Heartbreak And Past Mistakes

by Chenell Parker

  “What’s up? Is she home?” Lyric asked.

  “Nah, she’s at one of her daycares. My keys and my phone are there though. Warren will let me in and he’s just the person that I need to see,” Bronx replied.

  “Why? What’s wrong?” Lyric asked.

  “That nigga showed his ass in Ace’s the night I got locked up. It was because of him that I even left out of the house,” Bronx said.

  “I’m so sorry Bronx. I was wrong for not believing you,” Lyric apologized again.

  “Stop apologizing baby. We’re good,” Bronx assured her as he leaned over the seat and kissed her.

  Lyric had been doing a lot of thinking since Bronx had been locked up. She thought about their relationship and the way that they met. But, more importantly, she thought about their future together as a couple and as parents. Bronx wasn’t perfect but neither was she. Surprisingly, talking to Zina helped her to see a few things clearly as well. She had to be honest with him and that meant being honest with herself. It was a process and she had to take the first step.

  “I forgive you,” Lyric blurted out, shocking him as well as herself.

  “Say what?” Bronx questioned with a smirk.

  “Come on now Bronx. Don’t even start. You heard exactly what I said. You just want me to repeat it,” Lyric replied.

  “No, I deserve to hear you repeat it,” he countered.

  “I forgive you, okay?” Lyric repeated right as they pulled up to his mother’s house.

  “That’s all I ever wanted. I love you, baby. Your happiness comes before anything else. I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you,” he replied as he looked in her eyes.

  “I know you wouldn’t and I love you too,” Lyric replied.

  It was crazy for her to stay with him and continue being in a relationship if she wasn’t willing to give him her all. Melody was right. If she didn’t trust him, she needed to let him go. Once Lyric thought it over, she realized that forgiveness was the first step in the right direction. It felt like she was free once she did and she knew that she had done the right thing.

  “Let me go in here and tell this nigga off. This shouldn’t take long, so I should be right behind you,” Bronx said as he got out of the car.

  He went around and opened the door for Lyric to get out too. He waited until she got into the driver’s seat and drove away. Bronx had a huge smile on his face after what Lyric had just told him. Her holding on to the past was a big part of why he felt like their relationship wasn’t progressing. Knowing that she forgave him let him know that she was ready to move forward. That was the best news that he’d heard in a while.

  Chapter 46

  “I can only imagine the look on his face when Mr. Malone gives him his walking papers. I know he didn’t see this coming,” Lyric said as Bronx drove her to work.

  “Fuck that nigga. Getting fired is too good for his punk ass. That nigga is a hoe and everything that he did proved that. I hate niggas like him who can’t take a L and keep it pushing. That fuck boy tried to lose me in the system and raise my son like his own. That’s some sick shit right there,” Bronx argued.

  “I agree,” Lyric replied.

  “I’m happy as fuck that things worked out the way they did. I would have lost my mind if I couldn’t be there to see my first born enter the world,” Bronx said.

  “You and me both,” Lyric replied as they pulled up to the office and parked.

  It wasn’t even nine o’clock yet, but she wasn’t surprised to see that Mr. Malone was already there. He usually arrived at the crack of dawn whenever he had to do something important. Lyric also knew that he had a meeting with the DA’s office the day before. They already had a warrant for Javier’s arrest and there were many more to come.

  “You know I love you, right?” Bronx asked as he looked over at her.

  “Yes. I love you too,” Lyric replied.

  She smiled when she saw him reach into the middle compartment of his car and pull out the same ring box that he had before. He opened it to reveal the same ring that Lyric had been staring at the entire week that he was locked up.

  “I swore that I wasn’t gonna do this again, but I love you too much not to keep trying,” Bronx said.

  “Yes baby, I’ll marry you,” Lyric said before he could even ask. She held her hand out for him to slip the ring on her finger.

  “I hope it fits,” Bronx replied.

  “It does. I tried it on already,” Lyric admitted.

