Page 57 of Tangled Hearts

Mae Lou’s screen door swung open with that same creak Rock remembered from his childhood. He walked in holding Rodeisha’s hand, Shakeisha right behind him with a foil pan. The home had been upgraded while he was away, courtesy of Knycole and Hov.

Rocky came running from the back room, hair twisted up, graduation cap sitting on the table behind her.

She was seventeen now, not the little girl who used to beg Rock to push her on the swing in Mae Lou’s yard.

“Rock!” she grinned, pulling Rodeisha into a hug before looking up at him.

“I got my gown. You coming to see me walk, right?”

“Hell yea,” Rock grunted, pulling her into a half hug. “You know I ain’t missing my baby sister walking across that stage.”

Rocky smirked. “I’m trying to set the bar.”

Mae Lou came from the kitchen, wiping her hands. “Set it high, baby. Don’t let nobody drag you under it.” Her eyes flicked to Rock, softening for the first time all day. “Y’all hungry? I just finished… everything’s hot and fresh.”

Shakeisha set her pan down. “I made yams.”

Mae Lou chuckled. “Alright, girl. Let’s see if they better than mine.” She looked at Rodeisha. “You come sit by Mae Mae.”

“Okay,” Rodeisha bounced on her toes, excited to sit by Mae Lou.

This was Rock’s third time bringing his baby by. The first time, Mae Lou cried before cussing him out and calling Hov knowing he knew all along.

Rock still felt a knot in his chest every time Hov’s name came up.

He’d grown up leaning on Hov in ways he couldn’t even admit out loud.

They were boys who turned into men together, each loss carving them both, each mistake shared like it belonged to both of them.

He loved him. That was never in question.

It was the kind of love that kept him up at night, wondering how they got so far from what they used to be.

He remembered Hov being the only one to put money on his books.

The only one to answer every call from the county phone.

The one who made sure Rodeisha had diapers when Rock couldn’t.

That wasn’t something you forgot. But the same closeness that kept Rock alive inside those walls was what made their distance now cut so deep.

He wanted to reach for him, but pride kept his hand in his pocket.

Watching Mae Lou talk to his daughter, hearing her say Hov’s name so casually, it reminded Rock that no matter how much he tried to bury it, his heart still tied itself to his brother.

And the truth was, he missed him. Missed the bond, missed the respect, missed the family they were supposed to build side by side.

Even when anger rose up, love was stronger.

They gathered at the table. Rodeisha kicked her legs, talking about her doll like it was her best friend.

Rocky showed off her nails for prom. Shakeisha laughed, telling her not to get in trouble, and Mae Lou kept fussing at everyone to eat more.

Rock leaned back in his chair, watching the scene.

It was loud, a little messy, but it was family.

For a minute, he let himself just breathe. Relax.

“Knyc taking me to look at dresses,” Rocky slipped and said.

Shakeisha choked.

Rocky cringed. “Sorry.”

“No, you’re good, there’s no bad blood on my end. I also understand she’s your family so I’m not trippin’.” Shakeisha winked.

Shakeisha understood the intricate ways Knycole was tied into Rock’s family.

That didn’t have anything to do with her.

Rock was a grown man and last she checked, he wasn’t her man to check or run up behind.

That and Shakeisha wasn’t the same person she used to be.

There was no need for her to even pretend to claim him.

She loved him more than she wished she did but she wasn’t going to force his hand.

All she needed him to do was take care of his daughter and be a good daddy.

“Roddy, you gotta crumble the cornbread into the greens like this,” Mae Lou showed Rodeisha how to properly eat greens.

Rodeisha did her best to imitate Mae Lou making everyone laugh. She looked up at them trying to see what’s so funny.

“Your mama ‘round there raising you real bougie like,” she fussed.

“Excuse me?” Shakeshia laughed.

“My baby gon’ be a lil lady,” Rock beamed with pride at the perfect job Shakeisha was doing with their daughter.

Rock leaned back in his chair. His eyes lingered on the scene longer than he meant to. Watching his baby girl soak up Mae Lou’s lessons, listening to Shakeisha laugh like she hadn’t been carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders—it all hit him differently.

He’d spent so many years bracing for disappointment that he almost didn’t trust the warmth creeping into his chest. A part of him waited for the rug to be pulled from under him, but another part clung to the small joy of seeing three generations at one table.

This was the shit he wanted for Rodeisha—the kind of love he had to fight tooth and nail to create.

