Page 39 of Tangled Hearts

Noir sat in her office, going over contracts.

She was so behind on work and needed to see when her sponsorship videos were due.

For the last week, she’d been cooped up with Christian while he tried to get their relationship back on track.

It felt good to see him beg and grovel but every time they found solid ground; his baby mama was blowing up his line.

Noir felt like Chanta was trying to throw the baby up in her face and that pissed her off even more.

It was bad enough the nigga cheated on her. But to add a baby was cruel.

Thinking about his daughter always seemed to put her in a sour mood. Tears rimmed her eyes, but she didn’t let them fall. Noir was tired of crying. And arguing. She wanted her life to go back to the way it was but that seemed so far away, it was insane.

When she was done prioritizing which videos she needed to do next, she just sat there.

Her eyes scanned her beautiful office that she cried about.

A snicker escaped her lips reminiscing on how Christian used to give her any and everything she wanted.

When their first interior designer gave her push back, he fired her and found someone else to do it.

It was decked out in pink everything but still had a grown-up, professional feel to it.

So much of her young, twenty-two-years-old, life had been filled with him.

Christian came into her life and showed her what it felt like to be loved properly by a man.

No, he wasn’t without flaws and on many occasions, she had to check a hoe about him.

Still, she understood their age and what came with his lifestyle.

He got better over time and stayed faithful and true to her.

Or so she thought. Chanta popping up with a whole baby threw Noir for a loop.

It felt like betrayal the way her man kept it from her and because he let the bitch keep it.

Wallowing in her feelings, Noir felt dumb.

The way her heart ached; she knew it was time to throw in the towel.

She just couldn’t. She felt like Beyonce on Ring the Alarm.

Noir would be damned if she let another bitch come and take her place.

Childish, she knew. Petty, yes she was. She just wasn’t ready to walk away and give Chanta the keys to the castle.

On the other hand, Noir died a little inside every time she saw that bitch’s name on his phone.

The sound of a notification from her phone released her from the shackles of her broken heart.

A smile lifted her eyes when she saw it was a message form Cash.

She was so proud of him. He’d done what he said he was going to do.

That was something a lot of black men didn’t get to experience where they were from.

Any time she passed a picture of him or heard his songs, her heart swelled knowing he was so deserving.

$: Homeboy?

Like a kid in the candy store, Noir couldn’t stop smiling.

When he reminded her that she was his homeboy, it took her back to them being kids.

Cash had always been about Noir. Still about Noir.

There was nothing he wouldn’t do for her and showed that every day.

Cash had been the sounding board for her when she wanted to vent about her love life.

And like the real nigga he was, he never threw dirt on Christian’s name.

Noir: What, boy?

$: What I told you ‘bout that boy shit? Do I need to send you a pic to remind you?

She giggled while her coochie thumped.

Noir: Yea, send me a picture.

Her tongue wagged as she waited for him to reply or just send the picture. She was so locked into her phone that she didn’t feel Christian’s presence. With smoke coming from his ears, he snatched her phone.

“Nigga!” She panicked, jumping up from her seat.

He swiped up in her phone at the same time, Cash sent a picture of his dick that was a few shades darker than him. “Bitch! I’m going to fuckin’ kill you!” His voice was so laced with anger and pain his eyes could’ve killed her on the spot.

Noir’s body shook from trying to think quick on her feet. “Nigga, fuck you!” She couldn’t let him see her sweat.

With all the strength in his body, he threw her phone across the room where it hit the wall before shattering.

Noir backed up hoping to create some distance.

It wasn’t enough, though. Christian was in her face in zero point one second.

“You gon’ make me beat your ass, Noir.” He stared into her face, his hot breath melting her attitude.

“It ain’t fun when the rabbit got the gun, huh?” Noir taunted. She was such a glutton for punishment that she could never read the room and see playing with Christian was something she shouldn’t do.

His ridged hand tightened around her delicate and beautiful face.

Christian’s eyes examined her, searching for the girl he loved more than he loved himself.

Pleading with his eyes for the girl who held his heart in her hands to come back to him.

But as he squeezed, searched, and pleaded it was clear to him, his Noir was gone.

