Page 26 of Certified Pressure 3 (Certified Pressure #3)

Chapel Grove

“Zurie!” I called out from the kitchen.

“Yeah?” she called back, her little voice floating through the house like always.

“Are you ready for your grilled cheese sandwich?”

“Almost!” she yelled, her focus still buried in the iPad Pressure bought her. I smiled to myself while flipping her sandwich on the stove. The butter sizzled and filled the air with that sweet smell that always made Zurie dance in her seat when I set her plate down.

It was just one of those quiet afternoons that felt normal for once.

My uncle Lionel and Aunt Deanne were at work, and the house was peaceful.

The TV in the living room was low, playing one of Zurie’s shows about kids baking cupcakes, and I had some soft R&B playing on my phone.

I was just glad to see Zurie calm, laughing at the screen.

I cut the sandwich into triangles like she liked and reached for the plate, but right then there was a knock at the door.

It wasn’t a light knock either. It was heavy, loud, and made me freeze for a second.

My first thought was maybe Uncle Lionel finally made it home, but then the knock came again, harder this time. I frowned, turned off the stove, and set the spatula down. Something about it didn’t feel right.

“Zurie, come sit at the table and eat, okay?” I said, trying to sound calm. “Don’t move ‘til I come back.”

She nodded and climbed onto the chair, swinging her legs under the table while I wiped my hands on a towel. I walked to the door, my heart picking up, and peeked through the peephole.

Two police officers stood outside.

My stomach dropped.

For a moment, I just stared through the peephole, trying to understand why the hell they would be here. My mind raced with all kind of wild thoughts. Did something happen to Aunt Deanne or Uncle Lionel? Did they get in a wreck? Was it about a neighbor?

I opened the door a crack and said, “Can I help you?”

The taller officer stepped forward, looking straight at me. “Are you Pluto Monroe?”

I froze for a second, my hand still on the doorknob. “Uh… yeah. Why?”

He nodded and said, “Is Zurie Monroe in the residence with you?”

My eyebrows pulled together. “Yeah. Why? What’s going on?”

He looked at his partner, then back at me, and his tone changed. It was calm, but too official. “Miss Monroe, we have a warrant for your arrest for kidnapping a minor.”

It was like the floor disappeared from under me.

“What?” I said, my voice cracking. “Kidnapping? What the hell are you talking about?”

The other officer shifted his stance and said, “The judge signed off on it this morning. We’re here to take you into custody, and the child will be released into her mother’s care.”

“My mama?” I repeated, almost laughing from shock. “No, you got this wrong. My mama ain’t even been around! I’ve been taking care of my sister because nobody else will. My parents know exactly where she is. They just don’t care!”

“Ma’am,” the first officer said, keeping his voice calm but firm, “it’s out of our hands. You need to come with us. We don’t want to make this harder than it needs to be.”

I shook my head, backing away from the door. “No. No, this ain’t right. My mama can’t just—”

Before I could finish, one of them stepped inside like I wasn’t even standing there and called out, “Zurie! Can you come here, sweetie?”

That’s when my chest tightened, and everything in me snapped. “Hey! You can’t just walk in here!” I shouted. “You don’t even have permission to be in this house!”

The taller one tried to hold up a hand to calm me, but I was already moving. I rushed past him toward the kitchen, where Zurie had stopped mid-bite, her big brown eyes wide with confusion and fear.

“Pluto, what’s happening?” she asked, her voice trembling.

“It’s okay, baby,” I said, trying to keep it together even though I was shaking. “Ain’t nothing gon’ happen to you, okay? Just stay right there.”

“Ma’am, step away from the child,” one of the officers said behind me.

“Don’t touch her!” I snapped, spinning around.

He reached out and grabbed my arm, and I jerked back so hard the chair scraped across the floor. “Get the fuck off me!” I yelled. “Don’t touch me, I’m pregnant!”

“Ma’am, calm down,” the officer warned. “If you don’t comply, we’ll have to use force.”

“Y’all are already using force! I didn’t kidnap nobody! That’s my fuckin’ sister!”

But they weren’t listening. The taller one grabbed my wrist again, twisting it behind my back, and before I could even blink, I felt the cold metal of handcuffs click around my wrists.

The sound made Zurie scream. “Pluto! Pluto! What are they doing to you?”

I turned my head toward her, trying to breathe through the panic. “It’s okay, Zurie. Don’t cry, okay?”

