Slipping Away

Chapter 32

December 4th, 1995

Mariah looked out of the window and saw the police outside talking to Tommy. He was under investigation for alleged mafia ties, but he had demanded that no one speak to her. Speaking to her wasn't good for her, he claimed. She was a trophy, his porcelain doll so it would be no use talking to her. She knew he was only keeping her hidden because of the obvious bruises on her face.

She went into his office and went behind his desk, trembling. She didn't know what had brought her there, but she felt compelled by some other force to open his drawers and look through his papers. She shifted through, noticing the different names and contracts, even seeing Michael's name a few times on some mergers between Sony and ATV publishing. She kept digging until she spotted her name.

She picked up a bundle of letters, some were opportunities for acting roles, but many were personal letters. One that stood out in particular was one from Brenda and Mariah could hardly believe what she saw. It was a wedding invitation from the summer to Brenda's wedding.

Brenda had stopped calling Mariah after her marriage to Tommy, but it hurt knowing that she had missed such an important event when Brenda was the one who had given her a chance when no one else would. 

"What the fuck are you doing in here?"

Mariah sprang up, enraged. "You've been hiding my mail from me?"

He put his hands around her throat, speaking lowly. "Look, I need you to understand something. You are nothing without me. I am the only person who gives a damn about you. You need to realize there are a dozen Mariah Careys out there and you aren't even the best of them. Your voice is average, your lyrics are childish, and you will never be respected as an artist. I am the only thing keeping your career alive and if you keep fucking with me I will pick up one of those new artists and make you a thing of the past, got it?"

She nodded slowly. "Yes, Tommy."

He let her go and went over to his desk, opening up another drawer and pulled out a pistol, pointing it directly at her.

"You go in my desk again, you will never see the light of day." He said.

Mariah shook her head. "You'd go to jail."

"No, I wouldn't. I have ways to get around that, my dear." He chuckled. "So I'd suggest you act accordingly."

December 5th, 1995

Janet rolled over and looked at the clock to see that it was four in the morning. Her doorbell was ringing and she was struggling to wake herself up.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." She muttered, rubbing her eyes.

She opened the door and was greeted with the sight of a very scared and barely clothed Mariah. "Mimi, what the hell?"

She pulled her inside and flipped on the lights. "How did you get here?"

"I-I walked. Janet, please I-"

Janet's eyes widened. "You walked? Mariah, you live like two towns over."

"I had to leave Janet. I had to." She whispered.

Janet frowned. "You're not even wearing a coat, it's freezing outside. Come here, let me make you some tea and get you a blanket."

Janet brought the tea from the kitchen and handed Mariah a mug, sitting beside her. She was trying her best not to cringe at Mariah's black eye and busted lip. 

"Thank you, Janet." She whispered.

Janet had never known Mariah to be so timid, but she figured it had something to do with Tommy. Whatever he had done, it had been enough to make her run two towns over in the cold without a coat. 

"What happened?" Janet asked.

Mariah's eyes filled with tears. "He was going to kill me. I didn't want to die in that marriage, Janet."

Janet stiffened, hearing Mariah talk about dying at Tommy's hands was all that she needed to know to guess at the extent of the abuse that went on in the Mottola household.

"Mimi, you're scaring me."

Mariah sighed. "I'm scared, Janet. I'm so scared."

Janet pulled her into a hug and gently rubbed her back so that she didn't hurt her. "Mariah, don't be scared. You can stay here with me and you're getting a divorce. Everything will be okay."

"I let him-"

"No, you didn't do anything. You don't deserve this, Mariah. You don't." 

Mariah sobbed into her chest and Janet sighed. Mariah was a broken woman, but at least now that she was away, she could start picking up the pieces.

December 5th, 1995

Michael and Lisa were having dinner in silence. Their relationship was merely for show at this point, he didn't even know why they were having dinner together in the first place. He wasn't even eating, opting to sip on some water instead.

"So why are you here?" Lisa asked.

Michael sighed. "Well if you don't want to fix our marriage then I don't know why I'm here."

"I'm not having your baby." Lisa deadpanned.

Michael rolled his eyes. "Then don't. If you won't have my baby, Debbie Rowe will do it."

He didn't want to throw it in Lisa's face, but he was at his wit's end with her and their marriage. He expected for Lisa to erupt, but her face remained stony.

"Then let Debbie have your baby. She can have you too." She abruptly got up from the table and he could hear the door slamming upstairs.

He really didn't have time to be dealing with Lisa's attitude problems. He didn't want Debbie to have his children, but he was getting desperate. He cried at night, wishing that Lisa would change her mind, but she wouldn't budge.

He closed his mind to the situation, deciding to focus on his rehearsal for tomorrow. He had a concert in Brunei for the royal family coming up as well as his HIStory World Tour that would be starting next summer so he needed to figure out how he was going do his show. He tended to focus on his career when his personal life didn't go his way. Not that it mattered much anymore, he was over Lisa.

December 6th, 1995

Mariah was sitting with Janet on the couch, watching her VHS of The Bodyguard. She hadn't seen the movie since Tommy had forbidden it, but she was enjoying it. She was grateful to Janet for taking her in since she couldn't go to her penthouse. Tommy had the keys and could easily find her and drag her back to their estate. 

She planned on selling that house and buy another one so she could start over, but there was also the issue of her recording traffic. She still owed Colombia three albums, but if she put them out quickly she could be free of the contract in the next five years.

"What are you thinking about?" Janet asked.

Mariah wrung her hands. "Everything."

"Just take it one day at a time, you'll run yourself crazy if you try to do it all at once. I'll help you, we'll write it all out and-"

Janet's phone started ringing and she got up to go answer it. 

"Hello?"

Mariah watched Janet's facial expression change and she sat up, ready for bad news. 

"Thank you." Janet hung up the phone. 

"What is it, Jan?"

Janet bit her nail. "It's Michael. They said he's in the hospital in critical condition. He could die."

Answer to the trivia: Celeste, Camille, and Erikah are all the female leads from my other books. Celeste is from Get on the Floor, Camille is from Cat and Mouse, and Erikah is from Angel in Disguise.