Heartbreak And Past Mistakes

by Chenell Parker

  “I can’t even say I blame you, cuz. I see why your ass is so in love,” Darnell replied.

  “All that ass and I’m connected to it for the rest of my life. Can’t nobody tell me that I ain’t blessed. God is good,” Deuce said, as Darnell laughed and got back into the truck.

  “Bronx, huh? I be forgetting that Deuce ain’t your real name,” Darnell chuckled.

  “Yeah, you know my grandma is the only one who calls me that. It sounds a lot better when Lyric says it though. Damn man, I’m starting to sound like a bitch,” Deuce said as he and Darnell laughed.

  Once he took his cousin home, Deuce went and chilled with his grandmother until it was time for him to pick Lyric up from work.

  Chapter 32

  Time seemed to be flying by and Lyric was at her four month clinic appointment. She was thankful that both she and her baby were healthy and she didn’t have any complications. Bronx was excited because they only had one more month before they found out the sex of the baby. Everything about Lyric’s pregnancy excited him, especially now that she was showing. His face lit up every time he saw her and he had been begging her to give him another chance.

  “Stop looking at me like that,” Lyric said as she put her clothes back on.

  “Stop making a nigga suffer like this then,” he replied.

  “How am I making you suffer? Technically, you’re still a married man,” Lyric reminded him.

  “Fuck the technicalities Lyric! I’m divorced. All this taking shit slow don’t make no sense to me. We’re having a baby in five more months. Taking it slow is pointless right about now,” he noted as they walked to the front of the clinic.

  Once Lyric got her follow-up appointment, they left and continued their conversation.

  “Just because you say it doesn’t make it true. You are not divorced. I just can’t catch a break with you. When I said I was done with you for good, I was wrong. Now that I tell you that we can try to work it out, you’re still not satisfied. I don’t know what else you want from me,” Lyric said.

  “I just want you and nothing else,” Bronx replied.

  “You already got me, but you can’t rush me to get over what you did,” Lyric said.

  “That’s not even how I operate and you know that. I fucked up and I take full responsibility for what’s going on with us. Trust can be lost in a second and will sometimes take a lifetime to regain. That’s a process that I can’t rush. I’m doing my part to make this right, but you need to stop looking in your rearview. A wound never heals if you keep touching it,” Bronx pointed out.

  Lyric knew that he was right, but she was having trouble letting go. She didn’t want to be that woman who got hurt so much that she was used to it. She also didn’t want her situations to make her bitter. She knew without a doubt in her mind that Bronx loved her and she loved him too. Melody kept telling her not to shut him out and Lyric was trying to get better at that. She was afraid to lose herself in him and end up getting hurt again.

  “I’m trying Bronx,” Lyric said as she looked out of the window.

  “No, you’re not. You’re afraid and I understand that. I told you that I’ll be as patient as you need me to be. I just need you to meet me halfway,” he replied.

  “Okay, but just promise me one thing,” Lyric said as she looked over at him.

  “Anything,” Bronx replied as he met her gaze.

  “If you’re ever unhappy, make me aware of it. Don’t go seek companionship in someone else to get what you feel like you’re missing with me,” Lyric requested.

  Bronx knew why she said that and he understood her feelings. Although Zina knew that he wasn’t happy, he still filled the void in his marriage with his relationship with Lyric. She was trying to make sure it wasn’t a pattern and he couldn’t even be mad at her for that.

  “You have my word baby. My actions will show you better than I can ever tell. I just want to make you happy Lyric. Nothing else matters to me. But, I need you to promise me something too,” Bronx countered.

  “What’s that?” Lyric asked.

  “We can move as slow as you want to, just promise me that we won’t stop,” Bronx said.

  “I promise.” Lyric replied.

  He smiled as he leaned over the seat and kissed her. Lyric made him vulnerable and that was a new and scary feeling, but also one that he welcomed. He wanted to make Lyric as happy as she made him. He wanted more than just a baby with her. He wanted forever.

