Page 28 of Certified Pressure 3 (Certified Pressure #3)

I didn’t text him back yet. I just stood there for a moment, clutching my phone in my hand while trying to hold it together.

I didn’t even know what to say to him. He always came through, no matter what, and even though we weren’t together, he never left me stranded.

That meant more than he probably even realized.

I got in the car and sat back in the seat. The driver started the engine, and I told him where to go.

He nodded and pulled off.

I looked out the window as the streetlights passed, my reflection fading in and out of the glass.

I had just gotten out of jail, but the only thing on my mind was getting to Zurie.

I didn’t care about sleep, food, or nothing else.

I just needed to make sure she was safe, because no matter what anybody said or did, that was still my baby sister.

And I wasn’t about to let nobody, not even my mama play when it came to her.

During the ride to my mama’s apartment, I couldn’t stop shaking my leg.

My mind was racing too fast to sit still.

The car felt too quiet, and even though the driver had the radio playing low, it sounded far away.

All I could think about was Zurie. She had to be there.

There was no other place she could be. I didn’t care what time it was or who had something to say about it. I was going to see my sister.

I realized halfway there that I left my keys to the apartment at my uncle’s house, but I didn’t feel like stopping.

I didn’t even want to see nobody right now.

The only thing I wanted was to make sure Zurie was okay.

I told the driver to wait outside once we pulled up and got out fast, closing the door behind me.

The building looked the same as always, old and worn, with the light over the front door flickering like it was on its last try.

I took the stairs two at a time and stopped when I got to the apartment.

There was a dent in the door from when Pressure kicked it in that night.

They’d fixed it enough for it to hang back on the hinges, but you could still see the crack running down the side. .

I banged on the door, calling out, “Mama, open the door!”

For a minute, there was nothing but silence, then I heard her voice from the other side. “Who is it?”

Just hearing her voice made my stomach turn.

“It’s me,” I said. “It’s Pluto. I came to get Zurie.”

There was a pause, then she let out a bitter laugh. “Hell no. Get the fuck away from my door. You already had some man kick my shit in and knock your daddy out, now you think you can just take my child whenever you feel like it? It don’t work like that.”

Her words made my blood boil. “Your child?” I shouted. “You mean the same child you been neglecting? The one you don’t even check on unless somebody tell you to? All you do is sleep all day and pop pills. You not no damn mama!”

“Watch your mouth, bitch!” she yelled from the other side. “You ain’t about to stand there and disrespect me. You need to go on somewhere before I call the police on your ass again!”

I stepped closer to the door, my heart pounding. I couldn’t believe she was calling me out my name and talking to me like I wasn’t shit. “Call ‘em then! I don’t give a fuck! I’m not leaving without my sister!”

“Zurie!” she called out suddenly. “Go in the room and shut the door right now!”

I could hear Zurie’s soft voice faintly from inside, and that made everything inside me snap. I kicked the bottom of the door hard. “Open the damn door!”

“Keep kickin’ it if you want to,” she shouted. “I’m about to call the police for real this time!”

Her voice sounded hateful, like she wanted me to suffer. I couldn’t believe that the same woman who gave birth to both of us could hate me this much. I was used to her making me feel like I was the problem, but this right here was too much.

I kicked the door again, tears blurring my eyes. “You don’t care about her! You don’t even get up long enough to feed her! She’s healing and you got her in there around all that fuckin’ filth! Let me see my sister!”

“Get the fuck from my door, Pluto!” she screamed. “I told you I’m not playin’ with you!”

I could hear movement from the other side, and then I heard her voice muffled, like she was talking on the phone. I didn’t even have to guess who she was calling.

A few minutes later, I saw flashing lights reflecting off the windows. My heart dropped when I realized she’d actually done it. She called the police on me again.

Two officers walked up with flashlights and asked what was going on.

“She’s holding my little sister inside the apartment,” I said quickly, trying not to cry. “I know she ain’t safe in there. My mama take a lot of pills, she sleep all day, and she don’t take care of herself, let alone a child that just had surgery. Please just go in there and check.”

The older officer looked at me, then at the door. “What’s your mother’s name?”

“Marlene Monroe,” I said.

He nodded and stepped up to the door, knocking. “Mrs. Monroe, this is the police. Can you open up, ma’am?”

