He Saved Me

Chp 16

Mia's POV
     So this is what Daddy meant by "rides". I was awestruck by Neverland. It was like living in an amusement park every single day of your life. How did Daddy manage to make this happen? I mean I know he has money, but I'm talking about the creative aspect of it. How did he come up with all of this? It all flows so well with each other.
The main house itself was no less than the amusement park in the backyard. It was enormous with dark wood detailing everywhere. Daddy showed me my room and once again, I was unbelievably shocked. It was huge. Bigger than any room I've ever had before. The bed was just as large for my tiny self. There was an abundance of stuffed animals and a life size teddy bear in the corner of the room. The other side had a whole shelf of arts & crafts supplies.
     Daddy noticed me staring at the shelf longer than anything else I paid attention to in the room. "Try to keep your masterpieces off the walls this time," he laughed. I let out a gentle laugh, too busy admiring the things around me. There was also a balcony with a view of the beautiful hills and mountains. You could see the ferris wheel and the colorful flowers. My room was on the same floor with everyone else's rooms.
     As nice and large as the room was, I forgot to mention to Daddy that I wasn't too fond of sleeping alone in the dark. I get nightmares that keep me up all night. It honestly didn't even cross my mind this whole time. I didn't know what to expect in California. I got too used to the close space of our hotel suite in New York.    
     Great. Another thing added to the list of all things that make me weird. I didn't want Daddy and everyone else to look at me like some little child. I wanted to be like Paris... she was so pretty. She was a grown up. She had so much freedom. I wanted to be just like her. But Daddy doesn't see me that way. To him, I'm the baby of the family now. He would dismiss my attempts at being grown the same way he did with my fascination with tattoos.
     With all these thoughts racing through my head, I guess my mood changed. Daddy could sense it. He looked down at me and lifted my chin. "Whats wrong babygirl? Don't you like it?" he asked curiously.
     "No no, I love it. It's not that," I said quickly. I didn't want to hurt his feelings. I could tell he put a lot of thought and effort into preparing my room. And he managed to get it done in just a day or two. Truthfully, I did love it. It was beautiful. But I was stressing myself by wanting to fit in with the rest of my siblings.
     "What's wrong then Mia? You've been acting strange since you got on the plane. Did someone say something to you? Did I do something wrong?" he asked. I could hear the worry in his voice.
     "No one did anything wrong," I said annoyed. I was getting frustrated. He was bombarding me with all these questions. I didn't want to talk about what was bothering me. But in what I'm realizing to be his true "Daddy fashion", he was not going to let it go.
     "Talk to me Mia. What's going on?" he asked concerned. "Are you feeling homesick?"
     "No," I replied simply.
     "I expect a little more than that sweetheart," he said referring to my one word answer. Ugh why wasn't he just dropping it. Clearly I don't wanna elaborate.
     "Can I go on the rides Daddy?" I asked hoping to divert his attention.
     "No babygirl," he said while tucking a few strands of hair behind my ear. "You're on punishment, we discussed this already." Although my attempt at changing the topic worked, it wasn't the kind of answer I wanted. I was getting frustrated by the second. And I could feel a tantrum coming on, like my old mom would say.
     "But I wannna," I whined. I knew that would piss off Daddy but I didn't care. Maybe that's why I subconsciously did it. I wanted to make him feel just as frustrated as he made me feel.
     "Mia, what did I say about whining?" he reprimanded softly. How could he still be so gentle when he's mad. My old mom would've smacked me around 10 times by now. Maybe he was too nice for me. Maybe they all were. I don't know what happens to me when I feel like this. It's like I know I'm acting out but I can't stop myself. And at this point, I felt like I was sabotaging my own place in this family.
       "You say a lot of things, I can't remember," I replied with attitude. I looked up at Daddy to see if I managed to get any reaction out of him. His brows were furrowed and his arms were crossed. He looked down at me with a confused look.
     "You better watch that mouth little girl," he warned. When Daddy scolds me, I swear it makes my stomach sink. His words alone make me want to change up my act, way more than any of my old mom's beatings. But today I was feeling rebellious. That's all he said before turning around and making his way towards the door. I followed behind, not knowing what to do with myself. He noticed me following his footsteps and stopped.
     "Nuh uh," he said while waving a finger at me. I looked up confused. "You're staying in your room till I say so," he said seriously. I was hurt. I didn't want to be alone. I wanted to explore the ranch and spend time with everyone. I wanted to feel like everybody else here.
     "Why?" I asked with an attitude.
     "Because you don't know how to control that mouth Mia. Keep this attitude up and you'll be on punishment longer," he warned.
     "But..." I began.
     "Enough Mia! You're staying in your room till I say so. I don't wanna hear a peep out of you," he said as he slightly raised his voice. Tears began to blur my vision. I thought maybe now Daddy would soften up. But he didn't. He simply walked out and shut the door behind him. Why was he being so cold?

Michael's POV
     That was hard. So fucking hard. But I had to stand my ground. She refused to tell me what's bothering her, and instead chose to give me attitude. She's old enough to know how to handle difficult situations, and this definitely wasn't it. Walking away from her tear stained face broke my heart. I wanted her to calm her nerves a bit. I'll go back in there and talk to her when she's ready.
     Meanwhile, Prince and I decided to go watch a movie in the movie theater. Paris and Blanket did their own thing. This was my favorite activity with my eldest. We loved watching movies. We loved everything about film making. It was a passion of mine growing up, and I passed it on to Prince. He's even taking film making classes in college. It's so cool to see my little baby become a man of his own.
     Halfway into the movie, one of my employees came into the movie theater to pass on a message from the main house. It was a message on a post it from Grace. "Mr. Jackson, Mia is refusing to let me change her bandages. She's crying hysterically and I don't know what's wrong. Please come asap."
     Oh god. Here we go. I thanked the messenger and told Prince to continue without me. I don't know how to get through to Mia today. When I was soft she didn't respond well to it. When I gave tough love she didn't respond well to it. I tried giving her time to calm down but that clearly didn't work either. Nothing made her open up to me. I don't know what to do. I don't wanna fail my little girl. I want her to be happy. My thoughts paused as I came to her door. I gently knocked before turning the door knob...

To be continued