Twenty-Seven | Lyric
Twenty-Seven
Lyric
My whole body felt like it was going to explode as the adrenaline started to wear off.
Kara and Cole had been talking the whole ride home, but I didn’t say anything.
I was too busy processing what had just happened and was stressing about what legal ramifications I might face for punching a student.
I knew that he was over eighteen, which made him an adult, but he was still a student at the school, and I had already pissed off the principal.
We pulled up in front of the house and waited for Cole to put the truck in park when the front door opened and Ben and Chloe came out to greet us.
“What the hell happened?” Ben said, grinning from ear to ear as he held his phone up. “My phone has been blowing up with news of Tommy getting his ass beat by some crazy lady.”
“Crazy lady?” I asked, masking the rising panic bubbling up inside of me with a laugh. “They think I’m a crazy lady?”
“I wouldn’t call you crazy,” Cole said with a grin. “Pissed off, definitely. Protective, absolutely. But not crazy.”
“Aunt Lyric punched Tommy and made his lip bleed,” Kara announced as we all walked into the house. “Then she threatened Kason and Clark. I thought they were gonna piss their pants, they were so scared of her.”
“You punched Tommy?” Ben asked in disbelief as I set my phone and purse on the counter and turned to face him.
I nodded, trying to find the right words to say when he reached in and hugged me.
Cole caught it as he closed the door, stopping to take in the moment as my heart hammered in my chest. I knew Ben wasn’t my biggest fan when I first showed up in Willow Falls, so this level of unsolicited affection surprised me. He was hugging me because he wanted to, not because he had to.
He pulled away and studied my face as I smiled softly at him.
“Yeah, it wasn’t the best idea, but it kinda just happened.” I shrugged, hating that all of the attention was on me as they all stopped what they were doing and watched me.
“It’s not nice to hit,” Chloe said as Cole picked her up and put her on the counter as he stood behind her.
“I know, sweetie. You’re right, it’s not nice to hit. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Sometimes people have to do things that aren’t nice because that’s how we protect ourselves and our family,” Cole said, smiling down at her. “Aunt Lyric was protecting Ben and Kara from a bully and making sure he wouldn’t try to hurt them again.”
“Yay! Aunt Lyric! You’re my hero,” Chloe sang happily as she clapped her hands.
“I’m no hero,” I said with a smile, not wanting to break her heart. “I just did what needed to be done.”
“You’re my hero,” Kara replied softly. “I heard about the bet during lunch. Kids had been making fun of me all day, and more bets were made to see if Tommy would be able to... You know.”
I nodded, my face falling with sadness because I hated this for her.
“You stood up for me in a way no one ever has. Both of you did,” Kara added, looking at her brother. “I still can’t believe he got punched twice today.”
“He had it coming,” I said, unable to keep my laugh in. “That kid is a real piece of work.”
“Yeah, he is,” Kara agreed.
“I need to go potty,” Chloe said, tugging on Cole’s shirt to get his attention.
“I’ll take you,” Kara said, reaching out her arms to carry Chloe.
Once they were out of the room, Ben turned his attention back to me, only this time, he looked worried.
“How did it go with Principal Newman?”
“Well, she was not the kind of person I expected her to be,” I answered honestly.
“She was so hell-bent on following the rules that she hadn’t even noticed how many she was breaking.
I tried to get her to lift your suspension, but unfortunately, you’ll be home the rest of the week because you hit Tommy.
There wasn’t anything I could do about that.
But I was able to get him suspended for creating an unsafe environment for Kara with the bet, and told her that I would get in touch with the school board about the underage gambling at school if she didn’t do something. ”
“I don’t regret hitting him,” Ben said, meeting my eyes. “I know we’re not supposed to hurt others, but I don’t regret it. I just got so mad hearing him talk about Kara like that, I just lost it.”
“I know. I get it.”
His shoulders fell, his body relaxing as if a weight had been lifted.
“You protected your sister, Ben. No one can blame you for that. You’re so much like your dad,” I said, laughing. “He did the same thing for me so many times, I lost count. He would be so proud of you, just like I am.”
My eyes filled with tears, but before I could blink them away, Ben had pulled me into another unexpected hug as my heart tried not to burst.
************************************
The night wound down quicker than I expected, or perhaps it was the stress of the day that had finally caught up to me, leaving me exhausted.
Cole got the kids situated and in bed, giving Ben a list of things for him to help with this week while he was home. Mainly, it was taking care of Chloe and the goats while I kept my head down and got my ass in gear before I fell behind on my deadline at work.
I was thankful for the support he constantly showed, but I hated how much I felt like I was relying on him these days.
We both got ready for bed and were pulling back the blankets when I felt his gaze on me. I lifted my eyes, unsure what I would find when I looked at him.
“You were amazing today,” he said, his words so filled with emotion that my heart did that flutter thing I told it not to.
“Thank you. I appreciate all of your support with everything.”
He pressed his lips into a thin line and nodded before climbing into bed. I grabbed my bottle of lotion from the nightstand and sat down, squeezing some into my hands before applying it to my legs.
“I know that you said you’re not ready,” Cole started, but there was a nervousness in his voice that immediately made my guard go up.
I could already tell where this was going.
Please don’t do this tonight. I don’t have it in me to tell you all the reasons why we can’t be together. I have nothing left to give anyone, let alone us.
“But I was just thinking that maybe we could try. Nothing serious, but I mean, we make the perfect team, Lyric. We handled that school stuff today without any fighting—we just joined forces and took care of things. We’re raising the kids together, and everyone seems to be really happy...”
I can’t do this. I can’t break your heart again. Don’t ask for a piece of me that I can’t give. Why can’t you just accept that it was one night—we both agreed it was just sex.
“I know you’re scared,” he said softly. “I can tell by the way you’re avoiding me right now. But you can’t blame me for trying. I’ve loved you since the day I met you, and I don’t plan to ever stop. The other night was amazing, and I think we both felt something. If we just give it a tr—”
“No!” I blurted out as the lotion bottle fell from my hands and landed on the floor. “And how dare you ask that of me!”
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly, staring down at the bed. “I just thought... maybe since we’ve spent so much time together that you might—”
“Be the girl I used to be?” I demanded, cutting him off.
“No, Cole, that’s the reason I left in the first place.
I couldn’t be the girl you wanted me to be!
I couldn’t stay here, drowning in small-town life where everyone knew everyone’s business.
I wanted more out of life, Cole! I wanted to be more than the girl with a chronic illness!
I wanted to be more than the wife who couldn’t give you children!
Don’t you get it?! I couldn’t be the person you wanted me to be.
I couldn’t give you the life you wanted!
A family was NEVER in our cards, given how many babies I lost, Cole!
It broke me every fucking time I saw those two lines because I knew how happy you would be.
Because I knew that in a few months, that baby would be gone, along with the others.
I couldn’t endure that heartache anymore.
I was suffocating, and no one noticed! I needed a life that was just about ME.
To find out who I was, what I wanted, what I was capable of!
And now I’m here, back in the place I never wanted to come back to, raising kids that I love dearly, but they’re not—”
“Yours,” he said, cutting me off as emotion weighed heavily on his face.
“Exactly.”
My lower lip trembled as I tried to keep the tears in because I was seconds away from losing it as the words I hadn’t bothered to speak to him before filled the space between us.