Page 43 of Certified Pressure 3
That sound shattered me.
I slid into the back seat, the cuffs cutting into my wrists, and watched her disappear behind the other car door. The officer closed mine, and everything went quiet except for the sound of my breathing.
As we pulled off, I pressed my forehead against the window, tears blurring the world outside. My stomach ached, my chest hurt, and I couldn’t even tell if it was from the crying or the cramps I felt.
All I knew was that I was losing my shit.
The house got smaller in the distance, and so did Zurie. I watched until I couldn’t see her anymore, until the streets blurred together and the world looked nothing like home.
The ride to the station felt like forever. Every red light felt cruel. Every turn felt like the world was folding in on me. I could hear the officers in the front talking quietly, but I wasn’t listening. My mind was back in the kitchen with the smell of grilled cheese still in the air and Zurie’s voice echoing through the house.
She’d trusted me to keep her safe, and now she was being driven away by strangers.
I sat there shaking, crying silently until there was nothing left to cry.
By the time we reached the station, my face was swollen, my wrists hurt, and all I could think about was one thing—how my own mama did this to me. How she really called the law on her own daughter just to prove she still had control.
The air inside the station felt cold and heavy. It smelled like bleach and paper, like a place where people came in and didn’t always walk back out the same way. One of the officers guided me to a metal bench near a fingerprint machine and told me to sit tight. My wrists ached from the cuffs, and when he finally took them off, my skin burned where the metal had rubbed it raw.
He mumbled something about waiting for the booking officer and walked away, leaving me sitting there alone. My hands were shaking, but I pulled my phone out of my pocket like it was the last thing I had left in the world. I didn’t even think twice before scrolling to Pressure’s name.
The phone rang once, then twice.
On the third ring he picked up, his voice smooth but curious. “Wussup?”
“Pressure…” I could barely get his name out. “I’m at the police station.”
There was silence for a second before his tone changed into something sharp. “The police station? What the fuck happened? Which police station?”
“I’m at Noethview County Detention Center is what they told me. They said I kidnapped Zurie.” My voice cracked on the last word. ““They came to the house with a warrant saying Zurie had to be returned to my mama. I don’t even know what’s going on.”
He didn’t say anything for a long second, but I could hear him breathing hard through the phone. When he finally spoke,his voice sounded tight, controlled, but dangerous. “Pluto, do they know you pregnant?”
“Yeah,” I whispered. “I told them, but they didn’t care. They still put the cuffs on me.”
He cursed under his breath, then went quiet again before saying, “A’ight... Listen. Don’t talk to nobody. Don’t sign shit. Don’t let nobody scare you into saying shit. You understand?”
“Pressure, I didn’t even do nothing,” I said, tears filling my eyes. “I was just taking care of her. I didn’t even know my mama was gon’ do this.”
“I know,” he said, his voice low but firm. “And I don’t give a fuck what they think. I’mma fix this shit. You not sittin’ in there long, I promise you that.”
“Pressure—”
“Pluto,” he cut me off. “Keep your head up. You gon’ be outta there real soon. That’s all you need to know.”
I nodded even though he couldn’t see me. “Okay.”
“You said,Northview County Detention Center,right?”
“Yes.”
“Cool,” he said. “Hold tight.”
The call ended, and I just sat there staring at the phone. The silence in that station felt louder after hearing his voice. I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes. My heart was still racing, but something about how certain Pressure sounded made me believe him.
Whatever he was about to do, I knew it was already in motion.
I had been sitting in jail for hours and I didn’t know how much longer I could stay in this damn holding tank. The room wascold, and the walls made everything echo, even the sound of my own heartbeat. The bench was hard, and my legs had gone numb from sitting too long, but the truth was I didn’t even feel much anymore. I was angry, hurt, and tired all at once, but under all of that I felt numb.
