Page 34 of Certified Pressure
He was tall, dark-skinned, built like a tank, and dressed in all black with an earpiece in.
“Excuse me,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. “I need to speak with Pressure real quick.”
The man barely blinked. “He’s busy right now. You’ll have to wait.”
“It’s kinda urgent,” I said. “I just need to get a number out my phone.”
He shook his head. “No phones. That’s part of the house rules.”
“I know, but it’s not like I’m tryna scroll Instagram. I just need one number.”
He kept that same flat tone. “If you need to call somebody, use the house phone.”
“That don’t help if I don’t know the number,” I snapped, stepping in a little closer. “Look—I’m not trying to cause a problem, I just need my uncle’s number. My little sister’s with him and I need to make sure she okay. You don’t understand—she has a medical condition.”
“I understand,” he said, “but I can’t break protocol.”
I clenched my jaw, feeling that familiar heat rising in my chest. “You got kids?”
He didn’t answer.
“Exactly, so don’t stand here and act like I’m asking for too much.”
That was when Kay’Lo came walking up from the other end of the hallway, dressed in designer joggers and a crisp white tee, his chain sitting heavy on his chest.
“What’s goin’ on?” he asked, looking between me and the security guard.
“I need to talk to Pressure,” I told him. “Please.”
“He’s tied up right now. Wussup?”
“I just need my phone for a second. I need to write down a number to check on my sister. I’m not tryna use it for anything else, I swear.”
He exhaled like he was torn but shook his head. “Nah, you gotta use the house phone. That’s the rule.”
“And I just told you I don’t know the number off the top of my head!” I raised my voice, tired of talking to men who weren’t trying to listen. “My sister is six years old and she’s sick. If something happened to her while I’m in here playing house with y’all, I swear to God!”
I was mid-sentence, still going back and forth with Kay’Lo, when I heard a voice from behind me. It was deep and calm, with a tone that didn’t have to be loud to get respect.
“Pluto.”
I turned, and there was Pressure.
He stepped into the hallway like he’d been watching from the shadows. Like always, he had a blunt between his fingers. His eyes met mine and he nodded once, like he understood without needing the whole explanation.
“You good,” he said. “Let her get her phone.”
He didn’t raise his voice or explain himself. He said it once, and just like that, it was handled.The security guard gave a nod and motioned for me to follow him down the hall toward a locked cabinet.
I was still pissed, but I followed without saying anything. After carefully watching the guard unlock and open the box, I spotted my phone with the cracked glitter case, grabbed it quick and unlocked the screen.My hands moved fast as I opened the contact list, then asked the guard if he had a pen. He handed me one without saying much, and I wrote my uncle’s number across the back of my hand.
The guard walked me over to the house phone and stood nearby while I dialed.
It rang twice before Uncle Lionel picked up. “Hello?”
“Unc. It’s me, Pluto.”
“Baby girl,” he said, his voice warm. “Everything alright?”
