Page 83 of Tangled Hearts
Silence fell over the table. Everyone was in their own world, with their own thoughts. The background chatter did nothing to ease them into conversation. The tension was so thick that even the waitress sitting their drinks down didn’t pull them together.
Hov reached for Knycole’s water, twisting the cap off with a familiarity that was almost tender before sliding it across to her. Her eyes rolled, but his gaze dared her to challenge him. She knew better than to spar with him, not here, not now. Instead,she took a small, reluctant sip, her eyes flicking up at him, asking without words,satisfied?
“I love that,” Noir said, pulling everyone’s eyes to her.
Christian tossed his drink back without so much of a grimace at the hard liquor. “Love what?”
“The way Hov takes care of her,” Noir’s voice wavered, her eyes shimmering as she looked at Knycole. “How he opens her drinks, orders her food… just sees her. Really sees her.” She shrugged her shoulders, trembling just a bit. The pain was written all over her face. She saw the cracks in their foundation, the hurt that neither of them could hide, no matter how hard they tried.
Hov pulled his drink towards him. His eyes cast downwards. “She don’t love it though,” his voice was almost too low forhimto recognize. The way Knycole had his heart feeling didn’t feel good and even being close to her didn’t relieve the pain.
“I do.” Knycole twisted her body towards him.
He met her eyes, his own dark and wounded. “I can’t tell.”
Noir wiped at a tear slipping down her cheek, her heart cracking as she watched them stumble through their pain. Everything they once believed in was crumbling. She couldn’t fix what was broken between her and Christian, and now she was watching Knycole fumble the one man who held her heart, all because she was too afraid to hold on.
Christian kissed his teeth. “Get out them folks business.”
“It’s my business too… like we’ve been friends forever so of course I feel a way when it ain’t how it’s supposed to be.” Noir continued.
“What about us? How you feel about us?” Christian’s light brown eyes almost made her weak in the knees. But looking at him made her remember how cute she thought their children would be and that made her remember he gave his first child to a bitch that wasn’t her.
“You asking me when you the one that ruined us!” She raised her voice.
“Okay, Christian, I don’t think this is the place.” Knycole sat up.
Christian looked hurt. “Me? She the one yelling and shit.”
“Why are you here?” Noir’s leg bounced under the table. She was willing herself not to knock his head off his shoulder. “Like, how you even knew I was here?”
“We just came here to eat but saw your car in the parking lot,” Hov explained. He knew how hurt his boy was behind Noir and maybe them forcing their way to their table wasn’t the best idea but he wasn’t going to hang Christian out to dry.
“You have the right to do that because you ain’t ruin you and Knyc…” Noir’s acrylic nail pointed at Hov. Her wet eyes went from across the table to Christian. “But you… you don’t need to be making your way to shit but that hoe and her hoe ass baby!”
“Aye,” Christian, pinched the bridge of his nose. “Watch how the fuck you talk about my baby. I know you hurt but she ain’t do shit to you.”
“Yes she did!” Noir tried to get up from the table like she wasn’t on the inside of the booth. Her quick movements rocked the table making drinks clink over.
“Noir,” Knycole squealed when the cold drink spilled into her lap.
“Come the fuck on,” Hov mumbled under his breath, grabbing napkins to slow the drinks from spilling all over their laps. “Let’s just go.”
“I’m cool. That’s Noir doing the most and talking out the side of her neck.” Christian’s patience was running thin. He just needed his girl to calm down.
Noir mushed his head with an open palm. “Doing the most?! How? How am I doing the most when you ruined us?!” her voicecracked. “Huh? How am I doing the most when… when you cheated on me and made a whole human being?!”
“Um,” their waitress was back at their table, now sporting a nervous smile. “The manager is asking you all to leave.”
“And the fucked up part about it all, is you expect me to just move on like I don’t have to share you with a hoe and her bastard ass baby.”
Christian jumped up. Neither of them listening or paying attention to what the waitress just said. “I’m trying here but I don’t know how much I can try when you keep disrespecting a child. Do you hear yourself right now?”
Brushing the back of her hand over her face, Noir’s nose reddened. “I said what the fuck I said and I ain’t taking it back. If you have such a problem with it, then leave me alone! Go be with them because I ain’t never accepting this shit.”
“I—”
“They heard you,” Knycole cut the waitress off just as Hov pulled money from his wallet to cover their bill.
