Bound By Contract

Chapter Sixteen

Revised...

Michael's P.O.V.

It seems to me that adjusting to her new life here at Neverland has been a bit painful for Christina. Most days she locks herself in her room only emerging to eat. Some nights from my second story room in my bedroom I've seen her slowly wander around the property. I feel pretty bad that she hasn't been able to feel more comfortable around here, and although I know I should make more of an effort to include her, I can never seem to muster up the courage to do anything about it.

As I am about to open my bedroom door to attend an urgent meeting with my lawyer Mark Geragos, who should be arriving any minute, I hear Christina's door, which is adjacent to mine, open loudly. Waiting, I hear her footsteps going down the hallway and then down the staircase quickly. I open my door and shut it behind me carefully and from the balcony see that she headed to the kitchen. I guess this is my chance, a good a time as ever, I suppose.

Hurrying down the stairs, I head towards the kitchen trying to act as casual and disinterested as I possibly can. Christina is sitting with her back towards me, still in her pink and brown plaid pijama bottoms and thin pink long sleeved shirt, with her face in a bowl of cereal. Grabbing an apple from the fruit basket on the kitchen counter, I take a deep breath and grab a chair next to her and sit down in it backwards.

"Hey," I say, announcing my presence, tossing the apple slightly into the air.

She looks up quickly. "Oh! Hi," she answers looking a bit rattled.

"Looks like you are hungry the way you're attacking that cereal."

"Oh yeah, I am, I don't think I have eaten all day."

A long awkward silence follows. Think of something Jackson! We are then interrupted by Luisa, may God bless her soul. "Mr Jackson, Mark Geragos has arrived and is in your study waiting for you, sir," she slurs in her spanish accent.

"Thank you, Luisa," I answer, probably a little too eagerly. "Tell him I'll be right with him please."

"Geragos, huh?" Christina asks, her face still in her cereal. "That can't be good news."

I grin. "Nah, nothing that important. But hey," I say timidly, "would you like to play some pinball in the game room after my meeting or something? I mean if you want to, you don't have to if you don't want to."

Once more her face came out of that bowl of cereal and she smiled. "Yeah. Actually that sounds pretty good."

"Okay," I say awkwardly backing out of the kitchen.

"Okay."

I burst into my study and hop happily into my large leather chair.

"Well aren't you rather chirpy today?"

"Who me? No, I'm not chirpy, who's chirpy? I'm not chirpy," I state, taking a minute to get myself looking serious. This is serious business. I don't want to let him see me with my guard down. "Anyway, Geragos, tell me, what have you found out?"

Geragos sighs heavily and sinks into his chair. "Well, I hate to say this, but I told you so. Everyone thinks this whole charade is just that. A charade. Everyone thinks this marriage is another sham. This girl, she came out of nowhere, this huge wedding at Disneyland, it's just too much for a lot of people to handle, sir."

"I know it's too much for people to handle, but don't think that this is what people are thinking. This is only what tabloids are feeding them to sell more of their trash. I told you it'd be like this at first. But people's minds will change. You watch."