Page 30 of Falling for Lucifer
As soon as she pushed the door open, her heart both skipped a beat and melted at the sight in front of her. Lucifer’s room was huge—way bigger than hers. She even spotted a fireplace with a TV hanging above it. Her eyes landed on Lucifer though. He lay in bed shirtless with red basketball shorts on, and Etta lay on his chest sleeping peacefully. Once again, she wished she had her phone so she could capture the moment and hold onto it forever. This right here was what she wanted for her daughter. A father who cared about her and was present for her. Lucifer could calm Etta down better than she could at times. It made Ellodie wish like hell she’d met Lucifer sooner and got pregnant by him instead of Wes.
“I was just checking in on her. How’s my baby?” Ellodie asked from the doorway.
“Come here and get in on this,” Lucifer urged.
Her body reacted to his command before Ellodie could even process it. “What am I getting in on?” she asked as she climbed into the bed.
“Affirmations,” Lucifer replied. He used one hand to hold Etta in place so she wouldn’t roll off him if she moved. The other hand pulled Ellodie closer. “I was just affirming her. She’s been fussy as hell. My voice seemed to calm her, so I figured I could take the time to encourage her. As mean as Hades is, he used to do this for Eris and me when we were little. In his own way.” He chuckled and then mocked his brother. “Head up, lil nigga. You a king. You strong. You ain’t ever got nothin’ to cry about because you got me. You gon’ grow up to be a better man than me and Pops . . . That kind of shit.”
Ellodie’s heart warmed as she tilted her head up. Lucifer stared at the far wall and looked to be lost in the memories. After a moment, she asked, “What have you been saying to Etta?”
He blinked and looked down at her. A slow smile graced his face before he kissed Ellodie’s forehead. “I been telling her she’s a princess. She deserves all the good in her life. She don’t ever have to be afraid of anything or anyone, especially if I’m around. She’s strong. She’s beautiful like her mama.”
He winked, and tears pricked the back of Ellodie’s eyelids. Her heart warmed. Etta deserved every word he’d spoken. She often had conversations like that with her daughter. She wanted Etta to know how loved she was and how she would never be alone.
“Thank you,” Ellodie muttered, “for everything.”
She didn’t bother wiping her tears. They trickled down the side of her cheek and onto Lucifer’s chest. He rubbed her back in slow circles, and they lay like that for a long time. Ellodie hadn’tplanned on sleeping in Lucifer’s bed, but her eyelids became heavy, and she allowed them to close.
Lucifer’s voice was soft when he spoke, and she didn’t even bother opening her eyes. Etta had it right. His deep baritone soothed her to her core. She never wanted to leave this moment.
“You’re worthy of the best, Ello. You ain’t ever gotta put up with no bullshit from a man. You’re smart. You’re strong. You attract love. You’re beautiful. You have a beautiful mind. You’re a great mother . . .”
Ellodie wanted to stay awake and hear everything Lucifer had to say about her and to her, but the mental and physical exhaustion from the past few days finally pulled her into a deep sleep.
“You know I don’t do churches, dawg.” Hades grumbled as he tugged on his tie and kept his eyes sweeping over the parking lot.
Lucifer, Ellodie, Harley, Hades, and the babies stood just outside the church, waiting to enter. Nothing stopped them from doing so, outside of Ellodie’s apparent nerves at being in the same building as her mother again, and Hades’s reluctance at stepping into a church. He swore up and down that he would burn to a crisp after the hell he rained down on Earth.
Harley elbowed him in the ribs. “Hades, hush. You’re going to have to go into one for Kali’s christening, so think of this as a practice one.”
Hades looked at her like she had two heads. “What christening? What the hell you talkin’ ’bout, woman?”
“Of course, I want to have her baptized, Hades. I just haven’t started planning it. Kudos to Ello for making it happen so soonfor Etta. I could never. I’m too tired.” As if to emphasize her point, she yawned, which made Ellodie laugh.
“I didn’t plan this. My mother did,” Ellodie corrected her. “She would have been nineteen by the time I got around to planning this.”
“I know that’s right.” Harley agreed as she pushed Kali’s stroller back and forth to soothe the fussy baby.
For now, Etta slept in Lucifer’s arms, her new favorite place to be. Ellodie knew it wouldn’t be long before she was wailing in front of everyone after having water sprinkled over her head. Her baby hated bath time, so she knew this wouldn’t go over well. It made her even more thankful that Lucifer was there because he would be able to calm her right down. She couldn’t lie to herself and pretend like she wasn’t happy Lucifer was there for her too.
Over the past few days, he had been her backbone. He helped take care of Etta so she could rest. Most days, she didn’t even feel like getting out of bed. She thought she had postpartum depression before, but she knew that was nothing compared to what she felt now. It was exactly like drowning in a pool in front of people who could do nothing to save her. But that wasn’t true because every time it got so bad that all she could do was cry until there was nothing let, Lucifer was there. He would sit with her, hold her, and patiently wait for her to calm down. And then he would make sure she ate, bathed, and spent time with Etta.
She had yet to go home. She wasn’t sure she ever wanted to, honestly. Wherever Lucifer was suddenly felt like home. She worried that he might want his space back soon, or that she was overstaying her welcome, but he never hinted that was the case. Her insecurities were at an all-time high. The last thing she wanted was for Lucifer to find her as a prisoner in her own home with two black eyes. At the same time, he was the only person she asked God for during that time.
Lucifer must have sensed she got lost in her head because his arm circled around her waist, and he pulled her close. “You good?”
His breath on her ear had her thinking unholy things as she watched one of her mom’s friends walk into the church. The woman held her nose up, and Ellodie had the urge to give her the middle finger in response, but she refrained. There went her unruly emotions again. Lucifer was the only one grounding her at the moment.
She leaned into him and nodded. “Thank you.”
She smiled up at him, and he grinned at her.
“Ello, there you are,” Yasmine snapped as she poked her head out of the church. “Your mama is about to drive me nuts. She’s about two seconds away from making me waterboard her with that holy water. Get in here so we can get this over with.”
Ellodie snickered because she knew Yasmine was dead serious.
“Let’s go,” she muttered to everyone before leading the way into the church. She heard Hades behind her grumbling under his breath and Harley chastising him, but she tried to tune it out as she focused on the feel of her hand in Lucifer’s. Yasmine disappeared down the hall to the right. If Ellodie remembered correctly, the bathroom was that way.
