Chapter 17 Pluto Monroe
Trill-Land, Jungle Estate
After getting off the phone with Pressure, I couldn’t think straight.
Something was wrong and I could literally feel it in my gut.
The way he talked, the pauses in his voice, the way he brushed things off; none of it sat right.
He kept saying he was out handling something with Kay’Lo, but that wasn’t enough for me.
I sat up in bed, running my fingers through my hair, trying to calm my nerves. My mind was spinning, and my stomach felt tight. Prestyn was asleep beside me, but even that couldn’t settle me. Nothing could right now.
Pressure had been gone since about four this morning, and every hour that passed made it harder to breathe.
I wanted to trust him, but how could I when I didn’t even know what was really going on?
He said he was with Kay’Lo, but that could mean anything.
For all I knew, he could’ve been with another woman or mixed up in something worse.
The uncertainty was eating at me, and it hurt because I loved him too much not to care
I reached for my phone, staring at the black screen like it could give me answers.
I thought about Kay’Lo and how he’d been in Toni Roc’s city for the last few days.
If Pressure was really with him, then maybe Toni knew what was going on.
My hand was shaking as I scrolled through my contacts, and for a second, I almost talked myself out of it.
I didn’t know if I really wanted to know the truth, but I hit her name anyway.
When she answered, her voice came out low and raspy, like she’d been crying. “Hey, Pluto.”
That one sound made my stomach drop. “Toni, what’s wrong? You okay?”
There was a pause. “Not really.”
My chest tightened. “What happened?”
She let out a breath that sounded heavy. “Kay’Lo shot and killed my cousin.”
I froze. The words didn’t even sound real. “What?”
“From what I’m hearin’ on the news, him and a couple of his homeboys tried to break into the Airbnb we was stayin’ at,” she said. “They came with guns, and Kay’Lo, Renza, and Blaqson started shootin’. My cousin Deuce got killed.”
I couldn’t even speak. I had so many questions, but my throat felt tight, and my hands were cold. “Oh my God, Toni.”
“Yeah, they got into it at my girl cousin party, and it escalated from there. Kay’Lo don’t have a bond,” she said. “We been tryna figure out how to get him out but it’s bad, Pluto. Real bad.”
I sat there staring straight ahead, my whole body numb. Everything around me went silent. “I can’t believe this,” I whispered.
Toni sighed. “I don’t even know what to say. He ain’t mean to do it. They came at us first.”
“Where are you now?” I asked.
“I’m with my cousins Sha’Nelle. It was her party yesterday, but it’s a lot of tension. I just don’t wanna leave the city while he in jail.”
I swallowed hard, trying to pull myself together. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, Toni.”
She sniffed. “I’ll be alright. I’ll call you later, okay?”
When we hung up, I sat on the edge of the bed with my phone still in my hand.
I felt like the room was spinning. My chest hurt.
Pressure had lied to me. He told me he was just with Kay’Lo, handling something simple, but this wasn’t simple.
He was out there in the middle of some shit that could get him killed, and he didn’t even tell me.
I looked over at Prestyn. He was still asleep, peaceful and innocent, and watching him made me wish I could be that calm. My hands were trembling as I dialed Pressure’s number again. It rang and rang until finally he answered.
“Wussup, baby?” His voice came out low and calm, like nothing was wrong.
My voice shook. “Don’t ‘baby’ me, Pressure. I just got off the phone with Toni.”
He sighed. “A’ight, so what she tell you?”
“She told me everything,” I snapped. “She told me about her cousin, about the shootout and about Kay’Lo being in jail. You lied to me. You told me you were just out there handling business. You got a whole newborn and you out there doing this bullshit?”
“Pluto, chill,” he said. “You actin’ like I’m out here playin’. Kay’Lo my cousin. I can’t just let him sit in jail.”
“You could’ve got him out another way,” I shot back. “You didn’t have to take your ass all the way out there. You almost died, Pressure. You just got shot five fucking times, and now you’re back in some other shit that don’t even got nothing to do with you.”
He let out a slow breath. “It got everything to do with me when it’s my family. I ain’t gon’ just leave him out here hangin’.”
Tears burned my eyes. “You always say that, but what about me? What about your son? We almost lost you once, and you just… you don’t even give a fuck! Ugh!”
His voice dropped low. “Don’t say that, baby. You know I care about y’all more than anything.”
“Then why do you keep doing this?” I yelled, my voice cracking. “You think I’m supposed to sit here and wait for another call saying you gone? I can’t keep doing this shit with you, Pressure!”
“Pluto, calm down,” he said softly. “You soundin’ like you about to lose it.”
“Because I am,” I cried. “I’m tired of this shit! You tell me you love me, but how am I supposed to believe that when you keep putting yourself in danger?”
There was a pause on his end, then his voice came through deep. “I’m not goin’ nowhere, Pluto. I’m not dyin’. I’m comin’ home to you.”
“You keep sayin’ that, but one day you not if you keep up with all this shit you on,” I said. My face was wet with tears, and I didn’t even realize I was crying until I heard myself sniff. “If you love me like you say you do, you’ll stop.”
He didn’t say anything at first, then I heard him sigh. “I love you, baby. You and our son. Everything I’m doin’, I’m doin’ for us.”
“That’s bullshit,” I replied, shaking my head even though he couldn’t see me. “What you do don’t have shit to do with us. You do dumb shit because you think you invincible.”
“Pluto—”
“No, nigga,” I cut him off. “If you gon’ keep doing this dumb shit, we don’t need to be together.”
He was quiet for a few seconds before his voice came back low and rough. “You really talkin’ like that right now? You gon’ leave me over this?”
“I can’t raise our son wondering if you gon’ make it home or not.”
He sighed again, sounding tired now. “I’mma be home soon. Just wait for me, alright?”
I wiped my face with the back of my hand. “I won’t be here when you come back.”
“Pluto—”
I hung up before he could say another word.
The phone slipped out my hand and hit the bed. My chest felt tight, and my vision blurry from the tears. Prestyn started crying, his little voice filling the room, and I picked him up, holding him close against me as I tried to stop shaking.
Everything felt heavy. My heart, my head, my love for Pressure… it all hurt.
I wanted to trust him, but every time I did, he found a way to remind me that his loyalty to the streets came first, and I knew that if he didn’t change, one day that same loyalty was gonna cost him everything.