Page 47 of Invisible Bars
I didn’t expect any form of sympathy from Imanio. I wasn’t stupid. I knew what world I’d wandered into. But I still needed him to know that Blu wasn’t just some name on his hitlist; he was somebody to me.
I took another bite of the buttered biscuit, but my appetite paused when I saw the way Imanio was looking at me—steady, with that signature silence that always made me feel like I was missing part of the story.
“Wh-Why are you staring at me like that?”
He leaned back in his chair, arms crossing. “You think he was innocent?”
I hesitated. “I… don’t know what I think. I just—he never gave me any problems. That’s all.”
“Naji, I hate to be the bearer of bad news… but Blu wasn’t who you thought he was. The man was heavy into gambling; he owed money to people I don't even fuck with. He got desperate—that’s when he started trafficking.”
“Trafficking?” I echoed, voice fragile. My shoulder gave a hard jerk. “Like… like drugs?”
“No… people. Pretty females like yourself, to be exact.”
“No, the hell he didn’t! Ass-sniffin' liar! Piece of shit!”
My fingers tapped wildly on the table like I was typing out a panic attack.
“Y-You’re lying! Blu wouldn’t—he?—”
Imanio’s voice stayed quiet, level. “The girls he let stay in that upstairs room? That wasn’t kindness; that was business. He’d rent it out, charm them, get them comfortable... then sell themoff. You were staying right next to a trap and didn’t even know it.”
“Dick-breathing bastard! Shady-ass Santa Claus!” I shouted, tears springing to my eyes.
I smacked my palm on the table, eyes darting everywhere like I was trying to find a hole in the story to crawl through.
“Are you serious?” I gasped, the words trembling.
“As serious asyourheartbeat right now,” he replied. “And Naji…” he added, eyes fixed on me like a quiet truth was about to break. “I hate to tell you this, too, but there was never an older lady staying there before you. That was the bait… a lie. Something I’m sure Blu told you to make it sound safe; to make you lower your guard.”
My mouth opened, but no sound came. Then—“I hope your karma got a pit bull with rabies!”
I slapped my chest twice, like the truth was trying to crawl out of me.
Imanio just watched.
Not a single grin. Not a trace of mockery. Only silence.
And the weight of a truth I wished I had never learned.
“Son of a—chicken-fried damn Baboon! That motherf?—!”
I clapped my hands together mid-laugh, my knee bouncing like it was trying to run from the truth.
“I lived u-under the same r-r-roof as a sex… sex trafficker, and… I thought I was safe because he offered me g-ginger-ale and kept the music low?!”
My head ticked sideways and my fingers flexed like claws.
“Snatch his balls and roast ‘em!”I roared without meaning to. “He lied to me! He lied!”
Then something hit me.
“Wait—how… how d-d-did you know about the other girls? Or even that there wasn’t an older lady staying there before me? H-How do you know that unless you?—”
My voice broke off, but my body didn’t.
“Lying ass bleach bath bastard!”