  “What kind of crazy shit is that? You turn a nigga down but you go try on the ring,” Bronx said while shaking his head.

  “I know, but I was in my feelings at the time. But forget all that. This proposal was trash compared to the first one.” Lyric frowned.

  “That’s all you get this time around. I did the candlelight dinner and got down on one knee the last time for nothing. Maybe I should have done it this way before and you wouldn’t have turned me down,” Bronx laughed.

  “How long am I gonna hear this? I said yes,” Lyric fussed.

  “You’ll hear it until I get tired of bringing it up. Shit don’t feel good, do it?” Bronx questioned.

  “Not at all,” Lyric answered as she rolled her eyes.

  “I ain’t no petty nigga though. I know how to leave shit in the past,” Bronx said sarcastically.

  “Okay boo. I get it. I won’t bring up the past or hold things over your head anymore,” Lyric promised.

  “See how easy that was?” Bronx inquired.

  “Whatever,” Lyric replied.

  She waited until he got out of his truck and walked around to help her out. Lyric had a few more weeks to go before she had their son. She was looking forward to getting rid of the extra weight and getting back to her old self. She planned to hit the gym even harder to get her body back right.

  “Can you do lunch today?” Bronx asked her.

  “I don’t know yet but I’ll call you once I see what’s up,” Lyric replied.

  “Okay baby. I love you,” Bronx said as he kissed her.

  “I love you too,” Lyric replied as she walked away.

  Since she knew that Jared was there, she was about to go talk to him for a little while before she went upstairs. As soon as she walked into the office, she was surprised to see Mary sitting in one of the chairs in the waiting area.

  “Hey Lyric. She came to see you. She’s been here since I first got to work. She was waiting outside for the doors to open,” the security guard said while pointing at Mary.

  “Did she say what she wanted?” Lyric whispered.

  “No. She asked for Elise at first, then she asked for you. When I told her that you weren’t here, she asked if she could wait,” he replied.

  Lyric nodded her head and walked over to where the older woman was sitting. “Hey Ms. Mary. Is everything okay?” Lyric asked.

  “It’s as good as it’ll get.” Mary shrugged.

  “Okay. What can I do for you?” Lyric asked.

  “Nothing right now.” Mary smiled.

  Lyric was about to reply until Javier walked through the front door. He stopped and frowned when he saw Mary. Lyric was happy that he was entering the firm for the last time because she was tired of looking in his face. He looked at Mary like she was beneath him and that pissed her off.

  “I thought the stay away order made it very clear that she is supposed to stay away. Do I need to call the cops and have her arrested again?” Javier threatened.

  “Stop being a bitch Javier. She hasn’t even done anything. She’s harmless and she’s not a threat to anyone,” Lyric fumed.

  She soon realized how wrong she was when Mary pulled out a gun and aimed it at him.

  “Oh shit!” the security guard hissed as he ran from behind the desk. He was armed and Lyric thought that he was coming to diffuse the situation She was shocked once again when he ran straight for the front door and left them there to fend for themselves.

  “Ms. Mary, what’s going on?” Lyric asked as she raised
her hands in a show of surrender.

  “You don’t have to do that Lyric. I would never in my life do anything to hurt you,” Mary swore.

  “Please, just put the gun away. We can talk about whatever is bothering you,” Lyric tried to reason.

  “I’m all done talking. Just walk away Lyric. You don’t need to see this,” Mary said.

  “Look, you need to put the gun away. I’m sure the police are already on their way. The security guard has probably called them by now,” Javier noted as his voice quivered in fear.

  “You think I give a damn about the police. I’m already dead, inside and out. I have nothing else to lose. I can’t leave this world knowing that you’re still a part of it though,” Mary replied.

  “Ms. Mary, please, just put the gun down. Don’t make things worse than they already are,” Lyric cried as her hands shook nervously.

