Grown(54)

Silverman: Do you have those text messages?

E. Jones: No. He took my phone. I got a new one but . . . they should be on his phone. We texted songs to each other.

Silverman: Did you know Enchanted was communicating with him?

L. Jones: No. I did not.

Fletcher: Talk to me about him following you. Can you give us more details?

E. Jones: Uh, yeah. First, he followed me to the annual Will and Willow conference in Boston. Took me to a parking lot nearby. He was also outside my school. I saw his car.

Silverman: And he was aware you no longer wanted to be in a relationship. This was made clear to him?

L. Jones: You keep saying relationship. She was seventeen. There’s no relationship between a grown man and a child.

Silverman: Of course. Of course. But we find in these circumstances it’s better to . . .

L. Jones: And I don’t care! That man kidnapped my daughter.

Silverman: Well, we can’t say kidnap. You did allow your daughter to go with him willingly.

L. Jones: Yes. And he kept her against her will!

Silverman: Those welfare checks, at his home in Atlanta, Enchanted, why didn’t you leave then?

E. Jones: I . . . I was scared! I didn’t know what would happen if I did.

Fletcher: Enchanted, could any of those incidents that you mentioned, of him following you, could they have been considered . . . coincidental in nature? Example, he just happened to be in Boston the same time you were?

E. Jones: Nah. No way. He was even at the showcase! Onstage with me.

Fletcher: Onstage with you?

E. Jones: Yes. Playing in the band.

Fletcher: The band?

E. Jones: Yes.

Fletcher: There wasn’t a band at the showcase.

E. Jones: Huh? Yes, there was.

Fletcher: Um. OK. We’ll check that out.

Silverman: Can anyone else confirm your relationship prior to the tour?

E. Jones: Yes, my friend Gab.

L. Jones: Baby, who?

E. Jones: Gabriela Garcia. From school. She knew. She covered for me when I skipped to see him. You can talk to her.





Chapter 68


College Bound




Gab mentioned Jay worked on campus at the computer lab. Easy enough to find once I make it to Fordham’s campus, near the Metro-North train stop.

I remembered his face, saved as a screensaver on her phone.

He walks around the lab, checking computers, straightening chairs, smiling, and is just as cute as Gab swore he was.

“Are you Jay?”

“Yep. What’s up, how can I help you?

“I’m . . . a friend of Gabriela’s?”

He pauses, not abruptly, more like a slow, questioning glare.

“Who?”

“Gabriela. Or Gab? Your girlfriend.”

He scoffs, then laughs. “Girlfriend? Pshhh. Boo boo, you got the wrong guy.”

I peep his curly brown hair, his soft features, his height. It’s uncanny. No way—this has to be him.

“Gabriela. You’re sure you don’t know her? I’m her friend, Enchanted.”

I describe her as best I could, wishing I’d printed at least one photo.

“Sorry, I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

My eyes narrow. “You’re lying.”

He stares through me. “What? Yo, do you even go here? Security check your ID?”

I back away, rushing out the door, straight to the Metro-North.

As soon as I’m on the next train home, a text from an unknown number buzzes: Give me one night of you and this will all go away.

A stack of bricks piles onto my chest. He’ll never leave me alone. Ever.





Chapter 69


W&W Meeting Minutes




Minutes from Emergency W&W Mothers’ Meeting

Dr. Marcia Patrick (Sean’s mother): I think we all know what this is about.

LaToya Jones: I don’t, so why don’t you fill me in?

Dr. Patrick: There has been a lot of activity surrounding our chapter given this controversy with Korey Fields. The national board has concerns and thinks it’s best to . . . suspend your family’s membership for the time being.

Ms. Jones: Wow. Just like that?

Karen Evens (Malika’s mother): To be associated with this right now. It’s just not good for the children.

Ms. Jones: Hold up! Now when we first moved here, you all convinced us that we were family. And in times of crisis, family supposed to come together.

Ms. Evens: This . . . is different.

Nicole Woods (Aisha’s mother): I agree with LaToya. This is foolish, y’all! Come on! We’re supposed to be a group that cares and watches over our children. It takes a village to raise a child—that’s the motto.

Ms. Jones: Our daughter was stalked, preyed upon, and assaulted by a grown man. This is when we need our village the most.

Ms. Evens: Well . . . not so sure about all that.

Ms. Jones: Excuse me?

Ms. Woods: Oooo, Lawd.

Ms. Evens: She wasn’t exactly stalked, now was she? She walked right into his house.

Ms. Jones: She was brainwashed.

Ms. Evens: Girls are smart. They know what they doing.

Ms. Jones: Girls may THINK they know what they’re doing, but he’s an adult. He knew better than her.