His eyes shifted over to Shakeisha. His chest swelled knowing his baby girl looked so much like her mama with a gap like his.

Shakeisha looked good, but it wasn’t just that. It was the way she kept showing up. The way she mothered his daughter without bitterness, even when he gave her every reason to give up on him. He knew he didn’t deserve her patience, but he was starting to feel the pull to earn it anyway.

His hand landed on her thigh, under the table, making Shakeisha choke on the laugh she shared with Rocky who was now talking about her relationship drama with Daijon.

“So you claiming that nigga, now?” Rock sat up in his seat, face stoned glaring at his baby sister who was shaping out to be not so little anymore.

Mae Lou waved her hand in the air. “Hell nah now, Rock. My baby can date boys… don’t start that double standard shit.”

Rocky wagged her tongue out at her brother.

“Mae Mae,” Rodeisha wagged her finger, chastising her for cussing.

Everyone fell out.

“We needed you, baby girl.” Mae Lou wrapped her arms around Rock’s baby girl. “We needed you so much, Roddy.” She looked over to Rock with nothing but love in her eyes.

He loved the nickname she’d given his daughter.

Rock swallowed his tears. He always knew his granny loved him but she had been so hard on him. Their relationship grew when he got locked up. She came to see him and they talked on the phone often.

A heavy knock hit the front door before it was pushed all the way open. Hitting the wall behind it with a thud.

Lorraine walked in with two shopping bags dangling from her wrists. Her heels clicked against the linoleum, her body was wrapped in a tight dress that screamed she was still chasing attention. Bracelets clinked as she pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head.

“Look at y’all,” she announced with a wide grin. She had the same gap. “Family dinner and nobody called me?”

Rock’s face hardened. He turned to Shakeisha without hesitation. “Get y’all shit. We’re leaving.”

Shakeisha glanced between him and Mae Lou, unsure. “Rock…”

“I said get your shit.” His voice came out sharp. His temples pulsing trying not to explode. Rodeisha looked up from the table, confused. Rocky shifted in her chair, biting her lip.

Lorraine dropped her bags on the floor and strutted further in. “Really? That’s how you gon’ treat your mama? I came to see my grandbaby.” She bent toward Rodeisha, but Rock moved quicker, pulling his daughter into his lap.

“Don’t touch her,” he warned.

“Boy, stop acting like I’m some stranger.”

“You are,” Rock snapped. “You made yourself one.”

Mae Lou shook her head, folding her arms. “Lorraine, this ain’t the time.”

She was a mother that would always love her one and only daughter. But she also loved her grandbabies and Rock didn’t need Lorraine blowing in like a summer storm, leaving everyone without power.

Mae Lou could see the transformation in Rock and wanted him to reach his full potential. Lorriane wouldn’t help with that.

“It’s never the time with you,” Lorraine rolled her eyes. “You always judging me, always making me the villain. I just want to be a part of my kids’ lives.”

“You don’t get to choose that when it’s convenient,” Rock cut in. “Parenting ain’t seasonal. You don’t get to pop in with bags like that shit erases all the years you ain’t show up.”

Lorraine’s smile faltered. “I was in love, Rock. I thought?—”

“You always in love,” he fired back. His voice cracked under the weight of it. “You loved every man more than you loved us. Me. Rocky. You never once put us first.”

Rocky covered her ears. Mae Lou rubbed her back, glaring at her daughter. “Listen to him. This is what you left behind. He’s a broken little boy trying his hardest to show up as a man. Don’t bring him pain when you ain’t never healed the last one.”

Lorraine’s eyes watered, but she held her chin high. “I made mistakes?—”

“You broke me,” Rock barked. “You left me so hollow I ain’t know how to love nobody right.

And now I got my own daughter, and I promise she’ll never feel that.

I’ll be there every single day, showing her right and wrong even when I mess it up myself.

I’d rather die trying than have her walking around with a hole so deep in her chest she can’t even stand to look in the mirror.

I’d hate for her to question if she was ever enough for me to stay. That shit stops with me.”

The room went quiet except for Rodeisha whimpering against his chest and Rocky wiping tears down her cheeks. Shakeisha reached for him, whispering his name, but he shook his head.

Lorraine opened her mouth, but Mae Lou’s voice cut sharp. “You heard him. Leave.”

Rocky’s eyes watered. “Can y’all not?”

Rock shooed his sister off. “Nah, you can wish and pray Lorraine shows up for you but I’ll never put myself through that shit willingly. I ain’t have a choice as a child but now,” he sighed. “Hell nah.”