Slipping Away

Chapter 34

December 7th, 1995

As Lisa walked out of the room, Janet noticed that Michael was looking at her like he wanted to talk to her. He shifted his eyes towards Mariah, then back at her which was enough for Janet to guess that he wanted her out of the room.

"Hey Mimi, can you go get me some coffee?" Janet asked.

Mariah nodded. "Would you like anything, Mrs. Jackson?"

Her mother nodded. "Can you get me a coffee as well, dear?"

Mariah nodded and the three of them waited for Mariah to get a little down the hall before Michael started speaking.

"What is she doing here?" He asked.

Janet crossed her arms. "Look, just because you're sick doesn't mean you can talk to me crazy."

"But why is she here?" Their mother asked.

Janet sighed. "Look, she showed up to my house yesterday at four in the morning with nothing but a hoodie and a dufflebag. She walked from two towns over to my house to get away from Tommy. When we heard you were in the hospital she said she wanted to come, what was I supposed to do? Tell her no?" 

"Wait she did what?" Michael started shaking his head. "She walked where?"

"She walked from their estate to my condo in the middle of the night without a coat on." Janet said.

Michael sighed. "Did she tell you what happened?"

"No, she couldn't stop crying. All she could say was, 'he was going to kill me. I didn't want to die there'" She leaned back in the chair. "You see she has those huge sunglasses on her face."

Michael frowned.  "How bad did he beat her?"

Janet sighed. "She's got bruises all over her body. I didn't see all of it, but when I hugged her I could tell it hurt her and I barely touched her."

He laid back down and closed his eyes. "How long is she going to be staying with you?"

She shrugged. "Probably until the divorce goes through. I don't mind it though, she needs somebody." 

"Did she tell you why she married him?" He asked.

There was something in his tone, but Janet couldn't place the emotion. "No, I didn't ask."

"Oh."

December 7th, 1995

Mariah carried the two cups of coffee back to Michael's room, occasionally glancing over her shoulder to make sure no one was following her. There had been paparazzi and news crews outside when she came in with Janet, so she knew she had been on the news. Which meant Tommy knew where she was and she was waiting for him to come and get her. It was only a matter of time.

She handed Janet and Katherine their coffees, but Janet stopped her. "Mariah, are you okay?"

Mariah nodded. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You're shaking."

Mariah pulled away and hid her hands. "I'm fine."

Janet raised an eyebrow, but she didn't say anything. Mariah sat back down beside her and pulled out her beeper: twenty messages from Tommy. 

Janet pulled it out of her hands. "Don't worry about him."

Mariah smiled weakly and laid her head on Janet's shoulder like they used to do whenever she visited Neverland. Michael was watching them both, though it seemed like his eyes were for her. She couldn't tell if he was mad at her or if he felt sorry for her.