Page 50 of Certified Pressure 3 (Certified Pressure #3)

Royal Oaks subdivision in Trill-Land

One week later…

Ithought it was strange that I wasn’t hearing from Pressure several times a day like I normally did.

He had been keeping it short all week, just checking in during the mornings to ask if I ate and texting at night to say goodnight, telling me to rub his baby and kiss Zurie on the cheek.

That was it. There were no more long conversations, random calls just to hear my voice, no jokes, no nothing.

It was like he had disappeared in plain sight.

At first, I told myself he was probably busy, but that excuse had already worn thin.

Pressure was always busy, but he still made time to call.

This felt different. His energy was off.

He was short, cold, and hard to read. Deep down, I felt like I already knew what was going on, but I didn’t want to face it.

The sun was pouring through the blinds, creating soft stripes across the couch where I was sitting.

My phone was in my hand, and I kept unlocking it like maybe the next time I checked, there would be a message from him waiting, but there was nothing.

Just old messages and the same little “read” receipts that made my stomach twist.

After staring at the screen for a while, I went to Instagram.

I had been avoiding Kashmere’s page because every time I saw it, I ended up feeling worse than before, but with Pressure acting funny, my curiosity started eating at me.

I hesitated for a few seconds before typing her name in the search bar, and the second her page loaded, I wished I hadn’t.

The first picture was of her and Pressure sitting at some restaurant. She was leaned in close, her hand on his arm, smiling like she was living her best life. The caption said, “Dinner with my man. Grateful for a real one.

My chest tightened, but I scrolled again.

There were more photos of shopping bags, designer stores, his chain in the background and Kashmere smiling like she owned the world.

Then there was a picture of her lying next to him while he was asleep.

His arm was draped over her waist, and she had written, “My peace. My forever.”

That one did it. I locked my phone so fast my hand shook. My stomach felt sick, and my heart was pounding so hard it felt like I could hear it. Of course, I knew they were together, but seeing it confirmed hit different. I sat there, staring at the floor, trying not to cry.

Just when I thought I could finally breathe, the doorbell rang.

Zurie came running from her room, holding her iPad. “Who is it? Is it Pressure?” She asked.

I stood up slowly and walked to the door, trying to calm my nerves. When I opened it, Pressure was standing there. He had on a plain white tee, and some black sweats. His arms were full of gift bags.

Before I could even process my thoughts, Zurie ran past me. “Pressure!” she squealed.

He smiled and bent down to her level, handing her both of the bags. “Here, lil’ mama. These for you.”

Her eyes lit up. “Thank you!” she said, hugging the bags to her chest before running back toward her room.

I stood in the doorway with my arms crossed. My heart was racing, but I refused to let him see it. “You need to stop spoiling her like that,” I said, my voice sharp.

Pressure leaned against the doorframe with that lazy smirk of his. “I can’t help it. She my girl.”

“Whatever,” I muttered, rolling my eyes. “You can’t just pop up here like everything good.”

He straightened up. “Can I come in?”

“No,” I said flatly.

His face shifted. “What you mean no?”

“It mean what it sound like,” I snapped.

He looked confused, maybe even irritated. “Man, what’s ya fuckin’ problem?”

“My problem?” I repeated, letting out a bitter laugh. “You really gon’ ask me that? You been acting funny all week, barely texting back, and now you pop up like nothing happened.”

Pressure ran his hand over his face, sighing. “Pluto, I been dealin’ with some real shit, a’ight? Kashmere tried to kill herself.”

The words hit me like a slap. For a second, I didn’t even know what to say. Then it sank in, and anger rushed through me. “And what that gotta do with me?”

“I’m just sayin’ that’s why I been quiet,” he said, his tone calmer now.

I shook my head. “You tellin’ me she tried to kill herself like that’s supposed to change somethin’.”

“I’m not sayin’ it for you to care. I’m just sayin’ I been takin’ space away from everybody, includin’ her,” he said, rubbing his neck.

I glared at him. “Tuh! From what I just saw, she look perfectly fine to me. Out eatin’, shoppin’, postin’ you sleepin’ in the bed, all that. Her ass don’t seem suicidal to me.”

Pressure’s jaw flexed. “You went through her page?”

“You damn right I did,” I said, my voice sharp. “You act like I don’t got eyes. You over there playing house while you constantly playing in my face, running all this game like you trying to build with me, but this exactly why I don’t trust you.”