  “Do you have to go back to work? Come chill with me for the rest of the day,” Bronx requested as he drove.

  “Let me see if Mr. Malone needs me,” Lyric said as she pulled out her phone and called her boss.

  Bronx didn’t realize how close Lyric was to the older man, but their relationship was more like family. Lyric talked to him like they were equals and she wasn’t intimidated by the man who made more money in one month than she made in a year.

  “You good?” Bronx asked when she hung up the phone.

  “Yeah, he’s working from home today since his wife is sick. I still need to go back to the office to get my laptop and stuff though,” Lyric said.

  “Let’s go get something to eat first. And before you ask, I don’t want nothing from Outback,” Bronx replied.

  “Why? I don’t want to eat nothing else,” Lyric whined.

  Bronx only shook his head but he didn’t say anything. He kept driving until they pulled up to the restaurant. Lyric smiled when he pulled up to Outback. He always gave her whatever she wanted, so she already knew that’s where they were going.

  Once they were seated, Lyric and Bronx ordered their food and continued to talk about their future together. He was trying to buy him a home, but Lyric wasn’t giving up her house. She told him that they didn’t have to live together in order to raise their child but Bronx felt differently. That was something that they couldn’t agree on, so they just left it alone. After eating their food, Bronx took her back to the firm and they were both shocked at what they saw when they pulled up.

  “The hell is going on around here?” Bronx questioned as he looked at the three police cars and ambulance truck that were parked in front of the building.

  “Oh no! I wonder what happened. I’m coming right back,” Lyric said as she jumped out of the truck.

  “Wait girl. Don’t go running up in there and you don’t know what’s going on,” Bronx replied as he ran after her and grabbed her arm.

  “I have to Bronx. Mr. Malone is not here, but I might need to call him,” Lyric replied.

  “Go ahead and come right back,” Bronx ordered as he stood out front and waited.

  “Okay. I’ll grab my laptop and I’ll be right back,” Lyric said.

  She rushed inside of the building and stopped when she saw Mary sitting in one of the chairs talking to one of the policemen. She looked distraught as Javier ranted and raved while pointing at her. An EMT worker was cleaning blood from his face while another was bandaging a wound on his head.

  “Lyric,” Mary cried when she saw her.

  “What’s going on Ms. Mary? Are you okay?” Lyric kneeled down and asked her.

  “They killed my baby,” Mary said as she wheezed and cried.

  “Oh, my God,” Lyric gasped as she covered her mouth with her hand.

  “They beat him to death in that prison and none of the guards were around to stop them. It’s all his fault. He could have helped my baby, but he’s a devil!” Mary yelled while pointing to Javier.

  “Take her out of here and I’m pressing charges,” Javier spoke up.

  “What! Pressing charges for what?” Lyric walked over and asked him.

  “I hope you don’t think I did this to myself. Old bitch came in here and hit me with her walking stick,” Javier replied.

  His eyes stayed focused on Lyric’s stomach the entire time he talked. He’d heard the rumors going around the office, but he didn’t want to believe that it was true. Now, seeing her standing there in a tan colored maternity dress was all the con
firmation he needed. Lyric was indeed pregnant and he wasn’t the father. She was always on Javier about wearing protection, but those rules obviously didn’t apply to everyone.

  “Are you serious right now Javier? She’s sick. How could you do that to her?” Lyric yelled, pulling him away from his thoughts.

  “She wasn’t too sick to attack me. I want her arrested,” Javier said to the officer.

  Lyric was horrified when the policeman told the sickly woman to stand up and put her hands behind her back.

  “Officer, please. Can we work this out without her having to be arrested? Maybe a warning or something,” Lyric pleaded.

  “That’s up to him. He’s the victim, so it’s his call,” the officer replied while pointing to Javier.

  “Javier, please don’t do this. She won’t come back around here. She just lost her son. Let her go home and grieve with her family,” Lyric begged.

  “She should have been at home grieving instead of coming up here in the first place. Arrest her,” Javier demanded.

