Page 34 of Invisible Bars
Chi scratched the back of his neck, not even trying to deny it.
“True… but you’re the one who she saw kill Blu’s assandthisyo’crib. So technically I’m more like... a witness.”
“Nigga, you’re not a witness; yo’ ass is a willing accomplice.”
Chi squinted like he was trying to do the math.
“Yeah, but think about it; shedoesn’t know that. From her perspective, you’re the Big Bad Wolf with the marble floors and locked gates. Me? I’m the quirky sidekick with jokes and bad timing. If she gon’ kill anybody in their sleep, it’s gon’ be yo’ ass!”
Chi wandered closer.
“It doesn’t look like she has bathed either.”
“She hasn’t.”
“So you just gon’ let her funk the whole damn room up like that? Bro, be for real. That hoodie probably got its own heartbeat by now. Yo’ ass better get in there before her scent signs a lease and starts paying rent. That room about to need an exorcism and Febreze sponsorship.”
He shook his head.
“So basically, the girl’s just voluntarily fasting, stressing in silence, and saying ‘no thanks’ to basic survival?”
“That’s what it looks like.”
“Well, what you plan on doing with her? You can’t keep her in there forever like Rapunzel, bro. What if she got a job or some shit? Like, responsibilities. Hell, do you even know her middle name?”
"I know enough… her name, her past. I did the research. I’ve also been looking more into her condition. It’s more complicated than I thought. She’s probably overwhelmed as fuck right now."
Chi raised a brow. "Oh, so now you’re Dr. Phil with a body count?"
"I’m serious," I said.
“I know; that’s what makes it scary,” he muttered, then casually popped a grape in his mouth like we weren’t standing in the middle of a conversation that could land both our asses in matching orange jumpsuits.
“I’ve been thinking about a few things,” I begin.
“Is that so? Well, I’m ready to hear whatbrilliantideasyou’vecome up with,” Chi joked.
I rubbed my jaw. “I need to talk to her. Not force it. Not interrogate. Just... talk.”
“Like, y’all go on a date and talk?”
I frowned. “Hell nah, nigga.”
“Oooooh, more like...‘Hey! Sorry I snatched you from your regular life, but how’s your mental health?’type shit?”
“Just a regular conversation. Maybe we can work something out.”
I paused, then rubbed the back of my neck and exhaled, already bracing myself for the roast session I knew was coming.
I knew Chi was gonna clown the hell out of me the second I told him the solution I came up with. He wasn’t the type to letanythingslide. Dude could be halfway across the world and still find a way to FaceTime just to laugh in my face like a damn hyena. Hell, he probably had jokes lined up in his Notes app just waiting for moments like that one. But I didn’t see another way out, and even if it sounded wild out loud… it made sense in my head.
Sort of.
“I might end up marrying her.That’sone of my brilliant ideas,” I revealed.
Chi immediately started choking… for real—choking, coughing and gripping his chest like the ghost of the grape was trying to kill him.
I didn’t rush to his aid. I just tilted my head slightly and asked, calm as hell, “Yo… you aight?”