He looked at me like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Pluto, what the hell is you talkin’ about? You always jump to some wild-ass conclusion like I’m out here purposefully fuckin’ over you. It ain’t even like that.”

“Then what is it?” I asked, my voice shaking now. “You barely text me back, you quiet for a week, then you show up out the blue like everything good. What else am I supposed to think?”

Pressure stepped closer, his voice deep and heavy.

“You the one that’s confused. You the one that push and pull every damn day.

One minute you act like you want me, then you start with all that ‘we can’t do this’ dumb ass talk, and I’m supposed to just read your mind?

You don’t even let me love you how I want to. ”

“That’s because you got somebody else in your bed,” I shot back.

He shook his head slowly. “Man, stop with all this bullshit, actin’ like you don’t know what it is with me.

You think I would be pullin’ up to this bitch, checkin’ on you and my son every chance I get, if I ain’t care?

You think I’m doin’ all this shit just to pass time?

You the one that got me losin’ my damn mind tryna figure out what version of you I’m gon’ get every time I pull up. ”

My eyes burned, but I refused to look away. “Don’t try to flip this on me. Kashmere is posting you so it’s clearly more than what you’re telling me.”

Pressure’s voice dropped lower. “I don’t control what that woman post, Pluto. You think I give a fuck about some fuckin’ pictures? I been tryna handle a lot of shit, and all you see is what you wanna see. You got your guard up so high that you don’t even realize you the one pushin’ me away.”

He took a step forward, lowering his voice. “You don’t get it. I’m tryin’ to hold shit together.”

“For who? Her or me?” I shot back.

He didn’t answer. That silence said everything.

I folded my arms tighter. “This right here is exactly why I don’t trust you. You hot one minute and cold the next. You want me when I’m pullin’ away, but the second I let you in, you go ghost.”

He clenched his jaw. “Man, Pluto, stop actin’ like you don’t know where my heart at.”

“Your heart don’t mean shit when your actions say different,” I said.

We stood there, staring each other down.

“I’ll go back home if I got to,” I finally said, my voice low but firm. “I’ll leave all this behind before I let you keep playing with me.”

Pressure looked at me hard. “This your home now. You and my son ain’t goin’ nowhere, so you can shut all that shit you talkin’ ‘bout down.”

“That ain’t your call,” I said. “You don’t own me.”

He shook his head, his voice low and rough. “You always quick to say you done, like that’s gon’ make shit easier. You act like walkin’ away don’t hurt you too. You be sayin’ shit you don’t mean.”

“I mean every word,” I said, my voice barely holding.

Pressure looked at me for a long moment, his jaw set but his eyes saying everything he didn’t. “You really think I wanna keep fightin’ with you?” he asked. “I been tryin’ to make this work, Pluto. I’m not perfect, but I don’t deserve you actin’ like I ain’t been here.”

“You ain’t been shit, Pressure.”

He nodded slowly, like the words stung but he couldn’t argue. “A’ight,” he said after a second. “If that’s how you feel, then I guess I can’t say nothin’ else.”

“That’s how it’s been,” I said coldly. “Go be with Kashmere, since she the one you runnin’ back to anyway.”

Pressure didn’t move right away. He just stared at me with that look that always made me weak, only this time it felt like it was breaking me instead. When he finally spoke, his voice was low. “I ain’t runnin’ back to nobody,” he said. “I’m just tired of fightin’ somebody I would do anything for.”

His eyes flickered, and for a second, I saw the hurt underneath all that attitude.

Pressure stared at me for a long moment before nodding slowly. “A’ight then,” he said finally. “You tired, huh? Well, I’m tired too. At this point, it is what it is.”

He started to reach for my stomach, but I moved back and slapped his hand away. “Don’t touch me.”

He blinked, caught off guard. “Pluto, stop actin’ like that. Can I at least help Zurie open her gifts?”

“She don’t need your help,” I said sharply. “Just leave.”

He looked at me one last time, his expression unreadable. Then he sighed and leaned in like he wanted to kiss my cheek, but I turned my head away.

Without another word, I stepped back inside, closed the door, and locked it. I stood there for a second, listening to his footsteps fade, and then I walked to the couch. My hands were shaking, but my heart felt calm. I was done.

Kashmere could have him.

Two weeks later…