Page 5 of Tangled Hearts
She was a good girl doing bad things for love. A smart girl losing focus behind feelings. A young girl with too much weight on her back, hoping the right person might carry some of it.
But nobody was carrying anything but themselves. Not in this world.
So for now, she stayed tangled. In her choices. In her loyalty. In her heart.
Strings attached. Always.
CHAPTER 2
Rock dreaded goingto his grandmother’s home because she never had anything good to say to him or about him. Although he pretended that her words and negative body language didn’t faze him, it did. If he never had to lay eyes on her, or her triflin’ daughter, again, that would be too soon. But because of his baby sister, Raquel, he would walk through hell just to make sure she was good.
“Look at what the devil dun’ drug in,” his granny sneered when he entered through the front door after using his key.
“Rocky!” Rock called out, using the nickname he’d given his sister.
Mae Lou sat up in her run-down rocking chair. “I know you know how to speak when you walk in someone’s house,” she fussed with her nose tooted in the air.
Already over it, Rock ran his tatted hand down his face. “Look, Mae Lou, I’m just coming to check on my sister.”
“Which I understand, but like I said, I know even you have enough common sense to know to speak to the owner of the house,” she spoke, never stopping her continuous rocking.
“All that would probably hold some weight with me if I wasn’t the one paying damn near all the bills,” he snapped back.
“If you don’t want your sister out on the streets like you, then you’d keep on paying damn near all the bills. And next time you step foot in my house, speak, Rodrick,” she reiterated, ending the conversation.
“Hey, big brother.” Raquel smiled when her eyes connected with the only man in her life.
Lifting her up into his arms, he squeezed her tight. “What’s going on, Rocky? How’s school and everything?”
She sighed. “School is good, but when will I be able to live with you?”
“What’s wrong with living here?” Mae Lou butted into their conversation, something she always did.
Raquel’s eyes lowered. She hated living with her grandmother and wished she could go be with her brother. In her perfect little twelve-year-old world, she’d have a loving mother and could at least live with her. But that wasn’t her reality.
“And what’s wrong with you minding your business?” Rock snapped, truly fed up with his mother’s mother.
Raquel placed her hand on her brother’s chest. She hated when he snapped at their grandmother because she was their elder. One thing she knew was that respect was everything, even when you didn’t feel the other person was reciprocating the same. To her, nothing her grandmother did was disrespectful. Rude, yes.
“Just let it go,” she whispered to him. “What have you been up to? I heard about Knyc whooping Shakeisha’s butt,” she changed the subject.
With flared nostrils, Rock diverted his negative attention from Mae Lou. “You know how that girl is.” He chuckled.
“I know how you be trying to play my girl. Anyway, I need lunch money. You got me?” Rocky asked with her hand out.
“Always, Rocky.” He mushed her head before pulling out two twenty-dollar bills. Her school lunch would only be fifteen dollars for two weeks, but he always made sure to give her extra, just in case she wanted ice cream and stuff.
“Thank you, Rodrick.” She called him by his government name because she knew he hated it.
After sitting outside the house for a few minutes trying to decide whether or not he wanted to kick it at Mae Lou’s house or go to the spot he shared with his best friend, his spot won. Every now and then, Rock would stay at his grandmother’s home, but it was seldom. Regardless of the calmness he felt, compared to sleeping in his spot, he hated feeling like he needed Mae Lou.
He pulled onto the block and took in the stillness. There were a few smokers walking around making noise, but for the most part, there wasn’t much movement which led him to believe he would get a decent amount of sleep. Since they pushed product and slept in the same spot, neither him or Hov slept peacefully because the house could be raided by the cops or some hating ass niggas at any given moment. Still, it was their spot, and they cherished it.
“You good? I thought you was kicking it over Knyc’s tonight?” Hov commented the moment Rock stepped in the house. He had a friend over and was planning on busting her down in the living room instead of his room.
Rock smirked knowing what was up. “Nah, I needed to stop and see Rocky. I’m ’bout to rest my eyes for a while in my room. You good?”
“Gucci, my nigga.” Hov grinned before shaking up with his friend.
