A Love Like Ours

Hiding Out

{Michael}

Shana was officially driving me crazy. Everywhere I went, she was there flaunting this false pregnancy. Or at least I thought it was false. It's been six months since she broke the news to me right in front of Princess.

Six months. An entire six months and she wasn't even showing. She was as flat as a board. Not only was she not showing, she never allowed me to go to appointments, she never showed me sonograms and she still went around looking for diets to maintain her figure. If she was pregnant, she was going to starve the baby to death.

Now I know I'm a man and all, so I don't know much about how the female body works during pregnancy. Therefore, I'm not qualified to say anything negative about this whole situation. Shana once called me an ass and told me I was clueless when I first questioned her about it. Since then, I've kept my thoughts to myself. 'I'll just have to wait until the due date.' I kept telling myself. That couldn't come soon enough.

Seven months in and I had to leave. I could barely stand the woman and she just wouldn't move her stuff out of my house! I decided to up and leave one evening and I ended up in Africa. There, I met some wonderful people and some very amazing, strong willed children. I learned about their culture and in turn I taught them about mine. My last day there, I visited under developed schools and orphanages. I even managed to squeeze in some volunteer work. Being in Africa definitely taught me a lot. It's truly a beautiful place filled with beautiful people. Before I left, I met with the leaders of different organizations to donate, I donated to schools to get more supplies. To small clinics and orphan homes so they could get whatever medical supplies they needed, along with clothes and food.

Eight almost nine months. My brothers and sisters blew up my phone asking for my whereabouts. This time I went to Disney World in Florida and decided to stay at the resort for a little while. It was relaxing and I especially enjoyed the rollercoasters. I was there alone, not even my bodyguards tagged along, so I had to make sure I took the necessary precautions and wore a disguise. No one noticed me which was a good thing, but I do wish I could run around and just be myself.

One evening, after a long day in the park, I was getting settled in for the night in my suite when there was a light knock on the door. I looked out the peephole and saw Wayne. He was a new bodyguard I had recently hired and the only one, besides Bill, who knew of my whereabouts in case of emergency.

"Hey!" I greeted him, opening the door for him to come in.

"Mr. Jackson your mother is sending for you." Wayne stated. "It's about Princess."

"Is she okay?!" He had my full attention.

"Her grandfather passed away and she hasn't been taking it too well." Wayne explained. "Janet, Bill and I have been keeping watch of her."

"Who's with her now?" I asked, while packing up my bag. I made sure I grabbed all my belongings before we left.

"Prince." Wayne answered. "He hasn't left her side since the funeral."

"The funeral?!" I repeated. "How come no one called me sooner?!"

"Sir, we tried," Wayne replied. "You just didn't answer."

When he said that, my heart literally sank. All those missed phone calls were them letting me know what was going on. Instead, I was here having fun while the person I cared so deeply about needed me the most.