Jordan Belcher - Status

I glanced over at the screen. Shit! It was still buffering my message!

“But I don’t know if I can go through with it,” he continued. “I love you too much.”

Confused, I said, “You don’t even know me enough to love me, Gideon.”

“I know everything about you. I know you’re favorite chicken is honey barbeque. You hate horror movies. You can’t sleep with the TV on at night—and me either. You love romance and watching chick flicks with a bag of caramel popcorn. On March 19 th, close to midnight, you made a post that you like men with short hair better.” He waved his hand over his fade. “I used to have braids, Tyesha, but I cut it for you.”

I was so stunned. He lied to me about not having a Site page. Because everything he mentioned was things I posted about myself on my profile, things I didn’t think people paid that much attention to. And it scared me that he knew my posts almost word for word.

The blood pooling from the hole in Deja’s back streamed close to Kylie’s shoe. She scooted her foot back and the path of the blood went down the drain.

“I know what you’re thinking,” he said. “Those are just simple things I know about you. Even though I think the simple things count, I also know about your intimate thoughts. In one of your letters you wrote to Rodrick you said all you wanted out of life was a husband, children, and a happy home. You would make your dreams whatever your husband’s dreams were and support him to the fullest. You don’t know how hard that hit me. I’ve always wanted a real woman like that.”

I gasped. “He let you read my letters?”

“No. I would sneak and read them whenever he left the cell. My favorite one was the letter you sent him where you told him how you missed him being inside you, from the side with one leg in the air. I learned in that letter that you liked being touched or kissed behind the ear. I actually took that letter from him. It’s in an envelope upstairs.” His eyes bore into me. “I made it a point to stay in touch with Rodrick when we got out of prison. Just so I could get close to you.”

“Gideon, you’re crazy.”

“If I’m crazy, then you’re crazy if you think Rodrick will ever change. Honestly, I think we could be one big happy crazy couple. I would love you to death . Only if you could get over the fact that I tried to kill your daughter and realize why I did it.”

Something beeped in Gideon’s pocket and he started pulling out his phone. When I glanced at the computer screen I saw that my message had posted. I suddenly realized that Gideon probably had all of my status updates synced to his phone. I quickly tried to distract him.

“Gideon, I realize why you did it,” I said.

He took his eyes away from his phone. “You said what?”

“I know how you feel about me. I felt it every time you came around. But if you didn’t think me and Rodrick would work, you should have waited our relationship out.”

“I did wait! I waited forever! You kept going back to that fuck nigga.”

“You didn’t wait long enough. You kidnapped my daughter because you couldn’t wait. If you knew anything about me, you’d know I like a patient man.”

His eyes grew dark. He set his phone on the steps. “Don’t talk to me about patience. I did seven years in prison, waiting for my turn to find a good woman. And when I found her, she was with a man that was taking advantage of her like it was a fucking sport!”

His phone beeped again and he looked down at it.

“Look at me, Gideon,” I said. “I need you to look at me. Please?”

He glanced at me, then his attention went back to the phone. He picked it up and stared at the screen.

“Gideon, look at me and talk to me! I’m begging you!”

When his brow furrowed, I knew he was seeing that he had a Site notification. I looked over at the computer screen and saw that 21 people had already Liked my status update. But I didn’t want them to Like it; I wanted them to call the damn police! There were five comments:

Rita RealSpit Gibson:R U in trouble?

Bobby Mason:No, her daughter is. If you see her, call the police.

Diva Lee:Her daughter was kidnapped yesterday.

Rita RealSpit Gibson:I know.

Shake-it Girl12:We’re praying for you, Tyesha.

I looked back at Gideon and I knew he was reading my message on his screen. His eyebrows were slanted angrily.

“What the fuck?” he uttered. Then he looked up at me and I saw hell in his eyes. “How the fuck did you just make that post?!”

He got up and stormed over to me with the pistol in his hand. He was about to shoot me until he saw the soft glow behind the washing machine. He leaned over it to see what I was hiding.

This was my only chance.

I sprang to my feet with the box cutter in hand and stabbed Gideon in the neck. He squealed, slapping his hand to his neck to stop the blood, as I grabbed my daughter’s hand and tugged her up the steps. She was moving too slow so I picked her up. At the top step, Gideon pulled my foot from under me and I let go of my daughter and slammed against the dining room floor.

“Run, Kylie!” I screamed, as he yanked me back down the steps, my head bouncing against each step on the way down. Halfway, I turned over and kicked him in his chest and sent him tumbling to the concrete floor.

I scrambled back up the steps and saw Kylie struggling to turn the knob on the front door. I turned it for her, snatching it open—but it caught. The chain was on. I closed it back, fumbled with the chain and got it off, then there was a loud blast and the door’s window shattered and my ears were buzzing.

Snatching Kylie off her feet, I ran into the living room as another bullet nearly took my head off. I cut around to the kitchen where Gideon, who must have took a short cut, appeared at the other end. I doubled back and ran up the stairs carrying my daughter. Needless to say, I was panting heavily at the top.

“Kylie, go in the bathroom and lock the door,” I said to her. She ran inside and I heard the lock click.

Gideon was leaping up the steps. I made sure he saw me as I ran into the nearest bedroom and closed the door. I locked it and stepped back.

Gideon barged into it and the door crashed open. I screamed as he smacked me across the face with the pistol and I fell to the floor.

He stood over me and put the gun to my lips. “You stabbed me,” he spit-growled in my face. “And you ran from me like you don’t even know who I am. I fuckin’ loved you!” He thumbed the hammer back with a click . I don’t know if he was doing it on purpose or accidentally, but the muzzle was pressing harder and harder into my lips, making my teeth feel like they’d snap inward out of my gums. I tried to turn my face but he grabbed my chin and kept the muzzle on my mouth. “Look at me! Because this is the last face of the last man you will ever see! The face of the only man that loved you!”

“Wrong,” said someone from behind.

Suddenly, Gideon was pulled off of me and bodyslammed against the floor. It knocked him out cold.

I should have been happy but I wasn’t. I was even more terrified as I stared into the face of Ladykiller.

“I saw your message and I came to save you,” he explained. “I kept driving until I saw your car on the side of the house. It’s okay now.” He extended his hand to help me up. “C’mon. I think I heard Kylie in the bathroom.”

Hesitantly, I took his hand, and when he helped me up I kneed him square in the balls. He dropped to his knees as I raced out the room. I beat on the bathroom door.

“Kylie, open up, hurry!”

“I can’t,” she said from the other side, the knob rattling.