Chapter 23 #3
“Aye, y’all must have me confused with someone else. This is my only child, and calling the mother of my child a bird when your baby daddy is going around telling people you poked holes in the condom is crazy.
“My baby mama doesn’t want for a thing. Not only because her baby daddy is paid, but because she’s a hustla in her own right and has multiple streams of income.
Don’t ever get it confused. Even though she lets y’all into her world, you still can’t sit with her.
Now, I’ma head out because I don’t even talk this much unless there’s money involved.
Just make sure you keep that shit cool when you speak on my family. ”
I kissed my daughter on the cheek, grabbed a handful of grapes, and walked off.
“My bad, y’all. Naw, we aren’t together, but we’re good friends. Yeah, he doesn’t play about either of us. I can’t relate to all that baby mama/baby daddy drama because my daughter and I are put up and out of the way.”
I heard Lyric responding to comments, but it sounded like they had gotten their lives together.
Lyric’s popularity had grown even more since she was connected to people like Keyz and Mendeecees lame ass.
Everybody wanted to know about her and her life.
I encouraged her to create more content, but within certain parameters.
She knew not to post her location until she had already left the spot and to never say too much about her personal life. I wanted her to be successful, but my first and most important job was to protect my family.
I responded to a few messages from this chick I was dealing with.
I wouldn’t say we were dating, but we were getting to know each other.
We met at a local lounge where Keyz was performing, and she seemed like a cool girl.
She pulled up on me at the strip club a while back, and things had gotten pretty cool between us.
I wasn’t the type to lead anyone on, so I let her know what it was where it concerned my baby mama and my relationship status.
She told me she wasn’t looking for anything serious either. We’d been kicking it pretty tough, and the pussy was good, so I wasn’t complaining. I hadn’t mentioned her to Lyric, but that was only because I had no intention of taking it any further with her.
After dinner was finished, Lyric and baby girl decided to make brownies.
We all ate together, and afterward, Lyric gave her a bath, and I got her dressed while Lyric took her own shower.
Once they were both clean and settled, I decided to take a shower too.
Most of my clothes were still there because I had no intention of fully moving out.
“Damn, my baby was tired as hell.” I leaned down to kiss my princess on her head as she lay on her momma’s chest. Symphonee had recently gotten an upgrade to her bedroom, so I grabbed her limp little body and took her to her new palace as she liked to call it.
I wasn’t sure if God even gave a fuck about my prayers, but I still made sure to say a prayer over my baby.
I prayed that she always felt safe, and I’d be the best parent I could be to her so she would never grow up with the kind of scars her momma and I carried.
“Daddy loves you more than anything in this world, Symphonee.” I brushed her hair out of her face and kissed her cheek before heading out of her room. She wasn’t a fan of the dark, so I made sure her night light was on, then left her room door lightly cracked.
I turned all the lights off in the house as I walked around. Lyric’s ass didn’t pay the bills, and it showed because she had damn near every light on in the house without a care in the world.
I checked the cameras to make sure everything was all clear, then headed back to my old room.
Lyric hurriedly placed her phone down on her chest, and I chuckled. I called her sneaky for a reason, and she lived up to her name.
“You ain’t gotta hide your shit from me. I know all about that lame-ass nigga you call yourself fuckin’ with. You don’t have to put him on DND for me,” I teased her.
“Boy, bye. It is not that deep.” She scoffed, lying through her teeth. She had grown in a lot of ways, but there were still some things she needed to work on.
“You ain’t gotta lie, Craig. You ain’t gotta lie. I’m not trippin’ about you dating. It’s what you’re supposed to do.”
“You’re not trippin’ because you don’t care,” she murmured.
“You and I both know that’s a lie. I care too much, and that was always our problem.”
“What do you mean?” Lyric asked, sitting up against the bed.
“From the very beginning, I fought for you. I came in your auntie’s house and snatched your ass out of there, and I’ve been ten toes down ever since.
When we first decided to be together, I hesitated because I wasn’t sure if we would be a good fit.
We might only be a few years apart, but when it comes to life experiences, we’re worlds apart.
