“A big one,” I said. “And I ain’t got the energy for it right now.”
She sighed quietly. “I get it.”
I looked at her like she ain’t even have to explain. “I know you do, bitch,” I said. “Pressure’s ass was nuttin’ in you like it was a sport for a minute.”
She laughed and shook her head. “I did call you about it,” she admitted. “More than once.”
“Bitch, I know,” I said, laughin’ too, and for a second the heaviness lifted just enough for us to smile.
Pluto grew serious again, though, her tone softenin’. “I can’t tell you if you wrong or right, Toni,” she said honestly. “I know how they wired. Pressure and Kay’Lo got that same thing in ‘em when it come to… you already know, chile.”
“I know,” I said. “And that’s why this shit hurt the way it do. ‘Cause I love that man, Pluto. I really do. But I also know what I been livin’ with.”
She nodded slowly. “I gave Pressure his kids because I wanted to, and because I felt like it was part of my role as his wife,” she said. “But I also understand wantin’ to protect yourself when you don’t feel ready.”
That hit me harder than I expected, and I swallowed thick. “That’s all I’m tryna do,” I said. “Protect myself before shit get worse.”
I stared out at the pool for a second, the water reflectin’ light back at me in slow ripples, then I sighed and changed the subject ‘cause my chest was startin’ to feel tight again.
“And another thing that got me fucked up,” I said. “That therapist.”
Pluto tilted her head. “What about her?”
“One minute she tellin’ us Kay’Lo schizophrenic,” I said, my voice risin’ just a lil’, “and the next minute she sayin’ ain’t nothin’ wrong with him at all. Like, how the fuck that work?”
Pluto frowned. “That don’t sound right.”
“That’s what I’m sayin’,” I said. “Ain’t no way you go from that to nothin’.”
She hesitated, then asked carefully, “You think it’s possible Kay’Lo reached out to her and had somethin’ changed?”
The question landed heavier than she probably meant it to, and my stomach twisted as soon as she asked it. I looked at her, my brows pullin’ together.
“You think he would do that?” I asked.
Pluto lifted her hands a lil’. “I’m not sayin’ he did,” she said. “I’m just askin’. Pressure done surprised me before in ways I ain’t think he was capable of, so I learned not to rule shit out.”
I leaned back in my chair, my mind replayin’ the therapist’s face from that day, the way she had avoided my eyes and the way her voice didn’t sound as confident as before.
“I don’t know,” I said slowly. “I don’t think Kay’Lo would go that far, but…” I trailed off, feelin’ uneasy.
“But you noticed somethin’,” Pluto finished.
“Yeah,” I admitted. “And that shit ain’t sittin’ right with me.”
We sat there in silence again, the smoke curlin’ around us while my thoughts started spiralin’ in a direction I wasn’t ready to face yet. ‘Cause no matter how I tried to slice it, one thing was clear…
Ain’t no way in hell Kay’Lo didn’t have somethin’ goin’ on, and whether he was ready to admit it or not was a whole other conversation I wasn’t sure either one of us was ready to have.
THE DEEP TRILL
Renza had just spent a grip on a new yacht so me, him, Pressure, and Blaq was out here like we ain’t have nothin’ better to do than remind the ocean who the fuck we was.
The boat was stupid clean. It wasn’t regular a rich nigga boat, but that quiet, intentional shit where every surface looked like it had been thought through twice before it got approved. It had white exterior with that subtle pearl tint that caught the sun different depending on where you stood, polished wood accents everywhere, and windows so big you could see straight through to the water like the ocean was part of the interior design. The deck alone was bigger than most people’s condos, and inside that shit had multiple rooms, plush couches stitched with custom leather, a full kitchen, a dining space that lookedlike it belonged in a five star restaurant, and bedrooms that made you forget you was even on water.
Renza was in his fuckin’ element.
Nigga had on a captain’s hat he clearly bought just for this moment, cigar hangin’ out his mouth, brown liquor in his glass, and a smile that said he was gone talk shit all day and enjoy every second of it.
