He pulled up to Outback thirty minutes before he was scheduled to be there. He knew that there was sometimes a wait on the weekends and he wanted to get him and Lyric a table. He was thankful that he did because the wait was thirty minutes exactly. As soon as he got seated, he looked up from the drink that he’d just ordered and saw Lyric walking through the door. Bronx’s heart skipped a beat as he watched her walking over to the table that the hostess was leading her to. She looked even more beautiful now than she did the last time he saw her. The pictures in his phone didn’t do it for him anymore and he was happy to be seeing the real thing. When she got close, Bronx stood up, hoping that he could get a hug. When he reached out to her, she jumped back and looked at him like he was crazy.
“You can’t be serious.” Lyric frowned.
“Don’t do me like that Lyric. At least let a nigga apologize,” Bronx pleaded.
“Apologize for what? Being married?” Lyric questioned as she sat down.
“Are you hungry?” Bronx asked as he ignored her questions and sat down soon after.
“No,” Lyric replied.
“Why did you want to meet here if you don’t wanna eat?” Bronx questioned.
“This is not a social meeting. I just needed to talk to you about something,” Lyric replied as she reached into her purse and pulled out the paperwork that she got from the clinic.
“What’s up Lyric?” Bronx asked, seemingly aggravated that things were already going left.
Lyric didn’t really know how to come out and tell him, so she handed him the papers instead. She was pissed with herself for still having feelings for him and she tried hard not to let it show. When a huge smile spread across Bronx’s face, Lyric didn’t share in his excitement.
“Congrats, you knocked me up. That’s basically all I had to say, so we can go now,” Lyric said as she stood to her feet.
She really wanted to tell him over the phone, but her father didn’t think that was the right thing to do. Lyric was starving but she was too stubborn to let him buy her something to eat. Bronx didn’t give a damn how she felt. He got up from the table and pulled Lyric into a tight hug, lifting her off her feet.
“Sit down baby, please. I know you’re hungry and we need to talk,” Bronx said.
“We don’t have anything to talk about,” Lyric replied as something caught her eye at a table in the rear of the restaurant.
“Stop being so damn stubborn Lyric. This is your favorite place and I know you didn’t suggest coming here for nothing. We could have met up anywhere. Besides, I know you have questions,” Bronx said, calling her out.
He was absolutely right, but she would never admit it. She had lots of questions and he seemed willing to answer them. Her stomach growled when Bronx gave the waitress their orders. He already knew what she wanted, so he didn’t bother asking.
“What number does this baby make? I know you said you didn’t have any kids, but I’m sure that was a lie too,” Lyric said, getting right into the interrogation.
“I don’t have any kids Lyric. This baby will be my first. Zina’s kids are the closest that I’ve ever come to having some of my own,” he replied.
“Whose house did you take me to? I know it wasn’t yours,” Lyric said.
“That’s my grandmother’s house,” Deuce replied.
“Wow. I’m having a baby with a nigga that I don’t even know,” Lyric said while shaking her head.
“Don’t do that Lyric. You do know me. I’m the same nigga that I’ve always been from day one,” he replied.
“No, because the man that I met wasn’t married. I met Bronx, not Deuce. Truthfully, I really don’t know who you are.”
“I fucked up Lyric and no excuse that I give will make that right. As much as I love you, I’ll understand if you don’t want to take me back,” Deuce said.
“Take you back? Do you honestly think that will ever happen? I would never be able to trust you,” Lyric snapped.
“You have no reason to believe me but cheating is not something that I’ve made a habit of doing. You’re the first person that I’ve ever been with since I got married,” Deuce noted.
“Is that supposed to make me feel better Bronx? You basically forced me into an affair that never should have happened.”
“So, I forced you to be with me, Lyric. Is that what you’re trying to say?” he asked angrily.
“No, you didn’t, but you didn’t give me any options. You lied because you knew that I would never be with you if you told me that you were married.”
“You’re right, I did,” he admitted, right as the server came to the table with their food.
Lyric waited until they were alone again before she continued. “Not only did you put me in a bad position, but you involved Kierra too. Your lies affected a lot of people, all because you wanted the best of both worlds,” Lyric argued.
“I never wanted the best of both worlds! I only wanted you!” Bronx yelled a little louder than he needed to.
Lyric looked at the same table in the rear and shook her head saying no. When Bronx saw people looking over at them, he calmed down a little and started eating his food. Lyric was an emotional mess and meeting him so soon after their breakup was not a good idea. She wanted to hate him and she was mad with herself because she didn’t. Once she and Bronx finished eating, he paid for their food and walked her out to her car.
“How far along are you?” he asked as he rubbed her flat stomach.
Lyric tried but failed to hold her breath. She didn’t want to smell his cologne but it happened anyway. She was still attracted to him and she hated herself for it. She wanted to stop him from touching her, but she couldn’t.
“Almost eight weeks or two months, it’s the same thing,” Lyric replied with a shrug.
“I want you to meet my mama and grandmother,” Bronx suggested.
“Hell fucking no! What do I look like to you?” Lyric questioned angrily.
