Page 32 of Rocky

“Deacon?”

“Don’t play dumb, Rue.” He paused to catch his breath. “You’re my emergency contact, and the nurse said she called you hours ago.”

“She did.”

“Then why aren’t you here?”

“You can’t be serious.”

“The fuck you think?”

“I think you should find somebody else to do it. Bye, Deacon.” I blocked his number for what seemed like the millionth time, and for the first time, I didn’t plan to unblock him.

“If audacity had a fuckin’ face, it would be that nigga’s,” Rosemary said.

“What was that about?” Daisy asked.

“Yeah, give us the tea,” Sage urged.

“Apparently, someone beat Deacon’s ass last night. He went to the ER, and I’m his emergency contact. He could barely talk and had the nerve to demand me to do something.”

“You’re joking, right?” Violet questioned.

“I wish I was.”

“Too bad they didn’t finish the job,” Blossom mumbled.

“Blossom—”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah! He’s Briar’s father. If we’ve heard that once, we’ve heard it a million times, and we don’t give a fuck!”

“Say it again, sis!” Daisy cheered.

I shook my head at my sisters. They hated Deacon for what he’d put me through, and while I hated him too, I didn’t wish him any ill will. I simply wanted him to be a good father to our son because Briar deserved it.

“Y’all are ridiculous. If?—”

My phone rang again with an unknown number flashing across the screen.

“That better not be him again!” Rosemary spat in disgust.

“It’s a different number.”

“Answer it on speaker,” Daisy said.

“Hello?”

“Come outside,” the male voice demanded.

“Excuse me?”

“Bring your pretty ass outside.”

“Who is this?”

“You don’t know the voice of the man whose face was buried between?—”

I took my phone off speaker as my sisters gasped, slapping their hands over their mouths and looking at me with wide eyes.

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