Page 8 of Certified Pressure 2
Trill-Land, Jungle Estate
Iwas sitting on the couch in the living room with the phone pressed to my ear, my hand trembling as Uncle Lionel’s voice came through. My eyes were already stinging, and I felt the tears rolling before I could stop them.
“She just… she passed out, Pluto,” he said, his tone heavy. “We was at the park. She was playing one minute and the next she just fell. The ambulance had to come quick.”
My chest squeezed so tight I thought I couldn’t breathe. “But is she going to be okay?” I asked, wiping tears from my face as if that could wipe away the fear that was clawing at me.
“They ran tests at the hospital,” he went on, trying to sound calm for me, but I could hear the shake in his voice. “They got her stable, but the doctor said they need to keep her overnightand watch her. They said with that Chiari thing it ain’t no telling when it’ll flare up like this again.”
I pressed the heel of my hand to my forehead, rocking forward slightly, wishing I could blink and be at Zurie’s side already. My baby sister was only six years old. She didn’t deserve this. Every time she smiled, it was like the whole world brightened, and now the thought of her lying in some hospital bed hooked up to machines without me there made my stomach twist with guilt and anger all at once.
“Unc, I can’t stay here,” I whispered. “I’m coming home.”
He hesitated. “You sure you can just up and leave like that?”
“I don’t care what I can or can’t do,” I said, standing up. “That’s my sister.”
I hung up before he could argue, clutching the phone to my chest. My legs felt heavy as I left the living room and climbed the stairs, but my mind was racing. None of this shit mattered to me anymore. Not the mansion, the other bitches, the designer clothes filling the closet that Pressure bought me. None of it. Zurie was more important than all this bullshit, and I wasn’t about to sit around pretending like she wasn’t fighting through something real while I played house in some competition.
In my room, I yanked my suitcase from the corner and started shoving my own clothes inside. I left the new heels Pressure bought me lined neatly against the wall, and the silk dresses hanging untouched. They weren’t mine in the first place. If I was leaving, I wasn’t taking anything that reminded me of him.
As I folded one of my worn tees, I caught my reflection in the mirror. My eyes were swollen and red, but behind all that, I saw how broken I really felt. Pressure’s ex was back in this house, walking around like she had a deed to it, and like she was too good to breathe the same air as the rest of us. Ka’mari carried herself with this smug confidence that ate at me, but what hurtworse was how I couldn’t shake what happened between me and Pressure just days ago. I had given him something I could never get back, and now I was forcing myself to believe it didn’t matter.
I kept telling myself it was just sex—that I initiated. I told myself that it was just a moment, but the truth was clawing at me. I loved him. As crazy as it sounded, I really did. I wanted to believe what we had was different, that the way he looked at me and touched me meant something, but right now, none of that mattered. Zurie mattered.
I zipped the suitcase closed, grabbed the handle, and rolled it toward the door. My footsteps echoed against the marble as I dragged it down the hall, passing Kashmere and Toni in the lounge. They looked up, but I didn’t say a word, and neither did they. Whatever was between us had turned into something ugly and silent. Kashmere used to be my best friend, and now we couldn’t even exchange a glance without feeling that tension. I refused to break the quiet though. My mind was already too heavy.
I pressed the elevator button, stepping in when it opened, and my heart thudded harder with every floor it carried me down. The doors slid apart at the foyer, and there was Pressure’s guard standing tall by the entrance. His arms were crossed, and his eyes narrowed as I approached.
“I’m leaving,” I told him, my voice calm but strained. “I need my phone.”
He tilted his head. “Pressure didn’t tell me nothin’ about you leavin’.”
I exhaled sharply, pushing my hair behind my ear. This wasn’t the first time we had gone back and forth. “It doesn’t matter what Pressure knows or don’t know,” I said evenly. “Everything doesn’t revolve around him. My sister’s in the hospital and I need to go home.”
The guard’s expression didn’t change, but he studied me long enough to see the tears sliding down my cheeks. My lips were trembling as I added, “Please. Just call him and tell him I need my phone since you won’t just give it to me.”
After a moment, he finally nodded and pulled out his phone. My stomach churned while he spoke quietly into it. When he ended the call, he said, “He’s coming.”
I wiped at my face again, but the tears wouldn’t stop. Five minutes later, Pressure appeared. The second his eyes landed on me, a wave of chills ran over my skin. All the memories from that night—his hands, his voice, the way he held and kissed me… how good he felt inside me…came rushing back, but I forced myself to stay focused.
“I have to go,” I told him quickly, my voice breaking. “Zurie passed out, and she’s in the hospital. I can’t stay here.”
Pressure’s face was unreadable, but I saw the flicker in his eyes. He already knew how much my sister meant to me. He walked closer, and just having him stand in front of me felt like a storm brewing and calming at the same time.
“I need my phone,” I whispered.
He gestured for me to follow him, and I did. We walked to the lockbox together, and he pulled out my phone. Just as I reached to grab it, he pulled it back, holding it out of reach as his eyes locked with mine. For a long second, neither of us spoke.
Then his voice came low and certain. “I’ll take you on my jet.”
I shook my head, sighing as I wiped at my eyes. “I’d rather be alone, Pressure. This is family. I don’t need you coming with me.”
“I don’t want you to be alone,” he countered, his voice firm but not rough. “I don’t know Zurie, but I care. Let me be there for you.”
I rolled my eyes and looked away, the tears still spilling. “You were about to eliminate me yesterday. Don’t act like I matter now.”
His hand lifted, brushing my cheek as his thumb wiped a tear away. His eyes stayed locked on mine, steady and unwavering. “No, I wasn’t.”
