Page 56 of Invisible Bars
I closed the portfolio gently, then paused, my hand still resting on top of it.
That wasn’t just a book of photos; it was Naji… her vision… her confidence and her vulnerability on full display, even if she didn’t realize it. Leaving something that personal in a vacant house didn’t sit right with me. Naji might’ve shoved it under the bed like it was nothing, but that was a piece of her that didn’t deserve to be forgotten or left behind. So I didn’t slide it back; I tucked it under my arm, took one last glance around the room, then I walked out, slower than I came in.
When I got back in my whip, I buckled the bear into the passenger seat beside me like it was riding shotgun and had seniority over everybody else in my life.
The ride from Blu Notes was quiet, aside from the faint echo of the recording playing in my head on loop. By the time I got to Dessign’s house, she was already at the door waiting—probably wheeled herself to the front the moment she saw my car pull up.
“Well, well, well… look who remembered he got a sister,” she started with her usual teasing smirk, reversing her wheelchair to give me room to walk in.
I kissed my teeth. “Hey, to you, too, my beautiful sister. And stop acting like I don’t call you every damn day.”
“Phone calls are the bare minimum, King Petty,” she hissed, pivoting smoothly behind me. “Pulling up in the flesh? That’s sentimental. That says, ‘I miss you.’ Or more like… ‘I’m stressed and need your wisdom, oh, wise and stunning sister.’ Which is it?”
“Quit acting like you know me.”
“I do… better than anybody,” she boasted. “Now come on.”
We moved into her sun-drenched living room.
Dessign wheeled around the corner with all the confidence of a woman who ran her house, disability or not.
I dropped onto the couch with a sigh that was already heavy enough to give it away.
“Okay, let’s hear it,” she said, popping the top off a cold LaCroix and setting it down on her little snack table. “And don’t hit me with that ‘nothing’ mess. You walked in looking like your conscience just filed for bankruptcy.”
I laughed under my breath, rubbing the back of my neck.
“I got a situation… one I didn’t expect… with a woman.”
Her brows flew up. “A woman? Oh shit. Younevercome to me about women. Normally, you just ghost ‘em for your peace like a polite little psychopath.”
“Come on, Dess…”
“No, no, no. Let me process this. You—Imanio Kors, king of non-commitment—is tangled up over a woman? Is she a witch? She got voodoo on you?”
“It ain’t even like that.”
“Oh, wait—” She leaned in, eyes dramatic. “Please don’t tell me you got some random girl pregnant.”
“Hell nah!” I barked, shaking my head. “You know me better than that.”
“I do, but I had to ask. You know how these baby mamas can get, especially with you having money and all. I can’t defend you too much, but I got limited upper-body strength. If a girl pops up talkin’ ‘bout child support and drama, I ain’t chasing her down in this chair—but Iwillroll over her foot.”
That made me chuckle.
“I know, sis, but nah, it’s deeper than that. Like... some real shit.”
Dessign leaned in like she already knew this was gonna be good.
“Go on.”
“I had to grab a girl… a witness.”
Her eyes widened in confusion. “Grab a—wait! What the hell you meangrab?!”
“She saw something; something she wasn’t supposed to.”
“Oh, my God! Please tell me you didn’t hurt an innocent person! Look at me defending somebody I don’t even know!”