From the other side came her angry voice. “Get the fuck away from my door! I’m not opening nothin’! I told y’all she crazy! She got a kidnapping charge! That’s the one y’all need to be checking for!”

The officers looked back at me, and I could see the confusion in their faces.

“Ma’am,” one of them said to the door, “we just need to make sure everyone’s safe. Can you please open the door?”

“No!” she shouted. “I just got my daughter back today and you not about to take her from me again. Leave me alone!”

Then they heard her yelling again, “Zurie, go in the room right now!”

That sound made my heart crack wide open.

The officers exchanged looks. One of them spoke into his radio, calling for backup. I could feel my whole body shaking while I stood there waiting.

After a few minutes, more police showed up. They talked quietly among themselves before one of them knocked again. “Mrs. Monroe, if you don’t open the door, we’ll have to do a welfare check and enter with a warrant.”

Something must have scared her because the door finally opened a few inches.

The smell of cigarettes, weed, and liquor all mixed together hit me hard.

The apartment looked dim inside, and the air was thick with smoke.

My mama stood in the doorway with her hair a mess and her face twisted up with anger.

She pointed straight at me. “That’s her right there. That’s the one who need to be in jail. She got a whole warrant for kidnapping my child. She think she better than me, but she ain’t shit. Now y’all can get her off my doorstep.”

The officer held up a hand. “Ma’am, we just want to make sure your daughter is okay. Can we come inside?”

“No! Ain’t nobody comin’ in my house!” she yelled.

They could clearly see she wasn’t in her right mind, and one of them finally told her they were entering for the child’s safety.

She tried to push the door closed, but the officers held it open and stepped inside.

She started screaming, cursing at them and telling them to get out, but they ignored her.

I followed them in, and my heart sank when I saw the apartment. It looked worse than I remembered. There were dirty dishes stacked in the sink, ashtrays full of cigarette butts, and clothes all over the floor. The smell of liquor hung heavy in the air.

“Marlene, calm down,” one of the officers said, holding up his hands as she kept yelling.

“Don’t tell me to calm down in my own damn house!” she screamed, swinging her arm.

The younger officer stepped forward. “Ma’am, we’re not here to fight with you. We just need to check on the child.”

“I told y’all she fine!”

But then, from the back of the apartment, a small voice spoke. “Pluto?”

I froze.

“Zurie!” I called out.

She came out from the hallway, rubbing her eyes, still in her pajamas. The sight of her almost broke me. I ran straight to her and wrapped her in my arms.

For a moment, I felt like everything was okay again. I thought maybe, just maybe, this nightmare was finally over… but it wasn’t.

The older officer looked between us and then at his partner. “This the sister you were talking about?”

“Yeah,” I said quickly. “She’s the one I was trying to protect. She’s not safe here.”

The other officer sighed. “Ma’am, you were just arrested earlier today, right?”

My heart sank. “Yeah, but I didn’t do anything wrong. I was just trying to take care of her.”

He nodded slowly but his face looked apologetic. “Because you were arrested on a kidnapping warrant involving this same child, neither of you can take custody right now. We have to notify Child Protective Services.”

The words hit me like a punch to the gut. “What? No, please. She can’t go to no foster home. I’ve been takin’ care of her. Please, don’t do this.”

“I’m sorry,” the officer said. “This is protocol.”

Zurie started crying, clinging tighter to me. “I don’t wanna go. Please don’t let them take me.”

I tried to hold on to her, but one of the female officers gently pulled her away, promising they’d find a safe place for her.

I could barely breathe. My mama was still cursing from across the room, her voice slurred and mean, but I couldn’t hear a word she said.

All I could see was my sister being led out the door crying, looking back at me.

“Pluto! She screamed again, reaching for me.

I couldn’t stop crying. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m so sorry,” I said, my voice shaking.

One of the officers put a hand on my shoulder and told me I needed to step outside. I walked out slowly, wiping my face, but I couldn’t stop looking toward the car where they were placing Zurie inside. My whole world was falling apart right in front of me.

As the car pulled off, I stood there under the streetlight, my body numb. Everything I had done, all the sacrifices, all the nights I stayed up with Zurie, all of it meant nothing now.

The same system that should’ve protected her was taking her away. And the same woman who brought us into this world was the reason for it.