“You look like the woman who’s about to give them their first grandchild and great-grandchild. They’re both gonna want to meet you,” Bronx replied.
She calmed down a little because she knew that he was right. Bronx told her how close he was with his maternal grandmother and he was her only grandchild. She knew about his mother, aunts, uncles, and just about everybody else in his family except his wife. He never even mentioned the club because she would have put it all together a long time ago if he did.
“You can tell them. You don’t need me there for that,” Lyric pointed out.
“Oh, no doubt about it, I’m telling everybody. I know they’re gonna want to meet you though, especially my grandma. Can you do that? It’ll really mean a lot to her, Lyric.”
“Yeah, I guess so. Just let me know when,” Lyric agreed.
“When is your next checkup? I want to be there,” Deuce informed her.
“You don’t have to be there. I’ll keep you informed on my progress,” Lyric replied.
“I know I don’t have to be there, but I want to be there. And you can go ahead and unblock my number once again. I need to talk to you every day. If I don’t, I’m popping up at your job, your house, and anywhere else that you might be. If you thought you fucked up by giving me the pussy, just imagine how much you fucked up by getting pregnant,” Deuce smirked as he hurriedly kissed her lips and backed away.
“Don’t put your married ass lips on me, nigga,” Lyric fussed as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
“I miss you,” Bronx said as he reached out to her.
“Bye Bronx,” Lyric said as she took a step back.
“No need to dismiss me, sweetheart. You’re stuck with me for life,” he smirked and winked.
Lyric turned and walked away with his eyes on her the entire time. As soon as she got into her car and pulled off, she dialed her mother’s number and Melody picked up on the first ring.
“I can’t believe you and daddy. Did y’all really have to come to the restaurant and get a table too?” Lyric asked
as she laughed loudly.
She had to do a double take when she looked at the table in the back and saw her parents sitting there. As if that wasn’t bad enough, they both had on baseball caps like they were trying to disguise themselves. She wanted to laugh so bad, but she didn’t want Bronx to turn around and see what she was laughing at. When he raised his voice, Melody stood up and was about to come over to their table. Lyric shook her head and her mother sat down and continued to watch. She told them where she was meeting Bronx at, but she never expected them to get there before she did.
“Did he see us? I told your daddy that we were too out in the open,” Melody replied.
“No, he didn’t see y’all. I can’t wait to tell Kierra and Nova about this,” Lyric laughed.
“I just wanted to make sure you were gonna be okay,” Melody replied.
“Stop lying Mel. She wanted to see the look on his face when you told him about the baby,” Lenard said, calling her out.
“He seemed happy,” Melody acknowledged.
“Yeah, he was,” Lyric replied.
“That nigga started getting loud and I was about to come over there and start swinging. What did he get so upset for?” Melody asked.
“Because the truth hurts, that’s why. He wants to come with me to the doctor and stuff, but I don’t want to be around him like that. I’ll keep him updated but I’m not promising nothing else.”
“You told him about the baby and that was good enough,” Melody replied.
“That’s fucked up. I was at every doctor’s appointment you had when you were pregnant with Lyric,” Lenard noted.
“Yeah and you were my boyfriend at the time too,” Melody pointed out.
“What does that have to do with anything Mel? He don’t have to be her man to be there for his baby. They don’t start being parents when the baby is born. Their jobs starts now while she’s still pregnant. Y’all females do some dirty shit,” Lenard argued.
As usual, her parents went back and forth with each other and forgot all about her. Lyric hung up the phone and called Nova to tell her about her meeting with Bronx. She would usually call Kierra too, but Lyric didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable. She was sure that her cousin was torn about finding out that she was pregnant by her other cousin’s husband. The entire situation was complicated and bringing a baby into the equation was only going to make it worse.
Chapter 28
When her doorbell rang, Kierra took a deep breath before she walked to her living room to open the door. She didn’t bother looking through the peephole because she already knew who it was. After over a month, Zina had finally reached out to her and asked if they could talk. Since Kierra was at home alone cooking, she told her cousin to come over there. She was happy that Zina reached out to her because a conversation between the two of them was long overdue.
“Hey.” Kierra smiled when she opened the door and saw Zina standing there.
Instead of replying right away, Zina walked up to her and pulled her into a hug. Neither of them said anything for a while as they embraced each other tightly and rocked back and forth. Tears were pouring from Kierra’s eyes and, once they pulled away, she realized that Zina had been crying too.
“I’m so sorry cousin. You’ve always had my back even when my own sisters didn’t and I was wrong as fuck for how I handled everything. I know you would never do me dirty like that and I truly apologize,” Zina sniffled.
“You know that all is forgiven Zina. The entire situation looked shady and I understand why you felt the way you did. I’m sorry that all of this even happened,” Kierra replied.
“Yeah, so am I. Shit only seems to be getting worse too,” Zina acknowledged.
“How so?” Kierra asked as she led her cousin to the kitchen so that she could finish her food.
“For starters, my husband hasn’t been home since the night of the concert,” Zina replied.
“Oh no,” Kierra said, shocked to hear that.
She knew for a fact that he wasn’t by Lyric because she was still at her parents’ house.
