“I’m in labor. They can’t stop it,” she sobbed as the nurse rubbed her back.
That wasn’t what Lethal wanted to hear, but it was better than what he’d feared they were about to tell him. He had done his research, and they were at the best hospital in the state of North Carolina. Lethal walked over to the bed and grabbed Khrome’s hand.
“She’s going to be good. You gotta calm down, so you don’t run your blood pressure up. We got this,” he coached in a soothing tone.
Khrome blew out a shaky breath as the nurse stepped away from the bed. He was right. She needed to calm down and be strong. The baby was coming whether she wanted her to or not, and Khrome had to get herself together. Another pain rolled through her back, and she breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth.
“You need anything?” Lethal asked, still holding onto her hand.
The nurse had stepped out of the room.
“No. Maybe some ice. My mouth is dry all of a sudden.”
The nurse came back in the room with one more nurse, and it dawned on Khrome that she was really about to have a baby.
“I have to throw up,” she groaned as her stomach twisted, and her nervous system began to wreak havoc. The nurse found a small pink pan and as soon as Khrome took it, the contents of her stomach came out of her mouth in disgusting chunks.
She was grateful for Lethal because not only did he take the pan when she was done, he brought her another one along with her toothbrush and toothpaste, so she could brush her teeth from the bed. The nurses moved around the room, preparing it for her birth, and everything seemed to be happening very fast. Before she knew it, the doctor was back to check her once again. Khrome had barely felt any pain, so when he told her she could push, she almost shit bricks. How could labor be so painless? The discomfort in her back wasn’t a walk in the park,but it wasn’t anything that she was going insane because of. The infamous back labor that she’d heard about was better than regular labor, or at least it was for her.
When it was time to push, she felt like she wanted to throw up again. Her palms were clammy and sweaty, but that didn’t stop Lethal from gripping her hand. Each time she pushed, Khrome grunted and squeezed his hand with everything in her. The pressure in her coochie was worse than the pain in her back, and she just wanted it to be over. Khrome pushed so hard, she was surprised she didn’t burst a blood vessel. After six long, hard pushes, her daughter’s head popped out of her opening, and even though she wasn’t that big, her head still hurt coming out of Khrome’s vagina.
“Get it out,” she cried while her legs trembled.
“She’s almost out, Khrome. You got this, Baby. Come on.”
She was tired of being in pain. Khrome’s forehead was covered in sweat, but she was shivering as if the room was freezing. One more push, and she heard the tiniest cry fill the room. Once again, she began to cry.
“You did it.” Lethal sounded like a proud father as they cleared the baby’s mouth, cleaned her, and weighed her. “Three pounds four ounces born at 6:41 p.m.,” the nurse called out as she put the baby in an incubator on wheels and whisked her away.
The fact that she couldn’t even hold her baby made Khrome erupt into tears. She felt like all she’d been doing lately was crying. The purpose of her leaving his home was to protect her baby from Cam, and she had failed, miserably. The statement he made about pushing her down the stairs, so she’d have the baby early rang in her mind, and her blood boiled. Khrome hated Cam more than she’d ever hated Vick, and that was saying something. Vick took advantage of her being a naïve, young girl with amoney-hungry mother. He lured her in, only to end up being a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Cam was just a bit worse. He knew exactly what she’d been through and swooped in to be even more abusive and controlling. Her judgement was piss poor, and Khrome was just as angry with herself as she was of her choice in men. The only thing she’d done right was get pregnant by a man like Lethal. No matter how nice he was to her or how much he protected her, she had enough sense to know that it was only because of the child they shared. Nothing more. Life could have gone so different for her had she been with a man like him from the start, but there was no going back.
As she wiped her tears, Lethal paced around the room with his phone pressed to his ear. He was talking to various family members while she had no one to call. Khrome was very aware that if she dropped dead, there wouldn’t be a soul at her funeral. Hell, there wouldn’t be anyone to plan her funeral. After she passed the afterbirth and got settled, Khrome couldn’t stop shaking. She was shivering so hard that her teeth were chattering together.
“You cold?” Lethal asked with furrowed brows.
She shook her head. Maybe her body was in shock. She wasn’t sure why she was shaking, but she couldn’t control it. Lethal sat down beside the bed and peered into her puffy face. “What do you want to name her?”
“I don’t know,” her voice cracked, and fresh tears spilled over her eyelids. “You can name her.”
“Word?” Even in her sad state she didn’t miss the slight excitement in his voice. Clearly, he’d been thinking about it because he had a name in less than a minute. “Lyric Sade Thornton.”
Her face barely moved as she offered a small smile. “I like that.”
“That’s what it is then.” His head bobbed, and his face held a proud look.
Lethal had always been taught that men were strong, they were providers, and leaders. Even if he was in the room alone, he would have done his best to remain positive and to keep a poker face on. But deep inside, Lethal was more afraid than he’d ever been. They had already been educated on the dangers of their child being born so early such as the risk of cerebral palsy, learning disabilities, respiratory issues, brain bleeds, and the list went on and on. Cam had better hoped and prayed with everything in him that Lyric was okay. He was going to die, regardless, but if his baby girl had to suffer, then Cam was going to get done extra dirty, and Lethal put that on everything he loved.
CHAPTER 10
“Eyes on the ball, Ford. Focus!”Blossom yelled from her position on the sidelines. The game was in the last quarter with one minute remaining on the clock.
With a score of 97-86, the Majors were in the lead. Blossom wanted her team to finish strong. Her adrenaline was pumping, and she was motivating her players not to get lazy on her just yet.
“There you go!” She clapped loudly as Ford stole the ball and shot a three-pointer, making the crowd go crazy.
Women’s basketball rarely got as intense as the men, but there were definitely times when emotions ran high. Just as the buzzer sounded, Ford shot another three-pointer that sent the stadium into pandemonium. Forgetting she had on heels, Blossom jumped up and down as she cheered for her girls. Blossom was her girls’ biggest cheerleader. Even when it seemed like she was being hard on them it was because she wanted the best for them. Until the day she died, she would voice how wrong it was for women athletes not to get paid as much as men, but she went above and beyond to teach her girls the game of life and not just ball.
