Page 38 of Certified Pressure 2

St. Mercy General Hospital

W e was on the way to the hospital and while Pluto kept her hand planted on my thigh, all I could think about was how last night spun out.

I ain’t never picture myself knockin’ no old man out, especially not her pops, but the shit he pulled left me no choice.

I had been callin’ Pluto phone over and over, gettin’ no answer, and my gut was already tellin’ me somethin’ wasn’t right.

I felt like I knew her, and I knew when she ignored me it was either ‘cause she was pissed at me, or somethin’ was wrong.

This time, it felt like somethin’ was wrong.

By the time I pulled up, I could hear the madness through the door—furniture slidin’, voices raised, her scream cuttin’ through like glass.

“Get the fuck off me,” she shouted, and that was it.

I ain’t think. I just moved. The damn door was already fragile, so I kicked that bitch in, and when it swung open, I saw her pops on her like he ain’t never loved her a day in his life.

That wasn’t no father in that moment. That was a man tryna break her.

I ain’t have no choice but to yank his ass off.

I swung once and dropped him on his back before he could even blink.

I ain’t care who he was, he earned that.

Pluto was on the floor, breathin’ hard, hair all over her face, but alive. She looked up at me with them eyes that made me fold every damn time, and I knew I couldn’t leave her to fight this battle alone.

Zurie was laid out in the back seat with her little body under a blanket.

She wasn’t sayin’ much, but just starin’ out the window.

I caught her reflection in the rearview mirror, and she gave me this look, like she wanted me to tell her she was safe.

I nodded at her, and she leaned her head back, trustin’ me more.

Pluto’s hand gripped my thigh tighter the closer we got to the hospital. I could feel her fingers tremblin’ against my skin, even though she was tryna hide it. I slid my hand over hers, lettin’ her know I felt it, and that I was right here.

Truth is, I was exhausted though. I loved her, but lovin’ Pluto came with storms I ain’t see comin’.

I had came to her city twice before this, askin’ her to come home with me, beggin’ her even, and each time she turned me down like she ain’t trust what we could be.

That shit cut me deep, but I swallowed it, ‘cause as much as it hurt me, I couldn’t let it stop me from protectin’ her and the little one.

We hit the hospital parking lot and I cut the engine.

Before Pluto could get out and even reach for the back door, I was already there, scoopin’ Zurie up in my arms. She was light as hell, bones too small for what she was about to go through.

She tucked her head into my shoulder like she really knew me, and I held her like she did.

Pluto slung the bag over her shoulder, and we walked through the glass doors together.

The lights inside was blinding, and made everything look too clean and too cold.

A nurse at the desk looked up and waved us over.

Pluto went into mama mode, signin’ forms and pullin’ papers out her purse, while I stood behind her with Zurie pressed against me.

She didn’t say a word the whole time. She just held onto my shirt like she wasn’t lettin’ go until they made her.

They led us down the hall, past rows of rooms with machines beepin’ and people whisperin’.

We got to a small prep room, and a nurse handed Pluto a gown for Zurie.

She said she had to change into it before surgery.

Pluto’s hands was shakin’ when she helped her sister slip out of her clothes, but she kept her face straight so Zurie wouldn’t see her nerves.

When Zurie struggled with the ties, I bent down and knotted them up for her, keepin’ it light.

“Now you official,” I said with a grin. “Hospital fly.”

She rolled her eyes at me, but a little smile crept across her face. Pluto saw it, and her shoulders dropped like she just got a piece of relief she’d been prayin’ for.

Doctors came in next. One of ‘em explained how they was gon’ take her to the back, put her under, and start the procedure.

The words was too long and too technical, but I could see Pluto hangin’ on to every one like she was memorizing it.

They slid a bracelet onto Zurie’s wrist, checked her vitals, and started movin’ her bed toward the hallway.

That’s when everything hit Pluto. She grabbed Zurie’s hand, whispered in her ear, kissed her forehead, and told her she would be right there waitin’.

I walked on the other side, runnin’ my palm across Zurie’s head like she was my own. “You gon’ be cool, lil’ mama,” I told her. “When you wake up, me and your sister gon’ be right here. Bet that.”

