Even after the timer went off, Lethal continued to pound the bag in front of him as if he hadn’t been training half the day. Block let him assault the bag for an extra two minutes before he called out to his brother and brought him back to the present.
“Aye you good?’” Block eyed him with concern. His brother was stressing. Between training for the fight and worrying about Lyric, mentally, he was drained.
“Man, I thought Cam being taken care of was going to make life better.” Lethal removed his gloves. “I still think about my daughter and what kind of problems she could have morning, noon, and night.”
“Lethal, if you win this fight, what’s the payout?”
Twisting the cap off his bottle of water, Lethal eyed his brother, wondering where he was going with his line of questioning. “I get $600,000 if I win.”
Block’s head bobbed. “And after this fight, when is your next one?”
“I don’t have anything lined up, but I’ll be taking at least four months off to rest my body and train.”
“Exactly. Never would I ever imply that money is more important than Lyric because it’s not. But bro, as far as her health goes, all you can do is wait and see. The diagnosis will be the same whether you win the fight or lose the fight. If you win, you get to fully relax and be there for your baby for at least two months while you rest your body. You have a few more weeks. Keep your head in the game. Fuck all the distractions and do what you have to do to secure the bag. Then life can be all about Lyric and making sure she has the best medical care possible.”
“You’re right.” Lethal sighed. He would get paid even if he lost the fight, but it wouldn’t be as much. Also, if he lost the fight, his break would be shorter because he’d have to bust his ass for the next fight and prove to himself and everyone else that it wasn’t over for him.
Winning this match meant that his trainer nor anyone else from his team would be on his ass. He could spend all of his free time at the hospital with Lyric if that was what he chose to do. He was somebody’s father, and he had to act like it. One of the things on his to-do list was to open a bank account for his baby. Whether he won the fight or not, when he opened the account, $20,000 was going in there off the rip. When Lethal bought his house, he put $700,000 down on the $2,500,000 house.
Every month, he planned to double up on his mortgage payments, and he wanted to have the home paid off in less than four years. His cars were all paid for, and he had a nice little nest egg. Lethal had been working his ass off, and after the fight, it was going to be all about his daughter until he knew for sure she was good. And if the doctor did give them bad news, Lyric was going to have the best of everything. It didn’t matter if she needed physical therapists or in-home care. If she needed it, she would get it.
“What’s up with her mother?” Block probed as he and Lethal walked toward the exit.
“What you mean?”
“Y’all good? Shorty did take your chain. She’s also got you acting out of character. I’m all for making sure she’s good because that means your child is good, but if she is a grimy-ass broad, don’t let her come-up be easy. Don’t get into trouble for her, and don’t give her ass an undeserved payday because she ended up pregnant.”
Running a hand over his waves, Lethal expelled a breath. His situation with Khrome was a fragile one indeed. The last thing he needed was her embarrassing him and making him look like a fool. He wasn’t the one that took Cam’s life but still. Catching bodies and shit wasn’t Lethal’s thing. He’d never been a part of that life.
“I got it, man. Khrome hasn’t gotten anything out of me but basic shit. She’s staying in a hotel. I gave her a job, and I’m letting her drive my car. I’ll take care of Lyric but if Khrome gets any money out of me, she’s going to earn it. My judgment might not be the best, but I don’t think she’s a bad person. She’s just been dealt a shitty hand.”
“And I sympathize with that, bro, I really do. But at the end of the day, when a person’s environment and other outside forces make them act a certain way, you’re not going to just come along with a few nice gestures and make them change their ways. Shorty has been dealing with some real foul people. She’s not going to simply let her guard down and turn into a different person for you.”
“She doesn’t have to do anything for me, but I’d hope she wants to do it for her child.”
“Me too, bro, but her mother wasn’t shit. Her father wasn’t around. You said yourself she doesn’t have any friends or family.Sometimes, people turn out better than their circumstances, but sometimes, they don’t.”
Lethal knew his brother meant well, but he didn’t even want to talk about the possibility of Khrome failing Lyric. If Brazil could be a single parent, so could he. Lethal would for sure take Lyric before he ever let Khrome traumatize his daughter because of bullshit from her past. He didn’t blame her for Cam’s actions, but his daughter had already been born premature because of a fuck nigga. It was Lethal’s job to protect Lyric, and he would do anyone that didn’t do right by her, dirty. Khrome was no exception.
If she couldn’t look at his character and his actions and decipher that he was nothing like the fuck niggas from her past, then there wasn’t anything he could do. She had to put all of the past trauma to the side and be open to trusting him like he was open to trusting her. He looked at her with Lyric and tell she loved her daughter. Stressed wasn’t the word and the fact that he couldn’t fuck, drink, or smoke was frustrating.
For all he knew, Khrome could take his car and skip town. If she did, it would save him the trouble of dealing with the courts and taking Lyric from her if she got on some deadbeat type shit. The brothers had parked beside one another. When they reached their cars, Block turned to face his brother.
“If you really think she’s good people, I can see if Symphony will link with her. She might be a loner and shit, but everybody needs somebody. Maybe genuine people in her corner will make a difference in her life. Symphony is a girl’s girl. She loves all that women’s empowerment shit.”
Lethal chuckled. Block was always going to have his best interest at heart, but if he saw something really made his brother happy, he’d be with it. Him being willing to let Khrome in meant a lot. She wasn’t Lethal’s lady, but she was his child’s mother. If she was happy, their child would be happy.
“If she’s open to it, I think that would definitely be good for her. Cam kept her isolated to the point that she doesn’t even have one friend. If she’s down to meet new people, I think Averi and Symphony will be good starts for her.”
“Definitely. I appreciate you, bro.”
The men parted ways. Lethal was tired as hell, but he was going to take a shower and spend at least three hours at the hospital with Lyric. He almost asked Khrome to help him decorate her nursery at his home, but he held off for some reason. He stepped in and accepted that he got her pregnant with no hesitation. She didn’t even have to ask for his help when she was in trouble; he offered. Lethal was about to stop giving in so easily. It was time for Khrome to prove herself to him.
Blossom stood at the stove, stirring the pasta sauce that was simmering. She’d be leaving the next morning because The Majors had a game in Chicago. She would only be gone for the day, but she still wanted to have food prepared, laundry done, and the house clean before she left. Creed would be home, so Chosen was staying at home versus going to his father’s house.
“Mom.” Creed entered the kitchen, and the tone that his voice held made her aware that he felt a way about something.
“What’s up?” She turned to face her son.