“Yeah, he’s been staying by his grandmother. I keep asking him when he’s coming home, but he never has an answer to give. I’m just so mad at myself right now. All that time I was out there running the streets with them other hoes and look what it got me. They’re all laid up with their men while I’m up at night praying that mine will come home. Shit wasn’t even worth it,” Zina admitted.
“Maybe y’all should go talk to somebody. Like a pastor or a marriage counselor,” Kierra suggested.
“I really don’t think he wants to. He told me to chill out and I didn’t listen. He begged me to stop clubbing so much and give him some time and I never did. Now I’m probably about to lose my husband because of it,” Zina said as she broke down and cried from her soul.
Kierra rushed over to her and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. Zina’s entire body shook as she cried and screamed to the top of her lungs. She was a mess and Kierra had never seen her cousin so broken up before. Zina was always so strong or at least she always pretended to be. Kierra used to try to warn her, but Zina was too damn stubborn. Now, Lyric was about to have the baby that Deuce was always begging her to give him. She was sure that Zina didn’t know about that because she would really be going crazy if she did. Deuce was still hiding shit from her and that was only going to make matters worse.
Melody was so excited that she was calling and telling everybody in the family. When Kierra called to congratulate Lyric, she was shocked that she knew and wondered how she found out. According to Nova, Deuce had been on some crazy stalker shit and he popped up at the job all throughout the day. He was crazy as fuck and Lyric had something on her hands with him. The entire situation was a whole ass mess and Kierra wanted it to all to be over with. She hated how one man had both of her cousins hurting but Zina was feeling it much more.
“Everything will be okay cousin. You just have to pray on it,” Kierra said once Zina had calmed down.
“That’s the same thing that his grandmother told us. Truthfully, I’m wondering if we’re even praying for the same thing. I’m just so stressed out with all this shit. Everybody keeps telling me not to blame myself, but how can I not? I pushed him away and he told me that I was doing it a long time ago. It’s one thing to lose your nigga to death but to lose him to another bitch while he’s still alive is altogether different.”
“You haven’t lost him though, Zina. Don’t even talk like that,” Kierra told her.
“You know me, Kierra. You know if I’m nothing else, I’m honest with other people and I’m honest with myself. That nigga ain’t been home in over a month. A nigga that wants to work shit out don’t move like that. Don’t get me wrong, I’m willing to fight for my marriage but I can’t be the only one wearing the gloves,” Zina said.
“Has he ever done anything like this before?” Kierra questioned.
“Deuce ain’t never been no cheater and I know that for a fact. You know I used to send hoes at him all the time just to see what he would do. Honestly, him cheating ain’t no big thing to me. I’ve dealt with side bitches before and I’ve been a side bitch a few times myself. That ain’t nothing new. This is not the same though. That nigga fell in love with your cousin and that’s the hardest pill of them all to swallow,” Zina replied.
Everybody had a breaking point and Kierra tried to tell her that. Zina was so used to doing things the same way for so long that she seemed afraid to change. Deuce was the best man that she ever had because her children’s fathers weren’t shit. They both used to put their hands on her and they had so many women that it was hard to keep up. They were disrespectful as hell and Zina loved them up until the day they both left the earth. Since she was the main chick and she was well taken care of, nothing else mattered to her. Zina’s mother had that same mentality and she passed it on to her daughters.
“I really hate that this is happening to you,” Kierra said after being quiet for a while.
; “That makes two of us. But, enough about my depressing ass life. What are you cooking? It smells good,” Zina replied.
“Seafood lasagna. It’s done if you want some,” Kierra offered.
“Bitch, you know I’m greedy. Fix me a plate,” Zina laughed.
“Only if you unblock my number first,” Kierra smirked.
“Already done boo and it will never happen again,” Zina said as she got up and gave her another hug.
She loved and appreciated Kierra so much and she felt bad for how she handled the entire situation. It felt good to talk to someone other than her mother. Her advice wasn’t always the best and she didn’t expect it to be. After all, she raised her daughters to be just like her. Zina was losing the little fight that she had left and she was slowly giving up. Her marriage meant everything to her, but she was tired of fighting a losing battle. After hearing from Deuce’s own mouth how he really felt about Lyric, Zina wasn’t sure that her marriage would ever be the same again.
***
“Zina!” Deuce yelled when he walked into the house in search of his wife.
It was quiet and he didn’t hear the loud tv in the living room like he usually did. Zina’s car was outside, so he knew that she was there. When he didn’t see her in the bedroom, he walked outside to the back of the house and saw Zina sitting at the patio table smoking. She had a big bottle of Hennessey that she was pouring into a glass of ice as she talked to someone on the phone. Her kids and a few of the kids who lived next door were jumping on the trampoline, oblivious to his presence.
“Let me call you back ma,” she said to her mother when she looked up and saw her husband standing there.
“Why you smoking that shit and those kids are right there?” Deuce asked her.
“It ain’t like they don’t know I smoke. At least I’m not smoking in the house like I usually do.” She shrugged like it was no big deal. Zina didn’t even try to be respectful of her own kids, so the other kids didn’t stand a chance.
Heartbreak And Past Mistakes Page 28