Page 99 of Grown

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 incidentsthat 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.”