11:30 p.m. (Completed)

11: A Thousand Missed Calls and One Last Conversation

Aly returned to London, back to her old, dark, stuffy apartment. It was the 20th of June, the deadline was just a few days away. She had to get back on track. She decided to check her phone for one last time before sitting down to complete her thesis. There were 256 missed calls from Michael. Aly’s eyes teared up. She felt bad for not returning any one of those calls. Michael had always been there for her no matter what. Overwhelmed by a sudden rush of guilt Aly opened her laptop and booked a ticket from London to L.A for the 24th of June. Her thesis would be submitted by the 23rd after which she was free. So, to make up for the past few weeks she would go to America to meet Michael. He had been really tensed about the upcoming concerts and Aly decided that she would be with him through it all. 

With the tickets being booked, she shut the laptop, switched off her phone and started working on her dissertation. Three sleepless nights, endless cups of coffee and countless revisions later the thesis was finally completed. She E-mailed her first draft to her supervisor, took a relaxing bath, packed her bags for the journey and finally drifted off to a much-needed sleep. 

She woke up the next morning and saw her phone lying on the dresser next to the bed. She remembered Michael and immediately switched on her phone. It was the 24th of June, she had a flight to LA at eight in the evening and she hadn’t informed Michael about it. she switched on her phone and as if on cue, it started ringing. It was a call from Michael

“Hello” a voice sounded as soon as Aly picked up the call. She wasn’t sure it was Michael’s because it was very deep, sad and slurred, as if the person was drunk

“Michael?”

“Aly, you’re back” Michael replied slowly as if trying to remember words

“Are you ok?” Aly asked becoming more and more concerned

“I’m fine” he replied, his speech almost incomprehensible

“Are you drunk Michael?”

“No, Aly”

“Have you taken anything else?”

“Just some milk to help me sleep. I haven’t had any sleep in the last weeks I cant rehearse so I asked doctor to give me some milk to help me sleep” Michael finished with difficulty

“Michael you’re taking drugs?” Aly asked shocked and scared at the same time

“No Aaaaallllllyy…… I’m not, just some medicine to help me sleep”

“Michael” Aly burst out angrily, crying over the phone “why would you do this to yourself?”

“Don’t cry Aly, I’m okay”

“Michael, I had called to tell you that I am coming to L.A. I have a flight at eight today”

“Aly!” Michael exclaimed “I can’t wait to meet you” he finished slowly

“But I’m thinking of cancelling now” Aly replied angrily “Seeing that the ‘milk’ is helping you well”

“No Aly please don’t say that. Come here. I need you, I need you badly. Wait hold on” Aly heard the sound of something falling on the floor, the door opening and Michael speaking to someone else, the door closed. 

“Aly, are you there?” Michael asked

“yes Michael, I’m here” Aly replied sternly

“I have made all arrangements to pick you up tomorrow. I’ll be there at the airport to receive you. Finally, I’ll get to meet you Aly. I can’t wait”

“Hmm”

“Please don’t be angry Aly but I have something to confess. I love you”

“What?” Aly asked surprised at Michael’s confession

“Aly, I’ve been planning this since a long time. After the concerts are over, will you be my girlfriend? You can come to live with us in L.A. or me and the kids will shift to London. I don’t want to wake you up by calling you every day but rather I want to wake up next to you every morning for the rest of my life”

Aly smiled, her eyes teary as she nodded her head in confirmation. But since she was still a little angry with Michael, she did not let her love be expressed through words. 

“Do you not love me Aly?” Michael asked breaking her silence

“We’ll talk tomorrow Michael” Aly replied trying to sound grim

“I love you Aly” Michael repeated

“Hmm”

“goodbye Aly” Michael softly replied with a strange sadness in his voice

Aly cut the call without responding. She was angry. Michael had started doing drugs! Wait till she got there, she would set him straight. And of course she would say yes to being his girlfriend. She loved him after all. She did feel a little sad about not confessing her love to Michael on the phone, but it was okay she would do it in person. The first thing she would do when she met Michael was take his hand in hers and tell him “Michael Joseph Jackson, I love you!”. A rush of excitement filled her, now she looked forward to meeting Michael even more.