Chapter 7 Pressure Mensah
Trill-Land Royal Care Hospital.
Ihad just got my discharge papers, and the nurses was movin’ around me like I wasn’t the same nigga who damn near died almost a week ago.
My arms was wrapped tight, my chest covered in thick white bandages, and my leg felt like it weighed a hundred pounds, but I wasn’t about to complain.
I was alive, and that was all that mattered.
Kay’Lo was right next to me, talkin’ to one of the guards while the rest of security surrounded the room.
This nigga been here from the jump, barely left my side, and now that I was gettin’ released, I could tell he still wasn’t lettin’ me out his sight.
When I looked at him, I saw that fire in his eyes, a rage that only come when somebody you love get hurt.
“You already know, bro,” he said low as he pushed the wheelchair closer to the door.
I smirked, but it wasn’t ‘cause I found it funny. I just knew exactly what he meant when he said that shit. I knew my cousin.
He nodded once, his jaw tight, and pushed me through the hall. Cameras flashed, people whispered, and nurses froze like they was seein’ a ghost. It felt like everybody on this damn island knew my name. Pressure Mensah gettin’ shot shook the whole Trill-Land.
Pluto was in a wheelchair too, holdin’ my baby close against her chest. She looked tired but beautiful, her face soft under the hospital lights.
The whole time I was laid up, she never went home.
She slept on the futon beside my bed, only gettin’ up when the nurses made her.
Now they was wheelin’ both our asses out at the same time, and I couldn’t help but laugh to myself.
We looked like some beat-up lovebirds rollin’ out the hospital.
She glanced over when she heard me chuckle. “What’s funny?”
I smirked a lil’. “Just crazy how both our asses in wheelchairs right now.”
Her lips curved into that smile I been missin’, and she shook her head. “At least we rolling out together.”
“Yeah,” I said low, reachin’ for her hand. I slid my fingers through hers and gave it a light squeeze. “Together.”
I promised her before all this went down that I would come home to her.
I told her I would be with her, Prestyn, and Zurie.
I kept my word. But now, instead of the new house I got her, I was headin’ back to my mansion.
I wasn’t runnin’ from shit, and I wasn’t lettin’ no bullet or a woman make me hide.
Once we made it to the black SUV, security spread out across the lot. The doors opened, and Kay’Lo helped me slide inside while Pluto climbed in after me with our baby. Renza and Blaqson was close behind in the second truck, watchin’ the area like hawks.
The ride was quiet. All I could hear was the engine and the sound of Prestyn’s soft breathin’ as Pluto rubbed his back.
Every time I looked at her, I felt somethin’ inside me twist. I kept thinkin’ about what happened, andabout how Kashmere went from sayin’ she loved me to pullin’ that trigger.
I understood why she did it, but that didn’t make it easier to swallow.
I stared out the window with my mind racin’.
Kay’Lo had already been to the crib earlier to make sure everything was straight.
He said he found her dress in the hallway, broken glass in my room, and shit missin’ from my drawers.
He knew my room just like I knew his, so when he told me she stole from me, I believed him.
“She took ya shit, bro,” he’d said earlier, his voice hard. “Went through your shit like the IRS. I know what you had in there, and she took a lot.”
At first, I brushed it off. I couldn’t even be mad about the shootin’ ‘cause I knew where her pain came from. But to steal from me? That shit was different. That meant she wasn’t thinkin’ outta hurt no more.
The longer we rode, the more that shit ate at me. I was quiet, starin’ straight ahead while the anger kept buildin’ up. Pluto must’ve felt it ‘cause she slid her hand into mine again.
She didn’t ask me what I was thinkin’ or ask me why my jaw was clenched or why I ain’t said a word. She just held me. That’s what I loved about her. She didn’t force shit. She just gave me peace without even speakin’.
If it had been Kashmere ridin’ next to me, she would’ve been askin’ a million questions, turnin’ the whole ride into a fuckin’ argument. Pluto wasn’t like that. She just leaned closer, pressed her lips to my hand, and kept her eyes on the road ahead.
I looked over at her and really saw her this time.
Her hair was pulled back in a bun, her face bare, and her eyes soft as she looked down at our son.
I thought about all the dumb shit I did, and all the time I wasted tryna make somethin’ work with somebody who never saw me for who I really was.
I had the real thing right in front of me this whole time.
