Page 128 of Lyric Squared

“Good as I can be right now,” I admitted.

“I’m going to get out of here and let you two have the room. Liam and I will head home. Call us if you need anything.” She patted my shoulder and then continued walking.

“Laike needs to get to his truck. We rode in mine to get here.”

“Alright. They can take my car. I’ll ride with Liam.”

“Appreciate it.”

When she’d finally left the room and it was only Lyric and I, I breathed a sigh of relief. The day had been long but the last hour had been even longer. I’d gone from listening to my baby’s heartbeat on the monitor to hearing that there was no longer a heartbeat to be located. The shit made me sick to my stomach,but I knew that it must’ve been part of God’s plan. That was the only thing keeping me sane.

“Hi,” she spoke as I neared the side of her bed and buried her hand inside of mine.

“Hi,” I responded with a long, exasperated breath releasing from my throat.

“I love you,” she began to cry, “I’m so sorry.”

“Shhhhhhhhhh,” I hushed her. “It’s not your fault. It’s nobody’s fault. Don’t worry. We’ll look back at this moment years from now when it doesn’t hurt so bad and understand it was part of the plan. We still have so much time together for our blessings to come into this world healthy and looking just like you. Don’t worry,” I emphasized.

“Luca hates me, huh?” Tears fell from her pretty brown eyes.

“Luca, Laike, nor Liam are upset with you. Everything will be okay. I promise.”

NINETEEN

I staredat the woman I was meant to marry.

The only woman who had the power to break my heart.

The only woman to ever truly have my heart.

The only woman I’d give my last name.

The only woman I’d dedicated my time and energy to.

The only woman I wanted to make happy.

To make love to.

To make better.

To make mine.

I’d wanted that for a while. Since I was a boy and she was a girl, we were supposed to be family. I suppressed what I felt,prioritizing my loyalty to the brotherhood I’d formed with Luca and Laike. But, the night she held another man’s hand as they snapped photos for prom made it clear that my heart knew something my head probably could never comprehend.

Lyric was mine.

She always would be. It didn’t matter when things were made official or how many niggas she fooled into believing otherwise. Her future was set in stone and I’d carved my name all over that motherfucker.

“Come on.Since you done kidnapped a nigga, roll with me.”

“Where?”

“It’s prom night,” Luca expressed.

My heart sank.

“Lyric?”