Page 35 of Invisible Bars
“Yeah, no thanks to yo’ emotionallyunavailableass!” Chi wheezed dramatically, still fanning his chest. “You could’ve hit me on the back or something, nigga! Hell, at leastpretendto look concerned! Blink twice, gasp, shed a single thug tear—something!”
I shrugged. “You sounded like you needed Jesus more than medical help.”
“I needed both! And a Heimlich hug, dammit!” he barked. “So you was just gon’ let a nigga die over a witness proposal? That’s what we doing now?”
“Nah… I would've stepped in if you turned purple. You was still breathing, so I figured you had a few more coughs left in you.”
Chi’s eyes stretched in size like he was appalled by my insensitiveness.
“Purple?! That’s the bar now? I gotta be plum-colored before you give a damn?!” He shook his head, popping another grape anyway like the one before didn’t just betray him. “Yo’ ass ain’t right. I’ma remember this shit!”
Chi massaged his throat like he just dodged death.
“Nigga, you know I’m just fuckin’ with you.”
I really was.
I’d never let that nigga die—not on my watch. We might joke reckless, throw playful insults, but that nigga was my brother… day one. I’d stop the whole world from spinning before I let anything or anyone take him out if some shit went down while he was in my presence. Even if I didn’t say it out loud, he knew. Just like I knew he’d do the same.
“Yeah, yeah. But fuck all of that. Let’s get back to what the fuck you said before I was about to meet my maker. You’re thinking about wifing the witness?”
“Yeah. To keep her silent and for my protection. That way, legally, nobody can make her testify against meifthat shit was to get out.”
Chi stared at me like I told him I was about to move to Mars.
“Bro,” he finally said, “you was supposed to kidnap her, ask a few questions, maybe even threaten her a little—notdrop to one knee and have Dess start planning the damn wedding décor and playlist. You skipped twenty steps and went straight tovows. What happened to just… bribing her with Chick-fil-A meal and some hush money?”
“Bribes don’t come with legal immunity. Besides, it won’t be a romantic marriage.”
Chi paused mid-pace like the words physically tripped him.
“It’s insane, though!” he shot back.
“It’s strategic,” I stated.
“It’s something, alright!” Chi chuckled like the whole world had officially gone off the rails. “You know how you normally stay on that line between genius and felony? Nigga, you just swan-dove over that bitch.”
“Look at it this way—she wouldn’t have to struggle again,” I said, mostly to myself.
“And how do you even know she was struggling? Bro, that girl could’ve been at the most peaceful place in her life.”
I glanced at him, jaw tight. “Nobody walks through this world without scars. Peace don’t last—not here.”
“Or maybe,” Chi countered, leaning forward now, voice lower, “youdon’t believe peace exists ‘cause you never let yourself touch it. Don’t project your hell onto her life.”
I didn’t say it out loud, but I felt it—the reminder of who Chi was. Again, he was one in my circle who’d check me without hesitation and speak his mind even when he knew it could put me in a foul mood. Most people would’ve swallowed their tongue. But Chi? He never did. He had a way of poking holes inmy armor, forcing me to face shit I’d rather bury. I hated it. I respected it. And sometimes, I needed it… even if I’d never admit that out loud.
Chi folded his arms. “Bro, you’re thinking long-term, and I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact wetechnicallykidnapped her a few days ago, and now you’re talking marriage.”
“I’m not saying we’re about to ride off into the sunset. I’m saying she’s already tied to me now—might as well do it in a way that benefits both of us.”
Chi shook his head in disbelief. “Imanio, you’re a different breed. You’re really proposing a hostage-to-housewife pipeline and expecting me to roll with it.”
“You been rolling this long, might as well keep the wheels turning.”
“Bro, I’m usually down for the wild and crazy, spur-of-the-moment type of shit, but I don’t know about this.”
“Chi, she ain’t touched a damn plate since she’s got here. She hasn’t screamed… not at me, per se. She ain’t even tried to run or fight back. Hell, the most walking she’s done is to the damn bathroom! That has to mean something!”
