Chapter 28
Lyric sat on the living room floor surrounded by toys while Lyra and Ariya entertained themselves nearby. Now five months old, the twins had grown into their own personalities, and watching them grow into little people was quickly becoming her favorite part of motherhood.
Lyra was nosey. If something moved, made a sound, or caught her attention, she immediately wanted to investigate. Ariya, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. She loved being held, loved being the center of attention, and was perfectly content as long as someone was talking to her.
A few moments later, Ariya crawled over and lifted her arms, demanding attention. Lyric picked her up and settled her on her lap while Lyra rolled onto her stomach and tried to grab something she wasn't supposed to have.
"Girl, leave that alone."
When Lyra reached for it again, Lyric shook her head.
"Okay, y'all blew it. It’s nap time.”
Ignoring the tiny protests that followed, she stood to her feet and headed toward the kitchen.
A few minutes later, both bottles were prepared, and the twins were settled inside their playpen.
After turning on Ms. Rachel and making sure they were comfortable, Lyric started picking up toys around the living room.
A few minutes into cleaning, the doorbell rang. Already standing near the window, she glanced outside and spotted Vonte's mother's car parked in front of the building.
Smacking her lips, Lyric headed for the door.
"For the last time, stop popping up at my fucking crib," she yanked it open and snapped.
"Where the fuck my kids at?" he asked, attempting to move past her.
"Nigga, I will stab you the fuck up if you come in my crib."
"Man, stop playing with me.” He paused before taking a step forward and going on.
"And what's this shit I hear about you and that nigga Zaire?"
"What about him?"
"Motherfuckers sent me pictures and shit of y'all from your party. You fucking with that nigga?"
"Bro, are you here about that nigga or your kids?" Lyric folded her arms and asked.
"Both."
"Look man, I stopped bothering you and your hoes a long time ago. Give me the same courtesy."
"Lyric, find you somewhere safe to play, ‘cause you gon’ always be mine."
"Nigga, you sound crazy but do me a favor and get the fuck from in front of my door."
Without waiting for a response, Lyric stepped back and slammed it shut.
By the time she returned to the living room, her mood had changed. Vonte always had a way of irritating her, but she refused to let it ruin her day. Instead, she went right back to cleaning when a few minutes later, the doorbell rang again.
"If this nigga don’t leave me alone…”
Annoyed, Lyric stormed toward the door and yanked it open, fully prepared to curse Vonte out a second time but it wasn’t him, it was Zaire.
"What's wrong?" He looked her in the eyes and asked.
“My baby daddy just… Ugh.” Lyric rolled her eyes.
"That nigga still be trying to rap?"
"Trying to is crazy… But yeah. He probably on his way to the studio now."
The two shared a laugh that was interrupted by the sound of a baby crying.
"Come in."
Lyric motioned toward the couch before heading straight for the twins. Both girls were sitting up in the playpen, fussing, their short nap apparently already over. Shaking her head, she picked Ariya up first before grabbing Lyra a second later.
"Y'all couldn't give me thirty more minutes?"
The twins immediately settled once she started talking to them.
After checking to make sure neither needed a diaper change, Lyric carried them into the kitchen and grabbed a couple of baby snacks.
A few minutes later, she had both girls situated on a blanket in the living room with something to keep them occupied.
Only then did she finally make her way over to the couch and sit beside Zaire.
"Sorry about that."
"Nah, you good, but I still can't believe you had kids," he admitted.
"Me either," Lyric laughed.
The two continued talking while keeping an eye on the twins, who seemed perfectly content entertaining themselves on the blanket.
One second, they were playing quietly, and the next, Lyra reached over and grabbed a handful of Ariya's hair.
Ariya wasted no time returning the favor, and within seconds, both babies were fussing and pulling at each other.
"Y'all stop," Lyric called out.
"Damn, they got beef already?" Zaire chuckled.
"All they do is fight."
"That's how me and my twin sister was."
"I didn't know you had a twin."
"Yeah. Twins run in our family. My pops a twin, my grand pops a twin."
"Wow. That's crazy."
"Nah, what's crazy is every set of twins in our family got the same birthmark."
"What?" Lyric frowned.
"Yeah… A small crescent-shaped birthmark on the back of our neck. It's been like that for generations. Whenever twins were born, the first thing the older folks did was check for it."
The smile slowly disappeared from Lyric's face, and all she could do was stare at him. Her eyes then slowly shifted from him to her daughters.
“I- I -I…” Lyric stuttered.
"What?" Zaire’s eyes widened as he sat up straight.
Lyric's heart started pounding so hard she could hear it. Then suddenly it felt hard to breathe. Her chest tightened, and her hands started shaking.
"What's wrong?" Zaire quizzed.
Lyric couldn't answer. The thought had never entered her mind before then, but once it did, it hit her like a truck.
Suddenly, she was thinking about dates, timelines, and a night she had long since pushed to the back of her memory.
The pieces started falling together so fast that it made her stomach turn.
"Lyric!”
Still unable to get the words out, she quickly got off the couch and scooped Ariya into her arms. She turned the baby around and gently pulled her shirt collar down just enough to expose the back of her neck. And there it was, a small crescent-shaped birthmark.
Zaire stared at it for a second before looking at Lyric, then back at the birthmark again.
"Man, get the fuck out of here…. Them my babies.”