Being with Michael: Part 1 (Book Two)

Chapter Sixty Six

Paige looks at Bill. "Can we go sit out on the porch?"

"Sure," he says. He follows Paige out and closes the door behind them.

Paige walks onto the porch and stretches out on a loveseat. Bill sits in a wicker chair next to her.

Paige looks around, but then looks at Bill. "Can you explain some things to me?"

"I can try," Bill says. "What do you want to know?"

"Why did we go here instead of Neverland, the place I saw on TV?" She asks him.

Bill clears out his throat and says, "That's more between you and Mr. Jackson."

Paige rolls her eyes. "Bill, please," she says. "And I know you guys weren't at this place before because you left the factory photos in the new photo frames you bought in an attempt to decorate the place."

Bill sighs knowing he was caught. "Okay, I'll tell you. Only because it will help you."

"Thank you," Paige says. "So why aren't we at Neverland?"

"Mr. Jackson hates the place," Bill says bluntly.

"What? Why?" As more of this goes on, Paige just gets more and more confused.

"After the trial-"

"The trial?!" Paris interupts him.

"Oh, shit," Bill says on instinct. "Uh, pardon my French."

"I don't think I can explain all that to you, and I don't think Mr. Jackson will want to either. You should probably just research it. I can tell you a little of when you came," Bill explains.

"Uh... Okay," Paige nods.

"So, following the trial, Mr. Jackson had bad memories at Neverland and never wanted to go back. Unfortunately, when he was preparing for his This Is It tour in '09, AEG Live, the company producing the tour, stopped paying for his housing during rehearsals and he was out of money. So they had to go back to Neverland," Bill says. "He only ever lived in the guest home on the property, though. But when you entered his life, things got better for him so I guess it was easier for him to stay there."

Bill sighs. "But after this, I don't think he's ever going back there again. He said he wasn't anyway. And I think this time he means it."

"Sounds like I still have a tendency for trouble. That hasn't changed," Paige sighs.

"You have a tendency to make people happy," Bill assures her. "No matter what's going on, people just can't stay mad at you. Probably just one of the many ways you won over Mr. Jackson."

"If you say so," Paige says, still unconvinced.

"It's just so confusing," she explains. "Having everyone tell me all these things, and I'm trying so hard to believe it all, but it just doesn't seem real. The girl who's married to Michael, she just doesn't feel like me, and I can't figure out why."

"Good thing is you're both the same girl, so you'll figure it out," Bill says.

He gets up and walks away from the porch to give Paige some space to herself.

She tries to sort through all the things rushing through her head, but it's impossible.

She looks over to where Bill walked off and he's not there. She looks back at the garage and tries to supress the thought from her head.

She looks away, but her eyes gravitate back to the door.

She stands up and walks over to the garage. As she turns the knob, she looks back to make sure no one's watching.

She goes in and finds that the car is unlocked. She looks around for the key, but she can't find it.

She just shrugs and sits in the driver seat and pulls open the slot beneath the steering wheel. Once the car is hot wired, she steps out and opens the garage door.

Before anybody can stop her, she pulls out of the garage and drives down the driveway away from the house.

As he's walking back to the trailer, Bill hears a rumbling noise and looks over to see the blue Challenger drive away.

"Shit!" He yells. "Javon, get out here!"

The trailer door flies open and Javon has his hand on his gun. "What's going on?"

"Paige just drove off in the Dodge! I need you to go and follow her while I stay here. But don't let her see you following her! Just make sure she's safe," Bill says as he jogs back into the house.

"You got it!" Javon yells to him, jumping into one of the SUVs.

He puts it in drive and whips out of the lot to go find Paige.

Fortunately, she doesn't make it that difficult for him because there's tire marks she left on the right.

Javon's radio comes on. "I'm with the Boss," Bill says to him. "He's concerned, but I told him there's nothing to worry about. Am I right?"

As Bill talks through the radio, Javon spots the car ahead of him. Paige is speeding, but not enough to get her caught. She's smart, Javon has to give that to her.

"Let's hope so," Javon says into the radio.