Page 77 of Tangled Hearts

Knycole drummed her fingers on the steering wheel, glancing at Hov out the corner of her eye. He hadn’t moved since they parked. Hadn’t even unbuckled his seatbelt. He was leaned back in the seat, tapping his leg, staring at the woman waiting up ahead.

“You gon’ get out or just keep sweating up my car seats?” Knycole teased.

“Shut up, kid.” His voice was low, like it carried more weight than he could handle.

“You want me to come with you?”

“Nah.” He shook his head, finally pulling at the handle. “I just need you close.”

“I’ll be right here,” Knycole promised.

Hov closed the door behind him, sucking in a long breath. His chest felt heavy, but his feet kept moving until he was standing in front of her.

Solar crossed her arms, tilting her head. “You just gonna stand there?” Her skin glistened under the sun, every few seconds light cutting across her face like the sky was trying to put her in a spotlight.

Hov tucked his bottom lip into his mouth. He’d been watching her since they pulled up, but standing here now, the fear hit harder. The fear of not being hers. His eyes darted anywhere but her face.

Solar stepped closer, trying to keep her own emotions in check. She’d always been a big sister to someone, but this felt different. “Nigga, I don’t bite.”

That pulled a smile from him. He finally looked at her. “You short. Don’t really look like me. I guess I see a little of Christian in you… maybe just the skin tone.” He blabbed fast, hoping she didn’t take offense to his words.

She laughed, shaking her head. “I look like my mama.”

“Yea… me too.”

Solar looked at him in disbelief. Not knowing her father had been something she carried her whole life.

It was such an issue with her that she couldn’t forgive her mama for a long time.

Her mama was already not raising her, then when questions about her father came up, her mama shut it down saying she didn’t know.

Now, Solar wanted the boy standing before her, no older than her own daughter, to be hers even if he wasn’t. But her gut told her, he was.

For a second, it was quiet. Just them standing there. Two pieces of the same story that finally found each other.

Solar stepped forward, reaching out to flick his chain. “So this what y’all wearin’ out here? You Jade City niggas funny.”

Hov chuckled, relaxing a little. “You don’t like it?”

“It’s giving… nigga fresh out the hood, but I’ll let it slide since you my little brother now. But be on the lookout for something a little more raw… twinkle in the dark.”

“Listen at you,” he lifted his brows. “You talkin’ big shit like that?”

“Boy, you better know it. I’m the biggest shit talker…Don’t get cute, though.” Solar smirked. “I’ll still whoop your ass.”

They both laughed, and the air between them finally loosened. Hov rubbed the back of his neck, eyes glossing. “I was scared you wasn’t gon’ want me.”

The words came out sharper than he meant them to, but it was the truth.

He’d spent his whole life bracing for people to walk away.

First his mama, then everyone else who promised they’d love him through the hurt.

Even with Knycole, with Rock, with the streets—he never felt like somebody’s first choice.

Standing in front of Solar, he wasn’t scared of her laugh, her tough words, or even her quick wit.

He was scared of being another name on somebody’s list of regrets.

It wasn’t about finding blood. It was about finding a place. He wanted to belong to somebody who didn’t need him to prove himself first. That’s what scared him most. The idea that he could meet the sister he didn’t know he had, and she’d take one look at him and decide she didn’t need him either.

For Hov, not being wanted wasn’t just a fear—it was the one wound he carried everywhere, no matter how much he tried to patch it up with money, women, or the streets.

Solar’s eyes softened. “You mine, nigga. It just took too damn long for us to meet.” She reached out, pulling him into a hug.

At first his arms hung awkwardly, then they tightened around her like he’d been waiting on this his whole life.

Knycole leaned her head against the steering wheel, smiling as tears slipped free.

Solar pulled back, wiping her face before pointing at the car. “She gon’ sit in there all day? Tell your little girlfriend to come say hi.”

“She not my girlfriend... that’s my person.”

“Ohh!” Solar’s head jutted back in shock. “You a smooth lil sumn’.”

“Stop.” Hov smirked.

Solar slapped his chest lightly. “Boy, don’t start acting brand new. You got me now, and you stuck with me. Big sister rules.”

Hov sniffed, chuckling through it. “Guess I can live with that.”

Solar beamed, looping her arm around his shoulder.

“Damn right you can. Come on, let’s go eat.

I got way too much shit to tell you, and you gon’ listen, whether you want to or not.

You got a niece probably older than you…

that heffa done got married and got twins.

I think she pregnant again but she be trying to hide it.

” Solar went on and on giving her little brother a play by play.

“Oh, and you got a brother-in-law named French… he’s the realest.”

Hov exhaled, looking at her, then back at the car where Knycole waved from the window. He felt whole.

Untangled.