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Chapter 9

"I wonder if Grandma would let me stay tonight." Blanket says suddenly. Mom and I look at him simultaneously. 

"You really want to?" Mom asks, and he hesitantly nods. 

"I haven't seen you in forever, and I want to get to know my sister a bit." He nudges me, and I smile.

"I mean, if you want to, by all means, give her a call!" my mother gushes, and Blanket moves to stand. He pulls his phone from his pocket and taps on the screen a few times before bringing it to his ear.

"Hey grandma, I have a question—" he looks at us and smiles, then holds up his index finger and makes his way upstairs.

I look at my mother and she smiles a sympathetic smile. "I don't hate you," I finally say, catching her attention. "I'm just a little upset that you lied to me about—"

"I wasn't lying to you, Natalie." she softly interrupts. She begins stroking my hair and I stare at the cold basement floor as she speaks.

"Look, I just want you to know that what I did. . .I didn't do to make you upset. I just wanted things to be normal for us, and I didn't want their lifestyle for you. I would have much rather had one of you than neither of you." she explains, and I nod. "I'm really sorry I upset you, but please just understand I did this for the good of both of us." she adds and I nod.

"I know that now, mom. I kinda want to thank you for giving me such a good life. I was thinking a lot about what their lives are like now, and how mine would be like if I lived with them. I mean, yeah, it'd be really  interesting and fun, but I also see your side, and I'm sorry for overreacting." Mom leans over and hugs me.

"All in all, I want you to know that Michael and I came to an agreement about all of this. It wasn't just me. It hurt me just as much as it did him, but he understood that I didn't want to be alone and he understood that I couldn't take all the fame, and the cameras, and the crazy fans, and—"

"I get it, mom." I stop her and she smiles. "But, like I said, I still wanted you to know who he was." she adds and I nod again, this time not looking at her. Before I could open my mouth to speak, the basement door opens and Blanket hops down the stairs. 

"So?" My mother asks and Blanket presses his lips into a straight line. "They're on their way." he says nervously.

"They?" I ask and he nods. "Yeah. Grandma, Grandpa, Paris, Prince." 

"Why?" my mother asks. 

"I told them what I did and they started freaking out and told me they were on their way over to talk." my mother and I gape. 

"Uh-oh." I mumble.

"They remember me?" my mother asks and Blanket nods.

"Why would they forget?" 

"When will they be here?" I ask and he shrugs.

"Shouldn't take too long, though. We don't live every far from here." 

Seconds turn in to minutes as we wait for the rest of our  family to arrive. We all jump when we hear a knock at the door followed by the bell.

"Should I get it?" my mother asks and Blanket nods as if to say "Um, yeah!" I stand before her and look at Blanket. 

"I think. . ." I sigh. "I think I should do it." I say and they tilt their heads. "It's my house too, and it'll save you guys the trouble."

"Okay." my mother hesitantly agrees, and we all head upstairs.

As my mother and Blanket enter the living room, I make my way to the front door. I pull in a sharp breath and release it as I open the door. Katherine's fist is lined up with her head as if she was about to knock again. Her face softens when she sees me and she smiles.

"Natalie?" I smile and nod. "Oh, you've gotten so big!" she says and involuntarily hugs me. "And beautiful!" she adds.

"Thank you." I say and hug her back. When she pulls away, I look behind her and find the rest of the family: Tito, Janet, Jermaine, Marlon, Jackie, La Toya, Randy, Joseph, Prince, Paris, and all of the kids. My eyes widened in surprise. The Jackson family is on my doorstep. I still can't believe they are my family, too. This has  to be a dream because it can't be real.

The family stares at me with expressionless smiles on their faces as I look dumbfounded at them, searching their faces, and mentally pinching myself. 

"Uh, please," I say when I realize I have been staring far too long. "come in!" I step out of the way and allow them all to step inside one at a time. They each smile at me as they enter.

"Living room's right over there." I point in the direction of the living room and they pile into it. Prince is the last person to enter. As I move to close the door, he stops walking. 

"I know you don't remember," he begins suddenly. Goosebumps cover my skin instantly. "but we used to be really close." he hugs me, and my heart begins to pound. 

"I never had any idea." I say and he smiles. 

"I know." He whispers. We make our way to the living room where everyone is crowded. They each take turns hugging and kissing my mother and telling her how much they had missed her. And when I walk in, they all do the same to me.

When everyone is finally finished with greetings, we sit on the couches and on the floor. I almost laugh at the sight of everyone squeezing together, as this living room was not made to hold more than ten people. 

There is silence for the first few minutes and everyone looks around to see who is willing to talk first. 

"So you know." Janet asks and the tension in the air rises unexpectedly.