Grown(53)

Korey.

I can’t see through his tints, but I know it’s him. Sitting there with his engine purring, watching and waiting. Waiting to take me, waiting to trap me.

Waiting to kill me.

Run!

A shudder shoots through me and I’m on my feet. Mr. Walker says something to my back as I sprint out into the hall. I keep running, though my legs ache and my body is full of dead things. I run. Straight down into the gym locker room.

What am I going to do? Am I ever going to be rid of him?

And . . . what if this is really my fault, like Shea said. I . . . sent him that Aretha Franklin song. I followed him on social media. I called him in Jersey. I wore that sexy top to the studio. I kissed him . . .

“Chant?”

A scream escapes, and I cover my mouth with both hands, voice echoing in the empty locker room.

Shea stands by the sinks, taking an unsteady step back.

“What are you doing down here? I saw you running past my class.”

Was she followed? Did she shut the door?

“He’s here,” I whisper. “Korey. Outside, in his car.”

Shea frowns. “You saw him? Are you sure?”

I nod, trembling. I have to tell someone, just in case I don’t make it out alive.

“He’s coming for me.”

Her eyes grow big. “Enchanted. You’re scaring me.” She says it really harsh, like she doesn’t believe me.

“He was at Teen Conference too. I saw him before the dance.”

“What? Why didn’t you tell Mom?”

“I . . . I thought I could handle him. Thought I could keep him in check . . .”

“How’d you think you were going to handle someone like him? He’s Korey Fields! A superstar! You’re just . . . you. We need to tell Mom.”

Shea’s right. Korey has all the money. All the power. I’m . . . just me.





Chapter 66


Beet Juice 4


NOW



“Chanty? Baby? Are you OK?”

“Daddy?” I whisper. What’s he doing here?

More voices. I look to my right, down the hall, something sticking out of the wall. A hidden door cracked open like a book. I peer inside at the short metal staircase leading to a glass door. That must be the studio, one floor below. I’ve never seen this door before.

Did we work on music last night? Maybe.

Think.

Think.

Beside my feet is a steak knife. The kind you find in a set, sitting in a block of wood on the kitchen counter. Except now it’s on the floor, covered in beet juice.

Don’t even know where the kitchen is, but I should clean up, before anyone comes in here. He’ll be so mad.

As I bend, the front door lock clicks and swings open.

“FREEZE!”





Chapter 67


Interrogation #1


THEN



Transcript–May 13

Detective Fletcher: Hello, Mrs. Jones, Enchanted. I’m Detective Fletcher. You’ve already met with my associate Detective Silverman. Nice to meet you both!

Enchanted Jones: Hi.

LaToya Jones: Yes, hello.

Fletcher: Detective Silverman asked me to join, but before we start, I just wanted to say, I was actually at that showcase you recently did. At the Apollo.

E. Jones: Really?

Fletcher: Yeah, my daughter is an aspiring singer too. You have an amazing voice!

E. Jones: Thank you.

Detective Silverman: So to confirm, you want to report Korey Fields for assault, battery, rape, and . . . stalking? Am I right?

E. Jones: Um, yeah.

LaToya Jones: We wanted to report this sooner, but we thought best to wait until Enchanted was strong enough. But now, Korey has been stalking my daughter and he needs to be stopped.

Silverman: And this happened around the time the sex tape surfaced?

E. Jones: That’s not me in that video. We never had sex.

Silverman: Are you sure? You mentioned before that he often drugged you?

E. Jones: We . . . fooled around, I guess you can call it that. But not sex.

Fletcher: Oral sex is still considered sex, under the law.

Silverman: So you admit you were intimate?

E. Jones: Um, yeah.

Silverman: Did you perform oral on Mr. Fields?

E. Jones: Um, yes.

Silverman: And you did so willingly?

L. Jones: Look, she already went over this. She said it’s not her. I don’t understand what this has to do with him stalking her!

Fletcher: We need the full scope for the investigation. Mrs. Jones, you said you gave permission for Enchanted to go on tour with Korey Fields.

L. Jones: Yes. We signed proxy documents. Well, that’s what they called them, that guaranteed she would have a supervising adult guardian, hired by the label, to watch her at all times and make sure she kept up with her schoolwork. That’s the only way we would allow her to go. But Jessica was just as bad as Korey, never returning phone calls or messages. We tried to contact the label, but it was like a maze. Kept getting transferred from one person to the other!

Silverman: But you’re now saying a relationship happened prior to you leaving on tour?

E. Jones: Yes.

Silverman: What did your relationship consist of? Did you go on dates?

E. Jones: Um, no. We were at his studio, recording. And he texted me. A lot.