Chapter 28 #2
“How many times were the lights cut off? Or what about when the fridge was empty because you were too busy feeding the less fortunate so you could look good in the eyes of those spiritual scammers you called church leaders? You might have provided me with a place to live, but I haven’t forgotten how I had to get out in the streets and hustle to make sure there was food in the house and the bills were paid.
I guess that must be where she got it from, huh?
Everyone has an issue when it’s time for me to speak my mind, but no one has a problem spending my money. ”
Granny slapped my face, but I wasn’t even tripping.
I was telling the truth, and I was tired of holding my tongue.
My relationship with my granny changed as I got older, but I would never forget anything.
I had taken care of myself my whole life, and everyone wanted me to forgive and forget when neither of them wanted to take accountability.
On the outside, it looked like I had it all together, but a nigga was fucked up.
If it hadn’t been for Lyric and Noodle coming into my life, who knows where I would have been.
I more than likely would have been dead or in jail because I didn’t view life as valuable, not mine or anyone else’s.
They were the reasons I changed the way I carried myself in the streets.
I went from robbing and running in niggas’ traps to playing it smart.
They motivated me to strive for something bigger.
“I’m gonna head out.” I got ready to walk out of the kitchen, but Granny grabbed my arm.
“Essex, I-I’m sorry. I should have never put my hands on you. You know that isn’t how I get down, but I got so upset. Please, let’s sit down and talk,” she pleaded.
“I’m cool on talking right now. You take care of yourself,” I told her.
I wasn’t the type of person who would talk things out when I was upset. The best thing to do was to give me some space to cool off and then try to have a conversation. With the way I was feeling, I would have probably cut her off right along with her daughter.
Enoka continued to yell behind me, but I had already given her more attention than she deserved. As soon as I got in my car, I peeled off without looking back. My emotions were all over the place, and I was trying to get myself back in order.
A picture of Lyric and my baby girl popped up on my screen, instantly putting a smile on my face.
My attitude was fucked up, so I didn’t want to answer, because they didn’t deserve to get the remnants of anger from some bullshit they had nothing to do with.
I never ignored Lyric’s calls, but I wasn’t ready to talk to anyone.
I let the phone ring until my voicemail picked up. I thought she would send a message or something, but she called me right back. I didn’t want her to see my face, so I declined the video call, but I called her back the regular way because I thought there might have been an emergency or something.
“What’s going on, baby?”
“Why didn’t you answer my call?” she asked.
“I’m sorry. I just left my granny’s house, and I was going to call you back once I got settled.”
“I called you on FaceTime, but you called me back regular. You got a bitch in the car with you? You don’t want me to see your secret family riding with you or something?” Lyric fired off random-ass accusations.
“Man, gone on somewhere. You know damn well I don’t have any bitches, and I definitely don’t have a secret family. Hell, when I’m not working, I’m under your ass. When would I have time to spend with my other family?” Leave it to her to make me laugh with her foolishness.
“You would be surprised how creative niggas can be. That bitch is probably cackling under her breath while y’all ugly, cross-eyed kids are in the back seat licking ketchup off the windows.
She’s probably over there telling them you can’t be around all of the time because you’re in the army or an undercover spy, and the whole time, you missed little Timmy’s soccer game because you’re too busy sucking farts out of my ass.
She’s a better one than me.” Lyric sassed.
I laughed so hard, I almost needed to pull over. My girl was a fool, and people didn’t even understand how funny and crazy she truly was.
“Lola B, get the fuck off my phone with this bullshit. You done created a whole scenario in your head and ran with it.” I shook my head while chuckling.
“How do I know it’s not true? I can’t prove anything because you decided to ignore my FaceTime call. How do I know a crackhead with no teeth isn’t sucking you off right now? Hell, it might be one of your granny’s friends. Clara is always giving you that look like she wants a piece.”
“Clara has glaucoma. She barely knows what she’s looking at, silly woman.”
I disconnected and hit the FaceTime icon. Lyric’s gorgeous face appeared with my mini-me sitting next to her on the couch, headphones on.
“See? Ain’t nobody in my car. No crackheads, no secret family, and no old ladies.” I lifted the phone from the holder to show her.
