Page 38 of Falling Into Gravity

“You up?” he asked, stepping in with a brown paper bag that had grease stains on the side.

“Yeah...working.”

His Pops sat the bag on his desk. “Got extra wings from the night shift. - Lemon pepper. They had mild too, but I know you be acting soft when it comes to spice.”

Malik smirked. “Man, whatever.”

His Pops dropped down in the chair near the window, kicked his boots off and leaned back like he owned the night.

“How’s the coding coming?”

“Good,” Malik mumbled, not looking up. “I’m working on a new feature - private rooms. Kinda like a secure chat.”

His Pops nodded like he understood every word. He didn’t. But he listened because it mattered. Meeting his son where he was, was important to let his black son know, he was loved and understood even if the world told him otherwise.

“You gon’ make something outta all this.” Anthony nodded like he could see the future.

Malik finally looked over.

“You think?”

“Boy,” Anthony chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “I used to run money in a shoebox ‘cross state lines, ain’t never coded a damn thing. You twenty-four and building an app with a trap on the side. I ain’t saying it’s right, but it’s yours. And if you play it smart—real smart—you can flip all this into something they can’t take.”

Malik nodded slowly, soaking it in. His pops never lectured, just laced him with game when the moment was right. He appreciated it, knowing a lot of his homies didn’t have that.

“You got a good heart, son,” Anthony continued. “Just don’t let that ego or no pretty girl make you forget that.”

Malik smirked. “You swear you be knowin’.”

“I can tell…heard y’all up late cupcakin’. I ain’t tweakin’ cause that’s how I got ya mama.”

Malik’s phone lit up, pulling his attention back to the phone in his hand. It was Aku.

He answered quick. “Hello?”

“Malik,” her voice slurred like she’d been sipping straight from the bottle. “Come outside.”

He blinked. “What?”

“I’m at your house.”

He stood up, already sliding into his sneakers. “Dorothy, it’s three-something in the?—”

“I know what time it is. But I ain’t wanna be nowhere else right now. So…I came here.”

His Pops raised a brow from the chair, but didn’t say a word.

“You safe?” Malik asked, grabbing his shirt off the chair.

“I’m outside…in my car…Safe-ish…you gon’ come out or you want me to keep looking pitiful out here?”

He sighed, heart already racing, even though he was trying to play it cool. “I’m coming.”

As he grabbed his keys and headed for the door, his Pops spoke again, voice calm and knowing. “She worth it?”

Malik hesitated, the glint in his eyes from popping a pill. “I don’t know yet...”

Anthony smirked like he’d heard that before. “You gon’ find out tonight.”

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