He Saved Me

Chp 26

Michael's POV
I walked into the arcade and found Blanket and Mia lost in their games. I turned to the side and found Prince, also concentrated in beating a certain level. "Hey Applehead," I called out affectionately. "When did you get back from class?"
"A little while ago Dad. The security office told me everyone is in the arcade. Where were you?" Prince asked without taking his eyes off the screen.
"I was in the office. I had to take an important phone call," I explained.
"Dad is everything ok? You seem a little off today," Prince pointed out. Was I that obvious? Nothing ever gets past my babies. They notice everything, the good and the bad. I gave him a hug and gave him a thumbs up, not wanting to elaborate anymore on my mood. Just then I felt Mia run up to me and grab the back of my leg, almost knocking me over.
     "Daddy come look! I got the highest score!" she exclaimed. I chuckled at how delighted she was about a score in a game. I held her hand and followed her to one of the machines. The four of us had loads of fun in the arcade. And then we got in a golf cart and roamed all around Neverland. We watched the sun set while we ate cotton candy. It helped whine down my hyper kids.
     "Ok it's starting to get chilly now. Time to go inside," I announced. We all walked towards the main house, with some yawns and giggles. I knew all that running around had to have made the kids hungry. While they watched TV, I quickly made some dinner. I kept glancing at the clock, knowing Paris will be back anytime now.
     I called the kids down once dinner was served. Vegetable lasagna with a side of arugula salad. As much as I loved my fried chicken, nutrition was key. For me and the kids. I had to incorporate vegetables into their meal somehow today. As we were saying grace, I heard the front door open. Paris walked in with a face full of makeup and her hair in a bun.
     "Come join us Paris. We're about to start eating," I said. I knew Paris was still upset about me taking her car away. She glared at me with pure frustration. She put down her bag and took off her shoes at the door. No one said a word as she joined the table. You could cut the tension in the room with a knife. I doubt the other kids really knew what was going on. They just knew about our fight last night.
     I cleared my throat, trying to clear the tension in the air. "How was your photoshoot Paris," I asked. She looked up from her food with those big blue eyes like they were daggers.
     "Fine," slipped out of her mouth in a shrewd tone. "When can I get my car back?"
     "Not anytime soon," I mumbled with food in my mouth.
     "Why not?!" she yelled. I let out a sigh, knowing this is not gonna end well.
     "I think we should talk about this later, one on one," I suggested. I did not want to bring up the drugs in front of the other kids. But it seemed like Paris was gonna leave me with no choice. She slammed her fork down. It clattered with the plate, getting all of our attention.
     "I'm fucking 20 years old! Stop treating me like a child!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. The other 3 stared in her direction with a look that said "are you crazy?!" They all waited to see my reaction. I raised my eyebrows at her boldness. All I could feel was anger at this point. Not only is this girl using under my roof, but she has the audacity to sit in front of a meal I prepared for her, and curse at me?
     "Girl... you better watch that mouth. Think TWICE before you use that language with me again. I don't care if you're 20 or 2. You better thank God every day that I'm your father. Anybody else would've whooped that ass bloody by now. You live under my roof, you follow my rules!" I said with rage. "Do I make myself clear?" She stared at me with the same attitude she had when she walked through the front door. "DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!" I yelled. Everyone at the table jumped a little, not expecting that out of me.
     Paris nodded her head slowly. No one else wanted to be where she was, so they all looked back down at their food and continued eating quietly. I was so angry and hurt by Paris's actions. I mean, how ungrateful can she be? Everything I do is for my children. And this is what she does with all her privileges? Everyone was pretty much done eating at this point. But no one wanted to speak up. "Go wash your plates if you're done," I announced. All 4 of them got up from their seats, scurrying to get out of my sight.
     "Paris, sit down. I need to talk to you," I said monotonously. She rolled her eyes, thinking I wouldn't notice. "Little girl, I wouldn't be showing off all that attitude if I were in your situation!" I yelled. I was losing my patience with each passing second. I didn't care who heard our conversation at this point. "What were you on last night?"
     "I don't know what you're talking about," she said nonchalantly.
     "Don't play dumb Paris. Come clean now and be honest, it'll help you in the long run," I said. She looked at me confused, contemplating whether or not I actually knew something.
     "I'm telling you the truth. I wasn't on anything," she claimed unconvincingly.
     "Ok let's just say I believe you about last night. What are you on all the other nights when I don't notice?" I asked suspiciously. Paris opened her mouth several times to say something, but couldn't come up with an answer.
     "Nothing. I'm not a drug addict!" she yelled. I was done playing this game with her. Clearly she wasn't going to tell me the truth. I got up from my chair walked into my office. I took all the different drugs I collected from her room. I brought it back to the dining room. I slammed it on the table. Paris's eyes got wide as fear swept through her face.
     "You wanna change that answer?" I asked.
     "You went through my stuff?" she asked annoyed.
     "Paris if I were you, that wouldn't be my biggest concern right now," I warned. "I'm giving you one last chance to come clean, before I turn your ass in myself!"