Page 72 of Grown

“I told you not to talk to men, didn’t I! You look that man in his face!”

The room spins and I’m dizzy from holding my breath while bracing for his blows. Curling into a ball on the bed, I sob. I thought Mr. Hyde was the worst of Korey, but now I see he can be so much worse.

“So that’s it? You want to leave me? You gonna go be with Louie? That piece of shit. Where are any of his artists, huh? You so stupid, just listening to anything anyone tell you.”

Korey paces around the hotel room, huffing. I lift myself upright, licking my lip, tasting blood on the corner of my mouth.

“Korey... Korey, this is too much.”

My words confuse him. “What do you mean?”

“I can’t... I can’t... do this anymore,” I sob. “I... I think I need to go home.”

Tears pooling in his eyes, he nods incessantly.

“First my grandma, now you. Everyone always leaving me, man!” He grabs both of his ears, pinning them to the sides of his head. “I can’t take this no more. I swear, if you leave me... I’m just gonna kill myself!”

The words are another blow, another lightning strike and thunderous roar all at once.

“What?” I gasp.

He nods, as if convincing himself. “Yeah! That’s what I’m going to do. I promise that’s what I’ll do if you leave me.”

“No! You, you can’t! What about your family?”

He scoffs. “What family?”

“Your friends?”

“Psh! Those leeches! They just here for the money.”

“Your fans? They need your music! You... you’re their hero! They love you!”

He shrugs. “Well, then, guess that’s what you’ll have to live with. All that heartbreak will be your fault ’cause you pushed me to do it.”

Chapter 53

Thin Walls

W&W Squad Chat (w/o the Jones sisters)

Sean:Aight. I’ma tell y’all something but damn.

Creighton:Yo, what’s up?

Malika:Spill it.

Sean:My dad talked to Mr. Jones. He said, once he heard about the rape case, he drove down to get Enchanted.

Creighton:Yoooooo.

Aisha:OMG! What happened?

Last show. Just have to get through the last show, I promise myself. Then, you’ll go back home. Not home home, but backto Korey’s house in Atlanta. You’ll work on the last song for your EP. Then, when you fly back to New York for his big concert in April, you’ll make your escape.

Two a.m. and I can’t sleep, going over all my options, solidifying a plan. But I needed someone to bounce the idea off of. Any other time, it would be Gab. She was always the other voice in my head.

If I had my phone, I would have called her for the millionth time or at least sent an email.