Chapter 3
Lyrix
It was well into the afternoon when I finally emerged from a deep slumber. After the night I had, I was completely depleted of all my energy. Now that I was awake, Grai was the first thing on my mind. I reached for my phone on the nightstand to call her, but it went straight to voicemail.
Taking the phone from my ear, I quickly went through my notifications.
As expected, Karma had texted to let me know she had taken Lissa to the hospital.
I didn’t even respond, because I was too focused on Grai.
She had to be in a bad mental space. The powered-off phone was proof, but she knew that wasn’t enough to keep me away. Nothing could keep me away from her.
Things had been that way since we became friends in the second grade.
I was a shy and quiet kid. For some reason, Grai took a liking to me.
What started out as her noticing I was smart turned into me helping her with her homework and, eventually, twenty years of friendship.
We’d seen each other through every milestone in our lives, and what she was going through now would be no different.
After handling my hygiene, I headed downstairs.
I went into the fridge for a bottle of water, then shuffled to the open front door.
My mother sat on the porch in her rocking chair.
She hummed softly while crocheting some new project.
I pushed the screen door open and stepped outside.
That first inhale of fresh air rejuvenated me.
It was a beautiful and sunny winter day.
I could see why my mama was sitting out there.
“Hey, baby.” She greeted me with a soft smile. I bent down to place a kiss on her cheek. For the majority of my life, it was only me, this lady, my grandfather Harold, and Grai.
“Wassup, Ma? You heard from Bubbles?”
She shook her head and placed her project in her lap. “No, I tried to call her. What’s going on? I knew something wasn’t right when she came in and asked me to get the boys to school earlier.”
I ran a hand down my face before joining her in one of the other rocking chairs.
“She caught Drey cheating last night.” My mama gasped in shock.
I shook my head. “That ain’t even the worst part, Ma.
” I gave her a quick rundown of the story.
When she started smiling, I cocked my head to the side. “What?”
“I’m proud of you for not putting your hands on him. We know you will act a damn donkey behind Grai, and don’t let there be tears involved.”
I chuckled because it was true. I’d been in many altercations, protecting my girl. Drey was not excluded either. He knew better than to play with me after I’d knocked his screws back into place a time or two. His front teeth were still crooked from one of our altercations.
I sighed. “I don’t know if she’s going to get through this, Ma. She looked so devastated.”
She placed a hand on top of mine, gaining my attention. “It will take time, but she will be okay.”
“How do you know?” She sounded so confident, and I had to know why.
“Because she has you.” She palmed my cheek and lovingly stroked it with her thumb.
I shook off her hand with a grin. If there was one thing Deandra was going to do, it was show affection.
I didn’t hate it, but sometimes, it could be overwhelming.
Watching Grai with Solace helped me see things from a different perspective and gave me a new appreciation for my mother, but there were still limits to the coddling I allowed.
I was a grown ass man and constantly had to remind her of that.
She couldn’t care less what I thought, because she still did what she wanted to.
I began rocking the chair, allowing my eyes to study the sky. My mother was right that it would take time for Grai to heal, but my fear was that she still wouldn’t leave the nigga. Drey had done his fair share of fucked-up shit to Grai over the years.
I used to crash out until I realized that she always went back.
It was frustrating as hell, but I couldn’t force someone to want more—to want someone who truly cherished and valued them.
I started to keep silent during their disputes unless Grai directly involved me, but even she started to limit what she shared with me.
I could be triggered by the smallest thing when she was involved.
“What’s on your mind?”
I shook my head and ran a hand down my face. “Just wondering if she’s really done with that nigga. Grai deserves the fucking world. I don’t know how she doesn’t know that by now.”
My mama sighed heavily. When I glanced over at her, I saw sadness in her eyes.
We’d recently buried my grandfather, and my mother was his caretaker.
Basically, all the extra love and attention she wanted to pour into me went into caring for her father.
Now that he was gone, a piece of her was missing.
I missed him too, but I knew my mother was truly lost without him.
All she knew how to do was take care of people, and now there was no one for her to pour into.
“Because it’s easier for us to hear we deserve more than to actually believe it when things make us feel otherwise.
Grai isn’t the average woman. She became a teenage mother, dropped out of school, and has since then dedicated her life to her sons and a man who continues to give her crumbs.
She thinks that’s what she deserves because, in this world, we’re taught you’re deserving if you’re smart, or pretty, or what the fuck ever else.