They pushed her through the double doors, and Pluto froze. Her hand hung in the air like she wanted to chase after the bed but couldn’t. I slid my arm around her shoulders and pulled her against me, holdin’ her still while the doors shut us out.

We ended up in the waitin’ room, sittin’ side by side in those hard-ass chairs. Pluto laced her fingers with mine and held on like she was scared I might disappear too. I wasn’t goin’ nowhere. I pulled her closer, lettin’ her lean into me.

“She gon’ be okay,” I whispered, kissin’ her forehead. “They gon’ take care of her, and before you know it, she gon’ be runnin’ around gettin’ on your nerves again.”

Pluto let out this shaky laugh that broke into a sob, and she pressed her face into my chest. I held her tighter, lettin’ her cry it out, lettin’ her know I wasn’t here for just the easy parts.

Hours stretched long. Nurses walked past, people came and went, but we stayed there, her hand in mine, her body tucked into me.

Every time she looked like she was driftin’ too far into her fear, I pulled her back with words or just my touch.

Sometimes I ain’t even have to say nothin’, ‘cause the way I held her said enough.

Inside, I was fightin’ my own battle. I was a lil’ nervous for Zurie, I was drained from all the chaos, and I was hurt from the way Pluto kept pushin’ me away, just to pull me back.

But none of that mattered more than keepin’ her steady in this moment.

That’s what bein’ her man meant to me. Even if she didn’t call me that out loud, I knew what I was to her, and I knew what she was to me.

So, I sat there with her, lettin’ time drag, lettin’ her lean on me, and remindin’ myself that this was the only place I needed to be right now.

About four hours and some change passed, and the doctor finally showed up in the waitin’ room to give us an update on Zurie. He walked in with his scrubs still on, mask hangin’ around his neck, and the look on his face was calm enough that I could feel Pluto exhale before he even spoke.

“The procedure went just as planned,” he said, lookin’ right at Pluto because he knew she was the one who needed to hear it.

“We were able to relieve the pressure and correct what needed to be corrected. She’s still under anesthesia right now, and we’ll be monitoring her closely in the Pediatric ICU for the next twenty-four hours, but everything went well. No complications.”

Pluto covered her mouth and nodded fast, tears rushin’ down her cheeks as if her body ain’t even give her the chance to hold ‘em back. She whispered, “Thank you,” over and over like the man had just saved her whole world, which in a way, he did.

I reached over and pulled her in, kissin’ the top of her head while she cried into my chest. Relief was hittin’ me too.

I had been holdin’ myself up all this time, actin’ like I wasn’t worried, but I was.

I couldn’t help but care about Zurie and seein’ Pluto break down over her just reminded me why I was even here.

The doctor gave us the usual instructions—she would be asleep for a while, she would have IVs in, and she might feel nauseous or weak when she started to wake up.

They’d keep her on pain medicine and make sure her vitals stayed where they needed to be.

He told Pluto she could sit with her once they wheeled her into the ICU, but for now we had to give the nurses time to settle her in.

We waited another half hour before they called us back.

A nurse led us through the heavy doors, down a hallway where machines beeped from every room, and when we stepped into Zurie’s space, I had to take a second to breathe.

She looked so small on that hospital bed, gown loose around her shoulders, her head wrapped with white bandages, tubes taped to her arm, and wires running to the monitor by her side.

Pluto walked straight to her, grabbin’ her little hand and rubbin’ it gentle, whisperin’ to her even though she was still knocked out. “I’m right here, sissy,” she said. “You made it through, I’m right here.”

I stood on the other side of the bed, my hand on the rail, just watchin’ her chest rise and fall with the machine’s rhythm.

The nurse explained the IV was for fluids and antibiotics, the button taped near her bed was for pain relief if she woke up hurtin’, and the bandage on her head would stay on for a couple days.

She said Zurie would probably be drowsy, maybe a lil’ confused, but that was normal.

Pluto nodded through it all, her eyes glued to her sister, tears still spillin’ but her whole body finally relaxin’ like she had been holdin’ the weight of the world and somebody just lifted it off her shoulders.

I felt it too. The Gratitude. But I also felt that same exhaustion I been carryin’ since the moment I decided to chase after Pluto in the first place.