Frozen Silence: The Kenneka Jenkins Story

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No tears for.
Black girls.

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When they disappear, no tears
for black girls like they were

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never here.
But we remember.

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We'll speak their names, their
stories matter.

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We'll break these chains.
No tears left to cry.

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Today we return to Illinois to
share the latest updates on a

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heartbreaking story.
On the night of September 8th,

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2017, nineteen year old Kenneka
Jenkins was getting ready for a

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night out.
She was full of life.

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Her family described.
Her as sweet, a little shy.

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And always smiling.
She lived with her Mother,

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Teresa Martin, in Chicago and
was just beginning to figure.

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Out her future.
That night, Kenneka joined

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friends for a party at the
Crowne Plaza Hotel in Rosemont,

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IL, a suburb northwest of
Chicago.

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They checked in around 1:00 AM,
crowding into a 9th floor room.

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Music played from phones, drinks
were poured and phones flashed

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as videos and pictures were
taken, streaming their night to

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friends and followers on
Snapchat and Instagram.

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As the.
Party continued into the early

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morning hours.
The room filled with more

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people, some friends, some
strangers.

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Kenneka appeared in a Snapchat
video posted at 1:36 AM,

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surrounded by people, her
expression unreadable.

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Later witnesses reported she had
been drinking and was possibly

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under the influence of something
more, though the details

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remained hazy.
The room was crowded.

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The music was loud.
And people were coming and

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going.
Around 3:20 AM, Kaneka's friends

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realized she was missing.
They claimed she had left the

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room with her phone and car
keys, but had left them behind

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before wandering off.
Her friends searched the hotel

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but came up empty handed.
One account said Kenneka was

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last seen on security footage
staggering near the hotel front

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desk, alone and disoriented.
Another video.

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A crucial.
Piece of evidence showed her

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walking down empty.
Hotel corridors.

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And at one point, entering a
hotel kitchen.

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After that.
She was never seen alive again.

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At 4:00 AM, Kenica's friends
called her mother, Teresa

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Martin.
They sounded panicked, saying

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they couldn't find Kenica.
The story they told?

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Was confusing and inconsistent.
Why was she alone?

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Why hadn't they gone with her?
Teresa.

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Rushed to the Crowne Plaza and
arrived around 5:00 AM.

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Hotel staff were.
Hesitant to help, saying they

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couldn't release surveillance
footage.

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Or search private areas without
a police report.

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Police were called.
And an officer arrived at 7:15

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AM.
But.

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Suggested Kenneka would likely
turn up soon.

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Teresa was frustrated.
She knew her daughter would not

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disappear on her own.
For hours.

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Teresa, Martin and relatives
searched the hotel themselves,

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peering into stairwells,
knocking on doors and calling

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Kenneka's phone.
It rang unanswered until

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eventually going straight to
voicemail.

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Meanwhile, Kenica's friends
returned home in her car.

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Which raised.
Additional questions.

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Teresa's.
Suspicions grew.

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Had they?
Really done everything they

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could.
Had they seen something they

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weren't revealing?
The search for Kenica exploded

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on social media.
Strangers online began

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dissecting every detail.
Videos from the party were

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posted and scrutinized frame by
frame in Facebook live streams.

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Background sounds were debated.
Some claim they heard Kenneka

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slurring or calling for help,
while others heard nothing

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unusual.
Screenshots of.

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Text messages.
Circulated.

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Some speculated about.
Possible fights?

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Drugs being slipped into drinks
or even a setup the Internet

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was.
Flooded with theories, Digital.

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Detectives attempted to build a
timeline mapping Kenneka's last

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known movements using party
videos, Snapchat, time stamps

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and surveillance.
Footage at.

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Approximately 10:00 PM on
September 9th, nearly 20 hours

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after Kaneka vanished.
Hotel staff discovered.

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Her body She was found inside an
industrial walk in freezer in a

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closed off kitchen area that was
not in public use and was

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difficult.
To access.

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She was lying face down with
disheveled hair and one shoe

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missing.
Her phone was not with her.

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The freezer.
Was operational, with

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temperatures below freezing.
There were no signs of physical

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trauma or struggle on her body.
The medical examiner later

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determined her death.
Was caused by.

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Hypothermia, cold exposure
complicated by alcohol

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intoxication, and the presence
of topiramate, a prescription

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epilepsy medication that Kenneka
had not been prescribed.

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The official ruling was
accidental.

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Death, however.
For Kenneka's mother and much of

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the public, too many questions
remained unanswered.

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Why was Kenneka able to access a
kitchen that was supposed?

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To be closed to guests.
Why didn't the hotel act more

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quickly?
Why did her friends leave her

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behind?
Did someone slip her something

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without her knowledge?
How did she end up alone in the

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freezer, and could she have been
saved?

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These questions raised concerns
about the.

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Hotel's security the.
Friend group's loyalty and the

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police investigation.
Some activists and family

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members accused the hotel of
negligence and the police of

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responding too slowly.
Especially after.

