Jordan Belcher - Status

“Good job, baby.”

“What are you gonna do?” I asked.

“God told me to turn myself in.”

“What?!”

“Look, Tyesha. Everything’s gonna work itself out. I’ve been seeing what people have posted on The Site and the assumptions and threats they’re making. I’m not worrying about it and neither should you. It’s in God’s hands. But as a precautionary measure, I’ma have Gideon come through your house and chill till I get released. Just to be on the safe side.”

“What if you don’t get released? You’re on parole, Rodrick. You could get violated. And you know your parole officer is an asshole.”

“I hope I’ll be in and out before my parole officer gets word. With God, all things are possible.”

I told him I loved him and told him to be careful and I hung up. I wondered what he was talking about when he said “threats.” I thumbed my screen and loaded up The Site again when there was a hard knock on my driver’s side window.

Startled me good. And when I looked out into the rain, I saw Ladykiller with a hood pulled over his head.

“Shit!” I screamed. I was frozen in fear.

He held his hands up and mouthed “it’s just me.” Then he gestured for me to roll my window down.

I turned my key— I didn’t start it; I was too scared to —just to trigger the car’s battery. Then I eased the window down halfway. The rain was loud and sprinkles bounced off his hood onto my arm.

“Wussup, Tyesha? I thought that was you sitting in this Pontiac. I recognized it from the photo you put up when you first bought it.”

“How did you know I work here?”

“You work here?” He laughed. “Damn, I didn’t know that. I just came to get my car tagged up.”

“I have to go.”

His expression changed. “You had to go last time.”

“It’s raining. And you’re gettin’ it in my car.”

“Oh, sorry. Well, I’ll talk to you later. But before I forget, I saw that you might have accidentally unfriended me on The Site. It might’ve been a virus or something. I tried to send you another friend request but you haven’t accepted it yet. Have you been checking your notifications?”

“Not really. I could’ve sworn we were still friends on there. I was wondering why you haven’t been commenting on my posts.”

“I’ve been wanting to, trust me.”

“I’ll add you later,” I lied, firing up my engine. “But right now I have to go. Nice seeing you.”

“Why later?”

“Huh?”

“Add me now.”

“My phone battery is low and it’s about to die. I don’t want to use the last of my battery loading up The Site.”

“Ain’t that a car charger hooked up to yo cigarette lighter?”

I glanced at my console. The logo on it was glowing, so I couldn’t say it didn’t work. Shit!

“Add me now,” Ladykiller said firmly.

I swallowed. “Okay.”

Tyesha816and Ladykillerare now friends

Me and Gideon sat awkwardly in two of my daughter’s baby stools. The seats were low, about six inches off the ground. My knees almost touched my chest, and Gideon’s knees were touching his. I was laughing inside and felt bad for him at the same time.

We both held pink cups full of imaginary vodka, as we watched Kylie open up her toy microwave and pull out a tray of plastic cupcakes.

“It’s done, lady and gentleman,” said Kylie in a serious yet sweet tone.

I giggled. My daughter was really in character. This was most definitely a result of all the food shows I made her watch with me.

She put plates in front of us and placed two cupcakes on them, then laid small leafs on them too. She stood up straight with her hands behind her back, waiting for us to taste it. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, a pink ribbon holding it in place. She was the cutest cook in the world.

“And what am I about to eat, young lady?” asked Gideon.

“Cupcake wit’ s’pinkles and vanilla icing. I mix it wit’ honey and onions and China beans.”

“And what’s that on the side?” I asked.

“It’s a leaf.”

“Oh.” I expected her to make up a fancy edible name for the leaf. I smiled, feeling stupid. “A leaf, right. Nice presentation.”

And then there was a quick beep that came from my pocket. It was the sound my phone made when I had a notification from The Site. As soon as I reached in my pocket, my daughter stopped me.

“No, Momma,” Kylie whined. “You said you would play wit’ me and not get on ta Site.”

“It might be something important, baby.”

“More important tan me?”

Nothing was more important than my daughter, but if the threats I had been reading on The Site held any weight, me and her could be in real danger. Since I got off work, about five people—relatives of Kenneth and Ed—had posted in my inbox, threatening to harm Rodrick or me if I didn’t cooperate with the police. One of Kenneth’s younger cousins simply posted, “Bang! Bang!” Gideon told me not to take any of the messages seriously. He said people who hurled threats online never followed through. I wasn’t so sure.

Gideon brought me out of my thoughts. “Honor your promise,” he said to me.

I took a deep breath and exhaled. Maybe it was just some spam or a creepy post from Ladykiller. I could check it later.

I took my hand out my pocket and showed my daughter my palm. “No phone, as promised,” I said. Gently, I picked up one of the cupcakes and brought it to my lips, then took a bite of the air as if I actually bit into the cake. Chewing, I said, “I can taste the honey. Good job.”

Kylie didn’t smile. She simply nodded. Like a real chef.

My legs started to cramp so I stretched them out. My phone beeped again and my heart actually began to thump a little faster. It was anxiety. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d went this long without checking my profile page, other than when I was asleep. For the next half hour, as me and Gideon helped my daughter make a beaded necklace out of candy, I kept touching my thigh out of habit, feeling for my phone but immediately pulling away to keep my promise.

No phone, I kept reminding myself.

Gideon clutched his stomach. “I think those cupcakes are running through me,” he said.

I giggled.

“You know where the bathroom is,” I stated.

He nodded, and scurried with a doubled over posture to the rest room.

“I put extra honey in his,” Kylie whispered to me.

“Why?”

“So he get sick,” she said.

My mouth hung open. I was amused and confused. “Why would you want him to get sick?”

“’Cause he likes you.”

I started to ask her where she would get an idea like that, when I thought I heard a light tap on my front door. It was almost 11 o’ clock at night and I wasn’t expecting anybody. I went in the living room and got Gideon’s Walther .380 out his jacket. I clutched the black synthetic grip and jacked the hammer back.

“Who is it?” I asked through the front door.

Nobody answered me.

I opened the door slightly and peeked out. The wind whistled and I could hear the rain pelting against the concrete.

“Anybody?” Gideon asked from behind.

“Nope. I thought I heard something, though.” I shut the door. “It sounded like a tap.”

“Ain’t nobody about to come get you,” he said. I handed him his gun and he inspected it. “You actually put a round in it?”

“I don’t play about my daughter.”

“You know Rodrick just sent me here as a precaution, right? He thinks people think all these twisted thoughts just like him. If he had an enemy, he’d get whoever’s close to that enemy, like a family member. But people don’t think like that in real life. And if they do, they’d never actually follow through with those thoughts like him. Rodrick is crazy.”