“Yes. Is Zurie okay?”
“She’s fine,” he said immediately. “She’s in the backyard right now pickin’ flowers with Dee. She’s been laughin’ all morning.”
My knees got weak from relief. I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes. “She ain’t had no spells or nothing?”
“No spells. She slept through the night, ate breakfast, watched that Moana movie again, and been talkin’ about you all morning. She said to tell you she miss you.”
I smiled, even though my eyes stung. “Tell her I miss her more. So, so much.”
“You want me to put her on the phone?”
I thought about it but shook my head. “No. I will just make her sad. Just tell her I called, and that I’m okay.”
“I will. You focus on doin’ what you gotta do out there.”
“Thanks, Unc.”
“Always. We love you.”
“I love y’all too.”
I hung up and handed the house phone back. The guard didn’t say anything. He nodded again and walked off.
Back in my room, I closed the door behind me and leaned against it, letting the silence fill me. The noise from the backyard was still floating through the air. All the laughter and playfulness felt a thousand miles away from how I felt inside. I walked over to the bed and sat down, staring at the floor.
Kashmere was probably out there right now, giggling with her feet in the pool, swapping stories about who Pressure looked at first and who got next. But I couldn’t be part of it today. Maybe not tomorrow either.
This mansion was beautiful, no doubt, but after having to argue just to get to my own phone, it was starting to feel like a prison. Not because of the walls, but because of how much I had to explain myself just to be heard. I didn’t mind following rules, but if something that small turned into a whole back and forth, I couldn’t help but wonder what else I’d have to fight for in here.
It was one thing to sign up for all this, thinking I could stick it out and use the money to help Zurie, but the longer I stayed in this mansion, the more it felt like I didn’t belong here. The girls were cool in their own way, but this just wasn’t my speed, and if I was being real with myself, it already seemed like Pressure had his eyes on someone else. Maybe that was a sign I needed to go. Maybe I wasn’t built for this type of environment, or maybe I just didn’t care enough to fight for space in a place that didn’t feel like mine to begin with.
At this point, I was ready to pack my shit and go back home.
It was 2 a.m., and all the girls were finally asleep. My bags were already packed, and I was ready to go.
I’d been waiting on this moment all damn day. As soon as the house got quiet and I knew everybody was sleep, I grabbed my luggage and dipped out the room. I didn’t say nothing to nobody. I had been keeping to myself since day one, so I wasn’t about to start explaining myself now. I wasn’t here to make friends or be part of some group vibe. I came for a reason, and right now, I was ready to go
I tiptoed barefoot across the marble floor, dragging my suitcase with one hand and holding my purse close with the other. I hadn’t told Kashmere I was leaving because I couldn’t. She would’ve tried to talk me out of it, probably followed me down the hall whispering a million reasons why I needed to stay. I didn’t need that. I needed air, home and my sister.
When I got to the little wall box where they locked up our phones, my heart started thumping like I was committing a crime. I knelt down and stared at the keypad, biting the inside of my cheek, trying to remember the code Pressure’s security guardused earlier today. I watched him punch it in earlier, but now I couldn’t remember for nothing. I thought I had it. I even ran it through in my head a few times… but standing here now, my mind was blank.
I pressed a few numbers that felt right, but the screen blinked red, signaling that I got it wrong. I tried again, slower this time, breathing through my nose as I whispered the digits under my breath, but it kept going red.
“Where you finna go?”
Suddenly, I froze…
My hand was still hovering over the keypad when I turned slowly. Pressure was standing behind me, shirtless, his tattoos looking darker in the soft hallway light. I didn’t even hear him come down the hall. His voice was low but sharp, like he already knew the answer.
I stood up too fast and wiped my palms on my sweats. “Look… I ain’t tryna make a scene or nothin’… I just can’t stay.”
He tilted his head like he ain’t believe me. “Yeah, you can.”
“No,” I said quietly, “I can’t.”
His eyes dropped to my suitcase and then back to me. “Why?”
“My sister’s sick, and not bein’ able to call my people whenever I need to just—” I paused and looked down at the floor. “It don’t sit right with me.”