She won’t know until the things she experiences change her perspective. ”
I always listened to my mother’s wisdom.
She was brutally honest and would let you have the truth, whether you wanted it or not.
It was a trait I valued from her. Deandra believed in staying in a child’s place, but she was an open book about most things, like how my father was murdered by his side chick.
Apparently, he was breaking up with her because he wanted to make things right with my mother so we could be a family.
The bitch offed him before he got the opportunity to walk away.
My mother was devastated, but at the same time, she knew my father had brought that on himself.
She understood he made a mistake and wanted to rectify it, but life didn’t always work out the way we wanted.
She kept it a buck with me, even while her heart was breaking.
She never dated again, instead choosing to pour her love into me and her father.
“Maybe her and the boys should stay over for a while so she can figure out what’s next for them,” my mama suggested, breaking me away from my thoughts.
I nodded. “It would give you something to do,” I teased.
She swatted at me with her ball of yarn. “Oh, whatever. At least my LoLo and Ace aren’t too big for hugs and kisses.”
I chuckled. “Ace only lets you do that. He won’t even let his mama baby him.”
“Reminds me of someone else I know.”
Standing up, I stretched my arms over my head. “I’m about to head over there to check on her.”
My mama nodded. “I think you should. I’m going to pick the boys up from school, then bring them back here to give her some time to herself.”
Leaning down, I placed a kiss on her cheek. “Thank you, Ma.”
I left her on the porch with her arts and crafts while I went upstairs to shower and get dressed.
When I saw that my laundry basket was empty, I knew my mother had her ass up in here again.
No matter how many times I told that lady I didn’t need her to wash my dirty drawers, she wouldn’t quit doing it.
Since I didn’t have any plans, other than checking on my girl, I kept it simple by wearing sweatpants, a white t-shirt, socks, and slides.
My mother was still on the porch as I headed to my black and lifted Ford F-150 Raptor.
I knew she’d be planted right there until it was time to go pick up the boys from school.
The drive to the home Grai shared with Drey only took me twenty minutes.
By the time I pulled up out front and parked, my heart was racing.
I didn’t know what to expect once I walked in there.
Anytime Grai was hurting, so was I. Today would be no different, even though I knew that nigga didn’t deserve any more of her tears.
I eased into the driveway and hopped out. With quick strides, I made it to the front door and used my key to let myself in. It was for emergencies, and as far as I was concerned, this counted as one. The house was eerily silent when I walked inside, making me pause.
After a few seconds, I locked the door and walked deeper into the living room.
It was clean and tidy, as I’d always known Grai’s crib to be.
The house wasn’t big, so the kitchen was off to the right, then there was a hallway that led to the three bedrooms. I followed it, passing by Shiloh’s and Solace’s rooms, where I saw the light on in the bathroom.
The smell of ammonia also got stronger the closer I got to the door.
When I peered inside, I found Grai on her knees, scrubbing a spotless bathtub. There wasn’t even a drop of dirt in sight, yet there she was, aggressively swiping the scrub pad back and forth, cleaning imaginary dirt.
“Bubbles,” I called out to her. She didn’t react to my voice at all. It was almost as if she didn’t hear me. Walking closer, I placed a hand on her shoulder.
Grai gasped, turning to look at me. The second her eyes landed on mine, she burst into a sob. “He’s kicking us out of the house!” she hollered with a voice full of heartbreak.
My fists pumped as I tried to calm the anger rushing through my veins.
I didn’t know why I expected anything less from that bitch ass nigga.
He was broke as fuck, so he was probably planning to move his new bitch in while his family was left to figure it out.
I could never respect a man who didn’t take care of his family.
He chose to bring those beautiful boys into the world, and now it was fuck them?
I was going to break his neck the next time I saw him.
“What am I going to do, Poppa?” She cried, snatching me back into the moment.
I pulled her into my arms. Without thinking, I began to place soft kisses on her forehead.
I hated to see Grai cry. She was always so jubilant and had the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen.
Her relationship with Drey had hardened her to the point that I rarely saw that smile anymore.
I mean, she smiled, but I meant the one that would reach her eyes and light up an entire room, putting the sun to shame.
Placing a hand under her chin, I lifted her eyes to mine.
They were so swollen and red. I was surprised that her body was able to produce more tears.
But I guessed that was the depth of her pain.
This wasn’t just about her. She had two sons to worry about too.
That was why what Drey was doing was so fucked up.
There was no way I was letting her go through this alone.
“Pack you and the boys up, and come stay with me.”