[MJ Fanfiction] Collide

CHAPTER FIFTY ONE - CHRISTMAS

I groaned in annoyance as I heard the phone on my nightstand ring over and over again. I tried to ignore it by putting my pillow over my head, but of course it didn't work, so I just decided it would be better for me to answer. With my eyes still closed and still half sleeping, I picked it up and brought it to my ear.

"This better be important," I mumbled sleepily in the receiver.

"Brit? Oh God, did I wake you?" Latoya's voice asked, visibly embarrassed.

"Y—yeah, I was on call last night," I yawned, rubbing my left eye. "But it's okay. Is everything alright?" I asked, as I sat up in bed, slightly concerned about the fact that she would call me this early in the morning. As indicated on my clock, it was 8:30am.

"I'm... Yeah, I'm okay," she simply said, but I could tell something was bothering her. "I just wanted to hear your voice and see if you were excited for Christmas' Eve. Does Michael know yet?"

"Uhh, no, he still has no idea. Well, I hope he hasn't," I rectified. "I can't wait for everybody to be there and for Michael to celebrate his first Christmas," I told her, a smile touching my lips. "I wish you were there, though. We're going to miss you tonight."

"I wish I was, but Jack prepared something for the both of us," she said, but I could tell she wasn't thrilled by the idea of spending Christmas with her husband. "You guys will be heavy on my mind. I can't believe you also managed to get Mother and Joseph to come. I never thought they would actually accept, how did you do?"

"I told them that before celebrating Christmas' Eve, we celebrated family. It's actually the first time my brother, my friends and my grandmother are going to meet your family. I just told your parents that their presence is what matters the most," I truthfully said. "Apparently I gave them a good enough reason to come, and I'm quite proud of it," I chuckled.

"They're crazy about you. We never thought Michael would be able to find someone like you someday," she admitted, and this moved me a bit. "I can feel you're here to stay, and I know you'll never break his heart the same way the others did," she told me, which made me smile again. But my smile vanished away when I  suddenly heard some commotion in the background. "I—I uh, I'll call you back okay? I um—" Latoya's voice was trembling at that point, and I could tell that Jack was in the room. "Who's on the phone? Don't tell me it's a member of this shitty family of yours!" I heard his angry voice asked, and my blood ran cold at the simple thought that he might hit her just because she was talking to me. "No, no! It's Brit, I—I mean Hayley Thames, you remember her, right? M—My friend? She has nothing to do with my family, s—she's a pediatrician!"

"Toya?" I asked, a hand over my mouth. I did have something to do with her family. She had to lie to him just to be able to talk to me. I was a witness of this conversation, and I swear I could feel the tension through the phone. I could feel how scared she was, and it broke my heart. "I'm here, relax. You're not alone."