Stay the Night

Chapter 21

October 27th, 2002

Michael walked out of the bathroom after brushing his teeth--utterly exhausted--though it wasn't Carey's birthday party that tired him out. Instead, it was Mariah. She had an attitude with him the entire day--pushing him away whenever he tried to get too close to the kids thus leaving him to spend a good portion of his time alone.

Now she laid in the bed, the woman curled up with covers over her head and her back turned. He frowned and crossed the room over to the large master bed and slid under the comforter beside his wife. He stared up at the ceiling before rolling over to face the wall.

This isn't going to work.

Michael rolled over to his other side and attempted to reach for Mariah, only for her to shrug him off. He bit his lip and tried again to pull the woman towards him.

“Stop it!” She hissed, turning to glare at him. “Don't touch me.”

He groaned. “Baby--”

“No!”

He flopped back down on his pillow in exasperation. “Do we have to do this? I just-”

Mariah sat straight up. “Yes, we have to do this because you're being selfish!”

“Selfish?” Michael inquired incredulously. “How am I being selfish if I'm taking medication for a condition? Mariah, I need those medications.”

She folded her arms. “Do you need them or do you just think you need them? You weren't taking anything before this tour started.”

“I just...baby, look: I've been having trouble sleeping--”

“That's what you said last time!” Mariah shouted. “Michael, I can't trust that.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You don't have to. I know what I'm doing, and I only take them when it's necessary.”

Mariah’s face settled into a deep frown, her eyes unreadable. “That's what you're saying now. What happens when you start needing it more? You know that stuff is addictive.”

Michael propped himself up on his elbow, tracing the pattern on the mattress. “I'm just trying to manage everything. It's not that serious. I'm not addicted. That was the first time I took those medications since you've been here and I've had them for months now.”

She flicked her eyes over at him before staring straight ahead. “You just don't get it, do you?”

He sat up and crossed his legs. “What am I missing? Why can't you understand that I'm just trying to manage my pain? You know I still have issues with my head and stuff-”

“I know.” She conceded. “I'm not saying I want you to be in pain or anything.”

“Then what is it?” He inquired. “You threatened to take my kids from me.”

Mariah turned to look at him once more, and let out a sigh. “You know I didn't mean that.”

“How would I know that? You took them from me before and almost killed them.” Michael shot back.

“I didn't try to kill them.” She snapped. “I would never hurt my kids.”

“How do I know that, Mariah?” He inquired. “You left with my kids in the middle of the night, no warning-”

“Stop trying to make this about me. We're talking about you and these drugs.” Mariah retorted.

Michael shook his head. “No, I wanna talk about how you endangered my kids’ lives and you were sober.”