Page 112 of Tangled Hearts
Noir kissed her teeth. “Come on, with yo’ scary ass.”
Knycole exhaled the breath she’d been holding.
“Aye, Knyc,” Rock called to her back.
Her and Noir hadn’t walked that far so she heard him. Turning around, she wanted to see what he wanted.
“You can only save one life, who you saving?”
“Noir,” she said like duh.
He laughed. “You know what I’m talking about.”
He wouldn’t say it out loud but needed to know. It was eating him up.
“Don’t make me choose.” She begged with her eyes, heart damn near beating out of her chest.
“You owe me this.” His hands went up, surrender and demand at once.
Knycole glanced across the street. She couldn’t hear Hov with all the music and noise, but she felt him. His stare was heavy, waiting for her to show her hand.
“Him.” The word was blunt with no hesitation in her eyes. She’d always tried to protect Rock’s feelings, but this time there was no room for it.
Rock’s tongue darted across his lips before he blew her a kiss. His chest ached so bad he thought it might split open, but his pride held him together.
“But Rock… don’t make me have to choose.”
He threw up a salute, turning his back on her. His ego was cut, but deeper than that, his heart was shattered. He walked toward Cash, every step heavier than the last.
Noir linked her arm with Knycole. “Damn, that was cold.”
“It was the truth.” Knycole shrugged.
“Therapy taught you that too?”
Knycole cackled. “This why I’m ‘bout to stop telling you my business.”
“Then who you gon’ tell it to? Bitch we’re sisters… personal secret keepers.” Noir locked their arms tighter.
“He shouldn’t have asked me. Rock knew what the answer was gonna be. He asked with a motive.”
Knycole knew Rock. Sometimes better than he knew himself. He needed the confirmation, even if it hurt. That was always his way… poking at wounds just to see how deep they ran. He wasn’t dumb. He read her, the way she pulled from his arms, the way her eyes shifted when Hov’s voice cut through the noise. Rock knew, and still, he asked.
Her chest felt heavy. Guilt mixed with relief, a dangerous cocktail she’d been drinking for years when it came to him. She wanted to believe she’d let him down gently, but deep down, she knew the truth hit harder than anything else she could’ve done. She spared him nothing tonight.
Across the street, she could still feel Hov watching her even if he couldn’t hear what she and Rock said. That awareness burned through her like a warning. He was waiting, measuring every move, and she didn’t know how much longer she could stand in between them without splitting herself in half.
Rock walked away looking calm, but Knycole knew better. His salute and blown kiss weren’t signs of peace. They were a sign of armor. He was hurting, maybe worse than he’d ever admit. She knew he’d go home tonight, lie in his bed, and stare at the ceiling with her name in his head like a curse and a prayer all at once. And that was the part she hated most. Knowing she’d left him with a heart full of questions she never planned to answer.
Noir’s voice pulled her from her thoughts. “Crazy thing is, I believe he’ll choose Hov over you. He won’t admit it now and rightfully so, but I know his heart.”
“Yea,” Knycole sighed. “That’s what I wish I could change the most. They both lost each other in this whole thing.”
Noir hummed her agreement. Her eyes drifted across the street, across the crowd, and through the mess that felt normal to them now.
Noir thought back to when it was just them. No chains, no beef, no choices splitting them apart. Back when they were down like four flats, scraping money for gas and eating noodles out the same pot. When love was simple because all they had was each other and by the grace of God, Nakorea.
Now everything was louder. Cars, guns, egos, and pride. The ties that once held them together had turned into knots they couldn’t untangle. Noir missed the quiet loyalty of those days, even if they were broke, even if they were running the streets.
