Motion (Sequel to "Collide")

CHAPTER TWENTY

I turned off the light from the bathroom and finally crawled into bed after an emotional day. I couldn't stop smiling at the simple thought that Michael and I would finally be Faraji's legal parents. To many, it wouldn't change anything because we were already acting like a family, but to us, it meant the world. Faraji, just like me, would soon proudly wear the name Jackson, and this was huge to us.

As Michael was in the dance studio, rehearsing some dance routines, I went to bed alone, yet happy. I closed my eyes, and soon enough I fell in a profound sleep. A sleep so deep that it transported somewhere else, somewhere I needed to be.

I slid my legs out of bed, and let my feet guide me through the main house. I followed the voices I heard down the hall, in the reception room. On my way there, I noticed Joseph and Katherine talking together outside the crowded room. It looked like most of our family was in there, probably rehearsing for the wedding reception. For some reason, I tried to be as discreet and quiet as possible while I perfectly knew anybody but myself – my future self – could see me.

Just before my eyes, Katherine was seated on a chair while Joseph was standing, leaning on the door frame with his eyes glued to the floor. They were isolated from the rest of the guests, and I could feel the tension between them: electricity was in the air. I felt uncomfortable just being there, invading their privacy, but I knew that, if I was brought here, it was because I needed to witness this.

"I'm telling you that this got to stop, Joseph," Katherine told him. I could perfectly feel she was irritated at that point. "It's time for you to finally act like a father, not a manager."

"I've been trying my best for years, Katherine," he desperately whispered. He seemed tired. "He claims he has forgiven me, but still I can see how he looks at me. He's uncomfortable when I am around, and it has been like that for as long as I can remember."

"Because you keep on acting like his manager! Can't you see that?" Katherine asked in a calm yet irritated voice. "All you talk about when you're with him is how you'd love to see him back on stage with his brothers or anything else that has to do with work. Even you don't consider him like your son but like the superstar he is. How do you think that makes him feel, huh?"

"He wouldn't be where he is if it wasn't because of me," Joseph mumbled, and Katherine gave him an incredulous stare. She was fuming at that point.

"And I'll give you that, but you missed the point here," she retorted. I could see she was trying to keep her calm. "What I'm saying is that your son is getting married to the love of his life tomorrow. He's never been this happy in his entire life, Joseph. Don't you think it's time for you to act up and be a father to your son?"

"I don't know how to."

"Then you'll learn. Michael is the most forgiving person I know, and no mater how much you need to atone for, he'll always welcome you with open arms if you ever show him you want to make it up for your faults. You owe him this and God knows you owe me this."

"I know, but how am I supposed to do that, Kat? Huh? We don't understand each other, we never did!" Joseph exclaimed angrily.

"Because you never dared talk about your feelings. You need to finally get to know Michael," Katherine told him, as she stood up from her chair. "I'll tell you who Michael is. He is everything you're not. He is sensitive, he feels everything a hundred times stronger than most people. He needs deep conversations filled with feelings, not shallow ones. He needs sincerity and love. I know you can give this to him. His siblings never needed that as much as he does, and you need to take that into account and not treat him like the others, because he is different."