When she finally looked up, I was already starin’ at her. Our eyes locked, and she tilted her head. “What?” she asked softly.
“Nothin’,” I said low. “Just… you.”
She gave me that look that always made me weak. She furrowed her brows a lil’ like she ain’t understand what I meant, but the look in my eyes told her everything. I could see it hit her. Her lips parted, and she looked like she was meltin’ right there in that seat.
Before I could even say somethin’ else, she leaned in and kissed me. Her lips was soft and warm. After a while, our lips pulled apart slow, just enough for that tiny stretch of skin to cling between us before it broke.
I looked at her again, breathin’ her in, and whispered, “I love you, Pluto.”
She smiled through her tears, her voice low but sure. “I love you too, Pressure.”
The car slowed as we turned through the gates of the Jungle Estate. Guards was everywhere, lined up with they weapons drawn, watchin’ every inch of the property. They opened the doors before the trucks even stopped rollin’.
My mama was waitin’ at the entrance, dressed in a white suit that shimmered under the lights. Even in fucked up situations, my mama moved like royalty. The nanny she hired was standin’ behind her, holdin’ Zurie’s hand. My girl was bouncin’ on her toes when she saw me.
As Kay’Lo rolled me out, my mama’s eyes filled with tears she tried to hide. She reached for my face, touched my cheek, and smiled. “Welcome home, son.”
I nodded, my throat tight. “We good, Ma.”
“I know,” she said softly, then turned to Pluto and hugged her. “You did well. You’ve both been through so much. Take your time to heal.”
She looked down at Prestyn, kissed the top of his head, and hugged Zurie close before lettin’ her run over to me.
“Don’t jump on him, Zurie,” Pluto warned, as Zurie froze mid-step.
Zurie smiled wide and said, “My P!”
I grinned through the pain and held my arms open just a lil’. “My Z.”
Her laughter filled the hall, makin’ everybody smile. My mama’s eyes softened as she watched us, then she hugged Pluto again and whispered somethin’ in her ear before turnin’ to leave. She looked back at me one last time, her eyes sayin’ what her mouth didn’t—get your mind right.
When my mama and her people finally walked out, Pluto shifted Prestyn in her arms and looked at me. “I’m going to stay downstairs with Zurie for a while,” she said softly. “Get her somethin’ to eat and nurse the baby. I’ll come up after.”
I nodded slow, my eyes on her. “A’ight, baby. Take your time.”
Kay’Lo pushed me toward the elevator, still jokin’ to keep me calm. “Nigga, you know I ain’t no nurse, right? Pushin’ yo’ big ass around this mansion ain’t in my job description.”
I chuckled, “Nigga shut up, and push me to my room.”
When we made it to my bedroom, shit felt real different.
I could still feel Kashmere’s energy in this bitch, that wild mix of love and drama she always brought with her.
I glanced around and saw a broken picture frame on the floor.
Kay’Lo followed my eyes and muttered, “That bitch broke it. I cleaned up the glass, but it pissed me off just lookin’ at it. ”
I shook my head slow. “Check the safe.”
He raised a brow but did what I said, draggin’ the safe over to the edge of the bed. I typed in the code and pulled the door open. My stomach dropped when I saw it was empty.
“She stole from me,” I said low. “The million I had in here… gone.”
Kay’Lo’s eyes widened. “She gon’ have to give that back in blood.”
I didn’t respond right away. I just leaned back, feelin’ that old mix of pain and rage stir inside me. Kashmere had already damn near took my life, but to take from my home too? That was the final damn cut.
I stared at the open safe and shook my head. “She crossed a line she can’t come back from.”
Kay’Lo nodded slow, his face hard. “So what you wanna do?”
I looked at him, my voice low and calm. “We gotta find her.”
Kay’Lo nodded. “Say less.”
Trill-Land, Jungle Estate
Two weeks later…
It had been fourteen whole damn days since I left the hospital, and I wasn’t ‘bout to lay around like no fuckin’ victim.
The doctors said I needed rest, but I had a whole team to push me forward.
My nutritionist came through with these protein-heavy meals and shakes that kept my body right.
My personal trainer and physical therapist came to the mansion every mornin’, workin’ with me in sessions that left me sore but stronger each day.
Between the vitamins, oxygen treatments, and muscle recovery patches, I was gettin’ back faster than anybody expected.
When you got money like mine, healin’ hit different.