MJ Story: The Nanny

Chapter 15

Michael had a hard time sleeping that night as he tossed and turned. His heart was broken. He felt incredibly bad for Aaliyah. Lisa was so unappreciative of everything Aaliyah had done for their family and he could tell in that moment. The next morning, Michael hadn't heard a word from Aaliyah or Lisa. He began to get the kids dressed for school while preparing breakfast. The door opened and he rushed out, "Lisa?!"

Aaliyah shook her head no, "Nope. Just me."

He sighed heavily, "Sorry LiLi. How are you?"

"I'm okay. Are the kids getting ready for school?"

"They are. I'm getting breakfast ready for them now." Michael said as he turned around, heading back to the kitchen.

Aaliyah headed up the stairs to assure the kids were getting ready and not falling back asleep. She peeked in at Melanie who was still sound asleep. Mariah walked up to her.

"LiLi is my mommy a bad person?"

Aaliyah brought her into her arms, "Oh no, baby. Of course not. Why would you ask that?"

"I heard her and daddy talking. She made you sick! Why would she do that?"

Aaliyah wiped the tear falling from Mariah's eye, "It's okay. Sometimes we all do things that hurt others without thinking. Your mother loves you and your brother and sister very much. Your father too. She just wants to make sure you all remain solid. Do you understand me, honey?"

Mariah nodded.

"Now, after school we'll go out and do something nice. For now, you worry about school."

Aaliyah kissed her cheek and walked her to her bedroom, helping her finish getting dressed.

Once the kids were off to school, Michael came outside and stood next to Aaliyah.

"I think we should go to Stacey's job and confront her about the prescription. I want to know from her that Lisa did this. I swear LiLi this is not me wanting to believe otherwise; I just need to hear it from Stacey since Lisa won't confess."

Aaliyah sighed, "Well let's go. Someone is going to take the wrap for this."

They climbed into Michael's truck and headed off to Stacey's place of work. As they walked in, she was currently in consultation with a patient picking up meds. They waited. She waved the patient goodbye and was stunned to see Michael.

"Michael! I wasn't expecting you. Aaliyah, right?" She said to LiLi as she extended her hand. Aaliyah shook it hesitantly.

"We should really step away and discuss why we're here," Michael said.

"Sure! Of course," Stacey said as she came from behind the counter and they all stepped somewhere privately.

"So, what's this about?" She asked.

"Did you fill a prescription for Lisa recently?" Michael asked.

"No!" Aaliyah chimed in, "Be straight Michael! Did you fill a prescription for Ipecac and give it to Lisa? Before you lie, I've seen the prescription and I have copies of it."

Stacey quickly shook her head no, "No no no. I've not done anything like that for Lisa."

Aaliyah stepped closer to her, "Tell me, Stacey..do you have a husband at home?"

"No," Stacey replied puzzled. "Just my 4 children and I. Their father is not present."

"So, that means those babies depend on mommy for everything. So if I present this malpractice and put your job in jeopardy, whose going to take care of those babies?" Aaliyah asked, lifting a brow.

Stacey looked down, playing with her fingers, "I can assure you two that I had nothing to do with whatever you are accusing me of."

"Are you sure, Stacey? I'm pretty sure the state board wouldn't like to hear that one of their pharmacists has used her profession to inflict harm on someone. If you don't believe that I will take this shit up a notch, I will show you. You may wanna think long and hard about those babies while you're trying to protect Lisa," Aaliyah went.

Stacey sighed, looking around.

Michael stepped closer as well, "Stacey, just tell us what we already know."

Stacey began to cry, sniffing to console herself so her coworkers wouldn't notice, "If I admit to anything, I'm just as bad as Lisa. I'm still going to lose everything. How do I know you won't still report me if I tell you what Lisa did? What if Lisa reports me after I throw her under the bus?"

"Well, it seems you've already answered our question, Stacey." Michael said.

Stacey cried again, "Yes. I did it. I didn't want to, believe me. I have absolutely nothing against you, Aaliyah. Lisa just wanted to keep you down for a while so she could feel like the woman of the house again. I found the most harmless drug I could in order to assure you were going to be fine afterwards. Honestly. I never wanted any parts of this, but times are hard. She gave me money to do this and I just wanted to catch up on some bills and stay ahead for a little while. I'm really sorry, Aaliyah. I'm sorry, Michael. I hate I ever decided to do this for Lisa. Really."

Michael's heart broke again into a million pieces. He was shattered. The woman he shared vows with was no longer the same person. He was now in love with a stranger. Someone cold.