“I’ve been hustlin’ and taking care of a household since I was in middle school. Ya momma wasn’t shit, but Keynauri made sure you never went without anything. I didn’t have that. I know what it’s like to go hungry or have to wear the same clothes over and over again.
“When we got together, I was so focused on trying to make sure you and Noodle never lacked anything, but I failed to realize relationships are supposed to go both ways. You’re young, and you wanted to go out with your friends and be on the scene, and I’ll admit I didn’t compromise as much as I should’ve, but you also didn’t compromise either.
If you wanted to do something, you did it, regardless of how it made me feel.
“Even with that pool party situation. That girl would have never gotten the advantage over us if you had been a woman about your shit. Hell, if you had stayed home, out of respect for me and our relationship, none of that shit would have happened. It’s always been Lyric’s world, but you don’t return the energy you get. ”
“Are you saying I’m selfish?” Her tone let me know her feelings were hurt, but it was honestly time to rip the Band-Aid off. Lyric thought the world revolved around her, and she needed to hear the truth.
“You can be. You’re not a bad person, and you’re a great mother, but you can be inconsiderate and immature at times.
Whenever you think I’m gonna say no or disagree with something, you sneak off and do it anyway instead of sitting down and talking to me about it.
You might love the people in your life, but you’re so used to being taken care of that you don’t think to consider other people. ”
Lyric stayed silent for a while, but I could tell by her face that she wasn’t upset. If anything, she hadn’t expected me to call her out on her shit.
“Wow. I guess I’ve never thought about it like that. You and Keynauri have been taking care of me for so long it never dawned on me that I was taking advantage of y’all. I guess I need to start taking care of myself.” She pouted.
“Naw, you’re not understanding what I’m saying.
It’s not about taking advantage of us. We love you, so of course we’re gonna do whatever we can to make sure you and baby girl are straight.
The issue is the energy isn’t reciprocal.
For instance, you’ve been having this one-sided beef with Naiari since she came back into the picture.
Now, you’ve put your brother in an uncomfortable position.
He loves you, but he doesn’t want to do anything that interferes with his relationship with his kids.
“Yeah, your feelings may be valid, but why sit in it? Regardless of what happened, you can’t go back and change the past. Instead of being a woman and putting on your big girl panties, you choose to have division, which doesn’t affect only you.”
I held my hand up before she could even dispute me because I wasn’t finished.
“When it comes to me, I don’t ask for anything, but ask yourself what you’ve done for me since we’ve been together.
Do you think you poured into me as much as I poured into you?
Hell, what was the last gift or date you planned for me?
” I questioned. “Hell, I gave you an endless supply of money, and you’ve never once used it to do anything thoughtful for me.
I don’t need anything, but I was your man. ”
I wasn’t a tit for tat type of person, but I wanted her to understand how her actions affected others. Lyric had gone through hell but so had the rest of us. It wasn’t an excuse for her to disregard everyone else’s feelings.
“I guess I never thought about it like that. You’re right, though. I have been so focused on myself and what I wanted that I never considered anyone else. I’m sorry,” Lyric admitted.
My phone vibrated in my basketball shorts, so I retrieved my phone to see who it was.
I smirked when I saw it was Montoya. She sent me a picture of the dinner she cooked and told me I was missing out.
Lil’ mama could cook, and she had blessed me with a few plates.
I let her know I wasn’t eating anybody’s spaghetti, but she knew what to do in the kitchen.
“Is that the girl you were hugged up with at the club?” Lyric’s voice interrupted our convo. I sent a message to let her know her food was good, but it didn’t have shit on the dinner I ate.
“Yeah, it is,” I replied. Lyric already knew I didn’t believe in that lying shit. If she wanted to know something, all she had to do was ask.
“Damn. You didn’t even try to hide it.”
“Why would I? You and I are family, whether we’re together or not. If there’s something you want to know, I’ma tell you.”
“Okay. What did you do with Valor after I left?”
“I lit her ass up like a Christmas tree and dumped her ass in the river.” I shrugged, replying to another message from Montoya.
“Do you regret being with me?”