Page 90 of Certified Pressure 4
I kissed her forehead and asked, “Y’all ate?”
“Yeah, we did,” she said. “You hungry?”
“Nah, I’m good,” I told her. I hadn’t been hungry anyway. My stomach had been turnin’ since that phone call.
We spent the rest of the evenin’ outside, lettin’ the kids run around while the sky turned orange and purple. Zurie kept chasin’ Prestyn around the garden, both of ‘em laughin’ and fallin’ in the grass. Pluto sat beside me with her hand on her belly, talkin’ about how fast time was flyin’ by. Every now and then, she’d glance over at me, catchin’ that I was quiet, but she ain’t say nothin’. She just let me be.
Later that night, after the kids was fed, bathed and in bed, we took our own shower together. The bathroom was filled with steam, the mirror fogged up, and the sound of water hittin’ tile echoed through the space. Pluto was in front of me, her skin glistenin’, her hair damp, and that baby bump made her look like the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
She turned to me while I was washin’ my chest with soap. “You good?” she asked, her voice soft but direct.
“Yeah,” I said, not lookin’ up.
She ain’t buy that shit. I could feel her eyes on me. She stepped closer, slid her hands up my chest, and tugged at my beard till I had to look at her. “Aht, aht,” she said with a glow in her eyes. “We better than that.”
I smirked, but she could tell I wasn’t all the way there. She knew me too well.
“Kashmere called me earlier,” I finally said.
Her brows lifted slightly, but she stayed calm like she always did. “What she want this time?”
I leaned against the wall, lettin’ the water run down my shoulders. “She said she was ‘bout to give birth. Talkin’ about she was scared, talkin’ about she thought my mama did somethin’ to her parents. She wanted me to talk to Ma, and tell her to chill.”
Pluto’s lips pressed together, her expression unreadable. “And what you say?”
“I didn’t really say nothin’ about that part,” I said. “She was the one that started all this. She shot me, stole from me, then ran off like it was sweet. Now she cryin’ ‘cause she scared. Shit wild.”
Pluto nodded slow, reachin’ for the washcloth to wash my shoulders. “So, she was playin’ victim like always.”
“Exactly,” I said. “But the part that got me thinkin’ was, what if she really end up dead? I’on know how I’m supposed to feel about that.”
Pluto looked up at me, her face calm but her eyes firm. “It’s okay to feel bad, Pressure,” she said. “You human, but don’t let that make you forget who she is. If it were up to me, I would’ve shot her myself.”
I turned my head toward her, surprised. “For real?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I don’t feel sorry for her. She almost killed my damn baby daddy. We were friends once, but that’s over. I have a family now. She made her choices, same as everybody else.”
I stared at her for a second, takin’ her in. She was right. She had that cool, mature way of seein’ shit that always grounded me. I leaned forward and kissed her slow.
After the shower, we got dressed and climbed in bed. Pluto pulled up TikTok on her phone, scrollin’ through funny videos while laughin’ under her breath. I laid with my head on her lap, and my arm around her waist, kissin’ her belly while she rubbed the top of my head. The sound of her laughter mixed with the music from her phone made me smile.
That call from Kashmere had me twisted for a minute, but layin’ here with my girl, with her warmth and her calm, reminded me none of that shit mattered. Kashmere was the past. Pluto was my now, my forever, my peace.
I looked up at her, watchin’ how her smile lit up the whole room. “You know somethin’?” I said.
“What?” she asked, glancin’ down at me.
“I think God knew what He was doin’ when He gave me you.”
She smiled wider and leaned down to kiss me. “And I think He gave me you so I could handle your crazy ass.”
We both laughed, and I pulled her closer, lettin’ her phone drop on the bed. The night felt warm, easy, and right. All that other noise, and drama, could stay where it was. I had my family, my peace, and my purpose right here.
Halo Key
Lyrick still hadn’t returned my call and even though my stomach was heavy as hell, I couldn’t stop pacing the room. Every time I sat down, my mind would start racing, and every time I picked my phone up, I’d tell myself to stop tripping. He said he was headed to the gym a few hours ago. Normally when he went, he’d get caught up talking with his people or stay longer than planned, but this time it felt different. Something about the silence in this house didn’t sit right with me.
I pressed my hands against my belly, feeling my son move beneath my skin. He had been so active these last few days, like he knew he was almost ready to come into the world. The doctor said it could be any day now, and I had been trying to keep calm,and trying to stay focused, but my nerves were shot. I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat, and it felt like my thoughts were chasing each other in circles.