The life and love her eyes once held for him was gone leaving nothing but hollowed eyes.

“You see it, don’t you?” Noir spoke through gritted teeth. While he assessed her damage, she watched him discover just how bad he’d broken her. “You see how bad you broke me?”

“We can work through this shit though. I feel like you’re being unreasonable… not accepting I’m human and human’s fuck up.”

“Okay, then let me go get pregnant by Cash so we can be even.”

Mushing her head into the wall, Christian finally let her go. “Stop fuckin’ playing with me, Noir.”

“I’m not playing!” She yelled. Her adrenaline was pumping and the pain in her face from his tight grip hadn’t registered to her yet.

Adrenaline fueled her. Noir bucked up to him, getting in his face. “You broke me, Christian and we will never come back from this. Mistakes are smiling in a bitch’s face not falling in her and making a baby. The nigga I know has had niggas killed for less.”

Christian kissed his teeth. He looked everywhere but at her as she talked. “You trippin’ if you think I would kill a bitch because of my fuck up.”

“If you loved me enough, either her or the baby would’ve been dead. But I know you wanted a kid and thought your young ass girlfriend would eventually accept your seed.” Noir scoffed, head tilting back in false humor. “Well jokes on you because I will never accept that little bastard.”

Words evaded him. Christian wanted to beg and plead for Noir to forgive him but by the look in her eyes, he knew he needed to go about it another way. The overbearing he’d been doing seemed to only be doing more harm than good.

Looking away, Noir wiped her face. “I’m going to my mama’s house.”

“Nah, you can stay here, I’ll leave,” Christian offered.

She shook her head. “No because that gives you too much access to me.”

“You really trying to fuck with that nigga, huh?” His handsome sand colored skin turned red. The thought of Noir being with another nigga didn’t move him one way or another. It was the idea of that man being Cash that gave him pause while boiling his blood.

Instead of responding, Noir walked out of her office to their massive walk-in closet to pack a few items. She had some stuff at her mamas and had enough money to buy whatever she needed but wanted to take some things she already owned.

That and she needed Christian to see her packing so he got a full understanding of what was happening.

The more pieces she put in the bag, the more her heart shattered. No matter how her heart ached, Noir couldn’t say for sure if she was completely done with Christian. Only time would tell. For the time being, she would take it one day at a time.

“You got a little time to have a beer with an old man?” Nick asked, going to the refrigerator before Hov could get a word out.

Hov had dropped Qua off at Nick’s since Knycole had a late class and he didn’t want to have his son out and about so late. He could’ve just spent another night with him but his mama was tripping about not having seen her son all week.

The quickness of his drop off seemed to have been extended. He didn’t mind it since he and Nick had become quite close over the years. Hov knew it had a lot to do with him forcing the addict into rehab.

Nick would never be able to repay him for saving his life.

“Yea, I can have one with you.” Hov followed Nick onto the back patio where soft old school music played on a small speaker.

Qua was in his room playing with toys which gave Nick time to have some real talk with Hov.

“You been good?” The sound of the beer tab popping echoed off the forest line that fenced in the backyard.

Hov stared out into the distance. Darkness shielded the earth. Within seconds, a strange revelation came to him. The nighttime was his favorite time. His son was born at night, he fell in love at night, got the girl at night, killed at night, sold the most drugs at night—he was a nightwalker.

“Hov?” Nick called his name snapping him back to reality.

Hov took a sip of his beer before answering Nick. “I’m as good as I can be.”

“Heart hurt?”

Rubbing at his chest, Hov soothed his beating organ. “Man… more than you probably know.”

“Oh, I know youngin’. I’ve been on the receiving end of heartbreak and been the one to give it. That’s how I know the power my baby girl has over other people’s hearts.” Nick smirked.

“Who heart you done broke, nigga?” Hov sipped from the tall can again.

This time, he was more at ease—loving where the conversation was headed.

Hov’s old soul made him always want to tap into people’s origin stories.

“I ain’t ever seen you with a woman. Had me thinking you played for the other team. ”

Nick laughed at that. “Nigga please. Just cause you don’t see me don’t mean I ain’t got nobody in the cut. I’m a private nigga. Always have been.”

“Shit me too.”