Page 135 of Falling Into Gravity

“I ain’t come here to make peace with the past. I came here to make sure you never bring that shit to my woman again. I don’t owe you love, Quesha. But I’ll always owe you the truth.”

She looked at him with hollow, glassy eyes. “Do you hate me?”

Malik’s shoulders dropped. “Nah. I hate what we became. I hate what we lost. I hate that we all still bleeding from a wound we never cleaned.”

Malik turned toward Pharaoh. “You sure you forgave me?”

Pharaoh nodded, slow and solid. “The… moment… I saw how…much it… broke… you.”

Malik’s head dropped. “I love you, cuh. You know that?”

Pharaoh’s lips curled. “I know… weak ass… nigga.”

Malik gave one last look at Quesha. “Don’t make me choose between my past and my future again. Next time, I won’t come talkin’.”

He turned to leave.

“Tell her I’m sorry,” Quesha whispered. “Tell her… I just wanted to hurt you the way I still hurt.”

Malik didn’t respond. He just walked out the room, with Pharaoh wheeling behind him, and the weight of that night finally starting to lift.

The sun was beginning to sag behind the rooftops when Malik finally picked up his phone. He’d spent a couple hours chopping it up with Pharaoh before she slipped out to head home. Crescent was humming outside his window. Kids still hooped in the street like it wasn’t the middle of a school week. But inside Malik’s chest, everything felt unsettled while settling at the same time.

He sat on the edge of his bed for a second, phone in hand, and thumb hovering over her name.

Aku picked up on the second ring.

“Hey,” she hummed softly the smile on her face reflected in her voice.

“Pull up,” Malik murmured, rubbing a hand down his face. “You busy?”

She paused. “No… I’ll be there in ten.”

Aku didn’t know why her hands were shaking. Maybe it was the nerves, maybe it was the baby growing in her belly that she hadn’t told him about yet. Her lip tugged between her teeth as she pulled into Crescent and parked behind Malik’s black chevy.Her Jeep still smelled like vanilla and her hair laid in a sleek low spiky pony.

Malik was already outside waiting. Leaning on the four-wheeler, eyes on her like he’d been counting every second.

“Damn,” he said when she got out. “You ain’t even try to come looking regular.”

“Why would I?” Aku teased, heart tripping as she walked to him. “You like me regular?”

“Nah,” he smirked, pulling her close. “But you know I love you either way.”

He kissed her slow and soft. Taking in a long, deep breath of her.

They didn’t say much for a few beats. Just stood there under the purpling sky, letting their bodies memorize each other again just in case they needed to find each other in the next lifetime.

“You good?” she finally asked, brushing her thumb across his brow.

Malik nodded. “Handled it.”

“Handled what?” Her eyes lifted.

He pulled her by the hips into him. “When it comes to you, I’ll handle everything. That’s all you need to know.”

“Okay,” she smiled loving the security she felt with him.

“You wanna ride with me?” he asked.

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