Page 190 of Invisible Bars

“I wouldn’t say I always gotta defend her. We both know that Dess can hold her own, and besides there are hundreds of muthafuckas in wheelchairs,” he finally answered. “But yeah, it gets to me sometimes. Not ‘cause of her—but because of them.People.Ignorant muthafuckas who stare too long, talk slick or try to play her like she’s weak. It gets a lil’ heavy. Adding on to what I have to help her with at the house.” He paused, then looked at me dead-on. “But I’ll carry it forever. Ten toes down behind her until I die. That’s what love is.”

I nodded slowly, absorbing that.

“You got that same weight now,” he added. “Now Naji’s situation is different. There’s a possibly that Dess will walk again… on her own. But what Naji has, she’ll live with that for the rest of her life, so if she’s breaking down, you better be standing twice as strong. She’s gonna need somebody like you; somebody who gon’ take the world off her back when shit gets too loud inside her head.”

“I just keep wondering if I’m enough… if I got what it takes to carry it.”

“Nigga, you do. You wouldn’t be asking if you didn’t already care enough to try. At this point, you love the girl, and hell, she probably loves yo’ ass too.”

I let that settle. The hum of the engine starting was the only sound for a second.

“Just don’t give up on her, man,” Chi said. “She’s worth the fight. Hell… she’s worth thebody count.”

I snorted a little at that, then shook my head.

“Real shit. We done burned a whole café down tonight for sometea.That’s commitment.”

I cracked a smile. “That’s crazy.”

“Nah,” Chi smirked. “That’s love.”

Maybe it is.

Then he pulled off, the fire glowing in the rearview mirror.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

NAJI

The bedroom was dim and still, with only the soft hum of the ceiling fan breaking the silence. I lay curled on my side, arms tucked close to my chest, my eyes wide open despite the late hour. An hour ago, I had woken up to find that Imanio was gone.

No note, no whispered goodbye—just the empty space beside me, still faintly warm.

My gut told me Imanio was out doing something he couldn’t talk about—something wrapped in a silence we never acknowledged in the daylight. I hadn’t really slept; I had just floated somewhere between rest and dread. There was a dull ache in my chest—the kind that came when my brain replayed the same thing over and over, even when my body was too tired to react anymore. I knew he’d come home. I also feared he wouldn’t come back the same.

When the alarm beeped, signaling that the front door had opened, my heart skipped a beat. I turned onto my side and played asleep, hoping that if I stayed still enough, the worry wouldn’t notice me.

The bedroom door creaked open, but no lights flicked on. Imanio’s footsteps were slow and heavy, dragging across thewooden floor. He didn’t say anything or glance my way; he just walked straight into the bathroom. The sound of the shower started almost instantly.

I sat up slowly. My nose twitching at the faint, metallic smell in the air—one I didn’t want to name. I knew that smell, and it didn’t belong in a bedroom.

Without a word, I slid out of bed and my body moved on instinct.

Shirt off. Shorts down. Skin bare. No hesitation.

The bathroom was thick with steam—the mirror fogged, the light above the sink barely cutting through it. I saw Imanio under the water with his head bowed, shoulders tense and forearm braced against the wall like he was holding up the world. The water mixed with streaks of something darker as it spiraled down the drain.

I didn’t cringe or ask—I didn’t need to.

I stepped in behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist. Pressed my cheek to the wet heat of his back, my lips grazing the scar near his spine like I was trying to remind him of something soft in all the violence.

Imanio didn’t say anything at first; he just stood there and let the water run. Then his voice broke through the silence.

“You shouldn’t ever have to explain who you are to anybody… not ever again.”

Pressure gathered at the corners of my eyes; a silent buildup of everything I hadn’t said or let go of, pressed harder with every heartbeat.

Imanio turned slowly to face me.