Page 11 of Tangled Hearts

He bobbed and weaved through the room, ducking and dodging her at all costs with a grin on his face.

The two of them were known for passing licks playfully, and in real life.

Rock never really hit her like he would a man, but he was no stranger to tapping her ass from time to time.

Out of breath, Knycole gave up on hitting him back.

Instead, she flopped back down on the bed.

“Your fat ass tired now, huh?” Rock taunted.

Flicking her middle finger in the air, she rolled her eyes and turned her back to him. “Only thing fat on me is this fat cat.” She patted her center.

“Ain’t that the damn truth. Let me get some. I know your shit lite now,” he inquired.

Again, Knycole ignored him. Rock didn’t like to be ignored, so he laid on top of her and humped her butt.

“Stop, stupid.” She tried to flip him off her but couldn’t. “Let me up.” She squirmed until he let her roll over before he placed himself back on top of her.

Now, face to face, they stared into each other eyes.

Knycole studied his features. She loved his tawny skin tone and unkempt, thick brows.

His pink lips were turning brown, but they were still sexy to her.

His hair was pulled into a ponytail, and she loved how it gave him a pretty boy look.

Rock was easily the best looking boy in the neighborhood, and he knew it.

“You’re so damn pretty,” she said with a grin on her face.

“Man, chill the fuck out. Only thing pretty on me is my big ass dick,” Rock said.

She kissed her teeth. “You are so fuckin’ arrogant, Rodrick.”

“And you’re hardheaded. I told you to cut out all that pretty shit,” he reminded her.

“Do you love me?” Knycole tucked a strand of hair behind his ear.

Licking his lips, Rock examined her face. “As much as I know how.”

She didn’t know if that was enough for her.

Then again, her experience with love wasn’t one of value, so maybe what he was giving her was enough.

It was more than she got with Nick, so she wasn’t going to press him too much.

He did take care of her, even when he didn’t have to.

He took on her problems when he was barely able to take care of his own. For that, she was beyond grateful.

“Rub my back until I fall asleep,” she requested.

He kissed his teeth. “Hell no. You better take your ass to sleep like I’m about to do.”

“You get on my damn nerves. Good night, with your pretty ass.”

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Loud knocks woke the whole house up from their sleep. It was well into the early morning, and no one with common sense would find themselves knocking on someone’s door at that time.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The knocks came again, and Rock and Knycole locked eyes, knowing all too well who knocked like that.

“Who is it?” Mae Lou called out.

“Jade City Police Department. We have an arrest warrant for Rodrick Saunders,” the police announced.

“The fuck they got an arrest warrant for me for?” Rock asked no one in particular. He put his pants on with a shirt.

“Rock,” Knycole said about to breakdown.

He didn’t stop his stride towards the front of the house. He knew whatever they wanted with him was all a misunderstanding. Besides serving drugs to willing people, he’d done nothing wrong.

“Don’t go out that door. I’m going to tell them you’re not here,” Mae Lou whispered.

“Nah, granny, I didn’t do shit, so it’ll work itself out.” Rock pulled the door open and was thrown to the ground.

“Get the fuck down!” one officer yelled.

“He’s down. You don’t have to do all that,” Mae Lou fussed, about to raise her blood pressure.

“Rock, don’t fight,” Knycole cried out.

“I’m down, damn,” Rock said angrily.

“Rodrick Saunders, you’re under arrest for serving cocaine to an undercover cop. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do will be used against you in the court of law,” the officer read him his charges and rights.

“Nigga what?” Rock inquired, his mind racing to every face he served earlier. No one really stood out to him but something in his gut told him, they weren’t bullshitting.

“The hell you mean serving drugs?” Mae Lou asked.

“Knycole King, you have to come with us, and, ma’am, I advise you to think twice about harboring a minor without the consent of their guardian,” the officer chastised Mae Lou.

Nick had done the unthinkable. Out of desperation and withdrawal, he told the cops where to find his “runaway” daughter, snitching that she’d been hiding out at Mae Lou’s house.

But it didn’t stop there. Strung out and looking for his next hit, he gave them even more—told them where the boys stayed, said there was always movement, always something worth watching.

He didn’t know if it’d be Hov or Papa that answered the door, didn’t care either.

The undercover was sent to make a buy, and Nick let it happen because he needed a fix.

That’s what addiction did. It made you trade loyalty for relief and hurt your daughter in the process.

Knycole’s spirit sank to the floor. Not only did Nick put her out and embarrass her in the streets, but now, he was about to get the only person who made sure she was good put away.

“I’m not going anywhere with you pigs.” She knew this had to be her father’s doing.

He was pissed that Rock and Hov stopped him from being served.

The office shrugged his shoulders. “You don’t have to come with us but you do have to go home.”

Rock sighed when he locked eyes with Nick, who stood next to one of the police cars. All that because he couldn’t get crack on credit.

“Granny don’t worry about me. Tell Rocky I love her. Knycole, go to school,” he said as they put him in the back of the patrol car. He knew he was about to do some time since this wasn’t his first offense.

Knycole watched them pull off, breaking her more and more the further the car got down the road. God couldn’t be dealing her another bad hand. She hadn’t recovered from the last one. Without Rock, she had no clue how she was about to survive.