Chapter 7
Lyric stood in front of the mirror carefully adjusting her dress while Kenya helped her. With both of them pregnant and moving slower, something as simple as getting dressed had turned into a process all on its own. Still, Lyric couldn’t stop smiling while looking at herself.
Carefully, she lifted her bonnet off while trying not to mess up her thirty-inch middle part wig. The long jet-black hair fell perfectly down her back, and after Kenya fixed a few loose baby hairs near her forehead, Lyric leaned closer to the mirror admiring herself again.
“You look so pretty, cousin.”
“Thank you, Cuddy.” Lyric smiled.
The big day had finally arrived. Between the stress, drama, and emotional rollercoaster her pregnancy had become, it was one of the first moments where she felt genuinely excited again.
Thanks to Cady, Harmony, and Melody, everything had been taken care of.
They rented a venue, got it decorated, and made sure Lyric didn’t have to worry about anything except showing up.
Sitting at the vanity, she was still taking everything in when her phone buzzed. Lyric reached for it and immediately rolled her eyes when she saw her mom’s name flashing across the screen.
“Hello?”
“Why are you still at home?”
“I’m bout to leave out now.”
“Lyric, you’re an hour late. Hurry up,” she yelled.
“Ma, relax.” Lyric laughed while pulling the phone away from her ear.
“Relax my ass, everybody waiting on you.”
“We literally on the way.”
“Well hurry up,” Cady repeated before hanging up.
After one final look in the mirror, Lyric and Kenya gathered their purses and headed out the door.
The ride to the venue was quick. Most of the drive was spent with Kenya complaining about her swollen feet while Lyric laughed and rubbed her stomach whenever the twins started moving around too much.
Halfway there, Lyric picked up her phone and called Vonte, but the call went straight to voicemail.
“His shit still dead?” Kenya asked.
“More than likely, his phone stay dead.”
Lyric didn’t think too much into it. Knowing Vonte, he was already at the venue helping her family finish setting up or outside talking shit with his friends. His phone dying every other hour was nothing new.
A few minutes later, Kenya pulled into the parking lot, and Lyric’s eyes widened at how packed it was.
Cars filled almost every parking space, and people dressed in shades of pink could already be seen walking toward the entrance carrying gifts.
Seeing that many people made her emotional.
After everything she had gone through during her pregnancy, it felt good knowing she had so much love surrounding her.
The cousins slowly wobbled toward the building entrance together. Music could already be heard faintly from inside the venue, along with people talking and laughing. But the second Lyric stepped through the doors, she stopped in her tracks completely.
Her mouth dropped open at how beautiful it was. The venue looked exactly how she imagined it would. Pink and silver balloons covered the room, roses lined the tables, and a huge glowing “Double the Diva” sign sat against the back wall.
The second people noticed her standing there, the room erupted. Camera flashes started going off from both the photographer and everybody’s phones. Friends and family crowded around her excitedly, complimenting her outfit, touching her stomach, and telling her how beautiful she looked.
“Lyric, over here!”
“Smile for the camera!”
“Oh my God, look at the mama!”
For a while, Lyric got completely caught up in the moment.
She smiled until her cheeks hurt while posing for pictures.
After a moment, though, things slowly settled down enough for her to finally breathe and actually take everything in.
Guests started sitting back down, music played through the speakers again, and people returned to mingling.
As her eyes moved around the room, she noticed something that immediately felt off. Vonte wasn’t there. At first, she figured he had stepped outside or gone to the bathroom. But after scanning the room again more carefully, her stomach started to tighten. He was nowhere in sight.
Trying not to panic, Lyric reached into her purse, pulled out her phone, and called him again, but like all day, it went straight to voicemail. Her smile faded as she lowered the phone and looked around the room one more time. That time, she noticed none of his family was there either.
Not wanting to make a scene or let anybody notice the shift in her mood, Lyric took a deep breath and forced herself to stay calm. Maybe they were running late. Maybe something happened. Maybe she was overthinking. But deep down, she already knew better.
Lyric’s eyes found Kenya standing near the dessert table talking to one of their cousins. Walking over casually, Lyric forced a smile onto her face.
“Let me see the keys real quick. I gotta grab my charger out of the car.”
Without a word, Kenya handed her the keys, and she turned and walked out of the venue. The second the doors closed behind her, the smile completely disappeared from her face. Her chest tightened as she crossed the parking lot.
Instead of grabbing a charger, Lyric climbed into the driver’s seat and locked the doors behind herself.
For a second, she just sat there gripping the steering wheel while trying to talk herself out of what she was thinking.
But the more she replayed everything in her head, the worse the feeling got.
Before she could stop herself, Lyric started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.
She drove mindlessly through traffic, her emotions building stronger with every turn.
Tears blurred her vision a few times, but she wiped them away and kept driving.
About fifteen minutes later, she pulled onto Domo’s block.
Double parking in front of the house, Lyric stared ahead silently while her breathing slowly grew heavier.
Glancing around, her eyes landed on the lawn, which was decorated for her baby shower. Blue balloons covered the railings, and signs sat in the grass welcoming guests inside.
But it wasn’t the decorations that broke her heart. It was the cars she recognized immediately. Vonte’s mother’s car sat up front. Right behind it was his sister’s car, then his cousin’s. She also spotted two of his homeboys’ cars, and that’s when she lost it.
Fighting back tears, Lyric popped the trunk and climbed out of the car.
Her entire body felt hot with embarrassment, heartbreak, and anger all mixed together.
She walked toward the back of the car and started digging through her auntie’s trunk desperately until her hand finally landed on a tire iron.
And before she could think herself out of it, Lyric marched straight toward the first car.
The tire iron swung hard through the passenger window of Vonte’s mother’s Buick, shattering glass everywhere. The loud crash echoed down the block, but Lyric didn’t flinch. Instead, she moved straight to the next car.
Glass exploded across the pavement as she busted Vonte’s sister’s windows next. Then his cousin’s. Then his friends’. One after another, she destroyed every car she recognized, breathing hard while alarms started blaring throughout the neighborhood.
People inside the house could probably hear everything, but Lyric didn’t care. At that moment, all she could think about was how hurt she was. By the time she finished, shattered glass covered the street, and almost every car alarm was sounding off at once.
Lyric stood there breathing heavily while tears rolled down her cheeks.
Her perfectly done hair was sticking to her face now, and her chest hurt from how hard her heart was pounding.
But she still wasn’t done. Looking down near the curb, Lyric spotted a brick lying near the edge of the lawn.
She snatched it up quickly before looking directly toward Domo’s house.
Then, with every bit of anger left in her body, she launched it straight through the front window of her home.