to you.” I reached over and shoved her shoulder. She cut her eyes at me, then gave me the middle finger.
“You are ridiculous. How the hell are you mad at me? I didn’t even do anything.”
“You sat on the phone with her, explaining yourself like I wasn’t in the car,” she complained.
“Do you hear yourself right now? None of that would have happened if you hadn’t answered my phone. What the hell was I supposed to do?”
“You should have said, ‘I’m with my family, bitch. Stop blowing up my line.’”
I burst out laughing even though it was obvious she meant every word.
“I did tell her I was with my family. She isn’t my enemy, so I wasn’t gonna cuss her out unnecessarily.” I shrugged, not understanding what the issue was about.
“You know what, you’re absolutely right. I’m trippin’,” Lyric relented. She wasn’t the type to back down from an argument, so I was giving her the side-eye.
Things between us were strictly platonic, but I wouldn’t pretend we hadn’t both gotten comfortable in our family routine.
I woke up to her and my princess every day, so naturally, I felt a strong attachment to both of them.
Lyric was well aware that I was single and dealing with multiple women.
I never flaunted it in her face out of respect, but I didn’t hide it either.
Those girls didn’t know where I lay my head at night, and I never brought them around our daughter.
As far as I was concerned, I was being respectful. Or at least I thought I was.
When we pulled into the dealership, I expected Lyric to be excited, but she barely said two words unless it was toward the salesman who was helping us.
“I really like this one.” Lyric gushed over a black Audi with peanut butter seats. It was a newer model, and the reviews on it were good. She test drove it, and I had to admit, it fit her perfectly. Of course, she looked sexy in anything.
“Would you like to go inside and run some numbers? I’m sure we can get you approved with a reasonable monthly payment,” the salesman offered.
“Naw, we won’t be financing anything. I’ll be paying in cash,” I informed him. His eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning as he stood there with his hands in his pockets.
“Sure thing. Let’s go inside and get the paperwork going, so we can get you out of here with your new ride.”
Lyric followed him inside, while I trailed behind with a sleeping Symphonee in my arms. Once we got everything signed and paid for, we scheduled for the car to be delivered first thing in the morning.
Lyric pouted, but I didn’t give a damn. I knew if I let her ass drive it off the lot, her ass was bound to stay out until the next day.
Mitch, the sales associate, shook our hands and handed Lyric all the paperwork and registration information for her new whip. She thanked him for his help before heading back to my car. Once I got baby girl strapped in, I hopped in my whip and peeled off.
We drove in silence for a while before I finally spoke up.
“Are you happy about your new car?”
She thanked me while we were at the dealership, but I guess I expected her to be more excited.