Stay the Night

Chapter 46

January 3rd, 2004

Ring...

Ring...

Ring...

Janet rolled over and nudged Jermaine. "Get your phone, man."

Jermaine shrugged her off and put the pillow over his head. Janet rolled her eyes and reached over to the nightstand to turn on the light. 

"Jermaine!" She pushed him again, this time more forcefully. "Answer that phone. Who's calling you this late anyway?"

Jermaine cracked his eyes open and reached over to his own nightstand, searching for his cell phone. Janet watched him for a few seconds before flopping back down on her own pillow. She was still listening.

"Yo, what's up, MC?"

Mariah?

"Now? It's like four in the-"

Janet rolled back over to watch her boyfriend curiously. 

"Yeah, I get it. I'll be there."

He hung up the phone, got out of bed, and shuffled over to the closet.

"What's going on?" Janet asked, sitting up. "What Mariah want?"

"She wants me to meet her at the studio. She said she gotta get some things off her chest. She sounded pissed." He explained, buttoning a pair of jeans. 

"Mad about what?"

Buzz. Buzz.

Buzz. Buzz.

Jermaine nodded at her.

Janet glanced over at the nightstand and sure enough 'Mike' was flashing across her phone screen. 

"Looks like I'm about to find out."

She picked up her phone. "Hello?"

She could hear Michael let out a sigh of relief. "Janet, I know it's late but I needed someone to talk to."

Jermaine leaned over to kiss her on the cheek and hurried out of the bedroom, presumably to meet up with Mariah. 

"Why couldn't you talk to your girlfriend?" Janet inquired, annoyed for Mariah.

Michael was too old to playing house with a college student. He had an extremely serious trial, a marriage, and his kids at stake. 

"You know about that?"

Janet nodded as if he could see her. "Uh, yeah. Are you out of your mind?"

"No, but apparently she was when she tried to kill Elizabeth. Janet, she took the kids and she won't answer my calls."

"Yeah, that's what happens when you cheat on your wife. You lose your family." Janet replied facetiously. "It's almost as if she can leave you at any time and make you look like a terrible person."

"You don't think she would do that, do you?"

Janet shrugged, leaning against her headboard. "She might. She might not. That's just another thing you decided to put on your plate."

"I didn't decide anything. I was trying to be discreet."

"Then how did she catch you?" Janet questioned. "Because she didn't catch you with Diana."

"Why are you taking her side?"

"Who said anything about a damn side? She can take you for everything you got and get you locked up. She's your only real witness. This was just stupid on your part."