  “They can’t get any worse than they already are. My son is dead and, according to my doctor, I will be too in less than a month. Leave Lyric. Please, just walk away,” Mary begged.

  She slowly stood to her feet with her gun still aimed at Javier. He was pleading with her to think about what she was doing, but she seemed to have thought about it enough. Lyric saw the determination in her eyes and did what she was told. She dropped her purse and laptop to the floor and ran straight for the mailroom. As soon as she opened the door to tell Jared what was going on, she heard three gunshots ring out one after the other.

  “The fuck!” Jared yelled as he dropped down to the floor and pulled Lyric down with him. He was careful not to hurt her or her unborn, but he needed his friend to be safe.

  “Call the police Jared!” Lyric screamed.

  He didn’t know what was going on, but he locked the mailroom door before grabbing his cell phone and doing what she said.

  “What’s going on Lyric?” Jared asked nervously.

  “She shot him. Oh God. She shot Javier,” Lyric sobbed.

  She had her phone in her hand, but she was too distraught to even use it. When it started ringing, Jared had to grab it and answer for her.

  “Hello,” Jared said.

  “Who is this?” Bronx asked.

  “This is Jared. Lyric is okay. She’s in the mailroom and I locked the door,” Jared replied.

  “Okay, I’m in the lobby. Don’t let her come out,” he instructed.

  “I got you, bruh,” Jared replied before he hung up.

  “Ms. Mary, you need to put that gun down,” Bronx instructed.

  He was just about to leave the parking lot when he saw Javier pull up and get out of the car. Knowing that Lyric had just walked into the office, he hung around to make sure she was straight. He was just about to call and ask her when he saw the security guard run out of there like his life depended on it. Bronx got out of his car to stop him and see what was going on. He was distraught, but he finally managed to tell him what was happening. As soon as he said that someone had a gun, Bronx took off running towards the building but gunshots rang out before he even got there. His heart dropped when he entered the office and saw Lyric’s purse and laptop on the floor. When he saw Mary standing there with a gun in her hand, he already knew what it was. Javier was lying there in a pool of blood and that seemed to give her pleasure. She looked up at Bronx and gave him a weak smile.

  “Is he dead?” Mary asked as she looked down at Javier’s bloody body.

  “He’s not moving Ms. Mary,” Bronx replied as he walked over to her.

  “That’s not good enough,” she replied as she fired two more shots into his lifeless form.

  “He’s dead Ms. Mary,” Bronx confirmed, hoping that he was wrong.

  “Good,” she smiled. “He killed my baby and I killed him.”

  “You really need to put that gun down Ms. Mary,” Bronx instructed again.

  “I’ve known you since you were a teenager Deuce. You know I would never hurt you,” she assured him.

  “I know that but, if the police come in here and see you holding a gun, it won’t be pretty. You did what you came here to do, now put the gun down and relax,” Deuce said.

  “Are you sure he’s dead?” Mary asked again.

  “Yes, Ms. Mary, he’s gone,” Deuce answered.

  “Okay,” she replied like she was satisfied.

  She dropped the gun and sat back in the same chair that she was sitting in before. There was no need for her to run, especially since she knew that she wouldn’t get far. When the elevator chimed, Bronx looked up just in time to see two other security guards step off with their guns drawn.

  “Put your hands up!” one of them yelled.

  “Man, you ain’t no damn policeman. Gun probably don’t even have no bullets.” Bronx frowned.

  They looked scared out of their minds but at least they hung around. The other guard was long gone and so was his job.

  “He didn’t do anything wrong. I did it,” Mary stated proudly.

  One of them kneeled down next to Javier to check his pulse. There was no need for that though because he was gone and Mary made sure of that.

  “Where is the guard that’s supposed to be down here?” the other one asked.

  “Running for his life,” Bronx replied.

  When he heard the sirens in the distance, Bronx went to the mailroom and knocked on the door. He knew that the entire building was going to be shut down for a while and he wanted to make sure that he was with Lyric when it happened. Jared made sure to ask who it was before he opened the door to let him in. Lyric tried to peek into the lobby, but he pushed her back before she had a chance to see anything.