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The family's pleas were
initially dismissed.

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Teresa Martin organized protests
at the Crowne Plaza demanding

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answers and accountability.
The case continued to generate

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national attention and ongoing
debate.

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About the safety.
Of black women and the

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reliability of digital evidence
in seeking justice over time,

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the community and kenneka's
family pressed for

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accountability in 2018, Teresa
Martin filed a wrongful.

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Death lawsuit.
Against the hotel's parent

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company, it's security firm and
the on site restaurant claiming

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staff were negligent for failing
to secure the walk in freezer

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and for not conducting a proper
search when Kaneko was reported

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missing.
The lawsuit.

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Sought $50 million in damages.
After years of legal battles.

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A wrongful death settlement was
reached in late 2023.

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The settlement totaled $10
million.

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With over. $6.4 million awarded
to Kenica's mother and family.

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The terms included funeral
expenses and attorney fees, and

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the settlement only became
public after a judge.

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Denied requests to keep it
sealed.

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The hotel and its staff have
continued to deny wrongdoing,

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but the settlement represents a
measure of closure for Kenica's

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family.
Kenneka Jenkins story remains A

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haunting reminder of the
importance of vigilance,

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transparency and accountability.
Seven years later, her death

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continues to be the.
Subject.

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Of activism, documentaries and
public discussion.

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Each year, her family and
supporters hold vigils and

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marches to honor her memory and
call for better protections for

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vulnerable young women.
Her story continues to resonate

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because it.
Exposes how easily the voices.

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Of black women can go unheard
and how the digital.

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Traces.
We leave behind those

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notifications, screenshots and
videos can both illuminate truth

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and leave us with more questions
for her Mother Teresa Martin

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the.
Fight for.

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Her daughter's dignity and for
answers has never truly ended.

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Sometimes our phones serve as.
Bridges.

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Connecting us to what matters
and keeping us safe.

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Sometimes they preserve our
memories and hold evidence for

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stories we cannot fully tell.
Kenneka Jenkins story is 1 of

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seeking truth in darkness and
the power of refusing to be

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silenced.
Immediately following this

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episode is the song Trap Phone
from No Tears.

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For black.
Girls volume 1 a current mixtape

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playlist of original music
inspired.

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By the books.
The Price of silence and The

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girl who knew too much from the
no tears.

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For black girls series.
Written by the creator.

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Of this podcast, JC Reedberg,
these.

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Books were inspired by true
stories and events featured on

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this.
Podcast, however.

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The names of real people and
locations have been changed to

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protect the.
Privacy.

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Of those involved.
Here is a full preview of the

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song.
Trap Phone by Velvet Void.

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If you enjoy the track.
You can listen again on our

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YouTube page under our original
music and soundtrack.

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Playlist where you can.
Also check out other tracks from

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our mix tape.
While we prepare for the full

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release, stay loved.
Stay blessed.

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And stay safe.
Jr. 3 on the chat, Three missed

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calls. 2:00 AM Same unknown
number again.

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Who is she?
Blue light burning through my

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bedroom ceiling.
Screenshot evidence got me in my

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feelings.
Working late but your locations

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say different.
Got you lacking boy.

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The story inconsistent double
tap of pics at 3 AMI peeping

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wherever seats off now you're
moving real secretive baby trust

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me.
Heard that line before.

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Her name keep popping up more
and more every.

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Pause every ring got me
questioning and everything this

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fall supposed to keep us close.
Now it's showing.

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Me.
Your ghost.

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Try phone.
Try phone.

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Evidence in my head.
Screenshots and lies I

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understand here.
Run.

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From the truth when it's glowing
in the dark.

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Baby, you try me with the phone
in your heart.

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FaceTime in midnight but you
decline the call.

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Phone was dead.
Boy, I ain't buying that at all,

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she comments in hearts while I'm
laying in your bed.

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Her.
Story Views.

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Got me seen red.
Airplane mode when you're right

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beside me.
I just want to change what

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you're trying to hide.
You.

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Your phone.
Face don't tell me what I need

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to know.
Try phone.

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Try phone got me going.
Insane.

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You turn my.
Lifeline to a chain.

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Thought you were my piece but
you just set me up.

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Definitely paranoid.
Boy was that enough.

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You were about 247 wrong person
and delete messages but I

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already seen them.
Your digital footprint gave you

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away.
Now I'm deleting the pictures

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today.
Shared locations.

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Now I know where you've been.
Her apartment complex.

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Don't even try to pretend group
chat exposed do.

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Your boys ain't loyal either.
Screenshots of my camera roll.

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I got the receipts here.
I thought I was trapped but I

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just woke us.
What?

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I listened boy, and never went
on.

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Trifle trifle dust and in
disguise.

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Show me a truth behind my.
Eyes Airplane.

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Mode on.
My heart, now you're number.

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Blocked.
I'm moving.

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On now, no more notifications.
I'm at peace.

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Now.