Page 82 of Certified Pressure 3
Pressure leaned against the doorframe with that lazy smirk of his. “I can’t help it. She my girl.”
“Whatever,” I muttered, rolling my eyes. “You can’t just pop up here like everything good.”
He straightened up. “Can I come in?”
“No,” I said flatly.
His face shifted. “What you mean no?”
“It mean what it sound like,” I snapped.
He looked confused, maybe even irritated. “Man, what’s ya fuckin’ problem?”
“My problem?” I repeated, letting out a bitter laugh. “You really gon’ ask me that? You been acting funny all week, barely texting back, and now you pop up like nothing happened.”
Pressure ran his hand over his face, sighing. “Pluto, I been dealin’ with some real shit, a’ight? Kashmere tried to kill herself.”
The words hit me like a slap. For a second, I didn’t even know what to say. Then it sank in, and anger rushed through me. “And what that gotta do with me?”
“I’m just sayin’ that’s why I been quiet,” he said, his tone calmer now.
I shook my head. “You tellin’ me she tried to kill herself like that’s supposed to change somethin’.”
“I’m not sayin’ it for you to care. I’m just sayin’ I been takin’ space away from everybody, includin’ her,” he said, rubbing his neck.
I glared at him. “Tuh! From what I just saw, she look perfectly fine to me. Out eatin’, shoppin’, postin’ you sleepin’ in the bed, all that. Her ass don’t seem suicidal to me.”
Pressure’s jaw flexed. “You went through her page?”
“You damn right I did,” I said, my voice sharp. “You act like I don’t got eyes. You over there playing house while you constantly playing in my face, running all this game like you trying to build with me, but this exactly why I don’t trust you.”
He looked at me like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Pluto, what the hell is you talkin’ about? You always jump to some wild-ass conclusion like I’m out here purposefully fuckin’ over you. It ain’t even like that.”
“Then what is it?” I asked, my voice shaking now. “You barely text me back, you quiet for a week, then you show up out the blue like everything good. What else am I supposed to think?”
Pressure stepped closer, his voice deep and heavy. “You the one that’s confused. You the one that push and pull every damn day. One minute you act like you want me, then you start with all that ‘we can’t do this’ dumb ass talk, and I’m supposed to just read your mind? You don’t even let me love you how I want to.”
“That’s because you got somebody else in your bed,” I shot back.
He shook his head slowly. “Man, stop with all this bullshit, actin’ like you don’t know what it is with me. You think I would be pullin’ up to this bitch, checkin’ on you and my son every chance I get, if I ain’t care? You think I’m doin’ all this shit just topass time? You the one that got me losin’ my damn mind tryna figure out what version of you I’m gon’ get every time I pull up.”
My eyes burned, but I refused to look away. “Don’t try to flip this on me. Kashmere is posting you so it’s clearly more than what you’re telling me.”
Pressure’s voice dropped lower. “I don’t control what that woman post, Pluto. You think I give a fuck about some fuckin’ pictures? I been tryna handle a lot of shit, and all you see is what you wanna see. You got your guard up so high that you don’t even realize you the one pushin’ me away.”
He took a step forward, lowering his voice. “You don’t get it. I’m tryin’ to hold shit together.”
“For who? Her or me?” I shot back.
He didn’t answer. That silence said everything.
I folded my arms tighter. “This right here is exactly why I don’t trust you. You hot one minute and cold the next. You want me when I’m pullin’ away, but the second I let you in, you go ghost.”
He clenched his jaw. “Man, Pluto, stop actin’ like you don’t know where my heart at.”
“Your heart don’t mean shit when your actions say different,” I said.
We stood there, staring each other down.
