16. Malik #3
“Enough to know my father’s in some kind of trouble. And enough to know you’re thinking about doing something about it.” He paused, studying my face with those sharp eyes that missed nothing. “I want the truth, Dr. Holloway. Man to man.”
“First, what I tell you about that Dr. Holloway shit? When it’s me and you, it’s Malik. We ain’t strangers, we family.”
“My bad, but still. I need to know what’s really going on. If it wasn’t for me, he wouldn’t be around.”
I looked at this seventeen-year-old kid.
I mean this young man, standing in front of me and made a decision.
He was almost grown, and he’d been through enough to handle some hard truths.
More importantly, he deserved to know what was happening with his own father, but especially his mother.
I understood that Samaj would be like a son to me, but he wasn’t a baby.
I didn’t see him the same way Sametra did.
In my eyes, this was a grown man who could handle grown man conversations.
The way he carried himself, the way he’d stepped up during his recovery, the way he looked out for his mother, didn’t show me signs of a man who couldn’t handle the truth.
Samaj had been forced to mature faster than most kids his age.
Growing up without a father and watching his mother struggle had a way of doing that.
He’d already proven he could handle responsibility and make hard choices.
“You sure you want this conversation?” I asked, giving him one last chance to walk away from what was about to be said. He’d be hurt, naturally, but he needed to know. Or maybe not. I didn’t care because it was fuck Ashe.
“I’m sure. I been knowing something was off about him trying to come around. I wanted her to be wrong.”
“Your pops owes some dangerous people money. A lot of money. And when he couldn’t pay, he tried to use pictures of me and your mom to blackmail me instead.”
Samaj’s face darkened. “Pictures?”
“Pictures he took while stalking us. Private moments that weren’t his business.” I kept my voice calm, but I could see the anger building in his eyes, the same protective rage that built in mine. “He threatened to ruin my career and embarrass your mother if I didn’t pay him.”
“That’s why he was really trying to reconnect with me,” Samaj said quietly, more to himself than to me. “Not because he missed me. Because he needed money.”
“I’m sorry, man. I know that’s hard to hear. But in his defense, I do believe before the accident, he was being genuine about wanting to know you. I don’t know.”
“Nah, I needed to hear it.” He was quiet for a moment, processing everything. “So what you gonna do about it?”
I could lie to him, protect him from the weight of what I was considering.
Or I could respect him enough to be honest about the kind of man I was prepared to be for this family.
One that took protection and ease seriously.
I wanted ease for him too. My baby had done a good job holding it down on her own but she didn’t have too anymore.
“Whatever it takes.”
“Even if that means...”
“Whatever it takes, Samaj.”
He nodded slowly, and I could see him working through the implications. “My mom know about any of this?”
“No. And I need to keep it that way for now. She’s got enough to worry about with school and your recovery. I don’t want her stressed about this when I’m handling it.”
“But you’re telling me.”
“Because you’re not a little kid anymore.
You’re about to be a man, and men protect their families.
I need to know you understand what that means.
” I paused, making sure he was really hearing me.
“And honestly, I kept my mouth shut when you and your mom were going through it with each other, but I need you to understand something.”
His eyebrows raised, waiting.
“Your mother loves you and will only want what’s best for you. There are things about people, family, loved ones, that we don’t want to see because we’re too close. Your mother is always going to know when something ain’t good for you. It’s intuition. You can trust her.”
He was quiet letting my words settle.
“My point is, don’t ever let something or someone come between you and your moms. Ever.
She gave you, life. None of this,” I said, gesturing to his Chrome Hearts outfit, gold chain, watch, and designer sneakers, “moves or happens without her. She’s the foundation of everything you are and everything you’ll become.
And in my eyes, believing anything different is an act of treason. Understood?”
Samaj stared out at the cookout, watching his mother laugh with my family like she’d been doing all day. They loved her. If they didn’t it was clear they were the problem. Samaj knew who his mother was, how she’d showed up, remained constant, and dedicated.
“Understood. You know, my whole life, I wondered what was wrong with me that made him leave,” he said finally.
“That’s on him, not you. You’re smarter than that. A real man doesn’t abandon his responsibilities. I don’t care if you came out with an extra nose. Running should’ve never been an option.”
“I know that now. Especially after watching you with me and my mom.” He looked at me directly. “You love her for real, don’t you?”
“I do.”
“And you’re gonna marry her.”
It wasn’t a question. “If she’ll have me.”
“She will. She’s happier than I’ve seen her... ever. And I want her to stay that way.” He paused. “So if you gotta handle my father to make that happen, then handle him. Just... don’t tell her it was for us. She’ll blame herself.”
I felt a surge of respect for this kid. He was thinking like a man, putting his mother’s emotional well-being above his own need to know every detail.
“You sure about this? Once it’s done, it’s done.”
“I’m sure. He made his choice seventeen years ago. Now I’m making mine.” Samaj extended his hand. “Welcome to the family, Malik.”
I shook his hand, feeling the weight of what we’d just agreed to.
“Maj, one last thing. What I plan on doing is a last resort. You hear me? This ain’t me but the woman back there deserves my dark side if that’s what I have to do to ensure her light remains. We clear?”
“Clear.”
As we headed back toward the cookout, something shifted between us.
This wasn’t about me dating his mother anymore.
This was about protecting what mattered most, and what mattered most was the woman dancing barefoot with my mama, that soft smile tugging at her lips telling me she had enjoyed herself.
She had no idea the two men who loved her most had just made a quiet pact. To keep her safe. Guard her peace. And hold the line so she wouldn’t have to.
I pulled my phone from my pocket and texted Rex two word: handle it .
I didn’t need to second-guess it. I didn’t need to explain it.
I’d already chosen the role I was willing to play in her life, provider, protector, partner.
And sometimes that meant handling things in silence so she could stay in her softness.