Page 26 of Invisible Bars

Then came another outburst—soft but broken.

“D-Don’t hurt the stars! Please don’t hurt the stars! I didn’t even mean to look up!”

The words spilled out like a dream from a frightened child. My hands clenched the hem of my robe as my eyes welled up.

Gatez didn’t speak at first; his expression didn’t change either. Like maybe, for just a second, he realized I wasn’t built for all the noise and danger, and I was just a porcelain girl in a world of gunmetal.

“Yes,” he answered slowly. “For now.”

His eyes didn’t soften… they sharpened.

“You don’t strike me as the type to run your mouth. Hell, you don’t even strike me as the type to be in a place like this. That’s the only reason you’re still breathing. So go back upstairs,breathe,and pretend this night never happened. And if youeverthink about speaking on it—ever—think of this moment as a favor; one Iwill notextend twice. Now go… anddon’tcome back down until youthinkwe’re gone. We have some cleaning up to do.”

I realized then Gatez wasn’t letting me go because he trusted me; he was letting me go because, in that moment, I didn’t register as a threat. However, his silence afterward said more than any warning could’ve: If I ever gave him a reason to regretletting me go, if I ever slipped up, spoke to the wrong person, or so much asbreathedsuspicion, he wouldn’t hesitate, warn me or argue; he’d justcorrectthe mistake—swiftly and quietly. That being said, he didn’t have to tell methreetimes to get the hell out of his face.

I turned and bolted for the stairs, nearly tripping in my fuzzy socks. My heart was pounding so loud in my ears that it drowned out everything behind me. I didn’t look back or breathe until I reached the top.

The moment my door closed behind me, I collapsed against it.

My whole body was trembling and my knees finally gave out. I slid to the floor and wrapped my arms around me like that alone might keep me from unraveling completely. I twitched—hard. A violent jerk of my shoulder, followed by a choked sob, I didn’t even recognize as my own.

“Don’t shoot! Please—clean it up—don’t shoot!”The words tumbled from my mouth like my brain and body were firing in separate directions.

I curled into myself, back against the door, knees to my chest, trying to control my breathing.

In. Out. In. Out.

The breathing exercises, the closed door, the familiar silence of my room—none of it helped. Because there was blood downstairs. Abody.Blu’s.And I had stood there, frozen, useless andhelpless.I didn’t scream, run or fight. I just watched it happen, like a bystander in my own nightmare.

I pressed the heel of my hand against my mouth to stifle the sob that rose.

I didn’t cry often those days, but memories of my grandmother and the friend I had lost would sometimes bring me to the brink of tears. However, what was unfolding aroundme was not something I could simply ignore or shove under a blanket and pretend it didn’t exist.

Gatez’s voice echoed in my mind, a haunting reminder:“And if you ever think about speaking on it—ever—think of this moment as a favor; one I will not extend twice.”

In that moment, the weight of his words wrapped around my chest like chains, squeezing until I could barely breathe. I couldn’t believe a room that had once felt like a sanctuary now felt like a trap, leaving me questioning my safety even there, in the only refuge I had left in a world that seemed increasingly chaotic and uncertain.

I jumped up from the floor, heart still hammering in my chest. I started packing in a frenzy, tossing clothes and necessities into a duffel with no plan, no destination—just urgency. There was no way I could stay there after what I’d witnessed; not with blood still drying downstairs and the memory of that gunshot echoing in my ears. I didn’t know where I was going. All I knew was this: I had to disappear before someone made that decision for me.

Chapter Five

IMANIO “GATEZ”

The doors burst open as we stepped out, the fresh night air slapping us in the face like it knew what we’d just escaped. Chi was two steps ahead, throwing wild glances over his shoulder like the building might come alive and chase us.

“Bro, I’ve known yo’ ass to be calm, but not in life or death situations!”

I adjusted my watch, then responded, “If you paid attention, you would’ve noticed that our panic seemed to heighten hers.”

“Heighten?! Nigga, you acting like we was adjusting a thermostat! That girl damn near rebooted in front of us like a possessed Alexa, as many times she gasped, blinked, and twitched! It felt like she had six different personalities, and one of them hated us personally!”

“You done?” I asked, unfazed.

“Almost!I’m trying to figure out why you just stood there like it was a damn meditation retreat!”

“Because our yelling, yours to better put it, wasn’t helping,” I explained.

“I wasn’t yelling; I was warning! There’s a difference between being loud and trying not to get bit by somebody cussin’ out themicrowave! You ever heard of survival instincts? ‘Cause I got ‘em.”