Umbrella

11|Dying

It was four in the morning and Lauren ran to Michael's room and slowly crawled into bed with him.

Michael opened one eye and smiled as he watched his little girl cuddle close to his chest.

"What happened princess?" Michael asked.
"I had a bad dream" She pouted and scooted closer into Michael.
"What did you dream about?" He asked.

Lauren played with the stubble of Michael's face as she spoke.

"I had a dream that daddy came and took me away from you and I had to live with him forever and ever. Then, he turned into a scary monster" She cried.
"You don't want him to take you away from me?"

Lauren shook her head causing Michael to smile.

"He's mean to my mommy" She said and stopped touching Michael's face. "You're nice to her"

Michael bit his lip to hold back yet another smile.

"Close your eyes and go to sleep" he said cuddling his little girl.
"Goodnight" she whispered.

It took Lauren less than a minute to fall back asleep and Michael himself fell asleep a while after listening to the breaths of his child.

--
"Why are you living in a hotel?" Claire questioned.

This morning, Michael's mother made a surpris trip to Washington after receiving intel that her son had a daughter. She could care less about the girl but she needed publicity.

"It'll be nonsense to buy a home. We're going to move back soon" Michael responded.
"Who's we?" Claire asked.
"Me, Lauren, and Marissa"

Claire let out a loud laugh.

"You really think she's going to come back with you after everything you did to her?" She smirked.

Michael swallowed and shifted his focus to Lauren. She was eating fruits while watching an episode of Spongebob. It took all the will within Michael for him not to reach over and slap his mother.

"Anyways, why don't you just leave her with her mother so you can move on. Start fresh, find someone younger, prettier. I want picture perfect grandchildren and" Claire paused and looked at Lauren before turning back towards Michael. "She's too mediocre."

Michael rolled his eyes.

"My daughter is perfect the way she is" He protested.
"She's so plain. You need children that actually look like you"
"Why are you so focused on the way she looks! She's the sweetest, most beautiful little girl i've ever seen but most of all she's MY daughter. How dare you come in here and critize something I created?!" Michael screamed.

Claire look taken aback and took a sip of water before replying:

"Listen, all I'm saying is that you need to move on. Lincoln is obviously taking very good care of her and Marissa wants nothing to do with you."

Michael rubbed his temples as he held in his anger.

He couldn't believe his own mother was rejecting his child. They said grandparents love their grandchildren more than their own children but that was not the case now. Claire loved money more than anything.

"Where's dad?" Michael asked.

It's been months since he last heard from his father.

"Oh honey, didn't you hear? He's battling cancer" Claire said with an evil smile.

She was enjoying everything. A dead husband would make big bucks in magazines and not to mention all the money Claire would recieve from his will.

"How is that amusing to you?" Michael asked as calmly as possible.

Claire had no time to respond for Marissa walked in but stopped right in her tracks at the sight of Claire.

Michael had given Marissa an extra card so that she would be able to access the room in case of an emergency or to stop by.

"Marissa my darling! You've gotten so beautiful." Claire exclaimed but Marissa knew this was all a joke.

From day one, Claire wanted Marissa to leave his son's life claiming she was too ugly and too poor for her son.

"Where's Lauren?" Marissa asked completely ignoring Claire.
"She went to her bedroom" Michael responded avoiding eye contact.

Marissa was frightened as to why Claire would be in Michael's house. Were they planning to take her child?

"Hey baby" Marissa said walking in to Lauren's spacious room.
"Hi mommy" Lauren said lazily.

By the look on her face, she was exhausted.

"I had a bad dream so I went to sleep with Michael but he snores too loud" Lauren giggled.

This caused Marissa to smile.

"Yea, I know"

Suddenly, a crash was heard from the living room and they both jumped.

"Stay here baby" Marissa commanded.

From Lauren's bedroom Marissa could see Michael breathing heavily and fragments of a vase on the floor.

"You don't know what love is mother. You've never loved anybody but yourself, not even you're own children dammit! You can't possibly understand the love I have for my daughter or Marissa. You can't understand something you never felt"

--
Marissa was making dinner while Michael and Lauren sat on the floor playing go fish.

All Marissa could think about were the last words Michael told his mother before she left hysterically crying. It was obviously all an act and she was damn good at it.

It surprised Marissa how Michael was able to say all that knowing she would hear him.

"Food's ready" Marissa said and placed three plates of rice, green beans, tomatoes, and steak with mashed potatoes on the side, on the table.

Lauren immediately went to wash her hands knowing the rules.

"I'm sorry you had to see all that" Michael apologized. "She just doesn't understand the word no"

Marissa nodded.

"I regret it everyday you know; what I did to you. The whole time I believed I was helping you." He continued.
"You don't have to explain yourself" Marissa said.
"Yes I do Marissa. Did you know they drugged me? It was practically rape Marissa. I couldn't even get hard for those women"

She swallowed.

"I knew it was wrong in its entirety but I wanted to help your mother"

Marissa nodded and sat down at the table as soon as Lauren returned.

Michael said prayer and the little family began to dig in.

"My father has cancer. According to my mother it's only a couple of months till he's gone and I want him to meet her" Michael referred to Lauren.

Marissa nodded.

"Of course"
"And I want you to come along as well"

Again, she nodded.

Once everyone finished eating, Michael read Lauren a bedtime story while Marissa cleaned the dishes. It shocked her how Michael's father was such in a horrible state.

Marissa never met her father, he died before she was born but as a child she would always look at pictures of him. He was a good man according to her mother.

Once Marissa began dating Michael his father became that father figure to her. Now suddenly, he's dying.