Bzzt....bzzt....bzzt....

Aaliyah groaned while her phone rang for the FIFTH time that morning. Without opening her eyes, she reached out across her comforter and yanked the phone right off its charger. Eyes still closed, she pressed her finger against the home button and opened the phone, simultaneously answering it. "Hello?" She moaned.

"Aaliyah?" Elijah's voice came through the phone, making her sit up straight in her bed. "I'm so happy you answered-"

"What do you want Elijah?" She harshly cuts him off.

"Look, I️ know I️ got rough with you last night, and I wanted to apologize," he sounded sincere, surprising her. "It would really mean a lot if you could give me a chance to make it up to you," he said.

Aaliyah pulled away from the phone to check if she was really talking to the right person. Maybe the alcohol had made everything worse. Plus with Jackson involved, it really did escalate the situation. But, she wasn't fully convinced, nor was she ready, to see him or trust his word. "Elijah, I️ can't think about this right now. Plus, I️ just woke up," she sighed, rubbing her eye. "But one thing I️ am sure about is, we need to take a break," she tells him.

There was silence on the other end of the line for a good minute until Elijah said, "It's him, isn't it? He's the reason why we're so fucked up-"

"You are so un-fucking-believable!" She raises her voice through the phone. "You are the reason why we're so fucked up!" She blamed. "He wasn't the one that punched me in the face!"

"You deserved that shit! You need someone to knock some sense into you," he fussed. "Don't even point the finger at me, you the reason why I️ drank so much last night!" He snapped. "I'm going through so much shit right now Aaliyah, and the last thing I️ need is for my girlfriend to be cheating on me, in my face!"

Aaliyah rolled her eyes. He was so delusional and full of it. "Bye! Call me back when you're really ready to apologize, dick." She ended the call when he was in the middle of cursing her out. She tossed her phone aside and flopped back down against her comforter. She grabbed one of her pillows and screamed into it, taking out all her frustrations on it.

Her phone started to vibrate against and she answers. "I️ said stop calling-"

"Woah, what did I️ do?" Jackson's voice came through the phone. "Is this a bad time? I️ knew I️ shouldn't have called before 12..."

"No!" She said, "No, no...it's fine. I'm-I️'m fine," she quickly told him.

"If you say so..." he said warily. "Just wanted to check up on you and make sure you're okay," he said, making her feel all mushy on the inside.

"I'm f-" before she could answer, an achy sensation radiated on the right side of her face, making her gasp a bit. She quickly got up and snuck over to the bathroom in the hallway. She turned on the light and her jaw dropped when she saw her face in the mirror.

"Aaliyah? You still there?"

Aaliyah, eyes wide in horror, slowly reached up and touched the bruise on her cheek. She pulled her hand back when it stung at her touch. "Yeah...sorry. I️ got distracted," she tells him. "I'm as good as I️ can be," she tells him.

"Great," he said, practically hearing him smile. "Hey, I️ hope you don't mind but I️ was wondering if I️ could take you out? Maybe even help cheer you up," he said enthusiastically.

"Oh...Jack, you don't have to do that-"

"Nah, it's okay. I️ want too," he insisted.

Aaliyah smiled to herself at his insistence. "Okay," She finally agreed. "Where are we going?" She asked.

"It's a surprise," he tells her, making her groan. "It's a good surprise baby, trust me," he reassured. "See you in...two hours?" He suggested.

"I'll be ready by then," she promised before ending the call and texting him her location. She then put her phone down and turned back around to face the mirror. Oh man, she had some work to do....