Page 23 of Invisible Bars
The shift in his tone made the situation feel even more threatening. But I couldn’t go down. My legs didn’t even feel like they belonged to me anymore. My mind screamedmove,while my body stayed stuck in place, like prey that already knew the predator had my scent, and the danger was closing in.
Gatez took a slow breath, loud enough for me to hear from where I was frozen on the stairs.
“I’m not the type of man who asks twice; that’s too close to begging—and I don’t beg anyone for a damn thing. So this is it. You’ve got one minute to show your face… or someone else will be scraping what’s left of it off these stairs.”
My pulse thudded so loudly it felt like a drumbeat resonating through my entire body. I shook uncontrollably and my muscles tensed in fear as another tic surged through my shoulder, making it jerk abruptly. I was so nervous, I truly thought I might die right there—from the panic, not a gun. And for a moment, that felt easier than what could happen if Ididgo down. But just in case I didn’t pass out or seize up completely… I had to move. I had to be smart. I had to comply.
One step, then another.
My breath came in shallow bursts, each one tighter than the last. My hands clutched the railing like it was the only thing keeping me from collapsing straight through the floor.
As soon as I reached the halfway point, they saw me.
“Ah,shit!It’s afemale, nigga!”Chi announced, voice a mixture of disbelief and shock.
Gatez, however, remained stoic. He didn’t flinch at the sight of me.
With the casual confidence of someone unfazed by the chaos around him, he slid his gun back beneath his jacket, exuding an air of control that suggested he had been in similar situations before—or not. Then, with deliberate slowness, he strolled toward the bottom of the staircase, his hands casually tucked into his pockets with the ease of a man who didn’t panic—because maybe he never had to.
“Well… now this just got complicated,” Gatez said, his voice calmer.
I attempted to respond, but an incoherent bark escaped my throat instead.
“Don’t touch me, fish fry forehead!” I yelled, loud and sharp, like the words had a mind of their own.
My hands slapped at the air, swatting away something invisible and my foot stomped once, twice, hard enough to echo.
“What the hell?!” Chi yelped, jumping back like I’d grown horns.
My head jerked to the side, and I hissed through my teeth—another tic.
“I said,back up, church shoes!” I snapped at no one in particular, eyes wide, chest heaving.
“There’s another twitch!” Chi yelled like he was keeping score.
My eyes darted around the room, wild and frantic, trying to find an escape.
I hated this. I hated all of it.
“Bro, how the hell are you so calm right now?” Chi asked Gatez. “She just called one of us a fish fry forehead and cursed out somebody’s orthopedic shoes!”
Gatez ignored him.
Unbeknownst to them, the panic made it worse. The more Chi talked and the more they stared, the more my body revolted.
“Shit! Goddammit, microwave brains! Peach cobbler! Why is everyone made of lizards?!”I screamed, my arms twitching like my body was trying to throw a tantrum without my permission.
Chi blinked. “Damn. You hungry or high?”
I clutched the wall to steady myself. “Shit! Shit! Shit! No, no, no—stop looking at me like that!”
A strangled sound came from my throat, somewhere between a growl and a sob.
“Ohhellnah! You on your own, bro! That girl is possessed!”
Gatez shot Chi a sharp look, silently warning him to tread lightly.
“Come down. I just want to talk.”