  Mary looked so fragile and broken up as the officer put her hands behind her back and cuffed her. He was gentle with her and it wasn’t hard to see that he didn’t want to do it. Being that it was his job, he really didn’t have a choice.

  “Why do you have to cuff her? She’s not a flight risk. She’s on oxygen,” Lyric cried as she dialed Elise’s number on her cell phone.

  “It’s mandatory, but they’re not tight,” the officer replied as Lyric walked out of the building.

  Bronx saw her wiping tears from her eyes and got worried. He went back to his truck when she went inside the building, but he jumped out and rushed over to where Lyric was. She was on the phone leaving a message for someone when he got closer to her.

  “What’s wrong baby?” Bronx asked as he hugged her.

  “That,” Lyric replied as she pointed to the officer escorting Mary out of the building.

  “Ms. Mary? What the hell is going on?” Bronx asked when he saw the woman.

  “You know her?” Lyric asked in surprise.

  “Yeah, she worked at my mama’s nursey for years before she got sick. What happened Ms. Mary?” Bronx asked.

  “They killed my baby,” Mary sobbed.

  The police officer was cool and he didn’t mind as Bronx walked with them over to his patrol car. He even left the back door open for him to continue talking to the woman before he pulled off. Lyric went back into the building right after the ambulance and other police cars left. She made sure everybody was good before getting her laptop and a few other personal items and leaving for the day. She wanted to go to the police station to see about getting Mary out of jail. She had only been in a holding cell when she went, but she knew that it was no place for a sickly old woman.

  Lyric got on the elevator and repeatedly pressed the button for it to close. As soon as it did, Javier stuck his foot in the middle and made the doors open again.

  “Don’t even fix your lips to say shit to me. I hate the day I ever entertained you. I’m obviously not as good at judging people as I thought I was,” Lyric spat angrily as the door closed and the elevator started moving.

  “I guess condoms weren’t as important to you as I thought they were,” Javier said as he looked at her stomach.

  “I’m happy I made you use them. I couldn’t imagine creating another life with you,” Lyric replied in disgust.

  “So, who’s the lucky man?” Javier asked right as the doors opened and Lyric stepped out.

  “Get the fuck away from me, Javier. It’s not you and that’s all that matters,” Lyric replied as she walked towards the exit.

  “I hope you weren’t crazy enough to let it be Spencer either. He already got your ex best friend knocked up. One of you needs to raise the bar or get higher standards,” Javier spat.

  He was in his feelings and it was hard for him to hide it. The minute he found out that Lyric was pregnant, Spencer was the first person who came to mind. She swore that they didn’t have sex, but he was having a hard time believing that.

  “Don’t worry about who I’m fucking. Worry about your damn self,” Lyric snapped as she walked out of the building where Bronx was waiting for her.

  “Don’t brush me off while I’m talking to you,” Javier snapped as he pulled her back by her shoulder.

  “The fuck?” Bronx frowned as he rushed over to them.

  “Keep your fucking hands off me!” Lyric yelled as she jerked away from him.

  Javier was about to pull her again until Bronx came out of nowhere and intervened. He hit Javier with a blow so hard, he stumbled back and eventually fell to the ground.

  “Nigga, don’t you ever put your muthafucking hands on her!” Bronx raged as he walked over to Javier again.

  “Bronx no. I don’t need you going to jail too!” Lyric yelled as she put her hand on his chest.

  Javier was up on his feet in no time, but he wasn’t looking for a fight. He spit a wad a blood from his mouth and looked over at Bronx.

  “Mr. Harrison. What business do you have here?” Javier asked him.

  “She is my business. The fuck you mean?” Bronx fumed.

  “How so?” Javier asked.

  “Why the fuck do you care? Just know that whenever you see her, I’m not too far away,” Bronx countered.

  “Let’s go. I need to see what’s going on with Ms. Mary,” Lyric said as she walked away with Bronx following right behind her.

