Page 24 of Invisible Bars

Something in the guy Gatez’s voice settled the air—and weirdly, settled me… just a little. My feet moved before my mind agreed. Each step down was slow and shaky, like my legs were deciding whether to run or surrender.

I twitched once… then again. My shoulder jerked like it got shocked.

“D-don’t—don’t hurt me! Please! I didn’t see—fuck—squirrel-dick—damn it!”

“You heard her! She said don’t touch her, and I believe her soul meant that too!”

“Chi,” Gatez warned, his voice low, cold, and unmoved. “Shut up before I shut you up.”

Chi immediately threw his hands up. “Aight.” Then mimed zipping his lips.

In that moment, I could see it clearly: Chi was the constant jokester who tried to diffuse serious situations with humor, even when they were on the brink of turning dangerous. Gatez was something else entirely.

The quiet authority. The storm dressed in silence. The one whose word was law, whether it was spoken gently or not at all.

And now, standing face-to-face with him, every part of me screamed not to look up. It felt as if I evendaredto meet his eyes, it would trigger something I couldn’t come back from. I kept my eyes on the floor, chest rising in quick, shallow breaths. My knees wobbled like they were seconds from giving out completely.

“How long you been standing there?” His voice didn’t waver.

“N-N-N-N-Not long!”

My right hand jerked suddenly, twitching at the wrist before I yanked it back to my side like I’d just been caught stealing. I clenched my hands to still it, willing my body to just bestillfor once.

Gatez just stared—watching, calculating, like every second I stood there was part of some silent equation he was solving.

I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me whole and vanish before he decided I’d seen too much, said too little, orstood too long. But instead, I stood there—trembling, twitching, and silently praying I’d live long enough to make at least one more pot of tea.

Chi raised both hands like the conversation was a crime scene he didn’t wanna be caught near.

“You know what? I done been cussed out, side-eyed, and seen more twitching than a broken TV remote. I’m finna go pack up them speakers and mind my damn business before I end up glitched into silence too.”

So he’s a killer and a thief,I wanted to say.

“Yeah, you do that,” Gatez replied, his voice steady but his eyes still fixed on me, as if weighing the severity of my distress.

Chi shuffled off toward the small stage like a kid who’d been sent to his room.

“Look at me,” Gatez ordered, calm—too calm.

My head snapped up instantly, like my body responded before my fear had a chance to interfere.

Gatez didn’t speak immediately; he just watched me intently—the way a lion watches a deer after it stumbles into the wrong clearing and decides whether to feast now or toy with it first. His silence was heavier than words, every second stretching like a blade against my throat.

“You saw too much. You caught a glimpse of a world that wasn’t meant for your eyes. Not just the act, but the faces, the method, the way I move when no one’s supposed to be watching. That puts you in a category I usuallyeliminate. The fact is… you were at the wrong place, at the wrong time, but yet here you stand,unharmed.That’s not luck; that’s a choice…mychoice.”

I felt the weight of his gaze but refused to look away.

“I don’t know if you’re terrified or just paralyzed,” he went on, his eyes narrowing slightly, “but listen closely—what you decidenext will determine everything that follows. Not just for you, but for me and what I’ve built.”

Then… my head snapped once to the side. A strained hum slipped out next, high-pitched and panicked.

“Shit—s-sorry,” I whispered, hand clutching the railing to keep from falling to my knees. “I-I didn’t mean to?—”

Gatez took a slow step forward.

“You think sorry is gonna erase what you saw? You think just because you stutter and twitch, I’m gonna pat you on the head and pretend like this nigga ain’t dead behind me and you didn’t witness that shit? I don’t give passes, sweetheart. Not for pretty faces. Not for panic. Not even for bad nerves.”

Gatez looked me up and down like he was assessing how much of a problem I might be.