Page 31 of Invisible Bars

My knees buckled slightly, but I kept moving.

Outside, the May air hung heavy—humid and still, like the night had soaked up all of the day's sweat and decided to keep it. I didn’t know if it was the weather, my nerves, orhim… but something told me that my life would never be the same after that night. And the night knew it before I did.

A black SUV idled at the curb like it’d been waiting its whole life for that moment. Chi was already hopping in the front, whistling some off-key tune like he was going on a late night Wal-Mart run and not kidnapping someone.

When we made it to the car door, I halted. Gatez reached past me, opened it, and held it steady.

He didn’t say “ladies first,” but the quiet way he held the door sent a shiver through me—not fear, not comfort, but something caught in between.

It was such a small gesture but coming from a man who’d killed someone less than an hour ago, it felt surreal. And somehow, that scared me more than if he’d dragged me out by my hair.

Gatez waited while I slid into the back seat, then got in beside me, closing the door behind him.

Silence crept in like smoke under a locked door. Until Chi, of course, peeled it back.

“Y’all looking real cozy back there,” he grinned, glancing in the mirror. “Might as well hold hands and pick out wedding colors. I can pull up Dess’s Pinterest board ready if y’all need inspo.”

Dess must be his girlfriend?I wondered.

“Drive,” Gatez ordered.

Chi shrugged. “Aight. But if I catch y’all cuddling, I’m taking pictures.Glitchy and The Grim Reaper. It’s a vibe.”

I turned my face toward the window, clutching the strap of my duffel like it might anchor me back to reality.

My thoughts raced, colliding with the sharp edge of disbelief. I prayed—desperately—that was all just a warped dream, one I’d jolt awake from any second with my heart pounding, breath ragged, and safe in my own bed.

But it wasn’t a dream.

I was fully awake, fully aware, sitting beside a man who had killed someone—violently, unflinchingly—right in front of me. And the strangest part? Despite everything… even the fear that crawled under my skin, a small, shameful part of me felt safer with him than I’d ever felt in the world outside.

“Nana Li… I hope you’re watching over me. Please give me some kind of sign that everything is gonna be okay,” I silently prayed, lips barely moving as I continued to gaze out the window.

And then I saw it—a tiny storefront tucked between a deli and a laundromat. Its window display was crowded with plush toys, a row of teddy bears staring out at the street with button eyes that seemed too knowing.

That’s when it hit me.

I’d left behind the one thing that mattered most—the teddy bear. The one with Nana Li’s voice still tucked inside, a soft recording that had soothed me through more panic attacks than I could count.

I have to go back and get it.

The thought hollowed out my chest, but I didn’t dare say a word.

How could I tell the men who kidnapped me that I needed to turn around forateddy bear?

To them, it would’ve sounded ridiculous, weak, even laughable. But to me, it wasn’t just a stuffed toy; it was a piece ofher. And now it was lying somewhere in that room… alone.

I sighed deeply and curled into my seat.

I lost my grandmother once, now I lost her again. And this time, I don’t know if I’ll ever get her back.

Chapter Seven

IMANIO “GATEZ”

There was a soft knock at my bedroom door.

“Enter,” I said without looking up, my back propped against the headboard, scrolling through unread emails on my laptop.