He Saved Me

Chp 68

Mia's POV
Daddy's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head. His face went completely red, and his voice reached a level of deepness I didn't even know was possible for him. I'm officially dead. "WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GET A PHONE MIA?!" he screamed in my direction. I knew there was no right answer. He sees me as the baby in the family, and nothing I say can change that.
"What's the big deal if I have one?" I asked. "Everyone I know has a cellphone. Why can't I have one?"
"First of all little girl, I'm doing the asking. Your only job right now is to give me a clear answer! Where did you get this?" he asked tiredly.
"If I tell you, will you let me keep it?" I asked sheepishly. His brows were furrowed and his arms were crossed. The whole time he stood there, he gave me a look of disbelief.
"DOES IT LOOK LIKE I'M IN THE MOOD TO NEGOTIATE WITH YOU RIGHT NOW?!" Daddy yelled. I shook my head no. Was this one of his rhetorical questions? He let out a loud sigh, before he bent down so he was at my eye level. "Mia... if you want to sit ever again, I suggest you start answering some questions," he said in an eerily calm manner. "Your butt is mine in about 30 seconds if I don't get an answer. Now... for the last time, how did you get a phone?"
"Auntie Janet gave it to me," I confessed.
"What? When? Why would she.... ugh! When did she give you the phone Mia?" he asked again.
"Today," I replied. I still don't see what the big deal is.
"Janet came over today?" he asked while looking at Blanket. I guess for confirmation or something. Blanket nodded without speaking up. Of course now he decides to keep his big mouth shout.
"Daddy, can I pleeeeease keep it? I promise I'll take good care of it. You won't even have to buy me one now. You'll save money!" I reminded him.
"Mia... saving money is not what I'm worried about here. When I tell you that you can't have something, believe me... I have a good reason for it. You shouldn't be going behind my back to get it anyway," he lectured. I guess I rolled my eyes at his speech, out of pure habit. I was happy he didn't catch that, until he spoke up again. "And if respect is something you're incapable of giving to your elders, then quite frankly... you don't deserve it to begin with," he reprimanded. I guess he did catch it.
I looked down at the floor, not really knowing how to fight this. He's always so uptight. I get he wants privacy for himself and us. But I just want a phone to play games and stuff. I don't get what he's so afraid of. Daddy snapped me out of my thoughts when he spoke up again, this time to Blanket.
     "And for you... you don't get to antagonize your sister over something like this. And boy, snitching will get you no where," Daddy whispered the last part. Blanket looked defeated and that's all I cared about in that moment. Eventually Blanket left us alone and went to his room, in the fear of being lectured longer by Daddy. I basked in the joy of my mini victory, until Daddy ruined it.
     "Go to your room, and stay there Mia. Don't come out till I say you can" he scolded.
     "Why?? I didn't even do anything wrong!" I said frustrated.
     "Your offense wasn't huge, I agree. That's why you're not getting a whooping. Just stay in your room and think about how the next time I don't give you permission to have something, you can't go running off to a different family member for it. Got it?" he emphasized. I simply nodded my head, feeling beat. "Use your words young lady," Daddy warned. Ugh!
     "Yes Daddy," I replied. He nodded his head pointed me to the direction of the stairs, sending me on my way.

Michael's POV
     Janet was so out of line for this one. I know she loves spoiling the kids, but this was uncalled for. She should've asked me first. I called her as soon as Mia went up the stairs. "Hey Mike!" she greeted enthusiastically on the phone.
     "Hey Dunk. I heard you paid a visit today, sorry I missed it," I said. I didn't really know what to say without blowing up on her.
     "Oh that's okay. I got to spend some time with the kids at least. God, they're getting so big," she replied.
     "Yeah about that... Janet, you can't be buying things like phones for Mia. I appreciate the thought and the gesture, and Lord knows Mia does too. But I'm not ready for her to have a phone yet," I confessed.
     "I'm sorry Mike. I didn't think it was going to be a problem honestly. I mean, she's almost 11. I thought you'd want her to have a cell phone for safety reasons too," Janet stated.
     "Dunk... she's almost 11 who has bodyguards with her at all times. I'm not worried about her safety. Plus, she's only out when Grace or I'm there with our bodyguards," I reminded her.
     "And don't you think that's a little traumatizing for her? She needs learn how to live in the real world too Mike, not just Neverland. Mother thinks so too," she pointed out. I was starting to get annoyed now.
     "Well... has it ever occurred to you or the rest of the family, that my kids will never truly get to live in the 'real world'? Their 'real world', will always be warped into something else because they're my children. And that's a heavy thing to deal with. Something that almost killed Paris. So I'd like to take that stress off their shoulders for as long as I can," I explained frustratingly.
     "Mike you know that's no—" Janet began before I cut her off.
     "Cellphones give Mia access to the internet,  that gives her the ability to read all that bullshit written about me. She's not ready to see stuff like that. All that garbage written about me and her, will scar Mia. I know 10 isn't that young anymore for this generation, but I'm protecting my little girl from all the ugliness out there. I get to decide when she's ready to witness it. Not you... or even Mother for that matter," I stated.
     Janet let out a loud sigh before speaking up again. "I'm sorry. I should've asked you first. It's just the last time I was on the phone with her, she kept telling me how she really wanted her own phone. I thought it would be a nice surprise today. But I get it," she gave in.
     "Thank you. And that little girl is a lot smarter than you think. She can be very sneaky when she wants things her way. So you need to be careful," I chuckled.
     "Oh I will. But Mike... you should really give some thought to gradually letting Mia know about what the media's like. She's gonna read that stuff eventually. She's going to be 11 soon, she's getting older," Janet pointed out.
     "She's too young," I simply replied.
     "Well Mike, she won't be young forever," she stated. My heart sunk as she said that.