Page 96 of Certified Pressure 3
“Appreciate it,” I said, already headin’ for the doors.
I could hear Renza yell somethin’ behind me, people talkin’, but none of it mattered. My whole body was movin’ on its own. I pushed through the crowd and out the front doors, the sunlight hittin’ my face hard.
I pulled my phone out again and called Pluto back. Sirens was blarin’ in the background when she picked up.
“You on the way to the hospital?” I asked, breathin’ heavy.
“Yes,” she said between sobs. “The one I’m registered at.”
“Zurie with you?”
“Yes.”
“A’ight,” I said, jumpin’ in Kay’Lo’s matte black coupe and slammin’ the door. “I’m on the way, baby. Just hold on for me, please.”
“Pressure,” she whispered. “Please hurry.”
“I’m comin’,” I said, my voice breakin’ with emotion. “I’m comin’ right now. Pluto… I love you.”
There was silence for a second, then her voice came through soft but sure. “I love you too.”
That was all I needed to hear. I gripped the wheel, my heart racin’, and pulled off fast. I was headin’ exactly where I belonged.
I ain’t give a fuck about cops, pedestrians or none of that shit as I weaved in and out of traffic. I was tryna get to my girl and my baby. I had Pluto on the phone, and all I could hear was her breathin’ hard, cryin’ and tellin’ me they was wheelin’ her into the hospital.
“Baby, listen to me,” I said, grippin’ the wheel tight. “Hold on, you hear me? I’m seven minutes away. You gotta hold on, Pluto.”
She was cryin’, her voice weak and scared. “It hurts so bad, Pressure. It’s too early. I’m not even due yet.”
“I know, I know, baby. Just breathe. I need you to stay strong for me. I’m almost there. Is he movin’?”
“Yes.”
Every red light looked like a personal attack. Every slow driver felt like they was tryna keep me from gettin’ to my family. I could hear her cryin’ harder and I swear the shit was killin’ me.
“I need to see my son born,” I said, my voice shakin’ even though I was tryna keep it together. “You hear me, baby? I need to see him come into this world. Just hold on for me. Please.”
She didn’t say nothin’ for a second, just sobbed. Then she whispered, “Pressure, I’m scared.”
“I know you are, baby, but you not alone no more,” I said, pushin’ harder on the gas. “I’m on the way. I love you, Pluto. You was right about everything. All of it. I was selfish, and I should’vewaited on you. I should’ve been the man you needed me to be instead of the one I thought I had to be.”
Her voice cracked when she said, “Don’t say that right now.”
“Nah, I gotta,” I said, my throat tight. “I hurt you, and I hate that. I ain’t mean to. I swear I ain’t, but I need you to know somethin before our baby come.”
“What?” she asked, breathin’ uneven.
“I ain’t marry her.”
I could hear her gasp over the phone, then there was silence. The sound she made after that, like a sigh mixed with a cry, made my whole heart warm and heavy.
“You didn’t?” she whispered.
“Nah,” I said quietly. “I couldn’t. I told Kashmere the truth right there in front of everybody. I told her I love you. I couldn’t lie to myself no more. I ain’t proud of how I hurt her, but I couldn’t keep hurtin’ both of y’all just to look right to the world. God ain’t let me go through with it. You callin’ me at that altar, your water breakin’… that was God, baby. That was Him tellin me where I’m supposed to be.”
She was cryin’ again, but I could tell it was different this time.
“Pressure,” she said, barely above a whisper.
