Page 91 of Certified Pressure 4
I sat down on the edge of the bed and looked around the room. The walls were soft beige with gold accents and the curtains drawn halfway, letting just enough light in. It was peaceful on the surface, but everything inside of me was loud. My phone laid next to me on the nightstand, and I picked it up again, checking for missed calls, but there was nothing. I tried to breathe slow and think rationally, but ever since a couple weeks back when I called Pressure, nothing in my life felt stable.
That call had taken everything out of me. I hadn’t planned on calling him at all, but after months of guilt, loneliness, and fear, I wanted to hear his voice one more time, even if I knew what the outcome would be. I thought maybe he’d show some kind of empathy or at least acknowledge that I was human, but all I got was coldness. He didn’t even care that I was about to have a baby, or that I was scared of what his mama could do to me. I begged him to talk to that crazy bitch but the shit fell on deaf ears. He hung up on me while tears was running down my face, and I swore that would be the last time I reached out to him. But no matter how much I tried to convince myself, that conversation haunted me.
Ever since then, it felt like I had been unraveling. Every day was a mix of guilt, anxiety, and exhaustion. I would wake up in the middle of the night with my chest tight, thinking about my parents, thinking about Lyrick, and still thinking about the mistakes I made that led me here. The nightmares came almost every night now. I’d see my mama’s face, my daddy’s voice calling my name, but they never made it to me. Sometimes I’d wake up screaming, drenched in sweat, clutching my belly like I could protect my baby from ghosts.
The only thing that brought me peace was knowing that I was about to hold my son soon. I imagined what he’d look like, how his little hands would feel wrapped around my finger, and how he might smile up at me like he recognized me from somewhere deep in his spirit. The baby bag was packed, sitting by the door. I was ready. Or at least, I thought I was.
Ever since that day outside the baby shower hall when Nooré popped up, everything had been off. The look on that girl’s face still replayed in my mind like a movie I couldn’t turn off.
No matter how much I tried to control my surroundings, my mind wouldn’t stop running. Every sound made me jump, every knock made my heart race. And now, with Lyrick gone longer than usual, it felt like the walls were closing in on me. I rubbed my belly again and whispered, “It’s okay baby, mama got you,” trying to calm my body down, but my voice sounded weak.
I walked over to the window and pulled the curtain back a little. The sun was setting, and the sky had this dark orange glow that made everything outside look like it was dipped in fire. I looked down at the driveway. Lyrick’s car wasn’t there. I picked up my phone again, scrolling through our messages, hoping to see something new.
For a second, I told myself to sit down and just wait. He was probably fine. He had to be fine. I was just being paranoid, but something deep inside me kept whispering that this silence wasn’t normal.
I sat back down on the bed, my hands resting on my thighs, and tried to take deep breaths. My mind was starting to drift when I heard the sound of the front door unlocking. My head snapped up. The door had been locked all day. The only person with a key was Lyrick. My heart started racing, thumping so hard it made my chest hurt.
For a moment, I just sat there, frozen. Part of me wanted to jump up and run to the door, to finally see him and calm my nerves, but another part of me couldn’t move.
The sound of the door opening echoed faintly down the hallway. Then it closed. I swallowed hard, trying to convince myself it was him, maybe just setting something down before coming to the room.
But then, after what felt like forever, the doorknob to the bedroom began to turn. My stomach twisted, and my breath got stuck in my throat. The door creaked open slow, and I felt my body go cold.
It wasn’t Lyrick.
It was Abeni…
She stood there in the doorway like a vision pulled straight out of a nightmare. Her long emerald gown hugged her frame, and her hair flowed down her back, glossy and perfect with a clean part down the middle. The light from the hallway hit her just right, making her look almost angelic, but I knew better. Her beauty had always been a disguise for something dangerous.
Her eyes locked on mine, bright and sharp, and there was a calmness in her face that terrified me more than anything. She didn’t look angry. She looked certain.
In her hand were my house keys.
“Hello, Kashmere,” she said, her voice soft, but the sound of it sent chills down my spine.
My body went numb. I couldn’t move, couldn’t think, couldn’t even fucking breathe. I just sat there on the bed, staring at her, knowing deep down that this was the end.
Everything inside of me shattered all at once.
I was so shocked to see Abeni standing in my doorway with my house keys, I couldn’t speak. My whole body went numb, my hands trembling so hard that I could barely keep them on my lap. Her presence filled the room in a way that made everything feel heavier, colder, and more final than anything I had ever felt in my life.
“I thought it was only fair to let you finish out your pregnancy before we met again,” she said softly, her tone almost gentle. The way she spoke didn’t match what I knew she was capable of. There wasn’t anger in her face, only certainty, like she had come to handle something she had already made peace with.
Tears stung my eyes before I could even stop them. My throat felt tight as I whispered, “Abeni, please.” My voice cracked, but she didn’t react.
Her gaze drifted around the room as if she was simply admiring the decor. “You have a beautiful home,” she said with that same sweetness that didn’t match the situation. “It looks like you’ve made a very nice living for yourself… off my son’s money.”
Her words sliced through me. I felt sick. I could barely breathe, my palms were sweating, and my heart pounded so loud I could hear it in my ears. I wanted to defend myself, to say something, but my tongue wouldn’t move. I could only sit there and stare at her, shaking so bad it felt like my whole body was rejecting itself.
I thought about Lyrick. I thought about how he still hadn’t come home. Panic crawled up my chest, and my voice came out broken. “Did you… did you kill him?”
Abeni tilted her head slightly and gave me a small smirk. “No, dear. He isn’t dead,” she said softly, almost amused. “I wouldn’t shoot a man before his child is born.”
Her words hit me so hard that for a moment, I forgot how to breathe. She was talking about Pressure, and about the night outside the hospital. About the five shots that changed everything. The guilt I had buried came rushing back all at once, crashing through my chest until I thought my heart might explode.
My body started trembling even harder. I pressed both hands to my stomach, feeling my baby shift inside me. My whole belly tightened, and a sharp pain ran through my back. I winced and bent forward, gasping for air.
“I think… I think I’m about to have my baby,” I said, my voice shaking. “Please, Abeni. Let me go to the hospital.”
