The Teacher's Pet | Slowburn MJ FanFic

• | Chapter Fifty-One | •

| That Night ~ 7:47 PM. . .

"Get out'cho feelings." Jermaine teased his younger brother while laying a heavy hand on his shoulder and shaking him as Michael stared down at his phone.

He sneered, then elbowed Jermaine in an attempt to push him away. "Get out my business." He retorted.

"I will when you stop moping around the house like a sad puppy. You've been staring at your phone ever since you got here." Jermaine said as he plopped down on the couch behind them.

The Jacksons were having a family dinner that night and Katherine wanted to see all her children and grandchildren in one place. Michael originally declined, but a call from his mother earlier that day after what went down between him and Riley changed his mind. But he was slowly beginning to regret it due to Jermaine's annoying ass.

"I'm fine, you always think something's wrong with me." Michael mumbled as he walked away, then slumped down into his father's old recliner.

"Because usually there is. Is it Riley?" He asked with a small smirk, receiving silence in return. "Yep, that's the root of your moody attitude. What happened? Did she break up with you? Did she cheat? Did she not enjoy the sugar baby lifestyle? What?"

Michael felt a twinge of anger sweep over his body and he grabbed a throw pillow, hurling it at his older brother with a cold look in his eyes. "You're always so fucking insensitive."

He abruptly stood and walked out of the room just as his phone came alive with a familiar ringtone.

"Okay, that was rude of me. But I genuinely want to know." Jermaine said as he followed behind.

"Go away, damn!" Michael yelled loud enough to where some of his other siblings and family could hear him before he slammed the door shut of the study suite.

He looked down at the phone and saw it was Riley FaceTiming him. His anger immediately flew out the window and he became a wave of relief washed over him. He eagerly swiped his thumb across the bottom of the screen and her gorgeous face appeared on his screen.

She quickly spoke before he could open his mouth. "I was an ass."

Michael creased his eyebrows as he took a seat on a nearby cushioned bench. "About what?"

She gave him a look. "You know what about. I shouldn't have acted that way towards you when all you were doing was trying to help me in some way. I'm sorry."

"No hard feelings, babe. I'm just happy to hear from you." He softly smiled. "Are you gonna tell me why you exploded on me, though? That wasn't like you at all."

She deeply sighed and the camera moved slightly as she adjusted herself on her bed. "I'm just... I'm going through a lot right now."

"Want to talk about it? Free therapy here." He lightly chuckled to make her smile, then frowned when she shook her head with a pained expression.

"No, thanks."

He could see the sadness on her features despite her trying to smile. Whatever she wasn't telling him was bothering him greatly and he just wished she would finally confess everything to him.

"No matter what, I'll always be there for you." He reminded her. "I don't like seeing this Riley. Where's the bold, flirtatious, vibrant girl who was always smiling and goofing around?"

The corner of her lips slowly curled upward into a smile. "She's still in here."

'Somewhere if she's not dead.' She solemnly thought.