Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Michael.." A small voice singsongs softly in my ear, accompanied by gentle shakes on my bare chest. "Michael..Wake up.."
With a groan, I turn away from the soft hand, pulling the covers over my head swiftly.
"Michael." The voice snaps a bit making another groan slip from my lips in response.
"What, Janet?" I grumble back, still hiding beneath the warmth of my sheets.
She shakes me again, this time more harsher than before, waiting until I turned to face her completely before saying, "Can you come swim with me?"
I give her a measured look, brow raised in annoyance. "Can't you see I'm sleeping here? Why don't you ask Randy or Toya to go?"
"I did and they blew me off." She scoffed at the door where the two were heard arguing yet again.
"Then swim by yourself." I clap back, attempting to turn back around but she grabs my shoulder before that move was successful, hitting me with her best puppy dog eyes she had. "It isn't fun by myself. Please, Michael. Only for a little while. I promise."
"Can't we go after I wake up?" I try to reason with her but it went to deaf ears as she replies with, "It's already noon, Michael. Come on."
She then starts jumping on my bed, repeating my name over and over to the point I couldn't take it anymore, only stopping when I gave in and rose from my bed with a loud huff.
"Fine." I tell her, heading towards my bathroom. "Just let me use the bathroom and get ready. I'll meet you down there."
She lets out an excited squeak as she races out the room. It doesn't take me long to go through my morning routine, skipping over taking a shower until after swimming with Janet. Before I knew it, I was slipping on my swim trunks as I bobbed my head to an old Gladys Knight record. Glancing over towards the clock that sat on my messy nightstand, I also make eye contact with the small piece of paper, occupied by 7 numbers I grow nervous to call each time, this time no different.
It's been several days since I went to see Shanelle in that hospital and since then, I couldn't keep my eyes off the news, hoping to hear them say her name, telling me that she's healing just fine and back to working on her sessions as if nothing even happened but after each aching day, I'm granted with nothing. And to make matters worse, I haven't even received any calls from her like her mother promised I would causing me to try to bring matters into my own hands after several days of silence, convincing Marlon to hand me her number one day during a recording session of ours.
Whoever said, things never turn out the way you think it be must have had my plan in mind. It all seemed to be a easy and well thought out when playing it over and over inside my head, but I had yet to even get her to answer the phone to execute said plan. This time being no different. After punching in the sacred numbers I've grown to memorize, I am greeted with six solid rings before being awarded by her voicemail as usual.
