A Child's Heart (Michael Jackson adopted me)

Chapter Twenty- Working Day & Night

5th August 1995

Michaels POV

I sat at my desk thinking about what had happened at the school. I had already unenrolled Imogen so that wasn't a problem. I had been so occupied with work and the studio for the last few weeks that I rarely spent time with her anymore. There was a knock at the door and I sighed. "Come in" I yelled not looking away from the computer I was working on.
"Mr Jackson, can I speak to you please?" Tanya Walters, Imogen's new tutor asked.
"Of course, take a seat Tanya" I offered. She shut the door behind her and sat opposite me. "What did you need to speak to me about?" I asked, rubbing my temples.
"Mr Jackson, Imogen's grades are dropping dramatically and I'm worried that it could be related to her personal life" Tanya replied, chewing her bottom lip. "What exactly do you think is causing this?" I asked, honestly a little offended. "Well yesterday she gave me this" Tanya sighed, sliding a sheet of paper across the desk. It was a drawing of Imogen looking quite unhappy surrounded by a bubble. Lisa and I stood on the outside, looking away.
"This along with the fact that some of your employees confided in me that Imogen spends an unhealthy amount of time alone in her room suggests that she feels rather lonely and depressed. Now this isn't anyone's fault however, it would be a good idea to find out why Imogen feels this way and to spend some more time with her" she explained. "Thank you for letting me know Tanya but if you don't mind my asking. What position are you in to make such a suggestion?" I asked, leaning on the desk.
"I am a licensed educational counsellor" she replied smiling. "Okay. Now if you don't mind I have quite a bit of work to complete" I announced, feeling overwhelmed by everything I had to do. "Yes Mr Jackson, also Imogen has finished for the day" she added and walked out the room, shutting the door.

Well I suppose I should speak to Imogen then. I walked tiredly to the living room and sat on the couch. "Dad?" Imogen asked walking into the room. "Yes sweetie?" I replied as she sat next to me.
"Can we play outside?" She asked, her crystal eyes filled with hope.
"I'm sorry Imogen but I've got a lot of work to do, maybe tomorrow" I stated and jumped over, tickling her mercilessly to cheer her up a little. "Please.... Stop..... It hurts" she begged in between fits of laughter. "Okay okay" I laughed. "So how was school?" I asked in between a yawn. "It was good but Tanya got mad at me for not doing good enough at my work" she complained and fell back onto the couch. "I heard about that, why aren't you doing as well? I know you're smart enough" I asked, seriously.
"Well, I get distracted" she muttered back. "Why's that?" I questioned, trying to figure out what was going on with my daughter. "Because I miss you" she whispered and began sniffing. I sighed and rubbed my temples. Things were so complicated lately that I was desperately hoping for a different answer. "I know baby girl, we'll spend more time together, I promise" I smiled. "Pinkie promise?" she added, holding out her pinkie. It reminded me of the first time I met my wonderful child and she asked me to keep her secret about all the bad things that had happened to her. I kept that thought to myself and concentrated on the situation at hand.

"Definitely" I agreed, locking pinkies. "Now, I've got to go and to talk to your mum but when I'm done. I'll come play with you, how's that sound?" I asked hopefully. Imogen literally jumped out of her seat and tackled me with a hug. "Thank you Daddy" she exclaimed, excitedly. "You're welcome Imogen" I replied, stroking her hair as we hugged. She rolled back onto the couch watching TV, so I stood up and walked into the kitchen in hopes of finding Lisa. She stood at the stove cooking lunch and I wrapped my arms around her waist from behind.

She looked up at me surprised and smiled. "How does tofu tacos sound for lunch?" She asked stirring the pan of food. "Just perfect" I said smiling. Lisa turned the stove off and poured the tofu into a bowl before looking at me again. "Is everything okay, Michael?" She asked, concerned. "No" I sighed, I needed to tell her what was happening. "What's wrong?" She questioned, giving me her full attention. "Imogen's grades are slipping and Tanya said it was because of her personal life. It's my fault" I explained, guiltily. "Michael, don't blame yourself please your so amazing to Imogen. Did Tanya say anything else?" She asked, genuinely wanting to help. "She said that we should spend more time with her and I really want to but I'm just so busy with work. I could really use a break from it" I sighed, once again feeling overwhelmed. "That's it Michael!" Lisa exclaimed.
"What's it?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "Well you want a break from work and we want to spend more time with Imogen. We could take a holiday and let Imogen choose where" Lisa explained excitedly. "That's actually a really good idea Lisa!" I smiled, happily. "Thanks baby, I like to think I have a good idea every now and then" she joked. "I know dear. I think we should make this trip a bit longer. I think it's time we tell Imogen our other little secret" I added. Lisa gave me a worried look but nodded slowly as she continued to prepare lunch.....