The Teacher's Pet | Slowburn MJ FanFic

• | Chapter Seventy-Five | •

(A/N: So I just wanted to put this out here rq. You don't have to like my book, the way I write, the characters, the pacing, etc, but I won't tolerate anyone disrespecting me and my work 'cause it's not befitting in your eyes. Some of y'all are getting too comfy being rude to authors. Behind this screen is a human being with real feelings. I got enough going on in real life than to deal with childish and unnecessary insults. I won't argue. I'll just block you. Critiquing me is one thing, but shitting on my book is another. I'm not a professional writer, I literally do this as a fun hobby.

TLDR: People that leave insulting comments about my work and whatnot can kindly remove my book from their reading list and gtfo 😘)

| Two Days Later. . .

The consistent, quiet knocking on the door frame of Riley's room slowly alerted her awake. A gratifying sense of satisfaction washed over her after she briefly arched her back and stretched out her limbs before turning over to face the source of the noise.

"Hey sleepy head, how'd you sleep?" Tia asked with a small smile.

"Pretty good, actually." She replied in a more hoarse tone than usual as she sat up and rubbed the back of her neck, her eyes still heavy with sleep. "What time is it? Did I oversleep again?"

Her hands felt around the crumpled sheets for her phone just as Tia answered with a simple shake of her head. Sometimes she would find herself sleeping most of the day away until Tia or Antoine would come wake her up if CiCi didn't get to her first.

"No, it's only a little after nine." She said.

Riley stopped searching for her phone and looked back at her aunt. "Oh. Did I forget I had an appointment or something?"

"Nope. I just have a small surprise for you."

She noticed Tia's gaze flick over at the hallway like she was looking at somebody else, then back at her. Her smile had transformed into a sly smirk, and it made Riley a little confused and wary.

Tia finally moved aside to let Michael enter the room and his smile grew wider when Riley gleefully hopped out of bed and embraced him. He lovingly squeezed his arms around her as he kissed her cheek.

"Surpriseee." He chuckled as she grinned back at him.

"What are you doing here?" She asked as she stepped back. She glanced down at her attire and was glad she decided to wear a pair of shorts and a large t-shirt to bed rather than just her underwear.

"Your aunt called me." He looked over at Tia and smirked at her failed attempt to suppress a chuckle of her own. He could see confusion written all over Riley's face. "She told me about how when you first got here, you were unhappy and kept isolating yourself. Then after I showed up, it was almost like night and day."

"Okay..." She urged as she raised her brow.

"Tia and Antoine think it's a good idea for you to stay with me for the rest of the summer." He said.

As soon as those words processed through her foggy mind, her jaw slacked in utter disbelief. The look on her face immediately made Michael and Tia erupt with soft laughter.

"I told you she was gonna be shocked." Tia playfully nudged him with her elbow. "Anyway, I told Michael everything he needs to know about your therapy schedule and your gynecologist appointment next month, so you're good to go. Your parents don't have to know about this little change in plans and you'll be back in time to see CiCi when she's done with camp."

Riley subtly pinched her thigh to make sure this wasn't her imagination playing tricks on her. "So, this is forreal? You're actually letting me stay with Michael?"