Something dark and dangerous settled in my chest so fast it almost felt like it replaced the air in my lungs. My jaw clenched as my gaze snapped back to him. There was something violent, barely holding itself together under my skin. And just like that…whatever distance I had been trying to keep between Maliah and me didn’t matter anymore. Everything in me went left. There wasn’t a thought process, no pause, no moment where I tried to piece anything together or ask questions. The second I saw her like that, something in me snapped so fast it didn’t even feel like a decision.
It felt like an impulse. Like I was too late and needed to make up for it all at once. Before the boy could even fully steady himself from me dragging him out of the car, my fist connected with his jaw, snapping his head to the side with a force I didn’t hold back.
“You lost your mind?” I growled.
My voice was low, dangerous, and barely recognizable even to myself. He stumbled, trying to catch his balance, but I didn’t give him the chance, not after what I just saw. I swung again, this time harder. My knuckles cracked against his face as he dropped toward the ground. The sound of impact echoed louder than it should have, but it still wasn’t enough to quiet the rage building in my chest.
Nothing about this felt like enough. He hit the pavement, and his hands came up too late to protect himself, and that’s when it got worse. Because once he was down, I didn’t stop. My foot came down hard against his side, then again, then again. Eachhit was fueled by something deeper than anger. It wasn’t just about him anymore. It was about everything I had been holding in, everything I had forced myself to walk away from, everything I told myself I was doing for her own good. And still she ended up like this. If I were still with her, no shit like this would have ever happened. This weird ass nigga probably saw how sweet she was and thought that he could take advantage of her.
I could tell that a small crowd started forming because voices rose around us. People started coming out of the shop, drawn by the noise, the chaos, the violence unfolding right in front of them.
“Yo, chill!”
“Aye, somebody get him!”
“Bro, you gon’ kill him!”
Hands reached for me, trying to pull me back, but I shook them off like they didn’t matter, like they weren’t even there. Nothing they said registered, and nothing they did made a difference. Because all I could see was her. And all I could think was that he hurt her.
My foot came down again, harder this time, and a hand grabbed my arm, trying to yank me back.
“Man, that’s enough!”
It wasn’t. It wasn’t even close. I jerked away, shoving whoever it was off me without even looking. I stepped forward again, like I was ready to keep going until there was nothing left of him to move. And that’s when I felt it. The touch was so damn soft. She was pleading with me before she ever opened her mouth. Her hands wrapped around my forearm from behind. She pulled at me, not with strength, but with urgency. Her voice cut through everything else like it was the only thing meant for me to hear.
“Tahari… let’s go.”
I froze. Not completely, but enough to take heed of her request. Maliah’s voice wasn’t panicking the way I expected it to. It was steady. Shaky underneath, but steady. I turned my head slightly, just enough to look at her, really look at her. She was standing there still shaken, still trying to hold herself together, but choosing to pullmeback instead of breaking down. That’s what stopped me from stomping on this nigga one more time. Not the crowd. Not the noise. Not even the police sirens in the distance. But her.
My chest rose and fell, my fists were still clenched, and my whole body filled with alarming energy that had nowhere to go, but I stepped back. One step. Then another. It took everything in me to turn away from him, to not go back and finish what I started, but I did it for her. I would do anything for her. I didn’t say anything as I walked her over to my car. I helped her into the passenger seat and then asked her if she had everything before I slid into the driver’s seat.
I didn’t ask where to go because I already knew. I started the engine, and the sound roared through the chaos outside. I pulled off without looking back, leaving the noise, the crowd, and him lying on the pavement behind us. Silence filled the car as I drove. I wasn’t going to ask what had happened because I knew that she probably was still processing it. Every once in a while, I heard her sniffle, so I knew that she was still crying.
My grip tightened on the wheel as I headed toward her house, my mind still replaying the image of her in that car, repeatedly like it was burned into me. One thing was bothering the fuck out of me. I was supposed to be the one keeping her safe. I told her I would when we first started dating, and even with me ending things, I should have kept my promise. She was whimpering beside me, and the sight brought tears to my eyes. I pressed my foot a little harder on the gas because I needed to get her exactly where I knew she would feel safe… home.
Chapter 18
Malik
Isat back on the couch, one arm stretched along the back while the other rested across Eternity’s legs, my hands were working slowly, steady circles into her feet. She deserved that. After everything she had been through, after everything we had been through, moments like this felt earned. On the television,Lifeplayed. It was one of our favorites. The glow from the screen flickered across the living room. I wasn’t fully paying attention, but I knew this part by heart. I have seen it too many times not to. Eternity was locked in, though, like we haven’t seen it hundreds of times. Her laughter came easy, full and real, the kind that made me look at her instead of the TV.
When Eddie Murphy was crashing out on Martin over his daddy’s watch, she was shaking her head while laughing.
“You can’t say watch around me. Say little clock or some shit.”
Eternity burst out laughing while hitting my shoulder lightly. You would have thought this was her first time watching the movie. I let out a quiet chuckle, but my focus wasn’t on the movie anymore. It had changed… to her. To us. My hands slowed just a little against her skin as my thoughts drifted somewhere deeper. I found myself just looking at her, really looking at her, taking inthe way she smiled and the way she looked comfortable and safe. My baby looked at peace.
And suddenly I thought of the request she had asked me about a week ago. The request was full of change, full of something new and something that would shift everything about the life we had gotten used to. This house wouldn’t be quiet anymore, not with a baby. The older teenagers already came in and out like they owned the place, bringing noise when they felt like it and leaving silence behind when they didn’t. The youngest pretty much stayed to herself, locked away in her room. But a baby? A baby would fill every space and every corner. There would be no more waiting for the next sound and no more moments where the house just sat still.
Life would always be moving. And for once, that didn’t feel like too much. It felt right.
A small smile pulled at my lips as I kept massaging her feet, already picturing how things would go. We would both be facing late nights that no longer belonged to just us, but I wasn’t worried about it. I was ready. More than ready. And sitting there, with her laughter filling the room, I was prepared to fulfill her request.
I leaned over and then kissed the side of her head before I got back to massaging her feet. We went back to enjoying our movie in silence, then the front door flew open. The sound cut through everything so fast it didn’t even feel real at first. My head snapped toward the hallway to see the child who was making an appearance. Her voice hit me before I even saw her. She was crying and sounded so broken.
“Daddy!”
Everything in me budged. I was on my feet before Maliah had even made it into the living room, my chest felt like somebody had punched me and knocked the air out of my lungs, the second I saw her. She rushed in like she couldn’t get to me fast enough.
