{1993-1996} Michael and Mariah have split up and are starting their new lives without each other, only to find that they are still intertwined with each other. [Sequel to Human Nature]
Cover by @Thotson. As you can see, the Good Sis got my back.
Mariah stepped out of the recording booth, finishing up a remix for a song she had written for Michael, Anytime You Need A Friend. She had found inspiration for the song after thinking of his issues with Evan while listening to Will You Be There and Keep the Faith from his Dangerous album. She had decided that she would send the song to him before her album was released so that he could keep the song with him.
I can't believe I still care.
If she were honest with herself, she was more concerned about Michael now than the last month of their relationship after she lost Prince. He had seemed withdrawn and distant, plus the bags around his eyes told her he wasn't getting any sleep. She knew he had suffered from insomnia before they had started living together, and she figured that he was probably suffering even more now that he was alone with the stress of the extortion attempt in his mind.
She took the CD with an original version of the song, along with two remixes from Walter and put it in her purse.
"So, have you heard from Michael lately?" He asked.
Walter didn't know about the impending disaster that was Evan's allegations, Mariah hadn't told anyone except Brenda about what was going on.
She nodded. "I talked to him two days ago."
"How are you gonna get over him if you keep talking to him?"
She shrugged. "He needs me right now."
"Be careful, that's all I got to say."
Before she could respond, Tommy came in and wrapped an arm around her waist. "So how are we today?"
She eased herself out of his grip, grimacing. "Great. What's up?"
"I wanted to talk to you."
Walter chuckled. "I'll leave you two alone."
"What's up?" She asked.
Tommy had been trying to come on to her since she had broken up with Michael and she had been politely easing her way out of the situations.
"I was wondering if you wanted to go see a movie this weekend." He said.
She shook her head. "No, thanks for the offer."
"You need to get out Mariah." He pointed out.
"I also need time to get over someone." She replied.
She was still nurturing some hope that Michael would come to his senses and they'd get back together, but with Tommy trying so hard to come on to her she wondered how long it would take for her to run out of excuses.
He frowned. "Yeah, about that. I saw you were in LA with him recently. Going into a hotel. What was that about?"
She shrugged. "My business."
"With him? Don't tell me-"
"No, we're not back together, but don't act like it can't happen. It's only been two months, he'll realize I didn't cheat eventually." She said.
Tommy nodded slowly. "Who are you trying to convince here? Me or you?"
She sighed. "He will. He always does."
August 19th, 1993
He felt stuck. June had cursed him out, saying that Jordie had told her 'what he had done' and refused to listen to him; which he could understand, she had to put her son first. However, his lawyers weren't letting him pull out of the tour so he could handle the situation. He trusted them, but he'd rather be present for everything.
He was packing his things when Bill knocked on the door. "Mike, you've got a package from Mariah."
Michael took the small package and tore back the paper. It was a CD with a note attached to it which read:
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He smiled to himself and looked at the CD which had Anytime You Need A Friend written on it.
I need one right now, for sure.
He found it funny how things could change so quickly. Two months ago, he had a fiance, a baby on the way, and good friends. Now, he had no baby, no fiance, and everyone around him was starting to become suspicious.
He wished he had never walked in on Mariah and Tommy that night, that he could've been blissfully unaware of everything so that he could be near her and hold her close to him while he cried on her shoulder. The cold nights were beginning to wear on him and he reached in his nightstand for his pills only to find that he had just one left.
Now how I am I supposed to sleep?
He had been taking them almost religiously at night to find some relief, but he was racking his brain for figure out what he was going to do.
"Bill!"
Bill came rushing into the room. "Michael, what's wrong?"
"I need you to run to the pharmacy and pick me up some more of these." He handed him the bottle.
Bill raised an eyebrow as he looked at the bottle. "Mike, I don't know-"
"Please? I need them to sleep."
"That's what I'm afraid of. Are you sure you need them? Can't you and Mariah just make up or something? You haven't been sleeping since she left." Bill said.
Michael scoffed. "After what she did to me?"
Bill rolled his eyes. "You know, I don't think she slept with him. I'd rather you two make up then you taking these pills."
Michael sighed. "Can you please just pick me up some medicine?"
"Alright, I'll be back."
Michael sat down on his bed and popped open the CD case. There was an old photo of them together at Neverland with Janet and Marlon posing on either side of them. He was kissing Mariah on the cheek while she made a shocked face into the camera. He couldn't remember who had taken the picture, but he assumed it had been either Tito and Jermaine. He flipped it over and saw that Mariah had written a note: 'Jackson Family Day '91 Love my Leopard'.
He smiled as he turned it back over. "I wish we could go back there."
He put it back in the CD case, deciding to listen to the song once he got on the plane to Thailand for his next few shows. He still didn't want to go on tour with Evan still demanding money from him, but he had no choice. He had to go.