  Javier smirked deviously when he saw Bronx and Lyric getting into the same black truck that he saw parked by her house a few times several months ago. The mystery had been solved and he now knew who fathered Lyric’s unborn child. He walked back into the building with a lot on his mind as Lyric and Bronx drove away.

  “How do you know that nigga?” Bronx asked as he looked over at Lyric.

  “I work with him, but I should be asking you that,” Lyric replied.

  “Don’t play with me, Lyric. It’s more than you just working with him. I can tell when a nigga is in his feelings about something,” Bronx pointed out.

  “I dealt with him for a little while before we hooked up,” Lyric replied.

  “Elaborate,” Bronx requested.

  He listened as Lyric told him all about her history with Javier. Bronx wished he would have known that before, but it was too late now. Javier had the potential to be a problem that he didn’t need. Things with him and Lyric were finally starting to look up. He didn’t need anything to stand in the way of the progress that they were making.

  “Damn. He was one of the attorneys that helped me when I first went to the firm,” he replied.

  “I thought you were there to see an investor,” Lyric said.

  “I was but I needed help from an attorney too. I had a few misdemeanors on my record that I wanted to get expunged.”

  “And Javier helped you with that?” Lyric questioned.

  “Yeah.” Bronx nodded.

  “I can’t stand that no good bastard. Can you believe that he got Ms. Mary arrested?” Lyric asked in disbelief.

  “How do you know Ms. Mary?” Bronx questioned.

  “I really don’t know her,” Lyric replied.

  She ran the entire story down to him how she and Mary came to be acquaintances. Bronx had known Mary since he was a teenager and she had always been a nice woman.

  “That nigga is a real fuck boy. How you get a sick woman arrested for some dumb shit like that? The lady lost her son and now she gotta deal with this. She don’t even have money to bury him, but I’ll try to help her with that,” Bronx replied.

  “I feel so bad for her. She tried to get somebody to help him, but they kept brushing her off. She should sue the state for every penny she can get. It won’t bring her son back but she should still be compensated for her loss,” Lyric said.

  “She said it’s been rough since she hasn’t been working. I didn’t even know that my mama has been paying the rent for her every month, but she said it’s still a struggle. All them grown ass peo
ple in the house with her and nobody got a job. Her son that got killed used to sell dope but at least he helped his mama out with the bills. Then, she just found out that her cancer is in stage four. It’s like she can’t catch a fucking break,” Bronx said, making Lyric tear up again.

  “I didn’t even know all that but I’ll try to help her out as much as I can,” Lyric replied.

  “Don’t worry about it baby, I got her. You don’t need to be stressing over nothing. I just need to see about getting her out of this mess that she’s in first. She needs to be planning her son’s funeral instead of sitting in jail,” Bronx said as they pulled up to the jailhouse and found somewhere to park.

  Lyric didn’t anticipate ever having to go back to that place again, but Mary needed to get out of there sooner rather than later. She followed Bronx into the building and prayed for a better outcome than she had several months ago.

  Chapter 33

  “Are you okay Ms. Mary? Take a few minutes to get yourself together if you need to,” Lyric said as she held her trembling hand.

  “Do you need some water or something?” Elise asked.

  “No, I’m okay. No matter how much time passes, I’ll never be ready,” Mary cried.

  Elise and Lyric had assisted her with putting her son’s service together and now it was time for her to view his body. His service was the following day, but she had to make sure he looked okay before then. Bronx kept his word and took care of all the expenses. He even got Mary caught up on her bills and put some money in her pockets. Lyric and Elise cleaned her house good and ordered some food for after the service. Mary didn’t want a repast, but they were sure that some of her family were going to drop by her house afterwards.

  It pained Lyric to see that Mary’s two grown daughters lived there with their men and kids and nobody had a job. They had lots of food in the house thanks to food stamps, but that was the only good thing that Lyric could see. Mary was behind on all her bills but she tried to keep the lights on most of all. She was on oxygen, so that was a matter of life or death for her.

  “Ready?” Lyric questioned when Mary gave her hand a light squeeze.