Slipping Away

Chapter 26

January 7th, 1995

Michael was struggling to get over what he saw in studio the other night. Mariah's bloody face and her fear, he never thought she'd be afraid of him.

"He'll kill me."

She had to be referring to Tommy, but he didn't understand. Tommy had always been there to comfort her whenever Michael screwed up, only to get her and make her afraid of him. There was something eerie about the situation that made him think of his sister Latoya and her relationship with Jack Gordon. He remembered when she had been beaten by the man, and promptly returned to his side despite him hurting her.

He wanted to help her, but he didn't think that he could. To make matters worse, he had a meeting with Tommy that day and he had to present some tracks from HIStory, while pretending that he hadn't seen anything.

"Are you ready, Lisa?" He asked.

He had reconciled with Lisa, though they hadn't brought up the issue of having children again. He planned on doing it soon, as he had expected to be a father by this point in their marriage.

"Yeah, I'm ready. I still don't see why I have to go." She rolled her eyes. "You're more than capable of explaining your vision without me."

"Must you always be so difficult?" He groaned.

Lisa giggled. "No, but you look adorable when you're frustrated."

He smirked and grabbed the tapes from the dresser. "Let's go."

As Bill pulled up to the Mottola compound, Michael took a deep breath. He had a lot at stake on this next album; this would be his comeback after a year of being dogged by the malicious media and his way to get back to what mattered most to him: the music.

He and Lisa walked up to the front door and rang the bell as Michael quietly observed the estate. He could see the horses and what appeared to be a shooting range in the distance, which made him a bit more worried.

"Michael, and you've brought your beautiful wife. Come in."

Michael held Lisa's hand as he stepped into the house and he quickly noticed how opulent everything was. It was almost like castle inside with the large chandeliers in the middle of the living room.

"Mariah, company!"

Tommy smiled at them. "Come and sit, she should be down in a moment."

Michael nodded and noticed Lisa's glare. He figured she was jealous of Mariah because she had come before her and she had been his fiance. There was no other reason for her to glare at him the way she did and the way she had acted at the VMAs.

Mariah came down the stairs and went towards Lisa. "Would you like to come in the kitchen while they talk?"

Lisa looked at Michael then shrugged. "Sure. Got any wine?"

"White or red?"

"White."

Michael watched them go into the kitchen, noting how Mariah wouldn't even look at him and sat down with Tommy. After five years of tension, he was surprised to see Tommy relaxed around him. He wished he could feel the same.

"So you have the new music, right?"

Michael handed him a CD. "Yeah, there's three songs on there: Stranger in Moscow, Scream, and You Are Not Alone."

Tommy nodded, putting the CD in the player, but there was a chill in the air. He glanced back towards the kitchen, where he could hear the quiet chattering of his wife and ex-fiance, though he was too far away to hear their conversation.