She slid off the chair, tears streaming down her face as she ran toward me, but the second officer caught her before she could reach me. “It’s okay, sweetheart. You’re coming with us,” he said, trying to sound gentle, while making me feel like a fucking criminal.

“Don’t touch her!” I yelled, thrashing against the cuffs. “She don’t even know y’all! Let her go!”

My voice cracked, and hot tears rolled down my face.

I couldn’t stop crying, or shaking. None of this shit made sense.

All I could think about was how my mama hadn’t called in weeks.

How she’d never even taken Zurie to a doctor’s appointment, never bought her medicine and never sat up through the night when she had one of her episodes.

And now she wanted to take her back?

The realization hit me hard. The only person I told about trying to get custody of Zurie was my cousin—my stupid cousin who couldn’t keep her mouth shut if her life depended on it.

I should’ve known she’d go run her mouth to my mama.

I mean, that’s the only person I told in my family besides my aunt and uncle.

The officer started pulling me toward the door, and I stumbled, crying harder. “Please,” I begged, “just let me call somebody. Let me explain what’s going on. Please don’t take her. Please don’t take my sister.”

But they didn’t even look at me.

By the time we reached the front door, Uncle Lionel rushed inside, his face full of confusion. “What the hell is going on?” he yelled.

I looked at him, crying so hard I could barely speak. “They said I kidnapped Zurie!They’re taking me to jail!”

“What?” he shouted, looking between me and the officers. “That’s insane! Kidnapped who? This girl’s been living here for weeks! Her parents ain’t done a damn thing for her!”

The officer sighed. “Sir, I understand, but we have a warrant. We’re just doing our job.”

“This ain’t no job, this is a mistake!” Lionel barked. “Ain’t nobody kidnapped nobody!”

I looked at him helplessly. “Uncle, please, my phone’s on the counter. Can you grab it for me? I need to make a call.”

He nodded quickly and grabbed it, fumbling as he tried to unlock it before handing it to one of the cops. “Can she at least make one call before y’all take her?” he asked, his voice breaking.

The officer hesitated, then shook his head. “At the station, sir. She can call before she’s booked.”

Uncle Lionel looked at me. “I’ll try to come up with some money to get you out. Just give me a minute.”

But I could barely hear him over Zurie’s crying. She was screaming now, trying to break free from the officer holding her. “Pluto! I don’t wanna go! I don’t wanna go!”

“I know, I know,” I cried, my voice hoarse. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

They pulled me outside, and the sunlight hit my face like a slap. Neighbors were peeking out their windows, probably wondering what I’d done. I wanted to yell out that I wasn’t a criminal, and how I was just trying to keep my sister safe, but the words wouldn’t come out.

When they opened the back door of the police car, I turned my head and saw another patrol car parked behind it. She kept trying to reach for me, but the officer was holding her hand, guiding her away.

“Pluto!” she screamed again, her voice breaking.

That sound shattered me.

I slid into the back seat, the cuffs cutting into my wrists, and watched her disappear behind the other car door. The officer closed mine, and everything went quiet except for the sound of my breathing.

As we pulled off, I pressed my forehead against the window, tears blurring the world outside. My stomach ached, my chest hurt, and I couldn’t even tell if it was from the crying or the cramps I felt.

All I knew was that I was losing my shit.

The house got smaller in the distance, and so did Zurie. I watched until I couldn’t see her anymore, until the streets blurred together and the world looked nothing like home.

The ride to the station felt like forever.

Every red light felt cruel. Every turn felt like the world was folding in on me.

I could hear the officers in the front talking quietly, but I wasn’t listening.

My mind was back in the kitchen with the smell of grilled cheese still in the air and Zurie’s voice echoing through the house.

She’d trusted me to keep her safe, and now she was being driven away by strangers.

I sat there shaking, crying silently until there was nothing left to cry.

By the time we reached the station, my face was swollen, my wrists hurt, and all I could think about was one thing—how my own mama did this to me. How she really called the law on her own daughter just to prove she still had control.

The air inside the station felt cold and heavy.

It smelled like bleach and paper, like a place where people came in and didn’t always walk back out the same way.

One of the officers guided me to a metal bench near a fingerprint machine and told me to sit tight.

My wrists ached from the cuffs, and when he finally took them off, my skin burned where the metal had rubbed it raw.