Chapter 10
Lyric lay across her bed crying so hard her stomach started cramping. Tears soaked into her pillow while painful sobs kept forcing their way out. Jumping up quickly, she yanked the bedroom door open and hurried toward the bathroom just in time to throw up.
The sound echoed throughout the quiet apartment while she gripped the toilet, shaking. By the time she finished, Lyric felt drained.
She flushed the toilet, rinsed her mouth out, and stood at the sink brushing her teeth slowly while staring at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were swollen and bloodshot red from days of crying, and the exhaustion on her face made her barely recognize herself anymore.
It had been four days since the baby shower. Four days since finding out Vonte skipped her shower to attend Domo’s instead. And honestly, Lyric had never felt so low in her life.
The betrayal hurt in a way she couldn’t even explain. No matter how much she replayed everything in her head, she still couldn’t understand how he could humiliate her like that, knowing everything she had already been through carrying his kids.
Ever since the incident outside Domo’s house, Lyric had been lying low. Of course, everybody blew her phone up afterward, threatening her, cursing her out, and demanding money for the damages, but she truly didn’t care. They all could go to hell.
Lyric finished brushing her teeth before splashing cold water on her face. Just as she grabbed the towel hanging beside the sink, a knock suddenly sounded at the bathroom door.
“Hurry up. It’s time to leave.” Harmony called from the other side.
“Aight,” Lyric yelled back.
It was Thanksgiving, and despite everything going on emotionally, she was still expected at their mother’s house for dinner. Truthfully, Lyric didn’t feel like being around anybody, but Cady had already made it clear that missing Thanksgiving was not an option.
Leaving the bathroom, Lyric threw on her shades to hide her swollen eyes before slipping into her Uggs. By the time she grabbed her purse and waddled out of the apartment behind Harmony and Melody, she already felt exhausted.
Sitting in the backseat of Melody’s car, Lyric mostly stared out the window while rubbing her stomach. The twins were moving around more, and everything was uncomfortable.
A little while later, they pulled into Holy City Projects and found a parking spot near the building. The second Lyric climbed out of the car, looked toward the apartment entrance, and sighed dramatically.
“I swear to God, if the elevator broke, I’m going back home. I cannot do them stairs.”
“We all going back home if that motherfucker broke,” Melody added.
Luckily, when they stepped inside the building, it wasn’t out of order.
“Thank you, Jesus,” Lyric muttered while pressing the button.
A few seconds later, the sisters headed up to the fifth floor. The second the elevator doors opened, the smell of soul food hit them.
“Oh my God! I know Ma threw down.” Harmony knocked.
Seconds later, the door swung open, and Aaron stood there. All three sisters smacked their lips in unison before brushing past him without speaking.
“There go my girls!” Cady squealed from the kitchen.
The sisters walked down the hallway toward her while Cady dried her hands on a dish towel. Harmony hugged her first, followed by Melody, and finally Lyric.
“And how my grandbabies doing?” she asked while rubbing Lyric’s stomach.
Once Cady was done loving on her, she moved around everybody and headed straight toward the stove. Lyric started lifting foil and peeking into every pot one by one while her sisters and mothers talked amongst one another.
And just like she expected, their mom had thrown down.
The stove was covered in food. Pots of greens simmered beside baked macaroni, dressing, turkey wings, and sweet potatoes. Containers of cornbread sat stacked near the microwave while multiple desserts covered the counters.
Low key, it was the first real meal Lyric had eaten since the baby shower disaster.
Depression had completely taken over her appetite for the past few days.
Most times, she either cried herself to sleep or forced herself to nibble on snacks just for the babies’ sake.
But standing there looking at all that food, smelling everything her mother cooked, she couldn’t deny the food anymore.
So, without hesitation, she grabbed two paper plates.
By the time she finished fixing her food, both were overloaded.
Lyric carried them carefully into the living room before finally settling onto the couch.
