1989 (17 years old)

"Ugh." I slam the phone down and put my hand in my head and scream. Keenan has been gone for 6 months with no contact to anyone. I throw my head back trying not to cry. I miss my brother. I grab my pen and pad and start writing. "Come back to me, I'm begging you please..." I say as tears fall on my paper. We've done everything we could but he's in California. The police can't do anything, they told us they'll keep in contact. That was like 4 months ago, and we've heard nothing. Not to mention, Michael's been gone for almost a year and I haven't heard from him in about four months either. So much for "it'll be like I never left" I roll my eyes at the thought. He didn't even call to wish me a happy birthday last week. I keep thinking about how great Michael looked before he left. It made me smile. I would love a hug from him right now. I've had a crush on him for about a year and I know it won't go anywhere, I'm 17. I just keep thinking what if. "It's just puppy love" I say to myself. My phone rings and I scramble to find it hoping for some news on my brother, or a word from Michael, anything to lift my spirits...

"Hello?!" I say frantically "Hi Jayla" I sigh, it's my assistant Sasha. "Hi Sasha. What's up?" Sasha's cool but she's not a good listener, she's all work. "I've got good news for you. You're being asked to present an award at the 1989 Soul Train Awards!" She says squeakily "that's cool" I answer dryly. "And you've been nominated for best R&B song of the year" she adds hoping for a better reaction. "Awesome" I say still as dry as the first answer. "Sasha, I really don't wanna talk right now." I hang up. I know it's rude but I can't be happy right now. I wouldn't have been anywhere near the music business without Keenan and Michael and they're both not here to share this moment with me. I sigh and go back to writing. I call Sasha back and get the info for the Soul Train Awards and apologize for hanging up on her. As, I read the info I see I'm presenting an award to Michael. I instantly wanna scream. I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind that day.

Around 2am, I got another phone call "Hello?" I mumbled wiping my eyes. "Jayla?" I instantly woke up. "Michael?" I sat up "What the-" "I know what you're gonna say, and I'm sorry. It's just been crazy. Can you talk?" I wipe my face and sigh,I'm so relieved he called, I wanted to talk to him so bad. "Yeah, so what's been going on?" "You remember Tatiana?" I roll my eyes. "Yeah, why?" "Frank fired her last week.." My eyes got big, I never liked Tatiana and never understood why Michael liked her. "Why what'd she do?!" trying to sound shocked. "Well, Frank told her when you get onstage, don't touch Michael, he'll touch you. She didn't listen. She-" "Wait, Wait, Wait" I interrupted "He fired her for touching you?" Michael laughed slightly "No, he fired her for kissing me." He got silent. I gasped. The thought of her kissing him onstage and his embarrassment made me so mad. "Wow..um.. Are you okay?" I asked quietly. "I'm ok, I never like to fire people, and I really liked her. I feel bad. I didn't get to say goodbye to her." He said sadly. He sounded more disappointed then he says he is. I just sat there, I didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry I missed your birthday too, Jay" he says. "It's no big deal." I lie. It was a big deal I just didn't wanna make him feel any worse. I'm definitely not gonna tell him about Keenan. So I just changed the subject. "Hey, so the Soul Train Awards are coming up. Are you gonna be there?" He got excited "Yeah! I will, my last tour date is two days before!" I smile. "Well I'll be there, I'm presenting an award and I'm nominated for one" I tell him. "Wow, Jayla that's great. I'm really proud of you. Have you told your brother?" I get quiet. "I'm sorry Jay.."