Page 42 of Certified Pressure 2
Trill-Land, Jungle Estate
S tanding next to Pluto had my blood boiling, simply because I was tired.
I was tired of the way she moved like she was the only one that mattered, tired of her acting like she was entitled to Pressure when both of us came into this house with the same damn motive.
We wasn’t supposed to be here for love. We was supposed to be here for survival.
Pressure was upstairs with Renza and Blaqson, and I was down here locking eyes with a girl I used to call my sister.
She’d disappeared, left him hanging for weeks, and now out the blue she popped back up like she hadn’t left.
My heart hurt because right before she walked in, I thought today was about to be my moment.
I thought it was finally me and Pressure, official. Then here she come.
The silence between us got so loud I couldn’t take it no more. I turned to her, my voice low but sharp. “What you even doin’ here, Pluto?”
She looked me up and down, slow, her lip curling like she had the right to check me. “What you think I’m doing here?”
That shit cut, because she said it like she belonged here more than me. My throat burned but I smirked, trying to hold it together. “You funny. You really funny.”
Pluto cocked her head, still sizing me up. “Nah, what’s funny is you standing here acting like you not the fake one.”
“Fake?” My laugh came out harsh. “Bitch, how the fuck am I fake? You the one who disappeared like you ain’t want him, and now you pop back up like everything good.”
She stepped closer, her eyes locked on mine. “I’m fake? Kash, you been sleeping with Pressure and didn’t even tell me. How is that not fake?”
I felt my chest tighten, my nails biting into my palm.
“I ain’t say shit ‘cause it caught me off guard, Pluto. What you wanted me to do, call you up and announce it? Then it would look like I was rubbing it in your face. You was my sister and I didn’t wanna hurt you.
You was the one acting like you didn’t want him, remember?
Every excuse in the book why you didn’t want to come here in the first place.
You was acting like you couldn’t come here or commit.
And now I’m the villain? Get the fuck outta here. ”
Her face twisted, her voice rising. “You should’ve still said something!”
“And you should’ve stopped acting like Pressure wasn’t nothing but a check!” I snapped. “Don’t sit here and play innocent. You came in this house talking about how you was gon’ get that money for Zurie. Don’t front now like you didn’t.”
Her eyes flashed and she pointed at me. “And you didn’t? Stop acting like you ain’t come in here with a motive too.”
I blinked fast, heat rising up my neck. “Yeah, my motive was protecting you. You know that. I signed up first to make sure you was good, to make sure you ain’t get swallowed whole by the shit you was going through!
If I was coming here for love, it would’ve been nothing to tell you!
Especially since you claimed you didn’t wanna come in the first fucking place.
We both underestimated what it was gon’ turn into, Pluto.
Both of us. But don’t sit here and act like I’m wrong for catching feelings when you caught feelings too. ”
Her lip trembled for a second, but she shook it off quick, standing tall in front of me. “The difference is I admitted what I felt. I didn’t play behind my best friend’s back.”
I laughed bitterly, tears pricking the corners of my eyes. “Man, fuck that. You think just ‘cause you started liking him first you own him? That you got the right to tell me I’m wrong for feeling the same shit you feeling? Nah. We both fucked up. We both caught feelings when we wasn’t supposed to.”
The truth of that hung heavy between us, and for a second she just stared at me. Then her voice dropped, cold. “Yeah. And that’s exactly why it’s up now. May the best woman win.”
Her words hit me like a bullet. My chest damn near collapsed because she said it with so much conviction, like our friendship, our years, all the shit we been through didn’t mean shit at this point…
but hey… she was right because deep down I felt the same way.
My tears finally spilled, but I stepped closer, my face right up in hers.
“You really something else,” I said, my voice shaking but strong. “I ain’t the one that let this shit come between us. That’s you.”
She threw her hands out, scoffing. “Nah, Kash, don’t try to flip that shit. I ain’t the reason either.”
“The fuck you not,” I shot back, my voice cracking. “The second I ain’t open up about what I was tryna protect you from, you started acting funny with me. That’s when this shit started changing. Don’t act blind now.”
We was chest to chest now, cussing each other out, our voices echoing off the walls. Neither one of us was backing down. Years of friendship, loyalty, love—it was all unraveling right here in the foyer, and neither of us cared enough to stop.
Our yelling got so loud that I didn’t even hear the elevator at first. It wasn’t until Renza, Blaqson, and Pressure rushed out that I realized we had an audience.
Renza grabbed my arm, Blaqson stepped between us, and Pressure just stood there, his face tight, his eyes bouncing between us like he was trying to piece it all together.
“What the fuck is goin’ on?” he demanded, his voice thundering through the room.
I was still crying, my chest heaving, but I never took my eyes off Pluto. She was still staring back, unshaken, like this was the battle she came here for.
Pressure looked at me, his brow furrowed. “Why y’all goin’ so hard? What the fuck is this?”
I laughed through my tears, a bitter sound that broke me even more. “You really don’t know, huh?” I turned back to Pluto, my voice sharp as glass. “You wanna tell him why you really here… or you want me to?”