Slipping Away

Chapter 38

December 30th, 1995

Janet could hear footsteps in the kitchen.

Did I oversleep?

She rolled over and looked out the window. Upon seeing that it was still dark she wondered if Mariah had gotten up in the night. She went to investigate, but it was Michael who was pacing the kitchen, looking deep in thought.

"Mike, why aren't you in bed with your friend?" She asked.

He stopped once he realized he was no longer alone. "I can't sleep. She told me something and it's been bothering me."

Janet sighed, taking a seat. "What did she say?"

"That she a...that she aborted my baby." He sighed, shaking his head.

Janet's jaw dropped. "She did not say that."

He nodded. "She said last January she aborted my baby. She said Tommy made her do it and I believe her, but it doesn't sit right with me. Like, Prince...there was nothing we could do about it, but this...it's different."

"I feel you." Janet agreed. "But I feel like she's hurting too..."

She had been by Mariah's side when she lost the baby and she remembered how Mariah had said that she was afraid of never being pregnant again so she had to be happy when she discovered that she was carrying another baby. Aborting that pregnancy had to be difficult on her to come so soon after losing the first baby.

"I'm hurting. She could've called me, or said something. I'm trying to understand her, but I can't. She can run away now, but she stayed with him."

Janet frowned. "She snapped Mike. She was afraid of him and didn't think there was any way out..."

"Janet, I'm trying to put myself in her state of mind. I really am, but it seems to me like everything was fine until her life was at stake." He said.

Janet shook her head. "We talked too, Mike. She told me why she thought she couldn't leave. She went to her mother and her mother told her that she had to what he said. That she was married and she needed to do what he told her to. She hadn't spoken to me, she thought I hated her so she was stuck."

"I get all of that, but I just can't stop thinking about it. I spent the last two years begging, pleading, crying for Lisa to have my child and then I find this out. I can't just..." He trailed off.

Janet frowned. "I feel you, but I know she didn't just go along with it. Not after all that talk when she lost Prince, she was saying she'd probably never be pregnant again, that she'd never be a mother-"

"She's not a mother." He muttered.

Janet rolled her eyes. "Don't be like that. Why are you all up her ass if you feel like that then?"

"I don't want her to feel like I'm acting different. She's fragile right now, so I didn't want to snap off on her so you know we talked about it a little, then I tried to stop thinking about it, but I can't. I want to strangle that man." He clenched his jaw again.

Janet nodded. "I do too. I'll never forget when she showed up on my doorstep like that, why chase her if you're not going to treat her right? He was like salivating when he heard you guys broke up."

"She was a trophy to be won and Mariah didn't play her position. That's how men like Tommy work." He explained. "And I can tell you this: he's not going to just let her go."

January 26th, 1996

"Michael, are you sure about this?"

He laughed and pulled her along. "Come on, Mimi. We're just going to go have some sushi and then we're going to come back."