Page 157 of Falling Into Gravity

Her brows pulled together.

“That night I was at your spot,” he went on. “You looked at me and asked what I was high on. Then you said, ‘If I can’t have none, then you can’t either.’ And you ain’t say it to be cute. You meant that shit.”

Aku stared at him, heart knocking around in her chest.

“I stopped that night,” he added. “Cold turkey?…flushed what I had left.”

She swallowed hard. “You ain’t touched nothing since?”

“Not a damn thing,” Malik smiled., “started back smokin’ though.”

Aku was satisfied with his answer and felt even closer to him. She reached for the comb again, but before she did, she ran her hand across his jaw. “I remember that night. I knew somethin’ was off. I didn’t know it was that deep, but I felt it.”

He nodded slowly. “I ain’t never had nobody look at me like that…like they saw me and still gave a fuck.”

She leaned in close, their foreheads almost touching. “You ain’t gotta drown to deserve peace. I see you, Malik, and I got you.”

Then she picked the comb back up, and he let her finish.

“I love you,” Malik said, his heart thumping against his chest because he meant it from the bottom of his heart.

“I thought I was gonna lose you,” she choked out, greasing his scalp. Her voice cracked and her whole body trembled as she buried her face in his neck.

Malik winced from the pressure, but he didn’t move.

He ran his hand over the back of her head as best he could from his position. “You didn’t,” he murmured, “I’m right here.”

“I was so scared,” Aku whispered. “I didn’t know if you’d ever open your eyes. I used to sit up at night and talk to you even when you couldn’t hear me. I read you the baby updates. I prayed so hard my voice gave out.”

“I heard you,” Malik said. “I couldn’t talk back, but I heard you.”

She looked at him, eyes puffy, cheeks wet. “You heard the heartbeat?”

He nodded. “You let me hear our baby before I even knew I was still alive.”

She broke again. Her tears came out soft and more muffled.

After a few minutes that seemed much longer, she lifted her head and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

“I have to show you something.”

Malik’s eyes narrowed slightly. “What?”

“Another day.” She sniffed. “Just…not today. Today I need you…all day…all mine.”

He kissed her forehead. “I’m yours, Dorothy.”

While Malik slept, Aku pulled out her phone to finally scan the code on the clasp of her necklace. She told herself she would only listen, if he woke up. If he didn’t, she would save it for their baby to hear. She clicked the link, not knowing what it would be.

File opens to the sound of him breathing for a second. Then—his voice…low, gritty, and vulnerable.

“You probably clicked this expectin’ somethin’ cute, huh?”

Malik chuckled drily.

“Nah… this ain’t that. This just me - bein’ real.”

“Sometimes I think you fell into my life just to see if I’d catch you. And truth is, I wasn’t ready…still don’t know if I am. But I wanna be. I wanna be ready for the way you talk shit and kiss even meaner. The way you act like you don’t need nobody—but you stay showin’ up for everybody else.”

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