Page 148 of Falling Into Gravity

Myesa burst through the doors, hair tied up, robe half-buttoned over a tank top and leggings. Her face was flushed, chest heaving, hands trembling as she grabbed the front desk. “Where’s my son? What the fuck happened?!”

Gran Betty hobbled in behind her with her cane, whispering prayers with each step. “God, don’t take my baby. Don’t take my baby’s baby.”

Anthony came last, quiet and hulking, in an old crewneck and Dickies. His fists were clenched, jaw locked tight, that old street tension riding his shoulders like armor. His steps were calm, but they felt dangerous.

Aku hadn’t changed.

Still in that cream-colored dress Malik picked out for her. Silk straps slipping down her shoulders. The hem stained in blood and dirt and whatever else she slid through when she dropped to the pavement, trying to keep him alive. Her heels were gone. She didn’t even know where they ended up. Her hair was frizzy and wild, makeup streaked down her cheeks, but her spine was straight. Her eyes stayed open. She didn’t blink….didn’t waver.

“He’s okay,” she said fast, voice rough and dry from screaming. “He’s alive. Still unconscious, but he made it.”

The second the words left her mouth, Myesa ran to her, arms out. She grabbed Aku so tight it hurt and rocked from side to side like she was holding her child instead of her child’s woman. “You okay, baby?”

That one question from Myesa broke whatever strength Aku had left.

She crumbled all over again, and Myesa caught her without hesitation.

They clung to each other in the middle of the hallway, sobbing like it was just the two of them. Myesa didn’t care who was watching, didn’t care about her smeared mascara or trembling hands. She cried with Aku—raw, present, and unbothered by anything but her baby’s pain.

No words. Just tears, breath, and love holding them together.

Anthony stepped closer. “What happened?” he asked, voice low but deep enough to shake the floor.

Myesa stepped back, looked at her square. “Tell us, don’t sugarcoat it.”

Aku nodded once and swallowed. Her jaw twitched and her hands shook as the whole scene flashed before her eyes.

“We were leaving the restaurant,” she started. Her voice was hoarse, like it had been pulled across gravel. “Bu was supposed to meet us, but he was running late. We were talking…having a good time as we walked to the car. I got in first and when Malik went around to get in, some boys rolled up.” She licked her lips. “One of them hit him across the head with his gun,” Aku kept her voice low in case someone was listening too close.

Gran Betty froze. “Who?”

“Bloods, at least three of ’em,” Aku whispered. “Jumped out with masks and sticks. I ain’t even have time to think. They said his name. Not mine - his. This wasn’t no random shit. It was personal.”

Anthony stepped back and punched the wall. Not hard enough to break it, but just enough to feel the pain.

“They said some wild shit about me being pretty…Malik told me to stay in the car, but I ain’t leave him. He swung on one of them when they stepped too close… they were taunting him… talking real reckless.”

Aku sucked in hard. Her lashes were crusted with dried tears. Her grief was stuck behind her ribs like it was waiting for permission to break.

“He was shot in his chest. I was holding him - screaming tryna cover the blood with my hands. I ain’t know where to press. It was too much.”

Myesa crumbled into the chair behind her, face in her hands. “Lord Jesus…”

“They didn’t start shooting until Bu pulled up… everything happened so fast. Malik was hit,” Aku continued. “But Bu let that shit go. They scattered while still shooting. One of ’em ain’t get away, but the other two did. I think they thought they finished him off.” Her brain was scattered so the sequence of events seemed to blur into each other. Aku didn’t know if she was even telling the correct story.

Anthony rubbed his face and paced. “So, they wanted him gone. This wasn’t no warning.”

“No,” Aku said. “They came to kill him.”

Gran Betty made a sound like she’d been punched in the gut. Her cane trembled beneath her weight.

“I couldn’t wait for the ambulance,” Aku continued. “I was losing him. We got him in Bu’s car and he drove like hell. We got here as quick as we could but… I don’t know,” she cried again.

Myesa stood and took her hands. “You stayed. You didn’t leave my son out there. That means everything.”

“I didn’t protect him though,” Aku croaked. “I was right there and I couldn’t stop them.”

Anthony walked over and stood in front of her. Big, intimidating, but not unkind. He looked her over slowly, then nodded once. “You ain’t fold.” He turned his attention to the hallway. “You said Bu got one of ’em?”

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