  “What happened? Did she really shoot him?” Lyric asked.

  “She did more than shoot him. He’s gone,” Bronx replied.

  “Oh, my God,” Lyric said as she covered her mouth and cried.

  Crazy thing was, she was crying more for what was going to happen to Mary than she was for Javier. Jail was no place for her to live out her final moments. Sadly, that’s exactly what was bound to happen.

  “Calm down baby. This entire building is about to be a mess,” Bronx replied as he hugged her.

  “I called Mr. Malone to tell him what was going on. He put everybody in the conference rooms until it’s all clear. I can’t believe the security guard ran off like that,” Lyric said.

  “For what they get paid, I would have ran too,” Jared said as he peeked his head out the door nosily.

  He shook his head sadly when he saw Javier’s bloody body sprawled out in the middle of the shiny floor. Growing up in New York, he had seen several dead bodies before but never at his place of employment.

  “But, he had a gun,” Lyric pointed out.

  “Most cowards do,” Bronx noted.

  Just like he assumed, the entire firm was locked down for most of the day. Between them taking witness statements and everything in between, they didn’t get done until after five that evening. News of the shooting spread rapidly and people were showing up by the dozens to make sure their loved ones were okay. Everyone was relieved to see that their family members were alive and well. Sadly, the same couldn’t be said for Javier’s family. Lyric’s heart went out to his mother when she heard her screaming and breaking down when she got the news. Unfortunately, she had more than her son’s death to worry about. She and her husband were going to be indicted for the roles they played in everything too. They were going to pay just like so many others. Sadly, Javier paid the ultimate price.

  “What’s going to happen to Ms. Mary?” Lyric questioned once all the chaos had calmed down a little.

  Mr. Malone had called a local janitorial company to come clean up the lobby before he let anyone leave. He shut the building down until Monday and gave everybody off with pay. Bronx and Lyric stayed behind and were now sitting in his office with him.

  “No judge in this entire state will want to touch this case,” Mr. Malone replied.

  He had a bottle of scotch in his drawer that he kept pouring into a small shot glass. Lyric had never
seen him looked so stressed out before. He had bags under his eyes and worry lines creased his forehead.

  “What do you mean?” Lyric asked.

  “This entire case is complicated. Nobody will want to be responsible for sending a sickly old lady to jail, especially when all the details of why she did it come out. Javier will go from being the victim to the villain. I just can’t believe that she did it. I still can’t wrap my mind around the fact that he’s gone and she’s the one who did it. I didn’t see this coming at all,” Mr. Malone admitted.

  “I feel the same way. She looked too fragile to even pull the trigger,” Lyric replied.

  “She didn’t just pull it once, she pulled it a few times,” Bronx spoke up.

  “Unfortunately, his parents will be grieving for their son and dealing with some legal issues of their own. The DA’s office already have a warrant for their arrest and they still plan to move forward with their case. Losing their son will not stop justice from prevailing,” Mr. Malone sighed.

  “Damn man. That’s why you really have to be mindful of how you treat people,” Bronx said.

  “That’s so true.” Lyric nodded.

  From day one, Javier treated Mary like she was a nobody. He never even bothered to help her when he was the cause of her problem all along. Javier knew that most people didn’t have the financial resources to fight it out in court. He only did that to the ones who had public defenders. He knew that a paid lawyer would have investigated it more. Most public defenders did the bare minimum and nothing more.

  “Well, it’s official and this building is going up for sale. I’ve found a bigger, better one and it’s better secured. You’ll love it Lyric. Your office will be next to mine and you can have your own secretary.” Mr. Malone smiled.

  “I don’t need a secretary. Hell, that’s what I feel like I am sometimes,” Lyric laughed.

  “If everything goes the way I plan, you’ll definitely need one,” he replied.