“Oh my God! Ma, this macaroni so good.”
“I know,” Cady yelled proudly from the kitchen.
A little while later, Aaron walked into the living room with his own plate in hand. Without saying anything, he dropped down onto the opposite side of the couch, grabbed the remote, and changed the channel.
“Nigga, I was watching that.”
“So?” Aaron shrugged.
Lyric stared at him for a second before calmly taking another bite of her food. After a moment, she set her plate down and stood up. Aaron barely had time to process what she was doing before Lyric walked over and smacked the entire plate out of his hands, sending food flying everywhere.
“What the fuck!” Aaron jumped up.
Greens, yams, and macaroni splattered across the floor while Lyric stood there with her hands on her hips. Aaron looked down at the mess before looking back at her in disbelief. The yelling immediately brought everybody rushing into the living room.
“What happened?” Cady looked around and asked.
“This motherfucker knocked my plate out my hand!”
“Nigga, fuck you and yo plate.”
“You lucky you pregnant or…”
“Or what, pussy?” Melody stepped forward.
Aaron looked at Melody while Harmony moved automatically. But before things could escalate further, Cady hurried between them, waving her hands dramatically.
“Can y’all please not do this today? It’s Thanksgiving! Why can’t y’all get along for one damn day?”
“We just don’t fraternize with bitch ass niggas.”
“Melody!” Cady yelled.
“Sorry Mommy.”
“You know what? We just gone go by Granny house and come back when he gone.”
“Yeah, like damn, don’t the nigga got a family of his own?” Melody rolled her eyes.
“Look, nobody has to go anywhere. We all grown and should be able to control our anger.”
Lyric opened her mouth, but before she could get the words out, a sharp pain suddenly shot through her stomach.
“Oh my God,” she gasped.
Lyric bent forward suddenly, one hand gripping the side of the couch while the other held her stomach tightly. Another pain hit seconds later, stronger than before, instantly sending panic through everybody around her.
“Lyric?” Harmony rushed over first.
“What’s wrong?” Melody asked.
“I-I don’t know……It hurt.”
“Lord, please don’t let this girl be in labor,” Cady prayed.
“Should I call an ambulance?” Harmony grabbed her phone.
“No!”
“Do we need to go to the hospital?” Melody quizzed.
The room instantly turned chaotic. Lyric leaned back against the couch, breathing hard while tears filled her eyes. But thankfully, a few seconds later, the pain slowly eased up.
“You still hurting?” Harmony asked.
“A little.”
“We still taking you to the hospital,” Cady crouched down in front of her.
“Ma, I think I’m okay.”
The second Lyric said that, another sharp pain shot through her stomach even harder than before.
The pain completely stole her breath as she bent forward against the couch cushions while tears filled her eyes again.
Her entire stomach tightened painfully, and suddenly, panic started taking over for real.
“Okay, no, we going,” Melody stepped closer.
Harmony was already grabbing purses and keys while Cady rubbed frantically on Lyric’s back trying to calm her down.
“Breathe baby, just breathe.”
But Lyric could barely focus. Between the stress from the past few days, the crying, and now the pain hitting her back-to-back, she honestly started to believe that something was wrong.
“What if I’m in labor?” she whispered.
“You’ll be good,” Harmony assured.
“It’s too early. They not ready,” Lyric cried.
“Y’all gon’ be good, baby girl. Now slowly get up.”
The second Lyric stood up, another cramp hit her stomach, and she immediately bent forward again, crying out.
“Please don’t let nothing happen to my babies,” she whispered through tears.
“Ain’t nothing gone happen. We about to go get you checked out right now,” Melody replied while holding her hand.
Lyric nodded weakly, trying her best to believe her sister’s words while they carefully helped her toward the door.
But deep down, fear sat heavy in her chest. Between the sharp pains, the pressure in her stomach, and everything her body had been through lately, something inside her kept telling her that something wasn’t right.