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( CHAPTER FORTY-ONE: GUILTY BY ASSOCIATION ) August, 1993
❝ sometimes... I wish I wasn't a jackson. ❞
◯
Janet was devastated. That was the only term to describe it. Early in the morning, she was on the phone with her family, her lawyers and most importantly, Michael, trying to find a solution to this mess. Devon could do nothing but watch, and occasionally, comfort. Because like he said, she was devastated.
In all honesty, he wasn't exactly sure what to do. The media was having a field day with the entire fiasco, and when Devon called Michael earlier in the week, the entertainer had little to say.
"How're holdin' up, Mike?" Devon asked, pressing the phone to his ear.
"I don't know," Michael meekly answered, and Devon understood by the tone of his voice, how frustrated and broken he must've felt, "I just want everything to be over." Devon would nod on the other end of the line, pacing up and down his apartment as Michael quietly ranted about the whole situation.
"How's my sister?" The entertained asked, and Devon's brow would curve with hesitance at the question.
"She's uh... well, to be honest, she's really angry 'bout the whole thing," Devon explained, because honestly, it was true. Janet was fuming with anger. Having endured constant judgement from worldwide tabloids ever since she was a little girl, one would've thought that by now, she has seen it all. But this easily takes the cake. And that's how phone conversations with Michael normally went— not that he answered the phone much these days. Which again, Devon understood.
Even now, Devon was in the middle of filming a movie, and despite the fact that he was very busy with other things, his mind was mainly focussed on Janet, and how he could make this all better for her. "Good morning, Mr. Emmet," the film crew greeted Devon as soon as he walked onto the set. Devon politely nodded back, shrugging his duffel bag up the curve of his shoulder, trying his best to mask his somber frown with little success.
The minute Devon arrived to the filming location, which again, was a small setup on the streets of West Harlem, he was bombarded with waiting paparazzi, no doubt hoping to catch Janet on his arm. Luckily, Devon managed to slip past them before they could take notice, but he had to admit, he did not miss the crazy media attention, at all. But again, it was the small price to pay for being Janet's partner, or so that's what Devon kept telling himself.
Luckily, after news about Michael's allegations broke, nobody on set wanted to bring up Janet or Michael around Devon. They avoided those subjects like a disease, fearing it would bring unwanted discussions. But, Devon wasn't too phased. If anything, he appreciated the fact that his costars were respectful enough to not pry.
