Fancy loved her home. She had worked hard for her house and just like that, Nick ruined it for her. Never again would she be able to step outside of her house and not think about the moment he took his life. Of course, she had been cleared of any charges. It was a clear case of suicide. The police officer had witnessed it just as she had, but the moment would haunt Fancy forever.
“You know I have to go to Chicago in the morning, but you can stay at my house as long as you want. The boys will be there, but they won’t bother you.”
“Thank you. I’m not sure I’ll be able to get any sleep tonight unless I take something, but I’m going to get up in the morning and handle some things. I’m not going to work, but I’ll still beaway from the house most of the day. As for tomorrow night, I haven’t decided yet where I’ll stay. If not with you maybe my mother or sister.”
Blossom nodded. She wished there was something she could say or do, but it was something that Fancy had to process. No words could make it better. The dangers that could occur from dating the wrong person were very real, and she knew that was why her sons were concerned about her and who she was dating. Blossom didn’t see things getting better on her end, and she doubted the people in her life would be willing to accept Tech with open arms.
CHAPTER 13
Khrome had been staringat the wall for the past hour. She had been crying so much that blinking hurt. Her eyes felt like literal sandpaper. She wasn’t sure if it was being without her daughter, postpartum depression, or what, but the past few days had been hell. She couldn’t eat. All she did was sleep and cry. The fact that she didn’t even have to put her phone on DND because no one was checking for her was sad in itself. Her stomach was growling, her head was pounding, but Khrome couldn’t move. She only got out of bed to use the bathroom. She hadn’t even showered in twenty-four hours. It was gross, but she couldn’t help it.
A knock at the door threw her for a loop. There was only person who knew where she was. Maybe it was hotel staff. She started to ignore it but decided against it. Peeling herself from the bed, Khrome winced as she stood. She’d been in bed for so long that her body was stiff. The knock came again as she walked to the door. When Khrome’s eyes locked on Lethal’s face, her knees buckled. With furrowed brows, he gave her a once over before crossing the threshold uninvited.
“You sick or something?” he asked as he noticed that she was in pajamas in the middle of the day.
“No,” she managed to croak out. Khrome literally couldn’t remember the last time she’d opened her mouth and used her voice box. It had to have been at least four days.
“The nurses said you haven’t been by to see Lyric in three days. What’s up?” The look on Lethal’s face slowly switched from concerned to upset.
Swallowing down a lump, Khrome walked over to the bed and sat down. She was so ashamed that she stared at the floor rather than looking Lethal in his face. “For what? I can’t hold her. It’s my fault that she was born early. She might have to spend her life struggling because I was too weak to leave Cam before it was too late. I can’t produce adequate amounts of milk. I don’t have shit.” A tear rolled down her cheek and dripped off her chin. “My life has been nothing but chaos since I was sixteen. Maybe Lyric is better off without me.”
Lethal didn’t speak. Even with her gaze trained on the floor, she felt him staring a hole into her. Despite the fear of his scrutiny, once the silence became too loud, Khrome looked up at Lethal. He was waiting for eye contact before he said what he had to say.
“Maybe Lyric is better off without you.” His glare was menacing. Lethal didn’t cut corners or sugarcoat his words. His words cut her like a knife.
Khrome’s lips parted, but she couldn’t find words.
“You don’t do shit but sit around and make excuses. I’m helping you the best that I can. I let you drive my car, so you can get to and from the hospital. I offered you a job, so you can pay rent. Rent on a place that I’m getting in my name for you because you have a record. I’m doing everything in my power, and you’re still finding reasons to say fuck my baby.”
“Fuck your baby?” Khrome drew back. “Are you out of your mind? I never said fuck her. She’s my baby, too!”
“You said fuck her the moment you decided to go days without seeing her.”
“I’m trying!”
“You’re not trying fucking hard enough!” he yelled so loud that she flinched.
As mad as he was, her reaction reeled him back in. She had been with two men that abused her. The first one started when she was sixteen. Lethal felt that his actions should have been enough, but as Block had predicted, they weren’t.
Placing his hands together as if he was praying, he spoke slowly and in a calm tone. “I’m trying, too, Khrome. I swear to God I am.”
The pleading in his tone made her feel as if she was shrinking. Khrome didn’t like being in her feelings. Depression wasn’t fun. Never did she wake up and choose this life, but it was the hand she’d been dealt. Vick was super nice in the beginning, and so was Cam.
It wasn’t impossible for a person to hide who they really were for three or four months before letting the real them shine through. Lethal could have been yet another wolf waiting in the shadows for her to let her guard down. He seemed way too good to be true, and she learned early on that was a red flag. For some reason, she didn’t expect him to care that she hadn’t been by to visit Lyric. He did care, however, in fact, he had taken her absence personal.
Looking around the room, he could tell that she hadn’t been in a good place mentally. Her eyes were puffy and red. Her pajamas were wrinkled, and her skin was dull. Maybe being shut up in a hotel room with no one to talk to or check on her was too much for her. Lethal closed his eyes briefly and gathered himself.
“Get dressed and get your things. You can come to stay at my crib for a lil’ bit.”
Khrome’s heart jumped into her throat. This was the way it always happened. A man came to save her, then he finished destroying her. She wanted so bad for Lethal to be different, but she didn’t have another traumatic experience in her. He saw the uncertainty flickering in her eyes.
“There are no strings, Khrome. You can use the car to come and go as you please. I’m not your father, a warden, or a captor. Only come if you want. Only come if you’re really trying to get on your feet and do better.”
Being alone in a hotel room was better than living with an abuser but sometimes, the silence was too loud. It was a constant reminder that she didn’t have anyone. No one cared about her. Hell, the isolation started with her mother because once she moved on from Khrome’s father, she not only shut him out, but she shut out his side of the family. She didn’t get along with her mother, so she wouldn’t let Khrome have a relationship with her grandmother. When she got with Vick, he said all of her friends from school and the projects were hoes, and they weren’t her friends for real. He claimed that the same ones smiling in her face would fuck him behind her back if they got the chance.
Khrome felt like no matter what she did, it had the potential to be the wrong move. If she did go to Lethal’s house, she could save money instead of paying for a hotel room weekly. That way, when he helped her to get a place, she wouldn’t have to worry about rent or utilities for a little bit. She could start working for him and use the income to stay ahead. What was the worst that could happen? He decide not to give her a job? He tells her to get out of his house?
Making a decision, Khrome stood. “I need to take a shower. When I’m dressed, I can just put my things in the car and go see Lyric. When I’m done at the hospital tonight, I can come.”
