Chapter 10 #2
Lethal was supposed to be getting her an apartment, but they hadn’t had time to get it done before she went into labor.
Their daughter had a room at her father’s house, but Khrome didn’t have a home for her to leave the hospital and go to had she been born full-term.
Lethal was the better fit as a parent, for sure.
Khrome tried to make herself feel better by appreciating the fact that she had time to get her life together before Lyric came home.
The doctor had explained more than once that Lyric had a long road ahead and that she would be in the hospital for no less than two months, and that was pushing it.
Two months or more at home without her baby made Khrome feel physically ill.
Since Lyric was so fragile and her immune system was barely existent, the doctors didn’t even recommend skin-to-skin at the moment.
It would be weeks before she could even hold her baby, and that was depressing.
Cam causing her to go into labor so early had damn near killed her child.
Lyric wasn’t quite ready to survive outside of the womb, and he’d forced her into the world.
Khrome hated him more than she’d ever hated anybody in her life.
Tired of crying, Khrome wiped her face and gathered herself.
Fear played a huge part in her breakdowns, but hormones played a part as well.
Ever since she gave birth, Khrome had been praying to God that postpartum depression wouldn’t hit her.
That was the last thing she needed. Feeling a presence behind her, Khrome looked over her shoulder and saw Lethal standing there.
He looked tired, but he was still fine as hell. So fine that her belly quaked.
She stood and smiled at him. “I’ve been down here for about five hours. I’ll let you have some time. I’m going to go to the room and see if I have any success with pumping.”
“You sure? I’m not trying to run you off. There’s enough room down here for us both.”
“I’m sure.”
Khrome had refused a wheelchair down to the NICU, so she walked to the elevator to go back up to labor and delivery.
Guilt was one of the main reasons that she didn’t want to be around Lethal.
Not once had he acted like he blamed her for going into labor early, but she felt it was her fault even if he didn’t.
Khrome would forever beat herself up for playing with fire and continuing to work after Cam found out where she was.
It was one of the dumbest things she’d ever done, and she had done some dumb shit in her life.
Back in her room, Khrome took a shower, drank a bottle of water, ate some apple slices, and attempted to pump more milk.
That time, she got a full ounce, but she was still disappointed.
If she wasn’t hell bent on nursing her child, the moment she was released from the hospital, she’d go somewhere and drink her sorrows away because Lord knows she was going through it.
The NICU was the best place for Lyric to be, but that didn’t mean Khrome was happy about having to leave her there.
Other people would be caring for her child.
Even if she spent twenty hours a day at the hospital, there would be times that she had to leave.
Pumping was making her stomach cramp, so Khrome gave up on trying to produce more milk.
Something was better than nothing, and she could always try again later.
Grabbing the remote, she was going to watch something on television until she dozed off.
The nurses kept trying to make her feel better by telling her she better get all the rest she could and use this time to prepare for Lyric to come home.
Technically, she was still supposed to be in the womb anyway.
Khrome already knew what channel she wanted the television on, so she was scrolling fast, but something on the news caught her eye and made her go back.
The caption read: Woman’s body found alongside the road by an early morning jogger.
There was a news crew at the location of the crime scene.
Khrome increased the volume on the television and learned that the body had been discovered more than twelve hours ago.
When a picture of Keyonna appeared on the screen, Khrome’s gut churned.
Everything she had forced herself to eat was threatening to come back up.
No details were given on Keyonna’s cause of death, but Khrome didn’t have to hear anyone tell her what she already knew.
Nothing had been able to convince Khrome that Cam was going to let the money that Keyonna stole from him go.
It could have been her. It was going to be her, if Cam ran into her again.
The fact that she and Keyonna had spent so long hating each other, only for her to turn around and help Khrome, made her chest tighten.
Keyonna was the reason she’d gotten away.
She helped Khrome and ended up dead. The news had switched to the next news story, and Khrome was still staring at the screen stuck on stupid.
She could work for Lethal from her hotel room.
If she needed anything she could have it delivered or ask Lethal to bring it to her.
Until something was done about Cam, she didn’t have any plans to leave the hotel like that unless she was coming to visit Lyric.
Placing her head on the pillow, Khrome stared up at the ceiling.
Lethal entered the room, and she contemplated telling him what she’d just discovered.
He walked over to the couch by the window and sat down.
“I need some information from you, and I hope you cooperate because I’m going to get the info one way or another. It’ll just be easier if I can get it from you.”
Khrome could tell that Lethal was serious as a heart attack. She wasn’t sure what he wanted, but he looked determined to get it. “What is it?” she nervously asked before swiping her tongue over her dry bottom lip.
“I need every single thing you know about Cam, including his address. If you know that nigga’s blood type, I want that, too.”
Khrome damn near breathed a sigh of relief.
She wasn’t sure why Lethal thought she wouldn’t help him, but she was ecstatic to give up Cam’s info.
He should have never come for her child.
Under any other circumstances, Khrome wouldn’t want blood on her hands for any reason.
This was different, however. Cam was going to continue to violate her each and every time she saw him.
Khrome could either let Lethal handle it and get some peace of mind, or she could have looked over her shoulders for the rest of her life.
The latter wasn’t an option. Khrome told Lethal every single fact she knew about Cam down to the fact that he was allergic to walnuts. That fuck nigga had to go.