Grown(68)

“And you weren’t the longest. That goes to that she-devil, Jessica.”

The room nods in agreement.

“Anyone know what her deal is?” I ask, fishing for more info.

Dione shrugs. “Bitch is like a locked fortress. All I know is that she’s been in the game for a minute.”

“Then how old is she?”

Everyone shrugs.

“For all we know, she’s a damn vampire.”

The image of Korey and Jessica at that Grammys party pops into my head. My knuckles whiten as I grip the table.

“Hey, does anyone recognize the girl in the sex tape?” Tessa asks.

“She looks like Enchanted,” Lily quips.

I shake my head. “It’s isn’t me.”

The room stares, some crossing their arms.

“I swear, it’s not,” I add.

“Does it matter?” Dione scoffs. “It could’ve been any of us. That creep was always recording. He recorded us having sex, recorded me using the bathroom. Hell, surprised only one of those tapes showed up.”

“He recorded when we had sex with . . . other women,” Tessa says, her voice quivering with shame.

Lily chuckles. “He recorded me using a nanny cam. You know, one of them bears you hide in a baby’s room? Couldn’t believe it. I had no clue!”

A . . . nanny cam?

The cup of tea slips out of my hands, crashing on the floor.

“Enchanted,” Cindy says. “You OK?”

I push up from the table, heart racing. “I—I have to go.”

Cindy frowns. “Go? We just started.”

“I’m . . . I’m sorry.”

Behind me, I hear Lily mumble the word liar.

The sun blinds me as I rush out the building, heading for the uptown train, using my last two percent to make a call.

“Enchanted!” Mr. Pulley exclaims, his voice a low whisper. “Where are you? Everyone is looking for you. We were supposed to be at the station three hours ago.”

“Mr. Pulley, did anyone check the security footage? Korey had cameras all over the house in Atlanta. Probably did in his condo, too.”

He sighs, a door closing in the background. “Yes, they checked them. But the system was turned off. Sometime before ten.”

Jessica. She’s the only one who would know how and have the access. She also knew when I was going to be there. She practically sent me into the lion’s den.

“Did they recover any cameras or anything from his room?”

“Nothing. That’s the first thing they would’ve looked for.”

That means it’s still there . . .

“Enchanted, why don’t you come in,” Mr. Pulley suggests, his voice soft. “We’ll talk about all of this in person. Everyone is really worried about you. It’s not safe for you to be alone.”

No way I can go in now. Not when I know exactly what will save me.

A hand grabs me, pulling me out of the flow of walking traffic. I cry out but freeze.

“Enchanted!” Mr. Pulley yells over the line. “Are you OK? Talk to me?”

I can’t talk. I can barely breathe.

Her hair is in a sloppy bun, tucked neatly under her hoodie. The same one I have on.

“Hey,” she says in a sheepish voice.

Gab.





Chapter 85


Reunited




Gab parks behind a construction dumpster not far from KA. We sit, sobbing until the windows fog.

“I’m sorry! I’m so, so sorry, Chant!”

I clutch her, afraid she’ll disappear again, baffled by the relief.

“I’ve been calling and texting,” I whimper, wiping tears away.

Gab checks the rearview, keeping her hoodie pulled up tight. “I changed my number,” she says, glancing over her shoulder twice. “They were coming after me.”

“Who?”

“Korey Fields. And his peoples or whatever.”

“What?”

Gab shrinks in her seat, checking behind her again. “I came to your show in Connecticut,” she says, meeting my eye. “I mean, yeah, I was ignoring you, but Jay convinced me to stop being petty. It was going to be a surprise.”

“You were there? Why didn’t you—”

She holds a hand up. “Let me finish. I got there late, made it to VIP with the pass you left, but when I walked in . . . I saw you passed out on the sofa. I literally could not wake you. Whatever you had . . . I don’t know, but I wasn’t going to leave you like that. Was gonna drag you out of there if I had to. But then Korey got up in my face. Said if I touched you, he’d kill me! I tried calling the cops, but then this crazy big guy broke my phone. So I ran, and the big guy followed me to my car. Told me if I told anyone what I saw tonight, he’d kill me.”

My fingers lock tight against my chest.

“Then what happened?”

“It was like, a real nightmare. I don’t know how they got my phone number, but they kept calling me, saying if I went to the police or told anybody what I saw, they would kill me AND Jay. It was scary, like they knew everything about me!”

“Think that’s my fault,” I confess. “I told Korey about you two.”

Gab sighs. “Yeah, I figured. After they got to Jay, then they called my dad.”