“Pan it on your lap. It could be a little person in there. Those hoes are small and flexible.”
“I’m about to hang up on your ignorant ass.” Doing what she asked, I panned the camera over my lap, then placed it back on the holder.
“I guess I’m satisfied. If your daughter wasn’t sitting here, I would ask you to pull it out and let me see something.” Lyric winked.
“With the way you’re over there acting, I might need to stop giving it to you. You’re sounding a little crazy.”
“I’ve been crazy since I popped out of Jazzie’s overused coochie, but that dick has turned me into a straight maniac. I’m telling you now, you better be careful with my heart. We’re two kids in, and I wouldn’t mind being featured on an episode of Snapped if you play with my heart.”
“You ain’t gotta warn me about a damn thing. I don’t cheat.”
Lyric’s face twisted up as if she didn’t believe me.
“I’m serious. It’s the reason I never got into a real relationship until we got together.
I don’t believe in cheating. If I wanted to fuck a bunch of women, I could stay single.
When it comes to matters of the heart, I take them seriously because I know how crazy I can get when my feelings are involved. ”
“So you would never cheat on me?”
I shook my head in disbelief that she was even asking me such a crazy question.
“Hell no. Your love is too invaluable to risk losing. Plus, if I were to ever do some dumb shit like that, I would probably get rid of shorty and hide her body somewhere she’ll never be found.
I damn sure wouldn’t be able to stand around and watch you be loved by someone else.
The only reason I even allowed the shit with that rapping nigga is because I knew it wasn’t gonna last, and we both needed space to get our shit together.
“I can’t lose you, and I mean that with my whole heart.
I’ll kill anyone who even tries to get in the way of the life we’ve built and the family we’ve created.
Hell, I’m lowkey on some Romeo and Juliet type shit.
Ain’t no life without you in it, and I’m willing to die ’bout this love we have,” I declared.
My love for Lyric was so deep it scared me at times.
She had no idea how much power she truly possessed over me.
I would move Heaven and Earth to protect her, but I would also kill everything moving to keep her with me.
She was my lifeline, and I didn’t care what we faced in life; we were gonna do it together.
“I feel the same. Keynauri and I had a long talk, and it felt good to finally get everything off my chest. You really are my protector, and I thank God every day for you. You’ve seen me at my lowest, and instead of judging me, you picked me up and showed me love in action.
And that’s why I’ll beat a bitch out of her clothes and wig if she ever tries to take what’s mine. ”
I chuckled in response to her declaration. “People think I’m the crazy one, but it’s really you. You started off saying some real poetic shit, and then the hood baby came out of you.”
“I’m still a work in progress. Now tell me what happened at Granny’s house. I called you because my spirit felt off, and I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
I gulped, trying my best to mask my feelings. “It was straight.”
“You’re lying. When did we start doing that?” she probed.
I sighed, not wanting to repeat what happened. One, because it was frustrating, and two, because Lyric was pregnant, and I didn’t want her to get worked up. She refused to let it go, so I reluctantly told her about my run-in with Enoka and the argument with Granny.
The look on her face told me I should have kept it to myself. I was still driving, so I was juggling between looking at her and watching the road. I was on the highway, headed to pick up a package from Gunna.
“Baby, what are you doing!” I asked when I noticed Lyric moving around the room.
“Lyric! I know you hear me.”
She was ignoring me as she pulled a black hoodie over her head, then tied her hair in a bun. “I’ma call you back, baby.”
“Lyric, if you hang up this phone without telling me what you’re about to do, we’re gonna have a problem,” I fussed.
“All I can tell you is that I’m not gonna do anything to put our unborn in danger. I love you, baby. Hurry up and get back to us.” Lyric disconnected the call.
I immediately called Keynauri and told him what happened, and he said he would handle it.
If the shit with Gunna wasn’t so important, I would have turned back around and headed home.
The good thing was that I had her location, so she couldn’t get too far without me knowing where she was.
I just prayed she didn’t do anything that would put her and my child in jeopardy.
“Where are we going? You’ve been secretive since we got up this morning and I don’t know if I should trust you, Ms. Firestarter.”